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HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Marketo vs Pardot comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of HubSpot Marketing Hub is 9.6%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Marketo is 14.7%, down from 16.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pardot is 3.3%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Sadiq H - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful for drip campaigns, social media, and marketing automation
I use HubSpot Marketing Hub for various tasks. It's easy to use and adaptable. After a little training, anyone can handle it efficiently. We use it for drip campaigns, social media, and marketing automation. We're not fully using marketing automation yet for smart content. I like the drag-and-drop feature for editing images and content in email templates. I don't need a developer to create designs. I can quickly test how emails look on different devices.4 The tool has built-in tools for creating marketing automation flows. I don't need other tools for this. The interface has improved, with dropdowns now on the left side toolbar. It's easier to use and access. Reporting is faster now. I can get lists in my Gmail within minutes. Creating properties and automation for smart content is easier, too. I can use smart tokens in subject lines now, which is impressive.
Anika Gaur - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Vikram Rawani - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers an easy initial setup phase and good ROI
With Pardot, users can do the segmentation based on their requirements. You can segment your prospects based on their interests, locations, companies, or the sales cycle. You can also use the engagement studio to create a journey for the people you have segmented with the help of automation feature of the tool. The aforementioned area consists of the most useful features I found in the tool apart from its out-of-the-box features. The integration between Pardot and Salesforce is beneficial if you know how to share the leads that a company finds useful so that they don't have to invest in manual work or do anything blindly to reach out to leads. Users can segment the leads using the features that the tool provides. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. If a business is into B2B marketing and can afford to purchase Pardot, then they should buy it. If the product of a company is good, then Pardot can help multiply such an organization's ROI. Based on the product and how the sales and marketing team works, the tool can be useful. In short, the tool can be as good as the person who is using it. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"HubSpot Marketing Hub is efficient and offers visibility. It also helps to track leads. I like the tool's Gmail functionality."
"I find HubSpot Marketing Hub's user interface very intuitive and easy to navigate, which is something I really appreciate."
"The product's initial setup phase was pretty easy."
"Their blog platform and form capabilities are very easy to use and integrate within our web site."
"We can choose the necessary stages as per the lead, and update it accordingly, then proceed it further."
"As a CRM tool, it looks good."
"With 18 companies to manage, manual handling would be impractical. HubSpot's automation facilitates pre-scheduling, greatly enhancing our efficiency."
"The most valuable aspect for us is email marketing because it provides us with a powerful tool and allows us to create email workflows for follow-ups, which is crucial for building relationships with potential customers."
"Marketo is excellent in terms of hands-on usability and lead database management."
"The smart campaign looks quite interesting and useful."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is Smart Campaigns."
"The main highlights of Marketo are its support structure, the documentation available, and the features mainly related to forms, landing pages, and leads. Although other platforms like Oracle Eloqua have similar features, Marketo's support structure, lead generation, and segmentation features are easier than those of different platforms."
"The main feature of Marketo is sending out emails, so that would be the most valuable feature."
"The product has been stable."
"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."
"Campaign tracking is a valuable feature."
"I have not had any issues with the product's stability. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The product is stable."
"It's easy to create email templates and landing pages."
"For me, the best thing is the Custom Redirect. That's one key thing I like because using that particular Custom Redirect, I can track a link wherever I'm sharing it. I can track how and when people are accessing it."
"The most valuable feature is the customization of the solution."
"Pardot's most valuable feature is its B2B marketing capabilities."
"The tracking and automation of outbound messaging is the solution's most valuable aspect."
 

Cons

"There are issues with the consistency of notifications."
"There are some issues with HubSpot Marketing Hub with receiving notifications. It was too difficult to understand, and it requires a lot of effort. Configuration could be simplified."
"One thing I'd like to see added is better link tracking. I want to see traffic coming to links I embed in my emails, whether from social media, email, or ads. This would help me understand how many visitors come to my website from different channels."
"They should increase the ease of actually creating the contacts and the workflows and enhance that aspect."
"The product is not cheap."
"The solution is not recommended for launching investment."
"HubSpot’s scoring is not good."
"Years ago, these tools used to allow you to see the exact location of people that were clicking on things. I guess they quit doing it for privacy reasons, but that was very helpful information and I miss seeing it in those reports. I thought that this tool could do it when we left Act-On to go to HubSpot, but when we moved over they stopped doing it."
"For the moment, we migrated some of our processes to Marketo and implemented them there. We had some difficulties related to this."
"There is a bit of room for improvement in the level-one support team. It relies too much on documentation."
"Its APIs need to be more flexible because there are some things that are not available in the API."
"Marketo filters are not very efficient, and timely updates or features could improve this aspect."
"One limitation is the user limit. For bigger organizations with large audience sizes exceeding, let's say, 500k, the solution may not be as efficient as larger enterprise platforms like Salesforce or Oracle Eloqua. However, Marketo is one of the best platforms for mid-scale and small-scale organisations."
"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 interface could be improved."
"Some modern Marketo features could be improved."
"The solution lacks integration with Instagram, which is our top problem with the product."
"Needs to improve list building."
"For new people, the installation of the tool can be difficult."
"​Technical support has been quick and helpful every time."
"When it comes to integration with third-party tools, Pardot's APIs are not that robust."
"The solution is quite expensive, at least, for smaller teams."
"Pardot needs many improvements in terms of email design and design studio functionalities."
"Pardot must be synced with Salesforce."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Regarding pricing and licensing, I haven't directly handled it, but I assume Zoho might be cheaper. However, I would still prefer HubSpot due to its cleaner and more user-friendly interface."
"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"I believe an individual license costs $50 per month."
"HubSpot Marketing Hub provided me with the startup package with 90% off, but it's still hundreds of dollars a month instead of thousands of dollars a month. There is an additional cost for training and onboarding which is hundreds of dollars. It is expensive and should be reduced."
"Have sufficient content before signing up for the 30-day trial."
"HubSpot Marketing Hub's pricing is reasonable. It is about 800-900 dollars a month. It may be pricey for smaller clients, but for the bigger ones, it's only a small part of their monthly revenue."
"HubSpot Marketing Hub is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"I'd rate the solution's pricing in the middle range. I want more regular communication from our customer service manager to help us improve our use of HubSpot Marketing Hub."
"The fee for Marketo includes the number of users and the database size. If we ask for a unique feature, it will cost extra."
"Marketo is too expensive for a small-sized company but more affordable for a larger-sized company."
"It is expensive. We have a yearly license."
"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."
"The solution is expensive compared to others."
"The licensing cost usually depends on the users."
"The initial pricing was excellent, but the pricing for renewals is not as good."
"​Make sure you do not pay for features that you may not need​."
"In terms of pricing, Pardot is cheaper than Marketing Cloud."
"It is a competitively priced product, considering what it provides."
"We pay about $4000 a month."
"The price of this solution is expensive. However, you are going to receive good value for money. They could improve by reducing the price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
53%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Real Estate/Law Firm
3%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Educational Organization
48%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HubSpot Marketing Hub?
I find HubSpot Marketing Hub's user interface very intuitive and easy to navigate, which is something I really apprec...
What needs improvement with HubSpot Marketing Hub?
One of the main improvements needed is in the preview process for emails. There is a discrepancy between how emails l...
What is your primary use case for HubSpot Marketing Hub?
My main use case with HubSpot Marketing Hub ( /products/hubspot-marketing-hub-reviews ) is email marketing. I primari...
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...
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 confide...
What do you like most about Pardot?
It has no limit for sending marketing emails.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pardot?
Pardot was somewhat costly for our requirements, nonetheless, the capacities of the item were limited.
What needs improvement with Pardot?
Pardot needs many improvements in terms of email design and design studio functionalities. It lacks a robust design s...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Emyth, CRS, ClearPivot, Stitch Live, SoldOut, Waterfall, SnapEngage, Duo
Marketo has a customer base of thousands of companies, including Sony, Citrix, BrightTALK, Curves International, HootSuite, Hyundai, SanDisk, and Samsung Electronics.
Arketi Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce, Adobe, HubSpot and others in Marketing Automation. Updated: June 2025.
859,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.