No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Pardot vs SAP Marketing Cloud vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud 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 April 2026, in the Marketing Automation category, 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. The mindshare of SAP Marketing Cloud is 2.3%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Salesforce Marketing Cloud11.9%
Pardot3.2%
SAP Marketing Cloud2.3%
Other82.6%
Marketing Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Vikram Rawani - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
GauravSingh2 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Abhijit Misra - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Integrates well with master data but user experience and integration need improvement
Predictive Analytics in SAP Marketing Cloud is effective, but it requires two essential elements. The data should be correct and sufficient enough to run Predictive Analytics, and the right algorithms need to be included in the marketing decision-making process. In Predictive Analytics, certain algorithms can be used, but it has limited use because it does not cater to the complete business needs of the client. The solution is easy to customize, but it requires having the right data model attached to the dashboard. If the data model is correct, the data on the dashboard can be manipulated very easily. However, if the data model is incorrect and does not bring in the right elements of KPIs and dashboards, upgrading the data model becomes a challenging exercise. SAP's user interface from a user story point of view rates six to seven out of ten. The user experience could be improved, but in terms of flexibility, it functions adequately when data is available. Without available data, none of the dashboards can function.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has made email marketing quicker and easier."
"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."
"However, you are going to receive good value for money."
"Pardot directly integrates with CRM, specifically Salesforce, which has an excellent R&D team."
"The solution is very fast, it's easy to create email templates and landing pages, and it is very good at score lists and sending signals to a salesperson for outreach purposes."
"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."
"Technical support has been quick and helpful every time."
"Marketing Cloud offers a 360 customers experience as it integrates with Service Cloud and Sales Cloud, the CRM portion of Salesforce."
"Email Studio is one of the core parts of Salesforce Marketing Cloud."
"This solution has improved organization brand awareness with prospects and clients."
"Salesforce allows for the integration of different data sources."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud has helped the organization by having centralized management capabilities."
"It makes it easy for a business to use any module based on their preference."
"The most valuable features of Salesforce are the automation and the ability to create dashboards which provide a wider picture of what is going on."
"The scalability of the solution is perfect."
"Segmentation and campaigning are very important features."
"SAP Marketing Cloud integrates effectively with the SAP data, ensuring all the master data gets aligned effectively with marketing."
 

Cons

"The solution is quite expensive, at least, for smaller teams."
"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."
"Needs to improve list building."
"The reporting features of the Pardot system could be improved to provide better and more data."
"The solution is quite expensive, at least, for smaller teams."
"The price of this solution is expensive. However, you are going to receive good value for money."
"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."
"We need a development environment for Marketing Cloud. Currently, there is no development environment for this solution."
"If you want to use advanced features in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, they are extremely difficult to use."
"The cost is always a concern for anyone using a SaaS product."
"An additional feature needed for the next release of Marketing Cloud would be better capacity for personalization."
"The response from the customer service team could be faster and the agents could be more knowledgeable."
"The technicality of the solution can be streamlined."
"An additional feature needed would be better capacity for personalization."
"The data extension tools are not very user-friendly."
"Integration with third-party solutions is challenging with SAP Marketing Cloud."
"Email response could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of pricing, Pardot is cheaper than Marketing Cloud."
"​Make sure you do not pay for features that you may not need​."
"The price of this solution is expensive. However, you are going to receive good value for money. They could improve by reducing the price."
"It is a competitively priced product, considering what it provides."
"We pay about $4000 a month."
"My company pays to use this solution."
"We have two types of licensing. We have a yearly license for end users and we have a concurrent login for selling."
"Salesforce has different versions of the solution and some are more suitable for smaller clients. However, Salesforce is expensive."
"The solution's pricing is very high and should be more flexible for smaller companies."
"It is a license per user."
"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."
"The licensing cost for the solution is on a yearly basis."
"Its licensing is on an annual basis. Customers are okay with its licensing cost, and they don't find it expensive."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Marketing Automation solutions are best for your needs.
885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Healthcare Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Wholesaler/Distributor
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise31
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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.
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.
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...
What needs improvement with SAP Marketing Cloud?
There are three main areas for improvement in SAP Marketing Cloud. The user experience side needs enhancement to impr...
What is your primary use case for SAP Marketing Cloud?
My clients mainly use SAP Marketing Cloud for campaign management, sales force effectiveness, and marketing analytics...
 

Also Known As

No data available
ExactTarget
SAP Hybris Marketing Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
PT XL Axiata Tbk, Lenovo, Molson Coors Brewing Company, Sailing Team Germany, CHIO Aachen, Danone, Evoshield, Mohawk Industries, FC Bayern Munchen AG, D. SWAROVSKI KG, WeissBeerger, Groupe SAMSE, Cox Communications Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce, HubSpot, Adobe and others in Marketing Automation. Updated: March 2026.
885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.