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Act-On Software vs Marketo comparison

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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
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Marketing Management (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of Act-On Software is 1.7%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Marketo is 7.9%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Marketo7.9%
Act-On Software1.7%
Other90.4%
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.
reviewer2391396 - PeerSpot reviewer
Engineer - Technology at a marketing services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Useful features, produces excellent results, with an easy setup
Some modern Marketo features could be improved. I'm quite good with the filters, and in the admin section, I can build it with many more third parties. This allows me to integrate some additional printers. Issues could be fixed rather than relying on third-party sources. While Marketo lacks a particular feature for calculating formulas, it could be integrated to allow easy calculation on forms. Right now, it only supports a single range of numbers. This feature might already be a default filter in the future. Marketo's lead scoring impacts the sales process, so improvements are possible. In the marketplace, I track campaigns and certificates, however, filter additions are needed. Having some calculated formulas in a default format would enhance functionality. Marketo filters are not very efficient, and timely updates or features could improve this aspect.

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."
"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."
"Act-On is simple to use and it makes campaign development a breeze."
"It is now much easier for us to send and segment emails, analyze our results and make smarter decisions."
"We have a better alignment of sales and marketing."
"It's pretty good at handling customization and templates. We can put in different variables, so even someone without coding knowledge can create and develop emails that look good on different browsers."
"This is the best marketing automation solution out there, for the ease of use, the amazing metrics, the integration to SFDC, and the price."
"The most valuable features are the Marketo emails, both sending and tracking."
"It is a very user-friendly solution. I'm mainly working on Design Studio, which is useful for companies in tracking repeat users. The progressive proofing is also useful. It is not available in other solutions."
"I like that Marketo is user-friendly and has an easy view. It's like a one-stop solution for everyone. It is very good, and you can categorize leads in different ways. You can also create your custom objects and enjoy good connectivity."
"One feature I like is the user interface. Compared to other tools I've used, it's much more friendly and easy to navigate. Additionally, it offers a wide range of features, which makes tasks like segmenting data much simpler."
"Overall - I am very pleased with Marketo for email automation and lead management."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"Revenue management, attribution, and ABM can all be improved."
"The user interface could be improved."
"Marketo is still very slow."
"Its APIs need to be more flexible because there are some things that are not available in the API."
"I had an issue while integrating JavaScript with forms."
"There is a bit of room for improvement in the level-one support team. It relies too much on documentation."
"Some modern Marketo features could be improved."
"The user experience needs improvement, particularly in terms of ease of use and navigation between projects."
 

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."
"The solution is expensive compared to others."
"The pricing is not cheap, but it's not that expensive either."
"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."
"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."
"It is expensive. We have a yearly license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
 

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 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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Marketo?
The solution is cheaper than Alacor. That said, I do not know the exact price.
 

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: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.