Oracle Eloqua vs Pardot vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud comparison

Oracle and Salesforce are both solutions in the Marketing Automation category. Oracle is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Salesforce is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.4. Oracle holds a 7.7% mindshare in MA, compared to Salesforce’s 3.3% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Oracle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

Oracle Eloqua

Read 39 Oracle Eloqua reviews

1,152 Views
1,140 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Pardot

Read 12 Pardot reviews

726 Views
719 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Read 60 Salesforce Marketing Cloud reviews

3,606 Views
2,488 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Oracle Eloqua

Pardot

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

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

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

To learn more, read our detailed Marketing Automation Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Marketing Automation

August 2025

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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 September 2025, in the Marketing Automation category, the mindshare of Oracle Eloqua is 7.7%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pardot is 3.3%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 20.6%, down from 23.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Marketing Automation Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Salesforce Marketing Cloud	20.6%
Oracle Eloqua	7.7%
Pardot	3.3%
Other	68.4%

Marketing Automation

Featured Reviews

Madhan Krishnamoorthy

Senior Functional Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees

Integration with CRM and third-party systems significantly boosts campaign management

The native integration could be improved, as Oracle Eloqua has decommissioned it. Manual uploads require changing the data priority order to top priority. Sometimes form capturing data fails, and campaign response issues occur. The pricing of Oracle Eloqua is quite high as it is an Oracle product. Compared to other marketing automation platforms such as Marketo, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and Pardot, the price point is higher. The technical support is rated at eight because it can be difficult to get in touch with them after working hours. Support is only available during business hours, so if assistance is needed outside of the nine-to-five window, users must wait until the next day.

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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Napitch K

Chief Executive Officer & Founder at growth innovation

Integration challenges impact workflow efficiency

The features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud that I have found most valuable are the Journey Builder and Flow. These capabilities are valuable because they make managing automation easy. Automating customer journeys saves time when scheduling content through every channel, and we can set the automation in advance when planning marketing content. The AI-powered tools such as Salesforce Datorama and Einstein save time and have an impact on marketing strategy decisions for my customers. I have noticed a positive impact from Salesforce Marketing Cloud through customer feedback. For example, a customer mentioned after project completion that it had a significant impact on their marketing team by eliminating the need to hire additional staff for marketing content and planning.

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

"I find Oracle Eloqua to be a highly useful tool for clients and easy for developers, which I believe makes it one of the best options available for B2B marketing."

"Lead scoring has helped with the process of qualifying leads."

"Oracle Eloqua helps us track data and quickly schedule emails; it is a wonderful tool for working with emails."

"In Oracle Eloqua, the most valuable feature from the marketer's user experience perspective is the design editor, which is very feasible, allowing a marketer to design emails and landing pages in a very short amount of time through drag and drop of email components, making them ready to use instantly."

"Oracle Eloqua is easier to use compared to Salesforce Marketing Cloud because Salesforce requires their own scripting called AMPScript, while in Oracle Eloqua, you only need CSS, HTML, and occasionally JavaScript."

"The ease of maintenance is the most valuable feature."

"I've used other marketing automation tools, like Marketo, that require more technical knowledge. Eloqua is straightforward and user-friendly."

"It provides good support for really large databases."

More Oracle Eloqua pros

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

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

"The solution can be easily integrated with Salesforce."

"The product is stable."

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

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

"I have not had any issues with the product's stability. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"Campaign tracking is a valuable feature."

More Pardot pros

"Email Studio is one of the core parts of Salesforce Marketing Cloud."

"We are satisfied with the Salesforce Marketing Cloud products, which is why we have extended and acquired the Data Cloud as integration."

"Salesforce Marketing Cloud's integrations are seamless since it is a native application. It helps us with B2B and B2C send-outs and can handle large columns."

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

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

"Its ability to integrate data and provide a comprehensive view of customer engagement sets it apart."

"Email automation is most valuable."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to get quotes out in a timely manner."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pros

Cons

"One improvement I would suggest for Oracle Eloqua is establishing data modeling capabilities where you can link various custom data objects to create multiple tables together, allowing access to data through SQL queries for better manipulation."

"There are some things where improvement is needed. For me, it would be great if they integrated a tool like AI configuration capabilities within Eloqua itself."

"Eloqua doesn't have built-in features for WhatsApp marketing or SMS functionality."

"The solution should consider adding functionality related to event listening, such as webhooks."

"The cost of the solution has room for improvement."

"The reporting features should be improved."

"The product's initial setup process could be better."

"Crashes can occur due to integration with different systems, including third-party tools such as Zapier and SixSense."

More Oracle Eloqua cons

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

"The solution is quite expensive, at least, for smaller teams."

"Technical support has been quick and helpful every time."

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

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

"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."

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

More Pardot cons

"Customer support could be improved, especially for new features where I do not always receive proper solutions from the platform provider."

"The product could use a little bit of BI in the sense of rule-based building."

"I've noticed on one-to-one leads, the customer objection option is not available."

"An additional feature needed would be better capacity for personalization."

"The solution can have a better UI. Salesforce Marketing Cloud should consider making its solution more robust for error handling."

"The processing speed, the way information displays, and scrolling options can be improved."

"In a future release it would be great to have the ability to connect the data from social media and email marketing and have it in one dashboard."

"We'd like to see more integrations with third-party products."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."

"The tool is pricey compared to products like Marketo."

"Oracle Eloqua is quite an affordable solution."

"Oracle Eloqua's pricing is medium."

"It's quite expensive."

"Our licensing costs are yearly."

"Oracle Eloqua can be expensive compared to alternatives."

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

"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."

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

"We pay about $4000 a month."

"Its licensing is on an annual basis. Customers are okay with its licensing cost, and they don't find it expensive."

"It is a license per user."

"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is affordable, considering the significant improvements it brings to our campaign results."

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

"My company pays to use this solution."

"The solution is a bit expensive."

"The licensing cost for the solution is on a yearly basis."

"The solution's pricing is very high and should be more flexible for smaller companies."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	21

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	28

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Oracle Eloqua?

Some areas of Oracle Eloqua that could be improved include enhancements for campaign features, such as the ability to...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Oracle Eloqua?

In my company, I work with Oracle Eloqua and do not use it internally. My usual use cases for Oracle Eloqua include d...

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What do you like most about Oracle Eloqua?

I've used other marketing automation tools, like Marketo, that require more technical knowledge. Eloqua is straightfo...

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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?

Salesforce Marketing Cloud works effectively as a suite, best-of-suite solution. However, if you want to reuse specif...

See all answers

Comparisons

Marketo vs Oracle Eloqua

Compared 31% of the time

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Oracle Eloqua

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle CRM vs Oracle Eloqua

Compared 8% of the time

BloomReach vs Oracle Eloqua

Compared 5% of the time

More Oracle Eloqua Competitors

Marketo vs Pardot

Compared 23% of the time

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Pardot

Compared 19% of the time

More Pardot Competitors

Marketo vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 13% of the time

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 10% of the time

Zeta Marketing Platform vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 9% of the time

SAP Marketing Cloud vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 8% of the time

BloomReach vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 7% of the time

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Eloqua

September 2025

Download Oracle Eloqua product report

Buyer's Guide

Pardot

September 2025

Download Pardot product report

Buyer's Guide

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

September 2025

Download Salesforce Marketing Cloud product report

Also Known As

Eloqua, Oracle Marketing Cloud

No data available

ExactTarget

Overview

Eloqua is the Oracle marketing automation and revenue performance management solution used by sales and marketing teams all over the world. With Eloqua, organizations can easily execute marketing campaigns, build and manage their databases, convert leads to sales, and measure the impact of marketing activities on the organization.

Oracle

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

Thomson Reuters, The Dow Chemical Company, Avid, LifeSize, and Avalara.

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, Adobe, HubSpot and others in Marketing Automation. Updated: August 2025.

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