Marketo vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud comparison

Adobe and Salesforce are both solutions in the Marketing Automation category. Adobe is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4, while Salesforce is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6. Adobe holds a 15.8% mindshare in MA, compared to Salesforce’s 22.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Adobe users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

Marketo

Read 25 Marketo reviews

2,281 Views
1,797 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Read 55 Salesforce Marketing Cloud reviews

4,509 Views
2,688 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Marketo

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 2025

Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketo are leading platforms in marketing automation, often compared by businesses for their features and capabilities. Salesforce Marketing Cloud stands out for its advanced functionalities like lead conversion and multi-channel campaigns. However, many choose Marketo for integration strengths and detailed analytics, with mid-sized businesses finding it more cost-effective.

Features: Salesforce Marketing Cloud boasts Journey Builder for multi-channel campaigns, Content Builder for centralized content management, and Advertising Studio for syncing customer data across platforms. Its users benefit from rich automation and customizations. Marketo offers Smart Campaigns, seamless third-party integrations, and detailed tracking via analytics, all of which enhance its campaign flexibility and user engagement.

Room for Improvement: Salesforce users often call for advancements in real-time analytics, user interface simplicity, and more straightforward setup documentation. Marketo users seek better reporting features, speed enhancements, and more intuitive campaign modification processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both platforms utilize the public cloud for deployment, while Marketo offers some on-premises options. Salesforce's customer support receives mixed reviews with quicker responses for premium plans, while Marketo users report challenges during renewal but generally find their support satisfactory.

Pricing and ROI: Salesforce Marketing Cloud is positioned at the higher end of the pricing spectrum but promises substantial ROI for larger enterprises due to its sophisticated features. Marketo is priced more affordably for mid-sized businesses and offers scalable packages with proven ROI, though users face challenges with pricing renewals.

To learn more, read our detailed Marketo vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Marketo vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Marketo

Ranking in Marketing Automation

3rd

Ranking in Marketing Management

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Ranking in Marketing Automation

1st

Ranking in Marketing Management

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Social CRM (2nd), Social Media Management Solutions (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of Marketo is 15.8%, down from 16.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 22.3%, down from 25.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Marketing Automation

Featured Reviews

PradeepKumar25

Associate Manager at Tech Mahindra Limited

Useful for lead capture and engagement across social media platforms

Before Marketo, I worked on the Oracle Eloqua platform, both B2B-based. Currently, I'm working on Salesforce Marketing Cloud. So, these are the three platforms on which I have good hands-on expertise. One key reason platforms like Salesforce Marketing Cloud are gaining traction is that they invest in marketing campaigns. They conduct many virtual and live events, aggressively marketing their products. This strategy convinces C-suite executives to buy into and implement the Salesforce platform, something that other bigger platforms lack. Most companies are migrating to Salesforce. I've migrated one of my projects from Marketo to Salesforce and encountered many opportunities where companies want to migrate from Marketo, HubSpot, or Oracle Eloqua to Salesforce. I've worked on Oracle Eloqua, which is also a B2B platform, and I've also worked on Marketo. The lead scoring, table structure, and rules we apply are quite straightforward compared to Marketo. In Marketo, it's a bit clumsy. Regarding lead scoring or moving leads through the sales funnel, Oracle Eloqua is better, but it's a bit pricey. So, Marketo ranks second in lead scoring or managing leads, and it highly depends on the respective CRM. The tool tracks significant events, such as form fills on websites or social media handles. All this data is captured and stored in Marketo for analysis. Marketo Analytics is connected with Adobe Analytics. This integration offers detailed reports on total clicks, views, form fills, subscriptions, lead conversions, and more. It's straightforward compared to Oracle Eloqua, which has its own Oracle Business Intelligence suite.Marketo's reporting tools are easy to use, making it a plug-and-play solution for anyone.

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SantoshKrishna

Director at BMO Financial

Easy to deploy, stable, and scalable

The encryption and decryption have room for improvement. We need to be confident that the customer's data is secure when shared outside of the organization. I would like to request additional mobile app features that go beyond push notifications. As the mobile development industry continues to advance with new technologies, such as AI components, it is important to consider these advancements when setting up campaigns. Currently, campaigns are scheduled to be sent to customers at a prescribed time, but they may not be relevant to the customer unless they see them as valuable. For example, if I want to run a campaign offering loans, I would need to consider the customer's needs and balance. In the future, I hope Salesforce can incorporate an AI component that utilizes the shared data, rather than just scheduling campaigns.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable feature of this solution is Smart Campaigns."

"The most valuable features are the Marketo emails, both sending and tracking."

"The most valuable feature is the scoring."

"One feature I like is the user interface. Compared to other tools I've used, it's much more friendly and easy to navigate. Additionally, it offers a wide range of features, which makes tasks like segmenting data much simpler."

"The valuable features are list uploads, email campaigns, generating reports,source tracking, and lead attribution."

"I have a good special setup and a huge NetFlow to the sales channel."

"It's pretty good at handling customization and templates. We can put in different variables, so even someone without coding knowledge can create and develop emails that look good on different browsers."

"I like that the solution is flexible."

More Marketo pros

"It makes it easy for a business to use any module based on their preference."

"The notification system for customer alerts, including the integration of various communication channels such as email, SMS, and mobile push, is excellent."

"The most valuable features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud are that it performs well and gives me what I need. It's the most friendly interface system for CRM I've worked with. Additionally, it integrates fairly well with different kinds of AI and ML to allow you to receive more out of your application."

"The ability to automate processes is one of the most valuable features of Salesforce. This sets it part from other systems. We use the journey builder to design a fully automated journey."

"The most valuable feature of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the seamless conversion of lead to opportunity, in relation to orders is good. That seamless connection is beneficial and simple."

"We haven't had any issues with integration."

"The most valuable feature of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the ability to sell the products we have made to customers. Overall the solution is very useful for business."

"The most valuable features of Salesforce are the automation and the ability to create dashboards which provide a wider picture of what is going on."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pros

Cons

"Some modern Marketo features could be improved."

"Marketo should give more power to the users for data manipulation."

"There is a bit of room for improvement in the level-one support team. It relies too much on documentation."

"I have encountered issues when I had to use filters repeatedly. It would have been helpful if I could duplicate them directly, instead of dragging them. Also, having an option to save filters for future use would have saved a lot of time, especially when dealing with multiple filters."

"Based on my clients ' comments, there is room for improvement in Marketo. For instance, Oracle's Eloqua had much larger databases than Marketo a few years ago, handling millions of records. Marketo has been catching up but doesn't hold the most extensive possible databases. This is less of an issue for B2B, but for B2C customers, who have millions of records, It also lacks features of HubSpot, which should be incorporated. Marketo could benefit from supporting more extensive databases and incorporating some of HubSpot's features. HubSpot is cheaper, and while Marketo is not the most expensive, it's not the least. They would be a better competitor to HubSpot if their pricing were lower. These products are typically priced per user per month."

"Revenue management, attribution, and ABM can all be improved."

"It could be more scalable."

"For the moment, we migrated some of our processes to Marketo and implemented them there. We had some difficulties related to this."

More Marketo cons

"In a future release it would be great to have the ability to connect the data from social media and email marketing and have it in one dashboard."

"We would like an improvement to the 'Einstein Engagement Frequency'; the optimal range of emails that our subscribers will engage with."

"The solution can be difficult to set up for non-technical individuals."

"Marketing Cloud's forecasting could be improved."

"We have struggled to get resolution of support tickets from the Salesforce team."

"The general setup and understanding of how to use it can be improved. There should be easier self-service for setting up dashboards. Currently, we have someone setting them up for us. I wish it was easier."

"The pricing is a bit high."

"The solution can have a better UI. Salesforce Marketing Cloud should consider making its solution more robust for error handling."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'm not sure about the cost because I don't get into this aspect. Clients normally take care of that. I only know that it is costly, and I don't think there are any additional costs to the licensing."

"It is expensive. We have a yearly license."

"Marketo is used a lot because it's cheaper and preferred by many firms."

"Marketo is too expensive for a small-sized company but more affordable for a larger-sized company."

"The initial pricing was excellent, but the pricing for renewals is not as good."

"Marketo's pricing depends on the number of contacts and the level of features you need. Compared to other platforms like Oracle Eloqua and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketo is generally more affordable. Like other platforms, it offers different packages based on your needs."

"The fee for Marketo includes the number of users and the database size. If we ask for a unique feature, it will cost extra."

"The licensing cost usually depends on the users."

More Marketo pricing and cost advice

"The solution is paid for monthly."

"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is affordable, considering the significant improvements it brings to our campaign results."

"It is a license per user."

"I don't know if my company pays for Salesforce Marketing Cloud monthly or yearly. It's a SaaS, so it's a recurring cost, but I have no information on its price."

"We did a yearly license. We negotiated and got a great deal. I don't think we would have gotten far with the regular price, but they negotiated, so it was worth that."

"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a highly expensive solution, it needs to be less expensive. We are on an annual license to use the solution."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"The solution is a bit expensive."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Educational Organization

59%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Marketo?

One of the most important things about Marketo is its focus on GDPR compliance. It helps you follow GDPR and CAN-SPAM rules. For example, with Marketo, I won't accidentally target audiences without...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Marketo?

Customer support could be more helpful. The reporting could be better, with more engaging reports and the ability to collaborate more objects, like opportunities. Incorporating AI features similar ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Marketo?

We use Marketo to provide complex solutions that can be easily implemented. It is a great tool for managing lead databases.

See all answers

What do you like most about Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

Datorama is part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is quite a valuable feature that provides customer analytics.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

The solution's pricing is very high and should be more flexible for smaller companies.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

I would like to see more ways to accomplish specific tasks. Instead of having one set method, there should be multiple options available. Additionally, sometimes the integration between Salesforce ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Oracle Eloqua vs Marketo

Compared 17% of the time

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Marketo

Compared 16% of the time

SAP Marketing Cloud vs Marketo

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs Marketo

Compared 6% of the time

Teradata vs Marketo

Compared 6% of the time

More Marketo Competitors

Oracle Eloqua vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 13% of the time

SAP Marketing Cloud vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 11% of the time

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 10% of the time

Zeta Marketing Platform vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 6% of the time

Amazon Pinpoint vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 6% of the time

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Marketo

January 2025

Download Marketo product report

Buyer's Guide

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

December 2024

Download Salesforce Marketing Cloud product report

Also Known As

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Adobe

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Salesforce

Overview

Marketo is an all-in-one marketing solution that was created by marketers for marketers. Founded in 2007, Marketo is branded as marketing software that is easy, powerful and complete.

Organizations have access to multiple marketing and sales tools when they use this solution, such as Marketing Automation, Consumer Engagement Marketing, Real-Time Personalization, and Marketing Management.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a comprehensive marketing automation platform that enables businesses to create personalized and targeted marketing campaigns across multiple channels.

With its robust set of tools and features, marketers can easily manage and automate their email marketing, social media advertising, mobile messaging, and customer journey mapping.

The platform offers advanced segmentation capabilities, allowing marketers to segment their audience based on various criteria and deliver tailored messages to each segment.

Additionally, Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides powerful analytics and reporting features, enabling marketers to track the performance of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

With its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with other Salesforce products, Marketing Cloud offers a seamless and efficient marketing automation solution for businesses of all sizes.

Sample Customers

Marketo has a customer base of thousands of companies, including Sony, Citrix, BrightTALK, Curves International, HootSuite, Hyundai, SanDisk, and Samsung Electronics.

American Express, Financial Conduct Authority, KPN, Merck KGaA, Peterborough City Council, The Chapar, ADP, Financial Times, Stanley Black & Decker, SureFlap, Western Union, Philips

Buyer's Guide

Marketo vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

January 2025

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