In HubSpot, a countdown goes into an HTML module in the drag-and-drop email editor. Create the timer here, copy the HTML and paste it into that module. Don't upload the GIF as an image: HubSpot would store a copy that never changes. For a per-contact deadline, add ?rid={{ contact.hs_object_id }} to the URL.
In HubSpot, a countdown goes into an HTML module in the marketing email editor. You paste a table holding the timer image and HubSpot sends it as is. The image is requested from our server every time someone opens the email, which is why it always shows the time remaining.
Based on HubSpot's official documentation, reviewed on October 1, 2026.
The generator is already set up for this page. Change what you need and press Create timer.
Animated GIF. Recalculated every time the email is opened.
HTML module. HubSpot's developer docs list it as the email module for adding your own HTML. It's the one we recommend.
Not the image module. HubSpot's knowledge base explains that the image module pulls the image from the files tool, either uploaded or picked from there. If you upload the GIF, HubSpot stores a copy with the frame from that moment, and the timer stops counting.
Plan. The marketing email editor is available on every plan. HubSpot's documentation doesn't say which plans include the HTML module in marketing emails. Guides from other countdown tools say it takes Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, so if the module doesn't show up in your account, check your plan.
The code has its & escaped and the background color set on both the table and the cell, so there are no white edges.
Emails sent by a workflow are created as automated emails. According to HubSpot, those are only available with Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise.
With a fixed date, the workflow can send it on any day and the GIF will show what's left until that date. For individual deadlines (a trial that expires 7 days after signup, a 48-hour coupon), use an evergreen timer with the contact token.
An evergreen timer counts a duration from a starting point:
For the second option, add the contact ID to the image URL inside the code:
https://kauntodaun.com/t/k3x9q2m7ab.gif?rid={{ contact.hs_object_id }}
HubSpot documents that you reach a contact property with contact. followed by its internal name, and hs_object_id is the internal name of the Record ID. HubSpot's documentation doesn't spell out whether tokens are replaced inside an email HTML module, so check it with a test send (below). If the token arrives unreplaced, the engine ignores it and the timer counts from the open, so nothing breaks.
The alternative, {{ contact.email }}, puts the email address in the image URL, where servers along the way could log it. We hash it, but it's better not to send it.
See also the guides for Klaviyo, Mailchimp and Shopify Email. For dated campaigns, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday countdowns are ready to go.
We haven't found one in HubSpot's official documentation for marketing emails. The usual approach is to paste an external image that's rendered at open, like ours, into an HTML module.
The marketing email editor is on every plan. Automated emails for workflows require Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, according to HubSpot. For the HTML module, several third-party guides say you need Professional or Enterprise; we haven't confirmed that.
The image module pulls the image from HubSpot's files tool, either uploaded or picked from there. An uploaded image is a copy: it keeps the frame from the moment you uploaded it, and the timer stops counting.
{{ contact.hs_object_id }}. HubSpot documents the contact. syntax followed by a property's internal name, and hs_object_id is the internal name of the Record ID. We use it instead of the email so no personal data ends up in the URL.
Send a test email as a specific contact and open it twice a few minutes apart. The second open should show less time.
Microsoft says Outlook for Microsoft 365, 2021 and 2024 play animated GIFs when Windows animations are on. If they're off, the reader sees the first frame, which in our GIF already shows the time left.