No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Act-On Software vs Marketo 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

Act-On Software
Ranking in Marketing Automation
14th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Marketo
Ranking in Marketing Automation
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Marketing Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of Act-On Software is 1.8%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Marketo is 10.4%, down from 14.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Marketo10.4%
Act-On Software1.8%
Other87.8%
Marketing Automation
 

Featured Reviews

it_user82449 - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Systems Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
The adaptive nurturing, segmentation, multiple lead scoring rules, and simple CRM integration stood out the most.
The CRM integration with Act-On is better with Salesforce and had more value for sales representatives than it did with Microsoft Dynamics CRM; that was MS CRM's downfall. Act-On Anywhere is a nice feature for general users, but the tracking in CRM is lost, and Marketing team subject lines do not carry over on the email templates.
Anika Gaur - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Digital Solutions Analyst at Rich Products
Effective lead management and useability with room for reporting improvements
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 to tools like HubSpot and Salesforce account engagement would be beneficial. Additionally, Marketo should work on automating tools and updating the product since it looks similar to how it did five years ago.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Act-On has an outstanding customer support team and they escalate issues to their technical teams before the frustration level."
"It is now much easier for us to send and segment emails, analyze our results and make smarter decisions."
"Act-On is simple to use and it makes campaign development a breeze."
"Our organization was operating blindfolded before implementing Act-On."
"Before I joined, my company used a larger, more expensive but more popular software, and after switching to this, my team can still do everything it needs to for cheaper."
"Great ease of use creation for campaigns."
"This solution gives me a qualified lead, it will drive your sales even faster."
"We are scoring based on behavior without pressure, and it keeps producing excellent results."
"Marketo gives me the toolset necessary to create automated drip email campaigns to my customers and prospects, delivering HUGE ROI with great customer service and a relatively nimble dev team always willing to help, even in special or one-off scenarios."
"I have a good special setup and a huge NetFlow to the sales channel."
"The most valuable features of Marketo are its ease of use and flexibility."
"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 their consent. Firstly, the Marketo Insights system will highlight new customer segments that I should engage with."
"The most valuable feature is the scoring."
 

Cons

"One area of improvement would be ability to use dynamic content fields. It is available, but not to the fullest extent where it would help me."
"The CRM integration with Act-On is better with Salesforce and had more value for sales representatives than it did with Microsoft Dynamics CRM; that was MS CRM's downfall."
"Marketo should give more power to the users for data manipulation."
"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."
"It could be more scalable."
"It could be more scalable."
"I had an issue while integrating JavaScript with forms."
"Marketo should give more power to the users for data manipulation."
"Some modern Marketo features could be improved."
"Takes time to setup and manage."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The licensing cost usually depends on the users."
"Marketo is used a lot because it's cheaper and preferred by many firms."
"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."
"The solution is expensive compared to others."
"It is expensive. We have a yearly license."
"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 pricing is not cheap, but it's not that expensive either."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Marketing Automation solutions are best for your needs.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NYU, Tableau, Xerox, ASPCA, Lego Education, Hoopla, Avery Dennison and SolarWorld.
Marketo has a customer base of thousands of companies, including Sony, Citrix, BrightTALK, Curves International, HootSuite, Hyundai, SanDisk, and Samsung Electronics.
Find out what your peers are saying about Act-On Software vs. Marketo and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.