Marketing automation has become an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes in today’s digital landscape.
With rapid technological advancements, marketing automation platforms have evolved significantly, offering features and capabilities that help businesses optimize their marketing efforts, save time, and improve customer experiences.
As the demand for these platforms grows, the market has become saturated with numerous options, making it challenging to choose the right one for your business.
In this comprehensive buyers guide, we will explore the 17 best marketing automation platforms of 2023, focusing on their features, pricing, and the businesses they cater to.
With this information, you’ll be well-equipped to choose the right platform to meet your marketing needs and achieve your business goals.
HubSpot Marketing Hub
HubSpot Marketing Hub is an all-in-one marketing automation platform for small to medium-sized businesses.
The platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools, including email marketing, landing pages, social media management, and analytics.
Its a user-friendly interface and seamless integration with the HubSpot CRM make it a popular choice for businesses looking to streamline their marketing processes.
Advantages:
User-friendly interface
A comprehensive suite of tools
Seamless integration with HubSpot CRM
Free plan available
Disadvantages:
Some advanced features only available in higher-priced plans
Limited customization capabilities
Free Trial: Yes, a 14-day free trial is available
Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $50/month
Marketo Engage
Marketo Engage, a product of Adobe, is a powerful marketing automation platform that caters to businesses of all sizes.
It offers various features, such as lead management, email marketing, multi-channel, and account-based marketing.
Its robust analytics and reporting capabilities make it a popular choice for businesses looking to optimize their marketing efforts and drive growth.
Advantages:
Robust analytics and reporting capabilities
Wide range of features
Scalable for businesses of all sizes
Part of the Adobe ecosystem
Disadvantages:
The higher learning curve for beginners
Custom pricing may be expensive for smaller businesses
Free Trial: No, but offers a demo upon request
Pricing: Custom pricing based on business needs
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a versatile marketing automation platform focusing on email marketing, CRM, and sales automation.
Its platform is known for its powerful automation capabilities, including creating complex workflows and triggering automation based on customer behavior.
ActiveCampaign offers comprehensive reporting and analytics tools that allow businesses to track and optimize their marketing efforts.
Advantages:
Powerful automation capabilities
Comprehensive reporting and analytics tools
Affordable pricing
Wide range of integrations
Disadvantages:
The user interface can be overwhelming for beginners
Limited native CRM functionality
Free Trial: Yes, a 14-day free trial is available
Pricing: Plans start at $15/month
Pardot
Pardot, a Salesforce product, is a B2B-focused marketing automation platform that offers a comprehensive suite of features, including email marketing, lead nurturing, landing pages, and more.
Its seamless integration with Salesforce CRM makes it an excellent choice for businesses looking to align their marketing and sales efforts.
Pardot is known for its advanced analytics capabilities, enabling businesses to effectively measure and optimize their marketing ROI.
Advantages:
Advanced analytics capabilities
Seamless integration with Salesforce CRM
B2B-focused features
Disadvantages:
Expensive, especially for smaller businesses
Limited options for third-party integrations
Free Trial: No, but offers a demo upon request
Pricing: Plans start at $1,250/month
Autopilot
Autopilot is a user-friendly marketing automation platform focusing on visual automation workflows, making it easy for businesses to create and manage their marketing campaigns.
The platform offers many features, including email marketing, SMS marketing, and in-app messaging.
Autopilot also provides detailed analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to track their marketing performance and make data-driven decisions.
Advantages:
User-friendly visual automation workflows
Wide range of features
Detailed analytics and reporting tools
Disadvantages:
Lacks advanced customization options
Limited native CRM functionality
Free Trial: Yes, a 30-day free trial is available
Pricing: Plans start at $49/month
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is a well-known marketing automation platform that specializes in email marketing.
In recent years, it has expanded its offerings to include features such as landing pages, social media marketing, and e-commerce integrations.
With its user-friendly interface and affordable pricing, Mailchimp is popular for small businesses and startups looking to automate their marketing efforts.
Advantages:
User-friendly interface
Affordable pricing
Free plan available
Extensive template library
Disadvantages:
Limited automation capabilities compared to other platforms
Advanced features only available in higher-priced plans
Free Trial: No, but it offers a free plan with basic features.
Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $9.99/month
SharpSpring
SharpSpring is a marketing automation platform that caters to small and medium-sized businesses and agencies.
Its platform offers many features, including email marketing, CRM, social media management, and analytics.
SharpSpring is known for its flexible pricing and white-label capabilities, making it an attractive option for agencies looking to offer marketing automation services to their clients.
With its robust analytics and reporting tools, businesses can effectively track and optimize their marketing efforts.
Advantages:
Flexible pricing and white-label capabilities
Wide range of features
Robust analytics and reporting tools
Disadvantages:
The user interface may be overwhelming for beginners
Limited options for third-party integrations
Free Trial: No, but offers a demo upon request
Pricing: Plans start at $550/month
SendinBlue
SendinBlue is a marketing automation platform that focuses on email and SMS marketing.
Its platform offers various features, including transactional emails, audience segmentation, and personalized content.
SendinBlue’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor and template library make it easy for businesses to create professional-looking emails and landing pages.
The platform also provides detailed analytics and reporting tools to help businesses optimize their marketing campaigns.
Advantages:
Intuitive drag-and-drop editor
Template library
Detailed analytics and reporting tools
Free plan available
Disadvantages:
Limited automation capabilities compared to other platforms
Lacks advanced customization options
Free Trial: No, but it offers a free plan with basic features.
Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $25/month
Omnisend
Omnisend is an e-commerce-focused marketing automation platform that offers a comprehensive suite of features, including email marketing, SMS marketing, and push notifications.
Its platform is designed to help e-commerce businesses increase their sales and improve customer retention through personalized and targeted marketing campaigns.
With its robust analytics and reporting capabilities, Omnisend enables businesses to measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions.
Advantages:
E-commerce-focused features
Robust analytics and reporting capabilities
Free plan available
Disadvantages:
Lacks advanced customization options
Limited options for third-party integrations
Free Trial: Yes, a 14-day free trial is available
Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $16/month
Drip
Drip is a marketing automation platform specializing in e-commerce, providing tools like email marketing, SMS marketing, and personalized content.
Its platform is designed to help e-commerce businesses increase their revenue by creating targeted and relevant marketing campaigns.
Drip’s advanced segmentation and automation capabilities make it easy for businesses to create personalized customer journeys based on their behavior and preferences.
Advantages:
E-commerce-focused features
Advanced segmentation and automation capabilities
Wide range of integrations
Disadvantages:
Limited native CRM functionality
Expensive for smaller businesses
Free Trial: Yes, a 14-day free trial is available
Pricing: Plans start at $19/month
Iterable
Iterable is a growth marketing platform that focuses on cross-channel marketing automation.
Its platform offers many features, including email marketing, SMS marketing, push notifications, and in-app messaging.
Iterable’s advanced segmentation and personalization capabilities make it an attractive option for businesses looking to create highly targeted marketing campaigns.
With its robust analytics and reporting tools, businesses can track their marketing performance and make data-driven decisions.
Advantages:
Cross-channel marketing automation
Advanced segmentation and personalization capabilities
Robust analytics and reporting tools
Disadvantages:
The higher learning curve for beginners
Custom pricing may be expensive for smaller businesses
Free Trial: Yes, a 14-day free trial is available
Pricing: Custom pricing based on business needs
GetResponse
GetResponse is a marketing automation platform offering various features, including email marketing, landing pages, webinars, and CRM.
Its user-friendly interface and extensive template library makes it easy for businesses to create professional-looking emails and landing pages.
GetResponse also provides detailed analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to track their marketing performance and optimize their campaigns.
Advantages:
User-friendly interface
Extensive template library
Detailed analytics and reporting tools
Disadvantages:
Limited automation capabilities compared to other platforms
Advanced features only available in higher-priced plans
Free Trial: Yes, a 30-day free trial is available
Pricing: Plans start at $15/month
Moosend
Moosend is a marketing automation platform specializing in email marketing, offering features such as email campaigns, automation workflows, and audience segmentation.
Its user-friendly interface and affordable pricing make it a popular choice for small businesses and startups.
Moosend also provides detailed analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to track their marketing performance and make data-driven decisions.
Advantages:
User-friendly interface
Affordable pricing
Free plan available
Detailed analytics and reporting tools
Disadvantages:
Limited automation capabilities compared to other platforms
Lacks advanced customization options
Free Trial: No, but it offers a free plan with basic features.
Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $8/month
Mautic
Mautic is an open-source marketing automation platform that offers a wide range of features, including email marketing, lead management, and social media marketing.
Its open-source nature allows businesses to customize the platform to meet their needs, making it an attractive option for companies with unique requirements or those looking for a cost-effective solution.
Mautic also offers robust analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling businesses to track their marketing performance and optimize their campaigns.
Advantages:
An Open-source platform allows for customization
Wide range of features
Robust analytics and reporting capabilities
Disadvantages:
The higher learning curve for beginners
Requires technical expertise to manage and customize
Free Trial: Not applicable, as it’s open-source and free to use
Pricing: Free to use; optional paid services available
Infusionsoft by Keap
Infusionsoft by Keap is a marketing automation platform for small businesses, offering features such as email marketing, CRM, and e-commerce tools.
Its platform is designed to help small businesses streamline their marketing efforts and improve customer relationships.
Infusionsoft’s advanced automation capabilities make it easy for businesses to create personalized customer journeys based on behavior and preferences.
Businesses can track their marketing performance and make data-driven decisions with its detailed analytics and reporting tools.
Advantages:
Designed for small businesses
Advanced automation capabilities
Wide range of integrations
Disadvantages:
Expensive for smaller businesses
Steeper learning curve compared to other platforms
Free Trial: Yes, a 14-day free trial is available
Pricing: Plans start at $79/month
Zoho Marketing Automation
Zoho Marketing Automation is part of the Zoho suite of business applications, offering a comprehensive range of features, including email marketing, lead nurturing, landing pages, and social media marketing.
Its seamless integration with other Zoho applications, such as CRM and SalesIQ, makes it an attractive option for businesses seeking a unified marketing and sales solution.
Zoho Marketing Automation also provides advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing businesses to effectively measure and optimize their marketing efforts.
Advantages:
Seamless integration with other Zoho applications
Wide range of features
Advanced analytics and reporting capabilities
Disadvantages:
The user interface can be overwhelming for beginners
Limited options for third-party integrations
Free Trial: Yes, a 30-day free trial is available
Pricing: Plans start at $20/month
Act-On
Act-On is a marketing automation platform that caters to small and medium-sized businesses, offering a wide range of features, including email marketing, lead management, and analytics.
Its user-friendly interface and extensive integrations allow businesses to streamline their marketing processes and improve customer experiences.
Act-On is known for its advanced segmentation and personalization capabilities, enabling businesses to create highly targeted marketing campaigns that drive growth.
Advantages:
User-friendly interface
Extensive integrations
Advanced segmentation and personalization capabilities
Disadvantages:
Expensive for smaller businesses
Limited native CRM functionality
Free Trial: Yes, a 30-day free trial is available
Pricing: Plans start at $900/month
Selecting the right marketing automation platform for your business can be daunting, given the many options available in the market.
However, by considering your business size, marketing needs, budget, and integration requirements, you can narrow your choices and find the perfect platform to help you achieve your marketing goals.
This comprehensive buyers guide has highlighted the 17 best marketing automation platforms of 2023, providing insights into their features, pricing, and target audience.
As you evaluate your options, keep in mind the unique needs of your business and the specific goals you aim to achieve through marketing automation.
By doing so, you’ll be well on your way to selecting the right platform and driving your business to new heights.