How to add a countdown timer to a HubSpot marketing email

Published September 26, 2026 · HubSpot steps checked against its help center on September 26, 2026

HubSpot’s CTA editor has a countdown timer module, but we found nothing equivalent for marketing emails. An email timer has to be an image tag that points at a live image, and HubSpot documents fewer ways to add raw HTML than Klaviyo or Mailchimp do. This guide says exactly which steps HubSpot documents and which it does not.

Countdown timer rendered by DynaMail: cards showing days, hours, minutes and seconds remaining — An example render from DynaMail’s image pipeline. Your design, dates and values will differ.

Why the image needs raw HTML

A live timer has to stay a link to DynaMail, so the image can be drawn when the email is opened. HubSpot documents adding images to email modules by uploading them, “from your computer or via file URL”, and states that text modules and custom rich text modules in the drag-and-drop email editor cannot contain images. That leaves raw HTML: an HTML module or a coded template, holding one <img> tag.

Add the timer, step by step

1
Build the timer and copy its image tag
Set the end date and timezone in the free countdown generator (or the DynaMail dashboard) and copy the snippet. Your widget id replaces YOUR-WIDGET-ID:
Countdown timer for HubSpot raw HTML
```
<img src="https://img.dynamail.io/widgets/YOUR-WIDGET-ID/render.gif" alt="Time left in the sale" width="600" height="196" style="display:block;border:0;" />
```
Open the marketing email
Go to Marketing > Email and click the draft you are working on.
Drag-and-drop editor: an Email HTML module (check your account)
HubSpot’s developer docs list a default email module called Email HTML, described as a “Raw HTML module for emails”. If your editor offers an HTML module, add it where the timer should appear and paste the tag into it. If it does not, use step 4.
Coded template: paste the tag into the template
HubSpot recommends the classic editor for coded templates, and editing email templates in the design manager needs a Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise subscription plus Design tools permission. Paste the tag where the timer should appear.
Preview as a contact, then send a test
Click the Preview and test dropdown and choose Preview as contact. Then, from the same dropdown, choose Send test email, pick yourself in Send test to and click Send. Open the test in a real inbox and confirm the timer is counting down.

Personalization tokens in the URL

The timer needs no personalization. If you want DynaMail to count unique opens, the recipient goes in r=, and the HubSpot token for it is {{ contact.email }}. One catch: HubSpot’s HubL reference says filters can be applied to personalization tokens on pages and blogs, “but not in emails”. There is no urlencode, so the raw value lands in the URL, and an address containing +, & or # would break the tracking. Use a contact property whose values are URL-safe, or leave r= out.

What subscribers will see

The time remaining when the image was requested, animated as a GIF.
In classic Outlook for Windows, possibly only the first frame, which still shows the correct time. More on Outlook.
After the deadline, a timer stopped at zero rather than negative time.

Sources

Every HubSpot step above comes from these pages, read on September 26, 2026. Apps rename menus often; if a step no longer matches what you see, the source page is the place to check.

Frequently asked questions

Does HubSpot have a countdown timer for emails?

We found no native countdown timer for HubSpot marketing emails. HubSpot documents a countdown timer module for CTAs, not emails, so an email timer comes from a third-party image like DynaMail’s.

Why not use the HubSpot image module?

HubSpot documents adding images to email modules by uploading them, from your computer or via a file URL. A timer must stay a link to DynaMail to be rendered at open, so it needs raw HTML rather than an uploaded file.

Can I add a HubSpot personalization token to the timer URL?

You can, but HubSpot does not allow HubL filters such as urlencode on personalization tokens in emails, so the raw value goes into the URL. Use a token whose values are URL-safe, or leave the token out.

Will the timer tick in Outlook?

The timer is an animated GIF. Classic Outlook for Windows can show only the first frame, which still shows the time remaining when the image was fetched; it just does not tick. Every other part of the email is unaffected.