--- title: "The 9 best marketing automation software tools in 2026" description: "If your team needs a new solution for executing self-sufficient marketing campaigns, explore these best-in-class marketing automation software." image: "https://images.ctfassets.net/lzny33ho1g45/5vWAQAwupG0poo9INxBpgW/1766ca22ab4b2d4bb91adb459a7c3395/marketing-automation.jpg" --- # The 9 best marketing automation software tools in 2026 If your team needs a new solution for executing self-sufficient marketing campaigns, explore these best-in-class marketing automation software. Forget Dunkin'—the world runs on automation. Well, at least marketing teams with tons of assets to manage and [campaigns](https://zapier.com/blog/marketing-campaign-examples) to run. If the marketing agency I work for didn't automate some of our more tedious tasks, we'd waste a lot of time doing things that software could take off our hands. There are tons of marketing tools out there that enable you to build [automated workflows](https://zapier.com/blog/workflow-automation/), but some shine above the rest. After some extensive testing, here are my choices for the best marketing automation software. ## The best marketing automation software - [Zapier](#zapier) for building safely with AI - [Brevo](#brevo) for an affordable all-in-one solution - [HubSpot](#hubspot) for a premium all-in-one solution - [Omnisend](#omnisend) for eCommerce - [ActiveCampaign](#activecampaign) for AI campaign building - [Klaviyo](#klaviyo) for user-friendliness - [Customer.io](#customerio) for powerful workflow automations - [Ortto](#ortto) for marketing analytics - [Mailchimp](#mailchimp) for automating email marketing ## What makes the best marketing automation tool? If your reaction to the term "marketing automation tool" is confusion (and perhaps an eye roll), that's natural. It's a really broad term, and while all tools under this umbrella offer automation tools for _some type_ of marketing, everyone seems to have their own understanding of what it means. So let's define it first. Here are the criteria I stayed laser-focused on to determine which apps qualified as "marketing automation software" and which ones went above and beyond in the category: - **Automation capabilities.** Every platform I tested (and hence every platform that made this list) automates _at least two of the following_ marketing mediums: email, SMS/text, digital ads, and social media. The more mediums the app automates, the better it ranks here. I paid especially close attention to each app's workflow builders, testing how intuitive it was to automate tasks that apply to the customer journey. - **Integrations and functionality.** You probably rely on a handful of different tools to execute the monster that is "marketing" at your organization—systems for customer relationship management (CRM), content management, pipeline management, and more. Marketing automation software that integrates with these tools (or, better yet, has them built in) reduces workflow complications as you get all your tools to work together. - **Price to value.** Frankly, I was shocked by how much these kinds of apps can vary in price—they range from "free forever!" to the ominous "custom pricing, but never less than $1,000 per user per month." The main thing here is that each app offers a lot of value for the price. - **Ease of use.** A learning curve is natural, but being bombarded with a million "how do you…" and "this isn't working" messages from employees three months into using a tool doesn't have to be. Great marketing automation tools have excellent customer support or are so easy to use that you shouldn't even need to rely on support. - **Reporting and analytics. **A marketing platform _needs_ data analytics. If I stumbled upon an app that didn't, it went straight to my "nope" pile. The best platforms offer reports that cover all the metrics a marketing team should pay attention to, as well as [customizable](https://zapier.com/blog/customizable-automation-platform) and user-friendly dashboards to visualize that data and use it to inform future strategy. I tested each [marketing automation](https://zapier.com/blog/marketing-automation-examples-for-lead-nurture/) platform by signing up for an account, generating or importing sample data, creating custom automations, generating reports, and exploring the nooks and crannies (sorry) of each app's interface. With the help of the above criteria and my own takeaways from testing tools in this category, I selected nine apps that will help you execute impactful [automated marketing campaigns](https://zapier.com/blog/common-marketing-automation-mistakes/). ## The best marketing automation software at a glance **Best for** **Standout feature** **Pricing** **Website** [**Zapier**](#zapier) Building safely with AI Connects to apps, plus Zapier MCP for giving AI tools like Claude direct access to your marketing stack Offers a free plan; from $19.99/month [Visit Zapier](https://zapier.com/) [**Brevo**](#brevo) An affordable all-in-one solution Also includes a CRM and meeting scheduler Offers a free plan; from $9/month [Visit Brevo](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1724940016902x160758065409556480?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) [**HubSpot**](#hubspot) A premium all-in-one solution Extensive marketing features and CRM integration From $890/month [Visit HubSpot](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1741036559334x957535531067768800?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) [**Omnisend**](#omnisend) eCommerce Very extensive free plan and inexpensive upgrades Offers a free plan; from $16/month [Visit Omnisend](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1731007463592x971223882552311800?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) [**ActiveCampaign**](#activecampaign) AI campaign building Tons of multilingual workflows with integrated AI tools From $15/month [Visit ActiveCampaign](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1730948957905x851820705298776000?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) [**Klaviyo**](#klaviyo) User-friendliness Drag-and-drop implemented everywhere Offers a free plan; from $20/month [Visit Klaviyo](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1731003855665x984056302980300800?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) [**Customer.io**](#customerio) Powerful workflow automations Large selection of marketing channels to automate From $100/month [Visit Customer.io](https://customer.io/) [**Ortto**](#ortto) Marketing analytics Integrated generative AI From $199/month [Visit Ortto](https://ortto.com/) [**Mailchimp**](#mailchimp) Automating email marketing Integrates third-party customer acquisition channels Offers a free plan; from $13/month [Visit Mailchimp](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1729115535526x961245769288908800?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) ## Best marketing automation software for building safely with AI ### [Zapier](https://zapier.com) (Web) **Zapier pros:** - SOC 2 Type II, SSO, SCIM, and centralized access controls - Connects to apps - Purpose-built for automation **Zapier cons:** - No native email marketing, SMS, advertising, or social media features Zapier is a little different from the other apps on this list. Instead of serving as an email, SMS, social media, or ads server, it connects to all the other apps you use for those channels—and automates every aspect of those workflows. In short: it helps you get the most from your existing marketing tech stack. Zapier connects with over apps, from CRMs and ad platforms to email marketing tools and spreadsheets, so you can turn a set of disjointed tools into a cohesive, automated system. That makes it particularly useful for marketing teams managing multi-channel campaigns across multiple platforms—think Facebook Lead Ads, HubSpot, Mailchimp, and Google Sheets, all talking to each other without manual data entry. Zapier also stands out as an [AI orchestration platform](https://zapier.com/blog/zapier-ai-orchestration-platform/), making it easy to layer AI into your marketing workflows. You can add agentic steps into your workflows to handle tasks that traditionally require manual effort or siloed tools. For example, you could use AI to draft email copy tailored to each lead segment, summarize campaign performance data from multiple sources into digestible insights, or classify incoming leads based on open text fields like job titles or form responses. AI can also clean and enrich contact data by standardizing names, detecting duplicates, or appending missing information like company size or industry—all in real time as new data flows in. And if your team is already using AI assistants like Claude or ChatGPT, [Zapier MCP](https://zapier.com/blog/zapier-mcp-guide/) lets those tools take action across your marketing stack directly from the chabot—pulling campaign data, updating contacts, or even triggering workflows—without exposing credentials or requiring a developer to wire it up. When combined with [Zapier Tables](https://zapier.com/tables) for data storage and [Forms](https://zapier.com/forms) for custom intake forms or review screens, Zapier becomes a complete AI-powered marketing command center. Zapier's value lies in its flexibility: it helps marketing teams unify fragmented tools, reduce context switching, and unlock personalization and real-time reporting across the marketing tech stack. It's ideal for teams looking to scale personalized, AI-driven marketing efforts across multiple channels and apps. And yes, this is the Zapier blog, so I suggest seeing [what our customers say](https://zapier.com/customer-stories) so you can have a second opinion. **Zapier pricing: **Free plan available; paid plans from $19.99/month ## Best marketing automation software for an affordable all-in-one solution ### [**Brevo**](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1724940016902x160758065409556480?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) (Web, iOS, Android) **Brevo pros:** - CRM-meeting scheduler-marketing automation hybrid - Automates 4+ marketing channels - Offers a free plan **Brevo cons:** - Relatively simple and inflexible - Some key functionality is paywalled behind higher tiers Initially, I wondered if I was impressed by Brevo just because it was the first app I tested and I didn't have anything better to compare it to. But looking back after testing loads of apps, I can honestly say Brevo gives you bang for the buck. For one, even on its free plan, it [automates email](https://zapier.com/blog/automate-email-marketing/), SMS, and WhatsApp—more mediums than some paid marketing software. The app's workflow builder also offers a ton of options, including conditions like delays and A/B splits (splitting contacts 50/50 into two groups), and actions like webhooks and CRM updates (which leads me to my next point). The platform isn't just a marketing workflow builder—it's also a CRM and meeting scheduling tool. The CRM is pretty simple compared to dedicated CRMs, but it's a nice bonus to the automation features. (Whereas most CRMs have basic automation sequences but more complex sales funnel capabilities.) The only real downside for Brevo is its scalability. Users looking to get the most out of its two lower-cost tiers will hit some roadblocks as they grow. Free plans come with a limit of 300 emails per day and have Brevo branding, which Starter requires an extra $9 per month to remove. You'll need to pay up for Business or Enterprise for pretty standard functionality like A/B testing, predictive sending suggestions, advanced click/open reporting, and added marketing channels like Facebook Ads and pop-ups. With Zapier, you can [automate Brevo](https://zapier.com/apps/brevo/integrations) by connecting other marketing platforms, form builders, and thousands of other tools to Brevo. Learn more about [how to automate Brevo](https://zapier.com/blog/automate-brevo-sendinblue/), or get started with one of these pre-made workflows. **Brevo price:** Offers a free plan; from $9/month, billed annually, for the Starter plan ## Best marketing automation software for a premium all-in-one solution ### [**HubSpot Marketing Hub**](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1741036559334x957535531067768800?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) (Web) **HubSpot pros:** - Marketing Hub integrates seamlessly with HubSpot's CRM, CMS, customer service, and other solutions - Extensive yet very easy to use **HubSpot cons:** - Very expensive - Only chatflow automations are available at free level - May need a separate Hub for the automations you want When it comes to marketing software, [HubSpot](https://zapier.com/blog/what-is-hubspot/) is a real heavy hitter. The platform has _a ton_ of uses, but its omnichannel enterprise-style automation requires an upgrade to Marketing Hub Professional. Heads up—it's really expensive, and therefore probably not the best option for startups and small businesses. For Free and Starter plan users, you do technically get _some_ marketing automation in the form of HubSpot's Chatflows. This is basically just a fancy name for custom chatbots, which isn't nothing, especially for a potentially free plan. Meanwhile, Sequence automations (read: scheduled outreach campaigns) are only available for Sales Hub Professional and Service Hub Professional users, and automated surveys are only available for Service Hub Professional users. Despite the app's depth and complexity, HubSpot certainly invests in user experience. When I started testing its [workflow feature](https://zapier.com/blog/hubspot-workflow-examples/), I was greeted by one of the best demos I've ever encountered. It showed me exactly how to build out a workflow to qualify a lead and send them through a pipeline using an interactive, animated example. HubSpot's workflow builder is also really powerful. It offers a large set of categorized actions, including internal and external communication, ads management, APIs with _lots_ of other apps, and even enrollment in another workflow. It also makes it easy to classify leads and send the right leads to the right people. HubSpot has added a suite of AI features, too, under the Breeze moniker, including an AI assistant, Breeze Agents for augmenting workflows, content generation tools, and AI-powered data enrichment.  The platform also offers stellar analytics for campaigns. You can generate custom reports, pull insights into dashboards, and customize those dashboards however you like using drag-and-drop. HubSpot offers 2,000 native integrations. But in the event that these integrations don't enable you to automate everything you hoped, you can [use Zapier to automate HubSpot](https://zapier.com/apps/hubspot/integrations), connecting it to thousands more apps, so you can build AI-powered automated systems for your work. Learn more about [how to automate HubSpot with Zapier](https://zapier.com/blog/hubspot-crm-and-zapier/), or get started with one of these pre-made workflows. **HubSpot price:** From $890/month, billed annually, for Marketing Hub Professional ## Best marketing automation software for eCommerce ### [**Omnisend**](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1731007463592x971223882552311800?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) (Web) **Omnisend pros:** - Excellent support; offers an entire academy of resources for learning how to use the app - Free plan comes with extensive features **Omnisend cons:** - Narrowly focused on eCommerce Brevo's free plan is impressive, but the app is pretty simple. Omnisend, on the other hand, enables significantly more flexibility, and its free plan provides access to many features that other apps would consider premium. I wasn't able to test many of Omnisend's features firsthand because you need to connect a live eCommerce site (which I don't have) for it to function properly. But based on what I was able to test, plus pre-recorded demos and other online resources, I was able to get a feel for the platform. Omnisend automates email, push notifications, and SMS, allowing you to choose from a large selection of pre-built categorized workflows that span the customer journey, or build your own custom ones. The workflow builder is intuitive—just drag and drop conditions and actions wherever you want them. The platform's marketing features also impressed me. It offers creative, professional, and fully customizable email templates with a user-friendly editor, A/B testing for your emails, and even an AI assistant to help you write and personalize them. Omnisend's AI can also generate brand assets, predict churn, find high-value customers, and assist with market research. You even get unlimited access to advanced features like segmentation, forms, and customer profiles at the free level. As the cherry on top, Omnisend offers 24/7 email and live chat support with its free plan, in addition to Omnisend Academy—an extensive library of well-produced demos and courses to help you get the most out of the app. Its 160+ native integrations aside, [Omnisend integrates with Zapier](https://zapier.com/apps/omnisend/integrations) to serve as an orchestration hub for your AI-powered workflows. That means you can coordinate tasks across your entire stack—for example, importing new subscribers from your website builder, enriching their profiles with AI, and adding them to Omnisend, all without manual intervention. Learn more about [how to automate Omnisend](https://zapier.com/blog/omnisend-automation/), or start with one of these Zap templates. **Omnisend price:** Offers a free plan; from $16/month for the Standard plan ## Best marketing automation software for AI campaign building ### [**ActiveCampaign**](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1730948957905x851820705298776000?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) (Web, iOS, Android) **ActiveCampaign pros:** - Huge library of multilingual workflow automations - AI functionality for email content generation, predictive email sending, and automation building **ActiveCampaign cons:** - Doesn't offer templates for form creation - May be overkill for basic users - Predictive AI sending is limited to two highest tiers Most marketing automation software offers a jumping-off point for workflows via pre-built automations, but [ActiveCampaign](https://zapier.com/blog/activecampaign-alternatives/) goes several steps further. First, its pre-built automation library is _massive_, covering industry-specific workflows as well as both internal and external communications like deal win updates and re-engagement campaigns. It also offers workflows in Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, and Spanish. So if your organization markets to a global audience, ActiveCampaign has you covered. Drawbacks to ActiveCampaign are few and far between—it's solid software with lots of features and a pretty fair pricing model. As a true CRM, [similar to HubSpot](https://zapier.com/blog/activecampaign-vs-hubspot/), it's got quite a bit of functionality beyond marketing process automations that bridge sales functionality, so it's possible it'll have more features than you need as you scale up its tiers.  No matter what you use ActiveCampaign for, its AI tools have become a huge perk. Like many other workflow products these days, it's got incorporated generative AI (starting at the Plus tier) to help you compose, summarize, and revise messages, plus AI-powered predictive sending (available only at the Pro tier, which is a bit high compared to some competitors). On the flip side, it also offers AI-powered automation and enterprise-level campaign building at all plan levels, which is pretty impressive. Using ActiveCampaign's chatbot, all you've got to do is describe the workflow or marketing campaign you want to build, and it'll do the rest, drafting the entire automation sequence, setting up trigger conditions, creating personalized email content, and configuring follow-up actions based on customer behavior and engagement patterns. With [ActiveCampaign's Zapier integration](https://zapier.com/apps/activecampaign/integrations), ActiveCampaign becomes part of your AI orchestration layer—so your customer data and engagement workflows stay in sync across platforms. For example, you can coordinate AI-driven actions that update contacts based on signals from your scheduling tools, payment processors, or other systems, ensuring timely and personalized outreach without manual effort. Learn more about [how to automate ActiveCampaign](https://zapier.com/blog/automate-activecampaign-with-zapier/), or get started with one of these pre-made workflows. **ActiveCampaign price:** From $15/month, billed annually, for the Starter plan ## Best marketing automation software for user-friendliness ### [**Klaviyo**](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1731003855665x984056302980300800?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) (Web, iOS, Android) **Klaviyo pros:** - Large library of high-quality, customizable templates - Good price-to-value **Klaviyo cons:** - Somewhat eCommerce-focused If there's one app on this list that wins the "drag-and-drop" award, it's Klaviyo. Nearly everything, from workflows to dashboards to forms, can all be created and customized by dragging elements around wherever you want them to go. At least in my experience, this flexibility lends to a really positive user experience. The interface is also very clean—not incredibly feature-rich like HubSpot, but also not overly simple or lacking in any tools I'd want in marketing automation software. The platform also provides several jumping-off points for workflows—use one of its 60+ pre-built options to prevent lost sales, nurture subscribers, build customer loyalty, remind customers to purchase, encourage repeat purchases, update customers on their order status, and more. While it's plenty useful for just about any marketing workflow need, eCommerce users will probably get the most bang for their buck with Klaviyo. Account creation prompts a Shopify integration, with multiple other eCommerce platform options as alternatives. You can still create everything from forms to workflows to reports for non-eCommerce-specific needs, so I wouldn't necessarily count it off if you're, say, a SaaS company. But eCommerce users will have extra love for incorporating their campaigns and workflows into their sales sites. In addition to 350+ integrations, [Klaviyo connects with Zapier](https://zapier.com/apps/klaviyo/integrations) as part of a powerful orchestration layer for your AI-driven marketing workflows. Instead of just syncing contacts, you can coordinate actions across your entire stack—for example, turning website form submissions into enriched subscriber profiles, then routing them into your Klaviyo audience or ad platforms for personalized campaigns. Read more about [how to automate Klaviyo](https://zapier.com/blog/the-best-ways-to-automate-klaviyo-with-zapier/), or try one of the following pre-built templates. **Klaviyo price:** Offers a free plan; from $20/month for the Email plan ## Best marketing automation software for powerful workflow automations ### [**Customer.io**](https://customer.io/) (Web) **Customer.io pros:** - Automates a wide variety of marketing channels - Customizable—you can use as much or as little code as you'd like to customize messages, and you can use Liquid to personalize messages **Customer.io cons:** - Relatively expensive A lot of marketing apps market themselves as automation-centric when really they're just simple CRMs with relatively weak automation features. But Customer.io is unabashedly an enterprise-level marketing automation point solution, and it fulfills this use case _very_ well. Through its Journeys platform, you can automate email, SMS, Slack, push notifications to apps, Twilio, and more—covering the most marketing channels of any app I tested. The workflow builder allows you to create webhooks, multi-split branches for customer journeys, trigger campaigns by segments, and more. I also found this workflow builder very easy to use, allowing you to drag and drop actions and triggers into your builder and even save workflow templates. To help users create the most bespoke automations possible, just about every feature on Customer.io's dashboard can be integrated into workflows. You can build newsletters and messaging campaigns within its intuitive CMS or create high-performing, brand-specific emails using its transactional messaging API. You can add the usual CRM elements like people, audience segments, and imported data fields or create your own custom objects like events, classes, and accounts that fit right into your automated workflows. Another feature of the app that impressed me was its A/B testing capabilities—you can simultaneously test up to eight variations of a newsletter to identify exactly what's working and what isn't. On top of this, Customer.io now has platform-wide AI that can do things like suggest segments, analyze emails, and draft messages from templates.  [Customer.io also integrates with Zapier](https://zapier.com/apps/customerio/integrations) to help you unify customer data and engagement across channels. You can do things like automatically capture leads from landing pages or social platforms, enrich them with AI, and add them to Customer.io campaigns—all without manual effort. Learn more about [how to automate Customer.io](https://zapier.com/blog/automate-customerio/), or get started with one of these pre-made workflows. **Customer.io price:** From $100/month for the Essentials plan ## Best marketing automation software for marketing analytics ### [**Ortto**](https://ortto.com/) (Web) **Ortto pros:** - Extensive user activity tracking and reporting - User-friendly and offers accessible support - New capture widget allows you to automate tons of lead acquisition approaches **Ortto cons:** - Expensive Ortto was among the most fun premium marketing automation solutions I tested. Automating SMS and email campaigns via _Journeys_ is user-friendly and takes place on a colorful and whimsical interface. This workflow builder also comes with revision history, so if you make a mistake, you can go back in time to restore a previous version of your Journey.  The most impressive part of Ortto, however, is its reporting and analytics. The platform tracks nearly every user behavior and gives you 10 ways to visualize that data. Specifically, it comes equipped with over 60 preset activities like email opens, reactions to widgets, and trial terminations, and even allows you to create your own custom "activities" to track. You can pick from a bunch of new capture widgets or create your own from scratch so you can work modular lead-capture approaches into your automated workflows. These workflows are highly detailed. You can set customer touchpoints on highly specific (or, equally usefully, highly general) touchpoints like new trial activations by user plan, setup wizard completion, and journey completion. Recently, Ortto has caught up to other AI-powered marketing platforms with tools like AI segmentation, customer evaluation, lead enrichment, and a model builder you can train on your website. You can also use AI to see what your subject line's open rate likelihood is based on predictive Ortto analytics. If it's not so promising, it'll suggest alternatives Ortto's proprietary AI has crafted to be even more effective. You can then use the app's _Reports_ tab to analyze [customer engagement](https://zapier.com/blog/customer-engagement-software), revenue attribution, and the best time to send a message. You can also create custom dashboards using drag-and-drop (my favorite) that reflect progress toward shared goals. When you [connect Ortto with Zapier](https://zapier.com/apps/ortto/integrations), it doesn't just sync data—it helps orchestrate how that data flows across your stack. You can automatically pull in information from spreadsheets, create subscriber records in other platforms, and even layer in AI to segment or personalize at scale. The result: a marketing ecosystem where Ortto is always working in concert with your other tools. Here are a few pre-made workflows to get you started. **Ortto price:** From $199/month for the Professional plan ## Best marketing automation software for email ### [Mailchimp](https://vendors.selectsoftwarereviews.com/redirect/1729115535526x961245769288908800?p=1715808885462x244895206427328500) (Web, iOS, Android) **Mailchimp pros:** - Functional free plan - Can be used to create, manage, and automate multiple content formats - Integrates with other apps for automating email across customer acquisition channels **Mailchimp cons:** - Pricing scales by number of contacts - Can be just as expensive as CRMs with similar automation tools You might think of [Mailchimp](https://zapier.com/blog/why-is-mailchimp-so-popular/) purely as an [email newsletter platform](https://zapier.com/blog/best-email-newsletter-software/), but it checks all the boxes to be considered marketing automation software. While its focus is still decidedly on email marketing, it's also got the automation chops, content management tools, reporting capabilities, and lead tracking features to approach light-use CRM-style functionality. Mailchimp's automation flow builder is available at the Essentials tier, offering perks like recommended automations and the ability to integrate data from third-party apps. Multi-step automations (up to 100) only open up at the Standard tier, and you'll be relegated to a pretty lackluster four-step limit until you upgrade.  The flow builder itself is really intuitive (though not drag-and-drop). Just click the touchpoints to open up actions like sending new emails and texts, scheduling messages, initiating Google Analytics tracking, adjusting tags, and changing acquisition channels. You can even integrate other apps in your sales funnel like Shopify and Facebook ads to grow your trigger conditions and start new customer journeys at the point of sale or ad engagement. Mailchimp is clearly invested in becoming a more general-purpose automation tool. You can even use the platform to build websites, create digital assets with an AI creation wizard, manage creative assets, and design forms and surveys.  As a general-purpose marketing tool, Mailchimp still isn't as modular as higher-end marketing automation tools. It still pretty clearly leans toward email automation, and many of its automation triggers are dedicated to messaging. But there's a plus to its relative simplicity. It's easy to pick up and start using, is perfectly designed to make lead management more actionable with messaging campaigns, and integrates with many of the top marketing tools to grow its functionality.  You can extend Mailchimp beyond email by [connecting it with Zapier](https://zapier.com/apps/mailchimp/integrations) as part of your orchestration layer. Instead of handling campaigns in isolation, you can coordinate how subscriber data, AI-driven insights, and marketing actions flow across your entire stack so the right message reaches the right audience at the right time. Learn more about [automating Mailchimp with Zapier](https://zapier.com/blog/mailchimp-integrations/), or try one of these pre-built workflows. **Mailchimp pricing:** Free for up to 500 contacts; scales by number of contacts starting at $13/month for Essentials ## Which marketing automation tool should you choose? If you don't want to overanalyze nine different tools, start here. Your company size, sales model, and marketing complexity will usually point you to the right category—and the right tool. ### Startups If you're early-stage, you need something affordable, quick to implement, and flexible enough to grow with you. Try one of these apps: - Brevo - Mailchimp - ActiveCampaign They balance price and functionality, with enough automation to scale without overwhelming your team. And they all connect to Zapier, so you can use them with the rest of your tech stack. ### eCommerce eCommerce lives and dies by segmentation, timing, and personalization, and you need a solution that's built specifically for that. The two obvious choices: - Omnisend - Klaviyo Both are built specifically for online stores, with pre-built flows for abandoned carts, post-purchase, and retention. And you can connect them with Zapier for complete eCommerce automation. ### B2B mid-market At this stage, you need stronger lead management, CRM alignment, and multi-channel orchestration. Your best picks are: - Zapier - HubSpot - ActiveCampaign - Customer.io These tools connect marketing to sales pipelines and support more complex journeys. ### Large enterprises Enterprise teams need flexibility, scalability, and the ability to orchestrate across many systems. Here are the tools you should look at: - Zapier - HubSpot - Customer.io - Ortto These platforms offer advanced segmentation, analytics, and customization, along with enterprise-grade security. ## Orchestrate your marketing campaigns with Zapier When choosing marketing automation software, it's ok to be picky. This will be your go-to tool for your marketing campaigns, ensuring they successfully generate and nurture leads without requiring your team's constant involvement. Once set up, it should do the heavy lifting for you so that you can focus on higher-level strategy. But even powerful tools like these need some love from other software your business uses, whether that be a separate CRM, customer service solution, CMS, what have you. Zapier can connect to all of these and build them into workflows that orchestrate your marketing process from start to finish. And if you're already using AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT, Zapier MCP lets those assistants take direct action across your marketing stack—so the AI doing your analysis can also update your CRM, trigger a campaign, or route a lead. You'll be freeing up more time than you know what to do with.   Learn more about [how to use Zapier for marketing automation](https://zapier.com/blog/marketing-automation-use-cases/). **Related reading:** - [The best digital marketing tools](https://zapier.com/blog/best-digital-marketing-tools/) - [Free marketing calendar templates to boost your strategy](https://zapier.com/blog/marketing-calendar-template/) - [HubSpot vs. Pardot: Which is best?](https://zapier.com/blog/hubspot-vs-pardot) - [HubSpot vs. Marketo: Which should you use?](https://zapier.com/blog/hubspot-vs-marketo) - [The best campaign management software](https://zapier.com/blog/campaign-management-software) - [What is workflow orchestration? And how to get started](https://zapier.com/blog/workflow-orchestration) - [What is revenue operations (RevOps)?](https://zapier.com/blog/revenue-operations/) - [Marketo vs. Pardot: Which is best?](https://zapier.com/blog/marketo-vs-pardot/) _This article was originally published in April 2022 by Chris Hawkins and has also had contributions from Luke Strauss and Bryce Emley. The most recent update was in October 2025_.