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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
15th
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
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Marketing Management (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of Act-On Software is 2.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Marketo is 9.9%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Marketo9.9%
Act-On Software2.1%
Other88.0%
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.
PradeepKumar25 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is now much easier for us to send and segment emails, analyze our results and make smarter decisions."
"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."
"Our organization was operating blindfolded before implementing Act-On."
"I like that the solution is flexible."
"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."
"Marketo is excellent in terms of hands-on usability and lead database management."
"The most valuable features are the Marketo emails, both sending and tracking."
"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."
"Overall - I am very pleased with Marketo for email automation and lead management."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is Smart Campaigns."
"The most valuable features of Marketo are its ease of use and flexibility."
 

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."
"This solution also doesn't scale for the large enterprise - a huge downside for them."
"Marketo should give more power to the users for data manipulation."
"Adobe, the parent company, needs to improve on getting more information published to allow users to educate themselves on how to use the solution."
"The user experience needs improvement, particularly in terms of ease of use and navigation between projects."
"Some modern Marketo features could be improved."
"Segmentation in Marketo is limited to a maximum of 20 segments. Depending on the company's specific needs, these segments can be based on various attributes such as company, industry, or other values. Sometimes, there's a lag when sending data from Marketo to any CRM. It can take around five to fifteen minutes for the report to sync."
"The user interface could be improved."
"For the moment, we migrated some of our processes to Marketo and implemented them there. We had some difficulties related to this."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"Marketo is used a lot because it's cheaper and preferred by many firms."
"The solution is expensive compared to others."
"It is expensive. We have a yearly license."
"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 initial pricing was excellent, but the pricing for renewals is not as good."
"The pricing is not cheap, but it's not that expensive either."
"Marketo is too expensive for a small-sized company but more affordable for a larger-sized company."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
7%
 

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

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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: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.