HubSpot vs. Adobe Marketo: What’s Right for Your Business?

Businesses using marketing automation platforms like Hubspot have seen a whopping 451% increase in qualified leads. Considering the fact that only 51% of the companies are using automation, implementing this for your business can be the competitive advantage you need. But don’t let the numbers fool you; the trick isn’t in automation tools but in choosing the one that suits you best. In this article, I’ll break down HubSpot vs Marketo to help you understand which tool can drive growth in your business at scale.

HubSpot vs. Adobe Marketo: System Composition

Imagine this: I set up a meeting to deliver some important documents. The catch is - that I call you every day and hand over one file with one document every time we meet. Makes sense? No? You’re not alone. When users compare HubSpot and Marketo, they’re presented with a similar dilemma. Marketo offers its features by breaking it down into seven modules. These can be purchased in bundles or as a stand-alone, which is not only a hassle but also expensive in totality.

On the other hand, HubSpot is a comprehensive solution that includes all its products under the same plan. Create marketing campaigns, manage inbound traffic, access analytics and use HubSpot’s own CRM to seamlessly create and manage an automated marketing pipeline that suits you best.

While you could use any CRM such as Salesforce, Amazon, etc., with both Marketo and HubSpot, businesses often find managing admin and payment accounts across multiple SaaS vendors to be a nuisance. As far as this aspect is considered in this Hubspot vs Marketo debate, HubSpot stands out for its ease of use, flexibility, and overall pricing.

HubSpot vs. Adobe Marketo: The Features

The core features of both these tools remain the same, but there are differences when you dive deeper. This is mainly because the intent of these platforms is different. Marketo is ideal if you wish to tailor your campaigns based on leads. However, it does not offer as many conversion features as HubSpot does. Campaigns can be more personalized and customer-focused with Marketo, so much so that you can target customers one-on-one. If you want a marketing automation tool that caters to a niche, very specific target audience, Marketo can be the better option.

But for most businesses, the target audience is a wider demographic. Most businesses also don’t want their marketing to be restricted in any aspect. HubSpot delivers value across the entire cycle, right from lead generation to customer acquisition and retention. It offers tools for marketing and sales alongside its CRM and is flexible enough for moderate personalization. Its inbound marketing and data analytics tools are a neat piece of tech, no doubt. Not to mention, HubSpot allows you to add on over 1000 integrations to any of its tools depending on your marketing goals and business needs.

Understanding your target audience is key, and this difference between HubSpot and Marketo is key to identifying which one is ideal for your business.

HubSpot vs. Adobe Marketo: The Pricing

Price tags can be misleading, especially in cases where add-ons and integrations are involved, which is the case with both these tools here. But the major difference between HubSpot and Marketo with respect to pricing is the total cost of ownership.

HubSpot has three plans for three main products depending on business requirements: starter, professional, and enterprise. The plans range from $45/month to $3,363/month. The pricing is very transparent, and cases, where you’re likely to incur additional charges, are clearly stated. The onboarding and implementation support is priced at a flat rate of $6000 for enterprises.

It’s often harder to compare HubSpot and Marketo in terms of pricing because Adobe’s Marketo isn’t very transparent with its pricing. Estimation is harder since there are many integrations to consider. What we do know for sure, is that Marketo offers services in four tiers – select, prime, ultimate, and enterprise. Their features and tools, just like HubSpot, are spread across three primary products, albeit divided into further modules as well. Rough estimates suggest of my research suggest the price range for a full set of automation tools could be between $950 and $7000 per month.

HubSpot vs. Adobe Marketo: Overall Rating

User experience needn’t be the be-all and end-all, but analyzing what others say can be a very useful indicator if you’re confused. For that reason, I’ve chosen the software reviewing platform G2 which is known for being credible and unbiased.

HubSpot has an overall rating of 4.4/5 stars from 7,575 reviews. Over 5,000 of these reviewers have rated it as 5/5.

Adobe Marketo Engage has an average rating of 3.8/5 stars from 2,623 reviews, with 1,131 being 5-star ratings.

HubSpot vs. Adobe Marketo: The Final Verdict

The software you choose would be dependent on these two questions: Who is your target audience? What is your end goal? 

While Marketo has an edge in terms of personalization, HubSpot has emerged as a better choice overall. If your customers are diverse, or you’re looking to expand your company’s services or product features, going with HubSpot is the solution you’re looking for. 

If you want to discuss your specific business challenges to see if HubSpot is right for your IT business, we are happy to help and provide solutions. Request time to discuss HubSpot with MDCo.