HubSpot Email Signature Generator: How to Use It, Fix Common Problems, and Alternatives

The HubSpot email signature generator is a free browser tool at hubspot.com/email-signature-generator. You fill in your details, pick one of 12 templates, set colours and fonts, then copy the finished signature (or its HTML source code) into Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail or HubSpot's own CRM. As of October 2026, HubSpot's page says it needs no account and has "no hidden costs, no trial period".

It works well for most people. When it doesn't, the problems are well known: Gmail saying the signature is too long, images not showing in Outlook, and formatting that disappears in Apple Mail. This guide covers how to use the tool, how to install the result in each email program, how to fix each of those problems, and what to try if you need something it isn't designed for.

HubSpot email signature generator at a glance

What HubSpot's generator does well

It's quick, it's genuinely free, and it covers the fields most people need. A few things are easy to miss:

• Custom fields. You can add extra lines, which the tool suggests for working hours, name pronunciation or pronouns.
• Legal footer. A separate field for disclaimers, useful in finance, healthcare and law.
• Handwritten signature. Draw one with your mouse or touchpad, pick one of 8 handwriting fonts, or link to an image of your real one.
• Call-to-action. A button or banner with your own text (up to 24 characters) and link, such as a meeting scheduler.
• Works on a phone. HubSpot says the mobile version has the same features as desktop.

How to use the HubSpot email signature generator, step by step

HubSpot describes the process as five steps. Here they are, with one prep step added first and the details that save time.

1. Host your images first. For your photo and logo, the generator's fields ask for a link to an image that's already online. HubSpot suggests Dropbox, HubSpot's file manager "or a similar site", with a 3 MB limit per image, and its FAQ recommends a PNG with a transparent background, 200 to 300 px wide. It also warns against Google Drive links, which may not display in every email program. Whatever host you use, copy the direct image link (the address ends in .png or .jpg), not a share page.

2. Enter your details. Open hubspot.com/email-signature-generator and fill in the contact fields. Leave out anything you don't want people to use: a mobile number in a signature gets called.

3. Add images and social links. Paste your image links into Profile Picture and Company Logo. Add social profiles as full URLs (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname, not just your username).

4. Pick a template and style it. Choose one of the 12 templates, then set your theme, text and link colours, font and font size. HubSpot's own advice: avoid very light text colours, which can disappear when the recipient uses dark mode.

5. Create and copy. Click Create Signature. Depending on your session, the tool may first ask a few questions ("Your New Signature Is Almost Ready!") such as your email and company size. Then use Copy signature for programs with a visual editor, or Copy signature source code where you paste HTML.

Before you copy, check whether the Created With HubSpot option is on. It adds a "Create Your Own Free Signature" link to the bottom of your signature.

Tip: paste the source code into a plain text file and keep it. HubSpot's page doesn't describe saving your signature for later editing, so that file is the easiest way to make changes next year.

How to add your HubSpot signature to Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail

Menu names change, so these steps follow the email providers' own help pages as of October 2026.

Gmail (computer)

1. Open Gmail and click Settings (the gear icon), then See all settings.
2. On the General tab, scroll to Signature. Create a signature if you don't have one yet.
3. Paste your copied signature into the box.
4. Choose it as the default for new emails and replies if you want it added automatically.
5. Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.

If Gmail refuses with "signature is too long", jump to the first problem below. Our Gmail signature guide covers the phone apps too.

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web

Microsoft's current steps are the same for both:

1. Select Settings (the gear icon).
2. Select Accounts > Signatures.
3. Select Add signature and give it a name.
4. Paste your signature into the editing box.
5. Tick whether to use it for new messages and for replies and forwards, then select Save.

Some older guides, including the install steps on HubSpot's page, still point to Email > Compose and reply. If you can't find that, use Accounts > Signatures instead.

Classic Outlook for Windows

1. Open a new email.
2. On the Message menu, select Signature > Signatures.
3. Choose your email account, select New and name the signature.
4. Paste into Edit signature.
5. Under Choose default signature, pick it for New messages and Replies/forwards, then select OK.

Classic Outlook won't add the new signature to the email you opened in step 1; it applies from the next one. If the pasted signature loses its styling, HubSpot recommends setting File > Options > Mail > Editor Options > Advanced > Pasting from other programs to Keep Source Formatting, then restarting Outlook.

For Outlook for Mac and the Outlook phone apps, see our full guide to adding a signature in Outlook.

Apple Mail on Mac

1. Open Mail and choose Mail > Settings, then click Signatures.
2. Select the email account in the left column.
3. Click the + button below the middle column and name the signature.
4. Paste your signature into the right-hand column.

If the colours and icons don't survive the paste, use HubSpot's HTML method instead (problem 4 below). For iPhone, see our iPhone email signature guide.

HubSpot CRM

HubSpot's instructions: copy the source code, click your account name (top right) > Profile & Preferences, scroll to Signature > Edit signature, switch to HTML, paste and click Save. You need HubSpot CRM with Sales access for this.

Common HubSpot signature problems and how to fix them

These are the problems users raise most often in HubSpot's own community, with the fixes that worked for them.

1. Gmail says "The signature is too long"

This is the most-discussed issue: one community thread on it has 69,600 views. Gmail allows up to 10,000 characters per signature, and Google's help page notes that images count toward that limit. The user who started the thread hit the error with code of about 2,000 characters.

In July 2023, a HubSpot Community Manager explained in that thread that "Gmail adds an extra code after pasting the signature", which inflates the count past the limit, and that HubSpot had contacted Google about it.

What worked for users:

• Shrink your photo. One user fixed it by resizing their headshot from 1000 x 1000 px to 450 x 450 px before uploading, keeping the social icons.
• Remove a few elements. Another removed the social icons, then fully refreshed the Gmail settings page before pasting again.
• Minify the HTML. HubSpot's Community Manager suggested running the source code through an HTML minifier, or pasting the source code directly with the browser's developer tools.
• Copy from a sent email. One user sent themselves an email from HubSpot with the signature, then copied the signature out of that email in Gmail and pasted it into Gmail's settings.

More on keeping signatures under the limit: email signature size.

2. Images show a red X or "linked image cannot be displayed" in Outlook

Users report logos and social icons missing for recipients, especially on replies. Three causes come up:

• Outlook is blocking downloaded pictures. A HubSpot partner in a 2022 thread said that "9 times out of 10" this is Outlook's download protection treating the images as a risk. The recipient has to allow pictures, or the sender's address has to be trusted.
• The image link stopped working. If an image is deleted or moved on its host, it disappears from every email that uses it. For emails sent through HubSpot itself, a HubSpot partner in the same thread noted that images must be in HubSpot's file manager.
• A recent classic Outlook bug. Microsoft confirmed that after its May 12, 2026 updates, classic Outlook could show the same "linked image cannot be displayed" error on images in signatures. Microsoft lists the issue as fixed in June 2026 builds, so update Office if you see it. Replies sent while the bug was active may permanently lack the image.

Our guide to Outlook signature problems covers more cases.

3. Images show as a box with a question mark in Apple Mail

A user in a 2022 thread saw their colleague's photo correctly in HubSpot, but as an empty box with a question mark in Apple Mail, while everyone else's photos worked. The community's answer was a Mail setting on that Mac: check that Apple Mail is allowed to load remote content in messages, and that the image link still opens in a browser.

4. Formatting disappears when you paste into Apple Mail

In a 2024 thread, a user's fonts, colours and social links all vanished in Apple Mail after days of trying. A HubSpot employee pointed to HubSpot's HTML method for Apple Mail, which solved it. In short:

1. Create a placeholder signature in Mail > Settings > Signatures, assign it to your account, then quit Mail completely.
2. In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder, open ~/Library/Mail, then the highest V folder (V10, V11...), then MailData > Signatures.
3. Open the newest .mailsignature file in TextEdit and replace everything between <body> and </body> with HubSpot's source code. Keep everything above <body>.
4. Save, then right-click the file > Get Info and tick Locked, so Mail doesn't overwrite it.

Full steps with screenshots are on HubSpot's Apple Mail page.

5. Coloured boxes or lines around the icons in Outlook

Users on Outlook have reported squares of colour or borders around the small phone, email and website icons. In a 2023 thread, the reply marked as the solution found that each icon cell had a background colour set in the code, which Outlook displays; the fix was removing the background-color from those icon cells. In a 2025 thread, a Community Champion explained why the desktop app is fussier than your browser: classic Outlook renders email with Word's engine.

If you aren't comfortable editing HTML, pick a template without contact icons, or switch the icon colour to match your background.

6. Social icons won't line up side by side in HubSpot's signature editor

A 2023 thread with replies into 2024 describes users who couldn't place social icons horizontally when building a signature in HubSpot's own signature settings. A HubSpot partner suggested the editor's HTML option; later replies said that still didn't work for them. Two workarounds from the thread and the tool: paste the generator's full source code (icons already in a row) rather than adding icons one by one, or, as one user did, combine the icons into a single image. If you mainly send from Gmail or Outlook, installing the signature there avoids HubSpot's editor altogether.

7. The signature looks wrong on phones or in dark mode

HubSpot's FAQ names two causes. On mobile, every template displays well except Template 3 with images: remove the headshot and logo, or pick another template. In dark mode, avoid very light text colours, choose darker link colours, and check that your logo works on a dark background.

HubSpot also suggests trying another browser if the copied signature loses formatting, since some browsers don't copy formatting with the text.

Things to know before you rely on it

None of these are faults. They're simply what the tool is built for, as described on HubSpot's own pages:

• Your photo and logo are links to images you host. If those links break, so does your signature.
• Team use is one person at a time. HubSpot's FAQ describes team use as a manager setting brand colours and fonts, then each employee creating their own signature. Central deployment to everyone's inbox isn't described.
• Click tracking happens elsewhere. HubSpot's FAQ suggests adding UTM parameters to your links and watching results in your analytics tool.
• It's a lead tool for HubSpot. The copy screen promotes HubSpot's other products. That's the trade for a free generator.

Alternatives to the HubSpot email signature generator

If you'll keep using HubSpot's tool, the fixes above should get you there. If one of the limits above is the problem, these are worth a look. Facts are as listed on each vendor's site in October 2026; our full comparison of the best email signature generators has prices and the "not a fit if" for each.

• Signguin (our own tool, so weigh this accordingly). Type your work email and it loads your logo, brand colours and contact details from your website, so there's nothing to host. Images are hosted by Signguin. The HTML is built with tables, inline styles and PNG icons for Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, Gmail, Apple Mail and Android, and every signature fits Gmail's 10,000-character limit. For Gmail there's a direct install button that only asks for permission to change your Gmail settings. Free plan: 3 designs, no sign-up, a small "Made with Signguin" link. Not a fit if you need team management or analytics: Signguin has neither yet.
• mail-signatures.com (by CodeTwo). Free, with 100+ templates and install steps tailored to the email program you pick first. Like HubSpot, it asks you to host your images.
• MySignature. A free plan with 1 signature per email address; you need an account to save and copy. Paid plans add tracking and analytics.
• WiseStamp. A free designer, then a 14-day trial (no card) to install it, with one-click Gmail and Outlook sync on paid plans.
• Exclaimer. For companies of 10+ that want signatures applied centrally through Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or Exchange, from $0.90 per user per month billed annually.

Thinking about WiseStamp specifically? See our WiseStamp alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Is the HubSpot email signature generator really free?

Yes. As of October 2026, HubSpot's page says the generator has no hidden costs, no trial period and no account requirement. All 12 templates are free. HubSpot makes money elsewhere: the tool introduces you to its CRM and marketing software, and it offers an optional "Created With HubSpot" link in your signature.

Do I need a HubSpot account to use it?

No. You can create and copy a signature without signing up. Adding the signature to HubSpot's own CRM does need a HubSpot account with Sales access. Depending on your session, the generator may ask a few questions, such as your email address and company size, before showing the copy buttons.

Why does Gmail say my HubSpot signature is too long?

Gmail caps signatures at 10,000 characters, and images count toward it. A HubSpot Community Manager said in 2023 that Gmail adds extra code when you paste, which pushes signatures over. Shrink your photo (one user went from 1000 px to 450 px), remove a few icons, or minify the HTML, then refresh Gmail's settings page and paste again.

Can I remove "Created With HubSpot" from my signature?

The generator includes a "Created With HubSpot" option that adds a "Create Your Own Free Signature" link. Check that option before you copy your signature. If the link is already in a signature you installed, regenerate it with the option off and paste it again, or delete the line in your email program's signature editor.

How do I edit a HubSpot signature later?

HubSpot's page doesn't describe saving signatures in the generator. Keep a copy of the source code in a text file when you create it; to change it, either edit that file or re-enter your details in the generator and copy a fresh version. Then replace the old signature in each email program.

Why do my HubSpot signature images not show up in Outlook?

Usually Outlook is blocking downloaded pictures for safety, or the image link no longer works. Check the link opens in a browser, and ask a test recipient to allow pictures. If you use classic Outlook, install the latest updates: Microsoft fixed a May 2026 bug that broke signature images in June 2026 builds.