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Oracle Eloqua 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle Eloqua
Ranking in Marketing Automation
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Ranking in Marketing Automation
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Social CRM (2nd), Marketing Management (1st), Social Media Management Solutions (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of Oracle Eloqua is 9.8%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 22.1%, down from 25.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Aniket Sukale - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers the ability to create lesser campaigns and drip campaigns, flexible to use and robust
Eloqua's reporting is very strong. Oracle, by default, provides many out-of-the-box reports – probably more than 150 – that cover the most common use cases. Additionally, there's a feature called Insight, where you can build customized reports without any coding. These reports can be scheduled for delivery to your inbox at regular intervals – monthly, weekly, etc.
SantoshKrishna - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable."
"The solution is good for B2B email marketing."
"The ease of maintenance is the most valuable feature."
"The solution's engine framework is quite simple, giving you the agility you need in the business."
"I've used other marketing automation tools, like Marketo, that require more technical knowledge. Eloqua is straightforward and user-friendly."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"​Lead scoring is very useful for both measuring the effectiveness of campaigns as well as deciding which leads to send sales’ way."
"Lead scoring has helped with the process of qualifying leads."
"It is easy to send emails and SMS's."
"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."
"I like the user interface it has a nice look and feel."
"Salesforce allows for the integration of different data sources."
"I think the product's best feature is its analytics, as that's where customers derive value. The second thing is its ease of implementation."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud's integrations are seamless since it is a native application. It helps us with B2B and B2C send-outs and can handle large columns."
"The most valuable feature is the 'Accelerators', which are expert-taught subject matter webinars on items such as personalization of emails and SMS to contacts and prospects."
"Marketing Cloud has improved our productivity and our team enjoy using it."
 

Cons

"The cost of the solution has room for improvement."
"This product hasn't kept up to date on features."
"The solution could improve by having a more user-friendly interface."
"There are some things where improvement is needed. For me, it would be great if they integrated a tool like AI configuration capabilities within Eloqua itself."
"The product's initial setup process could be better."
"Eloqua doesn't have built-in features for WhatsApp marketing or SMS functionality."
"The solution should consider adding functionality related to event listening, such as webhooks."
"The solution does not have a good database architecture."
"When you use your iPhone or Android phone, Salesforce is not as user-friendly as it could be. That UX needs to be improved."
"An additional feature needed would be better capacity for personalization."
"The cost is always a concern for anyone using a SaaS product."
"If you want to use advanced features in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, they are extremely difficult to use."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud could improve by having more graphical options because a lot of tables are now only numbers and percentages and data. I prefer graphs, lines, and pie charts. I know there are ways to receive this from Salesforce Marketing Cloud. It doesn't play a huge role in my daily work to invest the time to figure it out. I feel that it would be time wasted. They could make the graphical options easier to find and use in the future."
"The processing speed, the way information displays, and scrolling options can be improved."
"We have struggled to get resolution of support tickets from the Salesforce team."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud should be linked to an email ID, so the features after 15 days can update on the opportunity. You should not have to update them manually to the next step."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Oracle Eloqua's pricing is medium."
"The tool is pricey compared to products like Marketo."
"Oracle Eloqua can be expensive compared to alternatives."
"Our licensing costs are yearly."
"The solution is expensive."
"Oracle Eloqua is quite an affordable solution."
"It's quite expensive."
"The licensing cost for the solution is on a yearly basis."
"It's not cheap, which is why I recommend that you use Marketing Cloud to create automated journeys. If you plan to use Marketing Cloud just to send emails, use another tool."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is affordable, considering the significant improvements it brings to our campaign results."
"Salesforce has different versions of the solution and some are more suitable for smaller clients. However, Salesforce is expensive."
"My company pays to use this solution."
"We have two types of licensing. We have a yearly license for end users and we have a concurrent login for selling."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a highly expensive solution, it needs to be less expensive. We are on an annual license to use the solution."
"Its licensing is on an annual basis. Customers are okay with its licensing cost, and they don't find it expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
79%
Computer Software Company
4%
Financial Services Firm
3%
Manufacturing Company
2%
Educational Organization
60%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Oracle Eloqua?
Eloqua doesn't have built-in features for WhatsApp marketing or SMS functionality. They provide SMS, but you need to purchase it as an add-on. It would also be helpful to have a social media manage...
What is your primary use case for Oracle Eloqua?
We generally use it for B2B (business-to-business) marketing automation. We can build customer journeys and generate emails. And we can do email marketing. It also has the ability to create Lead ca...
What do you like most about Oracle Eloqua?
I've used other marketing automation tools, like Marketo, that require more technical knowledge. Eloqua is straightforward and user-friendly.
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 needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
In the SMS area, it is not up to the mark, compared to what has been developed for email.
 

Also Known As

Eloqua, Oracle Marketing Cloud
ExactTarget
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Thomson Reuters, The Dow Chemical Company, Avid, LifeSize, and Avalara.
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 Oracle Eloqua vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.