WhatsAppHow we review: Ratings are editorial scores based on vendor documentation, published pricing and recurring themes in public user reviews. No vendor paid for placement and we earn no affiliate commission. Prices change often — confirm on each vendor's site.
The best marketing automation software for most growing businesses is HubSpot Marketing Hub, because it ties automation to a native CRM. ActiveCampaign offers the deepest automation for the price, Klaviyo leads for ecommerce, and Marketo or Salesforce Account Engagement suit enterprise B2B teams.
Marketing automation goes beyond sending newsletters: it triggers messages from behavior, scores leads and hands them to sales. If you only need campaigns, our list of email marketing software may be enough. If you want automation connected to sales data, it pays to plan CRM and marketing automation together from the start.
Quick picks: the best marketing automation software at a glance
Here are all 12 platforms with their best use and starting price.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price* |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | All-in-one with native CRM | Free; Pro from $890/mo |
| ActiveCampaign | Deep SMB automation | From $15/mo |
| Brevo | Budget multichannel | Free; from $9/mo |
| Mailchimp | Getting started with email | Free; from $13/mo |
| Klaviyo | Ecommerce brands | Free; from $20/mo |
| Omnisend | Shopify stores | Free; from $16/mo |
| Adobe Marketo Engage | Enterprise B2B | Quote-based |
| Salesforce Account Engagement | B2B on Salesforce | See vendor |
| Customer.io | SaaS lifecycle messaging | From $100/mo |
| Keap | Small service businesses | See vendor |
| GetResponse | Email, pages and webinars | Free plan |
| Zapier | Connecting marketing apps | Free; from $19.99/mo |
*Prices checked October 2026 on vendor sites and recent reviews; they change often, so confirm on the vendor’s pricing page.
How we chose and rated these tools
We scored each platform on features and fit (30%), ease of use (20%), pricing and value (20%), integrations and API (15%), and support and reliability (15%). Features covered workflow builders, segmentation, lead scoring, channels and reporting.
Ratings are editorial scores based on vendor documentation, published pricing and common themes in public user reviews on G2 and Capterra. They are not paid placements and not lab benchmarks. Prices were checked in October 2026.
The 12 best marketing automation platforms in 2026
1. HubSpot Marketing Hub — best for all-in-one inbound marketing tied to a native CRM
HubSpot Marketing Hub combines email, workflows, forms, landing pages, ads, social and reporting on top of HubSpot’s free CRM. Because marketing and sales share one database, lead handoff and attribution are simpler than with stitched-together tools.
It suits B2B and B2C teams that want one platform and are willing to pay more as they grow. Teams with other core systems often rely on a HubSpot integration to keep data in sync.
Key features
- Visual workflow builder
- Email marketing and personalization
- Forms, landing pages and CTAs
- Lead scoring
- Ads and social tools
- Attribution and campaign reporting
Pricing: A free plan is available; Professional starts from $890/month billed annually. Visit HubSpot Marketing Hub
Pros
- CRM and marketing in one place
- Easy to use for marketers
- Large app marketplace
Cons
- Professional tier is a big price jump
- Costs grow with contacts
- Some advanced features need Enterprise
What users say: Reviewers often praise ease of use, training resources and the unified CRM. The most common complaint is price, especially the jump from Starter to Professional.
2. ActiveCampaign — best for SMBs that want deep email automation and journey builders
ActiveCampaign is known for flexible automation: multi-branch journeys triggered by behavior, tags, site visits and deal stages. It includes email, a light CRM and integrations with many ecommerce and SaaS tools.
It suits small and mid-size businesses that want sophisticated automation without enterprise pricing.
Key features
- Visual automation builder with branching
- Email campaigns and segmentation
- Site and event tracking
- Built-in CRM and deal pipelines
- Lead scoring
- Large integration library
Pricing: From $15/month billed annually; price scales with contacts and plan. Visit ActiveCampaign
Pros
- Powerful automation for the price
- Many pre-built recipes
- Good deliverability reputation
Cons
- Learning curve for complex automations
- Reporting is less advanced than enterprise tools
- Costs rise with list size
What users say: Users often praise the depth of automation and value. Complaints commonly mention the learning curve and pricing changes as lists grow.
3. Brevo — best for budget multichannel email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offers email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat and basic automation. Its pricing is based mainly on email volume rather than contacts, which can suit businesses with large lists that send less often.
It is a cost-effective choice for small businesses that want several channels in one tool.
Key features
- Email campaigns and transactional email
- SMS and WhatsApp campaigns
- Automation workflows
- Landing pages and forms
- Live chat
- Simple CRM
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $9/month. Visit Brevo
Pros
- Affordable multichannel
- Pricing by sends rather than contacts
- Transactional email included
Cons
- Automation is less advanced than ActiveCampaign
- Template editor is basic
- Reporting is simpler
What users say: Reviewers often highlight value for money and easy setup. Common complaints mention limited automation depth and occasional deliverability concerns.
4. Mailchimp — best for small businesses starting with email marketing automation
Mailchimp, owned by Intuit, is one of the best-known email platforms. It offers templates, segmentation, customer journeys and basic ecommerce automations.
It suits small businesses getting started with automated email, though growing teams often compare it with alternatives on price and automation depth.
Key features
- Drag-and-drop email builder
- Customer journey builder
- Audience segmentation
- Landing pages and forms
- Ecommerce integrations
- Basic reporting
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $13/month. Visit Mailchimp
Pros
- Very easy to get started
- Well-known brand and many integrations
- Good templates
Cons
- Costs climb quickly with contacts
- Automation is less flexible than specialist tools
- Free plan is limited
What users say: Users often like how easy it is to use. Complaints commonly concern pricing increases and limits on the free and lower tiers.
5. Klaviyo — best for ecommerce brands using purchase data for email and SMS
Klaviyo is built for ecommerce. It pulls in order, browse and product data from Shopify and other platforms, then uses it to power segmented email and SMS flows such as abandoned cart, browse abandonment and win-back.
It suits online stores that want revenue-focused automation and strong reporting.
Key features
- Deep Shopify and ecommerce integrations
- Pre-built ecommerce flows
- Email and SMS
- Predictive analytics
- Product recommendations
- Revenue attribution reports
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $20/month. Visit Klaviyo
Pros
- Best-in-class ecommerce data
- Strong revenue reporting
- Many ready-made flows
Cons
- Expensive at large list sizes
- Less suited to B2B
- Can be complex for beginners
What users say: Reviewers often praise segmentation and revenue tracking. Common complaints focus on pricing as lists grow.
6. Omnisend — best for Shopify and ecommerce stores wanting simple email and SMS automation
Omnisend is an ecommerce marketing platform that covers email, SMS and push notifications with pre-built automations. It is often seen as a simpler, lower-cost option for smaller stores.
It suits Shopify and other online stores that want effective automation without heavy setup.
Key features
- Pre-built ecommerce automations
- Email and SMS
- Web push notifications
- Product picker for emails
- Segmentation
- Signup forms and popups
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $16/month. Visit Omnisend
Pros
- Easy for store owners
- Good value
- Multichannel included
Cons
- Less advanced analytics than Klaviyo
- Ecommerce focus only
- Fewer integrations than larger platforms
What users say: Users often mention ease of use and helpful support. Complaints tend to concern limits in advanced segmentation and reporting.
7. Adobe Marketo Engage — best for enterprise B2B lead management and account-based marketing
Adobe Marketo Engage is an enterprise marketing automation platform focused on B2B lead management, scoring, nurturing, ABM and revenue attribution. It integrates with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics and with Adobe Experience Cloud.
It suits large B2B marketing teams with marketing operations specialists.
Key features
- Advanced lead scoring and nurturing
- Account-based marketing
- Engagement programs
- Revenue attribution
- CRM sync with Salesforce and Dynamics
- Adobe Experience Cloud integration
Pricing: Quote-based. Visit Adobe Marketo Engage
Pros
- Highly capable for complex B2B
- Scales to large databases
- Strong CRM sync
Cons
- Requires skilled admins
- Expensive
- Interface feels dated to some users
What users say: Reviewers often praise its power and flexibility. Common complaints mention complexity, cost and a dated user interface.
8. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement — best for B2B teams on Salesforce needing lead scoring and nurturing
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, formerly Pardot, is Salesforce’s B2B marketing automation product. It provides lead scoring and grading, nurture programs, forms and landing pages, with native Salesforce CRM integration.
It suits B2B companies that already run Salesforce CRM.
Key features
- Lead scoring and grading
- Engagement Studio nurture programs
- Forms and landing pages
- Native Salesforce CRM integration
- B2B marketing analytics
- Email marketing
Pricing: Paid plans — see the vendor for current pricing. Visit Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
Pros
- Tight Salesforce integration
- Strong B2B scoring
- Trusted by sales teams
Cons
- Best only if you use Salesforce
- Setup can be complex
- Pricing is high for small teams
What users say: Users often value the Salesforce connection. Complaints commonly concern the learning curve, interface and cost.
9. Customer.io — best for SaaS and product teams sending behavior-triggered messages
Customer.io is a messaging automation platform built around product events. Teams send in-app usage data, then trigger email, push, SMS and in-app messages based on what users do.
It suits SaaS and app companies with technical teams that want data-driven lifecycle messaging.
Key features
- Event-based campaign triggers
- Email, push, SMS and in-app messages
- Visual workflow builder
- Segmentation on user attributes
- APIs and data pipelines
- A/B testing
Pricing: Paid plans start from $100/month. Visit Customer.io
Pros
- Flexible event-driven automation
- Strong APIs
- Good for product-led growth
Cons
- Needs developer involvement
- Not built for B2B lead scoring
- Higher entry price
What users say: Reviewers often praise flexibility and documentation. Common complaints mention the technical setup required and pricing as volume grows.
10. Keap — best for small service businesses combining CRM, sales and automation
Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) combines CRM, email marketing, automation, appointments, invoicing and payments for small businesses. Its automation builder links marketing and sales follow-up.
It suits coaches, consultants and service businesses that want one tool to manage clients and follow-ups.
Key features
- CRM and pipelines
- Automation builder
- Email and SMS
- Appointment booking
- Invoices and payments
- Landing pages and forms
Pricing: Paid plans — see the vendor for current pricing. Visit Keap
Pros
- All-in-one for small service firms
- Strong automation for sales follow-up
- Payments built in
Cons
- Pricier than email-only tools
- Learning curve
- Fewer integrations than larger platforms
What users say: Users often value having CRM and automation together. Complaints commonly mention cost and the time needed to learn the system.
11. GetResponse — best for email, landing pages and webinars in one tool
GetResponse offers email marketing, automation, landing pages, a website builder and webinars. It is a practical choice for marketers who run lead generation through content and webinars.
It suits small businesses, creators and course sellers who want several marketing tools in one subscription.
Key features
- Email marketing and autoresponders
- Automation workflows
- Landing pages
- Webinars
- Conversion funnels
- Signup forms
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans scale with contacts and features — see vendor. Visit GetResponse
Pros
- Webinars built in
- Good set of lead-gen tools
- Reasonable pricing
Cons
- Automation features vary by plan
- Interface can feel busy
- Reporting is moderate
What users say: Reviewers often appreciate the breadth of features. Common complaints mention plan limits and occasional usability issues.
12. Zapier — best for connecting marketing apps with no-code workflow automation
Zapier is not a marketing platform but a no-code automation tool that connects thousands of apps. Marketing teams use it to send form leads to a CRM, notify sales in Slack, sync lists between tools, and more.
It complements any platform on this list when you need data to move between apps that do not integrate natively.
Key features
- Thousands of app integrations
- Multi-step workflows (Zaps)
- Filters, paths and formatting
- Webhooks
- Tables and interfaces
- AI-assisted workflow building
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $19.99/month. Visit Zapier
Pros
- Connects almost any app
- No code needed
- Fast to set up
Cons
- Not a replacement for marketing automation
- Task-based pricing can get expensive
- Complex workflows can be hard to debug
What users say: Users often praise how quickly it connects tools. Complaints commonly concern costs at high volume and troubleshooting failed tasks.
Marketing automation platforms compared
| Platform | Free plan | Built-in CRM | Main channels | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | Yes | Yes | Email, ads, social | B2B and B2C |
| ActiveCampaign | No | Yes | Email, SMS | SMB |
| Brevo | Yes | Basic | Email, SMS, WhatsApp | SMB |
| Mailchimp | Yes | No | Small business | |
| Klaviyo | Yes | No | Email, SMS | Ecommerce |
| Omnisend | Yes | No | Email, SMS, push | Ecommerce |
| Adobe Marketo Engage | No | Via CRM sync | Email, web | Enterprise B2B |
| Salesforce Account Engagement | No | Salesforce | B2B | |
| Customer.io | No | No | Email, push, SMS, in-app | SaaS |
| Keap | No | Yes | Email, SMS | Service SMB |
| GetResponse | Yes | No | Email, webinars | Creators and SMB |
| Zapier | Yes | No | App connections | Any team |
How to choose marketing automation software
Choose based on your sales model and the data you have, not the longest feature list:
- Business model: ecommerce brands need order data (Klaviyo, Omnisend); B2B teams need lead scoring and CRM sync (HubSpot, Marketo, Account Engagement); SaaS teams need product events (Customer.io).
- CRM fit: decide whether you want a built-in CRM or deep sync with an existing one.
- Channels: list the channels you will actually use: email, SMS, WhatsApp, push, ads or in-app.
- Workflow depth: test branching, wait conditions and goals with one of your real journeys.
- Pricing model: compare contact-based and send-based pricing at your list size in 12–24 months.
- Reporting: check attribution, revenue reporting and whether you can export data to your own warehouse.
- Team skills: enterprise tools usually need a dedicated marketing ops person.
- Deliverability and compliance: look for authentication setup, consent management and unsubscribe handling.
When off-the-shelf marketing automation is not enough
Most teams outgrow their setup not because the platform lacks features, but because data is spread across a CRM, an ecommerce store, a product database and ad platforms. Automation is only as good as the data feeding it.
Integration usually comes first. HubSpot users can extend the platform with HubSpot integrations, and Zapier covers simple connections. When volumes grow or logic gets complex, custom integrations through the vendor APIs are more reliable.
Reporting is the second common gap. Built-in dashboards rarely join marketing, sales and finance data, so many teams add marketing analytics dashboards or feed data into BI tools for true ROI reporting.
Before commissioning custom work, weigh build vs buy for marketing tools. If you want help scoping integrations or dashboards, you can get a quote.
Final verdict
HubSpot Marketing Hub is the best all-round choice when you want CRM and automation together, and ActiveCampaign is the best value for small and mid-size businesses that want powerful journeys. Brevo and Mailchimp are the easiest budget starting points.
Ecommerce brands should choose Klaviyo for data depth or Omnisend for simplicity. Enterprise B2B teams should shortlist Marketo Engage, or Account Engagement if they run Salesforce. SaaS companies should look at Customer.io, service businesses at Keap, webinar-led marketers at GetResponse, and every team can use Zapier to fill integration gaps.
