Marketo vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud (2026) Compared
Both cost serious money and require dedicated specialists. The split is simple: B2B lead gen or B2C multi-channel engagement.
The Short Version
Marketo (Adobe) is the enterprise standard for B2B marketing automation. Lead scoring, nurture campaigns, and Salesforce CRM integration are its strengths. Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) is built for B2C and high-volume multi-channel engagement: email, SMS, push, social, and advertising. Both start around $1,000+/mo and require specialists to operate. Pick based on your business model, not features.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Marketo (Adobe) | Salesforce Marketing Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | ~$895/mo (Growth, 10 users) | ~$1,250/mo (Professional) |
| Enterprise Price | ~$3,175+/mo (Select tier) | ~$3,750+/mo (Corporate) |
| Primary Strength | B2B lead scoring and nurturing | B2C multi-channel journeys |
| Email Marketing | Strong for nurture sequences | Enterprise-grade volume and personalization |
| Lead Scoring | Best-in-class for B2B | Basic (not its focus) |
| Channels | Email, web, some social | Email, SMS, push, social, advertising |
| CRM Integration | Deep Salesforce + other CRMs | Native Salesforce only |
| Parent Company | Adobe (acquired 2018) | Salesforce |
| Job Demand | 36 postings | 28 postings |
| The Big Risk | Adobe ecosystem lock-in, rising costs | Complexity requires certified developers |
Deep Dive: Marketo (Adobe)
What They're Selling
Marketo Engage (now part of Adobe Experience Cloud) is the B2B marketing automation platform that enterprise marketing teams have relied on for over a decade. Its core strength is lead lifecycle management: scoring leads based on behavior and demographics, nurturing them through automated email sequences, and handing off qualified leads to sales. The Salesforce integration is the deepest of any marketing automation platform.
What It Actually Costs
Growth tier starts around $895/mo for up to 10 users and a limited database. Most mid-market companies land on Select (~$3,175/mo) or Prime for advanced analytics and AI features. Implementation typically costs $15K-50K with a Marketo partner. You'll also need a Marketo-certified admin ($90K-130K salary). Total first-year cost for a mid-market B2B company: $60K-120K including software, implementation, and personnel.
What Users Say
B2B marketers who know Marketo love it for lead scoring and Salesforce sync. It's the tool that marketing ops professionals build careers around. Complaints center on the aging UI, steep learning curve for new users, and the fact that Adobe's acquisition has increased pricing without proportional product improvements. The platform is powerful but demands expertise.
Pros
- Best-in-class B2B lead scoring with behavioral and demographic models
- Deepest Salesforce CRM integration of any marketing platform
- Mature nurture campaign builder with sophisticated branching logic
- Large talent pool of certified Marketo specialists (36 job postings)
Cons
- UI feels dated compared to HubSpot and newer platforms
- Steep learning curve, requires certified specialists to operate
- Adobe acquisition has driven pricing up without matching product innovation
- Weak on B2C use cases like SMS, push, and high-volume transactional email
Deep Dive: Salesforce Marketing Cloud
What They're Selling
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is built for B2C and high-volume engagement. Journey Builder lets you orchestrate customer experiences across email, SMS, push notifications, social media, and advertising from one platform. If you're a B2C brand sending millions of messages across multiple channels, SFMC's infrastructure and Salesforce CRM integration make it the enterprise default.
What It Actually Costs
Professional edition starts around $1,250/mo. Corporate ($3,750+/mo) and Enterprise (custom pricing) add advanced journey features and more sending capacity. Implementation with a certified SFMC partner typically runs $30K-100K. SFMC developers command premium salaries ($120K-160K). Total first-year cost for a mid-market B2C company: $80K-200K including software, implementation, and personnel.
What Users Say
Marketers praise Journey Builder's power for multi-channel orchestration and the native Salesforce CRM connection. The platform handles massive email volumes without breaking a sweat. Complaints are consistent: the platform is complex, requires certified developers (not just admins), and the learning curve is brutal. AMPscript and SSJS scripting languages have a small talent pool. Debugging is painful.
Pros
- True multi-channel orchestration: email, SMS, push, social, ads
- Journey Builder handles complex customer lifecycle campaigns
- Native Salesforce CRM integration, no middleware needed
- Enterprise-grade email sending at massive scale
Cons
- Requires certified SFMC developers, not just marketers
- Proprietary scripting languages (AMPscript, SSJS) limit the talent pool
- Weak B2B lead scoring compared to Marketo
- Implementation and customization costs can exceed the software cost
Which Should You Pick?
The Honest Take
Marketo and SFMC aren't really competing with each other. They're dominant in different worlds. Marketo owns B2B. SFMC owns B2C. The overlap is small, and companies that pick the wrong one for their business model waste six figures learning that lesson. The uncomfortable truth about both platforms: they're overkill for 80% of the companies that buy them. Mid-market B2B companies running basic email nurtures and lead scoring can get 90% of Marketo's value from HubSpot at half the cost. B2C companies doing email + SMS can often use Klaviyo or Braze at a fraction of SFMC's price. These platforms earn their premium when scale and complexity genuinely demand it. If you're scoring leads across 50+ behavioral signals, running account-based programs with Salesforce integration at the field level, and nurturing thousands of leads through multi-branch sequences, Marketo is worth every dollar. If you're orchestrating customer journeys across email, SMS, push, and ads for millions of contacts, SFMC's infrastructure justifies the cost. Just make sure you're actually at that scale before signing a contract.
Questions to Ask Before Buying
- Is your business primarily B2B (lead gen) or B2C (consumer engagement)?
- Do you have a certified Marketo or SFMC specialist on your team, or budget to hire one?
- What channels beyond email do you need? (SMS, push, social, advertising)
- What's your total marketing automation budget including software, implementation, and personnel?
- How many contacts/leads are in your database?
- What CRM do you use, and how deep does the integration need to go?
- Have you outgrown a mid-market tool (HubSpot, ActiveCampaign), or are you buying enterprise from the start?
- What's your implementation timeline? Both platforms take 2-4 months to deploy properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Marketo vs SFMC: which is better for B2B?
Marketo, by a wide margin. Its lead scoring, nurture automation, and Salesforce sync were designed for B2B demand gen. SFMC is a B2C platform that can be forced into B2B workflows, but it's not optimized for lead lifecycle management.
How much do Marketo and SFMC actually cost?
Marketo starts around $895/mo (Growth) with most companies paying $3,175+/mo on Select. SFMC starts around $1,250/mo (Professional) with most paying $3,750+/mo on Corporate. Add implementation ($15K-100K) and specialist salary ($90K-160K). Total first-year investment: $60K-200K for either platform.
Which has more job demand?
Marketo leads slightly with 36 job postings vs 28 for SFMC in our dataset. Marketo roles skew toward B2B marketing ops. SFMC roles skew toward email developers and journey builders. Both skills command premium salaries above $100K.
Can HubSpot replace Marketo or SFMC?
For many mid-market companies, yes. HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional ($800/mo) handles lead scoring, email nurture, and CRM integration at a fraction of Marketo's cost. It won't match Marketo's depth at enterprise scale or SFMC's multi-channel breadth, but it covers 80% of use cases.