Marketo vs Pardot vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud comparison

Adobe and Salesforce are both solutions in the Marketing Automation category. Adobe is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4, while Salesforce is ranked #7 with an average rating of 7.8. Adobe holds a 9.9% mindshare in MA, compared to Salesforce’s 3.2% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Adobe users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

Marketo

Read 25 Marketo reviews

2,747 Views
2,225 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Pardot

Read 12 Pardot reviews

1,019 Views
1,009 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Read 62 Salesforce Marketing Cloud reviews

5,146 Views
3,551 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Marketo

Pardot

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Marketo, Pardot, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce, HubSpot, Adobe and others in Marketing Automation.

To learn more, read our detailed Marketing Automation Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Marketing Automation

March 2026

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Helped 885,667 peers since 2012

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 April 2026, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of Marketo is 9.9%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pardot is 3.2%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 11.9%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Marketing Automation Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Salesforce Marketing Cloud	11.9%
Marketo	9.9%
Pardot	3.2%
Other	75.0%

Marketing Automation

Featured Reviews

Anika Gaur

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.

Read full review

Vikram Rawani

Pardot Consultant at Target

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.

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GauravSingh2

Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Targeted email journeys have boosted campaign insight and now need better data access and support

I feel that Salesforce Marketing Cloud can be improved in how the data views are accessed; it would be better to have something more physical. With data extensions, you can view them directly, but for data views, it is very difficult as you can only send it out or load it into data extensions. Improvements can also be made in the connections to different external tools such as Azure or AWS. Customer support can be improved in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, as sometimes it is not clear what the issue is or how to approach solving it, and it also takes time to resolve issues.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"This solution gives me a qualified lead, it will drive your sales even faster."

"Advanced capabilities for closed-loop lead management"

"I have a good special setup and a huge NetFlow to the sales channel."

"With Marketo as the core strength, I have led numerous Marketing Automation projects from end to end."

"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 product has been stable and scalable, the custom support is great, it's easy to set up campaigns, events, and objects, there are a lot of custom solutions from Marketo, it can be integrated well in various ways, and everything can be found in the solution."

"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."

More Marketo pros

"It's easy to create email templates and landing pages."

"The tracking and automation of outbound messaging is the solution's most valuable aspect."

"The solution can be easily integrated with Salesforce."

"Pardot directly integrates with CRM, specifically Salesforce, which has an excellent R&D team."

"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."

"The most valuable feature is the customization of the solution."

"Our ROI is huge, not just in cost avoidance, but also in increased sales."

More Pardot pros

"It is very easy to use from a marketing standpoint."

"If you want to be able to communicate with your client using email, WhatsApp, and push notifications, know if the client opened the communication or not, and create and automate their journey, Marketing Cloud is very good."

"The scalability of the solution is perfect."

"It is easy to use."

"Overall, I would rate Salesforce Marketing Cloud a nine out of 10."

"It is a great solution. I like its stability, scalability, and performance."

"This solution has improved organization brand awareness with prospects and clients."

"The most valuable feature of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the seamless conversion of lead to opportunity, in relation to orders is good."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pros

Cons

"Its APIs need to be more flexible because there are some things that are not available in the API."

"It could be more scalable."

"For the moment, we migrated some of our processes to Marketo and implemented them there. We had some difficulties related to this."

"Marketo is still very slow."

"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."

"Technical support is not good. I would rate them a two out of five."

"The user experience needs improvement, particularly in terms of ease of use and navigation between projects."

More Marketo cons

"For new people, the installation of the tool can be difficult."

"The solution lacks integration with Instagram, which is our top problem with the product."

"When it comes to integration with third-party tools, Pardot's APIs are not that robust."

"When we compare it to other automation tools, in Pardot, I'm not able to see any drag-and-drop options. We have to work on an HTML template itself."

"Pardot needs many improvements in terms of email design and design studio functionalities."

"The user interface could be made more intuitive and user-friendly."

"The reporting features of the Pardot system could be improved to provide better and more data."

"Needs to improve list building."

More Pardot cons

"Salesforce Marketing Cloud should include more point-and-click functionality."

"I would like to see more ways to accomplish specific tasks."

"Clarity around new features could be improved when they are released."

"The customization of Salesforce, a generic CRM software, has room for improvement."

"It's a very good solution, but the way the prices are structured is not always good, and I feel like that is a problem."

"Salesforce could benefit by implementing further integration with more platforms."

"We would like an improvement to the 'Einstein Engagement Frequency'; the optimal range of emails that our subscribers will engage with."

"We need a development environment for Marketing Cloud. Currently, there is no development environment for this solution. Other Salesforce products, such as Sales and Service Cloud, have a development environment in which the developers can do some things and then post them in production. Currently, everything happens in the production for Marketing Cloud. There is only one environment, and the developers and the end-users have to work in the same environment, which seems to be challenging. If Salesforce can bring a developer environment for Marketing Cloud, it will be good."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost usually depends on the users."

"Marketo is used a lot because it's cheaper and preferred by many firms."

"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."

"Marketo is too expensive for a small-sized company but more affordable for a larger-sized company."

"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 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."

More Marketo pricing and cost advice

"In terms of pricing, Pardot is cheaper than Marketing Cloud."

"We pay about $4000 a month."

"It is a competitively priced product, considering what it provides."

"The price of this solution is expensive. However, you are going to receive good value for money. They could improve by reducing the price."

"Make sure you do not pay for features that you may not need."

"Salesforce is an expensive solution."

"We did a yearly license. We negotiated and got a great deal. I don't think we would have gotten far with the regular price, but they negotiated, so it was worth that."

"I don't know if my company pays for Salesforce Marketing Cloud monthly or yearly. It's a SaaS, so it's a recurring cost, but I have no information on its price."

"The price is expensive."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"It is a license per user."

"It's not cheap, which is why I recommend that you use Marketing Cloud to create automated journeys. If you plan to use Marketing Cloud just to send emails, use another tool."

"Salesforce has different versions of the solution and some are more suitable for smaller clients. However, Salesforce is expensive."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Construction Company

13%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	31

Questions from the Community

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Marketo?

The user interface could be improved. I would like to see an updated UI for 2025.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Pardot?

It has no limit for sending marketing emails.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pardot?

Pardot needs many improvements in terms of email design and design studio functionalities. It lacks a robust design s...

See all answers

What do you like most about Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

Datorama is part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is quite a valuable feature that provides customer analytics.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

I did not work on any pricing or implementation aspects but learned on my own when dealing with Revenue Cloud products.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

I feel that Salesforce Marketing Cloud can be improved in how the data views are accessed; it would be better to have...

See all answers

Comparisons

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Marketo

Compared 29% of the time

Oracle Eloqua vs Marketo

Compared 19% of the time

SAS Customer Intelligence 360 vs Marketo

Compared 4% of the time

SAP Marketing Cloud vs Marketo

Compared 3% of the time

Adobe Campaign vs Marketo

Compared 3% of the time

More Marketo Competitors

Oracle Eloqua vs Pardot

Compared 23% of the time

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Pardot

Compared 18% of the time

Klaviyo vs Pardot

Compared 10% of the time

SAP Marketing Cloud vs Pardot

Compared 4% of the time

Act-On Software vs Pardot

Compared 3% of the time

More Pardot Competitors

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 15% of the time

Oracle Eloqua vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 12% of the time

Zeta Marketing Platform vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 6% of the time

Adobe Campaign vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

monday.com vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Marketo

March 2026

Download Marketo product report

Buyer's Guide

Pardot

March 2026

Download Pardot product report

Buyer's Guide

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

March 2026

Download Salesforce Marketing Cloud product report

Also Known As

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Overview

Marketo is an all-in-one marketing solution that was created by marketers for marketers. Founded in 2007, Marketo is branded as marketing software that is easy, powerful and complete.

Organizations have access to multiple marketing and sales tools when they use this solution, such as Marketing Automation, Consumer Engagement Marketing, Real-Time Personalization, and Marketing Management.

Adobe

Pardot, a salesforce.com Company, is an easy-to-use B2B Marketing Automation suite that helps sales and marketing teams maximize efficiency and increase revenue. Pardot's lead management software features CRM integration, email marketing, lead nurturing, lead scoring, and ROI reporting to help marketing and sales teams work together to generate and qualify sales leads, shorten sales cycles, and demonstrate marketing accountability.

Salesforce

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a comprehensive marketing automation platform that enables businesses to create personalized and targeted marketing campaigns across multiple channels.

With its robust set of tools and features, marketers can easily manage and automate their email marketing, social media advertising, mobile messaging, and customer journey mapping.

The platform offers advanced segmentation capabilities, allowing marketers to segment their audience based on various criteria and deliver tailored messages to each segment.

Additionally, Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides powerful analytics and reporting features, enabling marketers to track the performance of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

With its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with other Salesforce products, Marketing Cloud offers a seamless and efficient marketing automation solution for businesses of all sizes.

Salesforce

Sample Customers

Marketo has a customer base of thousands of companies, including Sony, Citrix, BrightTALK, Curves International, HootSuite, Hyundai, SanDisk, and Samsung Electronics.

Arketi Group

American Express, Financial Conduct Authority, KPN, Merck KGaA, Peterborough City Council, The Chapar, ADP, Financial Times, Stanley Black & Decker, SureFlap, Western Union, Philips

Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce, HubSpot, Adobe and others in Marketing Automation. Updated: March 2026.

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