Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Marketo vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Marketo's ROI varies; its value depends on business needs, setup quality, and may not suit email-focused strategies.
Sentiment score
6.5
Salesforce Marketing Cloud enhances marketing effectiveness through personalization, automation, and centralized data, although precise ROI figures remain elusive.
I have seen some return on investment with Salesforce Marketing Cloud through features such as reporting, automation, and Journey parts that save resources.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Marketo's customer service receives mixed reviews, with areas for improvement in technical support, response time, and communication.
Sentiment score
6.5
Salesforce Marketing Cloud's support quality varies by license, with premium support offering faster, more knowledgeable service than standard.
Salesforce customer service is excellent.
When facing technical issues such as coding, they provide valuable suggestions for my developer team.
I have communicated with the technical support of Salesforce Marketing Cloud and would give them a rating of 9.5 since they have resolved my issues most of the time and are quite responsive.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Marketo is highly scalable, handling large databases efficiently post-Adobe acquisition, despite longer Salesforce sync times and higher costs.
Sentiment score
7.8
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is highly scalable for various business sizes, integrating well with Salesforce CRM, though costly for smaller companies.
On a scale of one to ten, I rate its scalability at 9.5.
When more branches are opened for a dealer, or when the vehicle manufacturing company implements the software nationwide, the application needs to handle many changes and business rules smoothly.
When you deploy in clouds, they provide scalability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Marketo is reliable with minor disruptions, efficient syncing, and generally rated highly for stability despite occasional Salesforce delays.
Sentiment score
8.2
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is highly stable, reliable, and consistently improved, with minor issues mitigated by recommended Chrome usage.
Stability depends on the data center.
I have never experienced any issues with stability, outages, or downtime.
The maximum downtime I faced was about two to three hours.
 

Room For Improvement

Marketo users request improvements in UI, pricing, integration, analytics, support, scalability, and features for better efficiency and functionality.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud requires improved user experience, analytics, security, integration, pricing, and development environments with enhanced AI and CDP solutions.
Marketo filters are not very efficient, and timely updates or features could improve this aspect.
The user interface could be improved.
It takes the default language and doesn't accept custom language specifications, which creates discomfort in certain scenarios.
We cannot debug the AM Script or SSJS code, which makes code debugging manual.
There are inaccuracies in how AgentForce retrieves information or interprets data.
 

Setup Cost

Marketo's pricing varies by size and features, proving costly for small businesses but relatively affordable compared to some competitors.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is costly yet valuable for automated journeys, offering flexible, negotiable pricing models focused on enterprise needs.
The solution is cheaper than Alacor.
The pricing is around $10,000 per annum per user.
 

Valuable Features

Marketo excels in automation, Salesforce integration, user interface, analytics, support, integrations, and community training, enhancing marketing efficiency.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud excels in seamless automation and multichannel engagement, offering powerful analytics and integration for personalized marketing.
Marketo helps us segment leads into very specific buckets, allowing us to send the right email at the right time.
We are scoring based on behavior without pressure, and it keeps producing excellent results.
The feature of Salesforce Marketing Cloud that has had the largest impact on improving my campaign outcomes is the recent WhatsApp integration, which allows Salesforce to connect with subscribers through different channels such as SMS, email, or WhatsApp.
The integration of customer data across channels functions effectively because we also have Salesforce CRM and Velocity.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is definitely a good product, and the seamless integration between the CRM and the marketing is what really helps the sales and marketing team.
 

Categories and Ranking

Marketo
Ranking in Marketing Automation
2nd
Ranking in Marketing Management
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
26
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
7.4
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Social CRM (2nd), Social Media Management Solutions (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of Marketo is 11.7%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 19.4%, down from 23.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Automation Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Salesforce Marketing Cloud19.4%
Marketo11.7%
Other68.9%
Marketing Automation
 

Featured Reviews

PradeepKumar25 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Napitch K - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration challenges impact workflow efficiency
The features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud that I have found most valuable are the Journey Builder and Flow. These capabilities are valuable because they make managing automation easy. Automating customer journeys saves time when scheduling content through every channel, and we can set the automation in advance when planning marketing content. The AI-powered tools such as Salesforce Datorama and Einstein save time and have an impact on marketing strategy decisions for my customers. I have noticed a positive impact from Salesforce Marketing Cloud through customer feedback. For example, a customer mentioned after project completion that it had a significant impact on their marketing team by eliminating the need to hire additional staff for marketing content and planning.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Marketing Automation solutions are best for your needs.
872,029 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise29
 

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...
What needs improvement with Marketo?
The user interface could be improved. I would like to see an updated UI for 2025.
What is your primary use case for Marketo?
As a seasoned Marketo Expert with a decade of experience and a deep understanding of Adobe's ecosystem, I can confidently say that the primary use case for Marketo lies in empowering businesses wit...
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
I did not work on any pricing or implementation aspects but learned on my own when dealing with Revenue Cloud products.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Salesforce Marketing Cloud works effectively as a suite, best-of-suite solution. However, if you want to reuse specific components, it doesn't have the same solution flexibility since it's not micr...
 

Also Known As

No data available
ExactTarget
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Marketo vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,029 professionals have used our research since 2012.