Best B2B Marketing Automation Software in 2026
Short answer: HubSpot Marketing Hub is the B2B default in 2026 when scoring and the CRM share a published price. Professional starts at $890/mo for 3 seats, and that edition is where lead scoring turns on. Choose Account Engagement Growth+ at $1,250/org/mo when the opportunity already lives in Salesforce. Choose ActiveCampaign Plus at $49/mo, billed annually for 1,000 contacts, when the list is small and the CRM add-on can wait. Marketo Engage and Eloqua still publish no list price. Customer.io Essentials is $100/mo when the trigger is a product event, not a form fill.
Ranked for the job that matters: score a lead, hand it to sales, and know which tier actually does that.
HubSpot Marketing Hub is the platform to buy when a B2B team wants the score and the contact record in one login. Finance can read a published tier before the demo, which is the point of skipping a quote. Starter sends email and hosts forms, but the fit score stays off, so reps still guess who is ready.
Cart and newsletter tools belong in the marketing automation software guide, and named-account ads belong in the ABM platforms guide. This page stops at the nurture and the handoff into the CRM a rep already opens. If that CRM is still undecided, settle HubSpot vs Salesforce before a second marketing login hits the bill.
Toolradar data: 226 of the 343 marketing automation tools we track are paid only (66%), and 32% offer a free or freemium plan (10 free and 100 freemium). A free row in the marketing automation category is often a newsletter tool, so it will not grade a lead or place one in a sales queue.
How we chose: these 10 were ranked for a US B2B team that has to nurture a lead and pass it to sales, from the 343 tools in that category. Prices are USD, checked on vendor pages in September 2026, with no paid placement in the ranking. The method is on how we rate.
Top Picks
Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | From $890/mo, 3 seats | 3.919,150 reviews | Teams that want a score and a CRM at a price they can read first. |
| Account Engagement (Pardot) | From $1,250/org/mo | 4.1729 reviews | Teams whose pipeline already lives in Salesforce and should stay there. |
| ActiveCampaign | From $49/mo annual | 4.517,363 reviews | Small B2B teams that will automate email before they buy a CRM add-on. |
| Adobe Marketo Engage | No public list price | 3.83,163 reviews | Enterprise teams with a marketing-ops owner and a Salesforce CRM. |
| Act-On | From $900/mo | 4.21,558 reviews | Teams with a large stored database and a smaller list they actually mail. |
| Oracle Eloqua | No public list price | 3.9641 reviews | Teams that will run complex, multi-model lead programs with an ops owner. |
| Customer.io | From $100/mo Essentials | 4.5988 reviews | SaaS teams whose triggers are product events, not a gated white paper. |
| Keap | From $299/mo | 3.81,542 reviews | Owners who sell and market from the same small team and want one login. |
| Brevo | From $18/mo Standard | 4.66,219 reviews | Small teams that mail a list and do not need a native pipeline yet. |
| Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM | No public list price | 4.61,336 reviews | Teams that already know SharpSpring and can accept a custom tier. |
HubSpot Marketing Hub
Top Pick- 4.4 on G2 (13,374 reviews)
- 4.5 on Capterra (4,455 reviews)
- 4.3 on TrustRadius (669 reviews)
- 1.8 on Trustpilot (613 reviews)
- 4.1 on PeerSpot (39 reviews)
Teams that want a score and a CRM at a price they can read first.
HubSpot's pricing is the most complex in SaaS, 7 Hubs, 4 tiers each, per-seat AND per-contact charges, plus mandatory onboarding fees.
Watch out
Marketing contacts vs non-marketing contacts: HubSpot only charges for 'marketing contacts' (those you email, use in ads, or include in workflows). But the distinction is confusing, and accidentally including contacts in a marketing email converts them to paid marketing contacts with no undo
Account Engagement (Pardot)
- 4.1 on Capterra (650 reviews)
- 4.3 on SourceForge (67 reviews)
- 3.6 on G2 (12 reviews)
Teams whose pipeline already lives in Salesforce and should stay there.
Pardot's pricing is significantly expensive, especially starting at $1,250/month for the Growth tier and quickly escalating to $4,400/month for Advanced.
Watch out
Potential for annual-only commitment discounts
Small B2B teams that will automate email before they buy a CRM add-on.
Enterprise teams with a marketing-ops owner and a Salesforce CRM.
It's best suited for large enterprises with significant marketing budgets and complex automation needs.
Watch out
Add-ons like Marketo Measure can increase price
Teams with a large stored database and a smaller list they actually mail.
However, this often indicates a higher price point, likely placing it in the expensive category compared to market averages for similar feature sets.
Watch out
Potential onboarding/setup fees
Teams that will run complex, multi-model lead programs with an ops owner.
It's best suited for large organizations with complex marketing needs and substantial budgets.
Watch out
Implementation and onboarding services
SaaS teams whose triggers are product events, not a gated white paper.
Customer.io's pricing is on the expensive side, especially for smaller businesses, with the Essentials tier starting at $100/month.
Watch out
Overage fees for profiles/emails beyond tier limits
Owners who sell and market from the same small team and want one login.
It's best for established small businesses with higher budgets prioritizing an all-in-one solution.
Watch out
Overage fees for additional contacts
Small teams that mail a list and do not need a native pipeline yet.
Brevo's pricing is quite competitive, especially at the entry level.
Watch out
Removing branding is an add-on
Teams that already know SharpSpring and can accept a custom tier.
It's best suited for agencies or businesses with substantial marketing budgets and contact lists.
Watch out
Potential overage fees for contacts
What B2B marketing automation software is
B2B marketing automation software captures a prospect, scores fit and behavior, and routes a sales-ready lead into a CRM. A newsletter tool is a different purchase, because it never marks anyone ready for a rep.
Three contracts wear the same label, and mixing them up is how a team buys email and then finds scoring on the next edition. A suite such as HubSpot or Keap keeps the contact, the journey, and the pipeline in one login. A Salesforce, Adobe, or Oracle platform assumes the CRM and a marketing-ops owner already exist. A send-priced tool such as Brevo or Customer.io meters messages or profiles, and the deal may still live somewhere else.
Buying the email tier and expecting an MQL pays for broadcasts while the score, the lifecycle, and the rep notification stay off. HubSpot Professional, Account Engagement, Marketo Prime, Eloqua, and Act-On Professional are built for that handoff. ActiveCampaign Plus automates the journey and sells scoring as a Pipelines add-on, so the contact price is not the full stack. Customer.io fires from product events, which fits a SaaS signup better than a gated white paper. Keap and Brevo suit a smaller list, and Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM, formerly SharpSpring, is a custom quote you cannot spreadsheet this week.
Why the homepage price is rarely the B2B product
The number on a marketing homepage is often a seat that sends email. The score that tells sales whom to call is the next edition, an add-on, or a quote that never prints a dollar. A team that models the cheap seat will miss the tier that can mark a lead sales-ready.
HubSpot prices Marketing Hub Starter per seat, then starts Professional at a base that includes 3 Core Seats, with required onboarding on top. Lead scoring on that catalog is a Professional and Enterprise feature: up to 5 scores on Professional, and up to 50 on Enterprise, where AI recommendations appear. Staying on Starter means the nurture you can run is simpler, and the fit score never turns on, so the rep's queue stays manual.
Account Engagement prints an org price and then meters contacts in blocks, with SMS and WhatsApp called out as add-ons. Act-On prints a Professional start and then lists CRM integration as an add-on on that package, so the Salesforce handoff is not inside the first number. ActiveCampaign prices contacts, and lead scoring sits inside the Pipelines add-on, which publishes no price of its own. Budgeting the email plan and assuming the handoff is included leaves the program unfinished.
Key Features to Look For
The edition where a score exists (Essential)
HubSpot lead scoring starts on Marketing Hub Professional, capped at 5 scores, so a few models can stay on that edition. Enterprise raises the cap to 50 and adds AI recommendations when every product line needs its own score. Omni-channel workflows on Professional stop at 300 workflows for 10 teams, while Enterprise allows 1,000 workflows for 300 teams and can use behavioral events and lead scoring inside them.
Account Engagement lists lead scoring and grading on the pricing comparison, and Growth+ caps automation rules at 50, so a busy routing map can outgrow the entry org. Act-On includes an AI predictive lead score on Professional, so the score is in the published start. ActiveCampaign puts lead scoring in the Pipelines add-on, not in the contact price you see first.
Who receives the lead (Essential)
A score that never reaches the rep is a report. HubSpot can sync Salesforce, with up to 500 field mappings per object on Professional and Enterprise, and the contact still lives in HubSpot's own CRM if you never buy Salesforce.
Account Engagement lists a native CRM integration on every edition, which pays off only when Salesforce is already the system of record. Act-On includes CRM integration on Enterprise and sells it as an add-on on Professional, including Salesforce, SugarCRM, NetSuite, and Dynamics, so a Professional order can omit the handoff. Eloqua routes conversation-ready opportunities into Oracle CX Sales and also connects other CRMs. Keap stores company records and a sales pipeline in the same subscription, which fits when two people run both jobs.
Which contacts you pay for (Essential)
The meter decides whether a quiet database is expensive. HubSpot charges marketing contacts and leaves non-marketing contacts free, up to an overall cap of 15 million, so a sales-only list does not inflate the bill. Professional includes 2,000 marketing contacts, and the next band, through 22,000, is priced per 5,000 contacts. Starter includes 1,000 marketing contacts, and the band from 1,001 to 3,000 is a separate monthly amount.
Act-On bills active contacts, the people you engage in a month, not the stored database, so a list you only mail in part should cost less. Account Engagement includes 10,000 contacts on Growth+, Plus+, and Advanced+, and 75,000 on Premium+, then sells more in blocks of 10,000. Brevo's entry plans meter monthly emails, and Customer.io meters profiles, people plus objects.
Email package versus account package (Important)
Marketo Engage lists Growth, Select, Prime, and Ultimate, and none of them prints a dollar. Growth is core marketing email, segmentation, automation, and measurement. Prime is lead- and account-based marketing with journey analytics and AI personalization. A quote that names Growth can be the email product, not the account program.
Eloqua adds an account engagement score and Guided Campaigns for account-based work, and it does not print a package price. HubSpot's account ads are a separate question covered in the ABM platforms guide, and this page stops at the nurture and the handoff.
Form fills versus product events (Important)
Classic B2B automation starts when someone submits a form or opens a series of emails. Customer.io Essentials is built the other way: 5,000 profiles, people and objects together, 1 million emails a month, and 2 object types, on a monthly term. Premium moves to an annual term, with custom profile volume and 10 object types. That suits a SaaS company whose trigger is signup or feature use.
It is the wrong buy when the motion is a gated white paper and a sales queue, because you still bring the CRM yourself. Extra profiles are billed per profile, and extra email is billed per 1,000, so a launch week can move the invoice without a new seat.
A number you can put in a sheet (Important)
HubSpot, Account Engagement, ActiveCampaign, Act-On, Customer.io, Keap, and Brevo each print at least one USD figure, so a team can reject a bad fit before a call. Marketo Engage, Eloqua, and Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM do not print a dollar.
ActiveCampaign's Pipelines add-on, where lead scoring lives, also publishes no price, so the journey can be budgeted while the score cannot. Rank a quoted platform only after the order form, and use a published plan when the decision has to happen this week.
What the cheap plan withholds (Important)
Brevo Standard is the plan that lists marketing automation, A/B tests, and one landing page. Starter lists email, SMS credits sold separately, forms, and basic reporting, and it does not list those workflows, so a team on Starter can mail but cannot branch a nurture. Contact scoring, 10 seats, and a floor of 150,000 emails a month show up on Professional, a different budget from the automation entry.
Account Engagement Growth+ includes 50 forms, 50 form handlers, and 50 landing pages. Plus+ makes forms, handlers, and landing pages unlimited and raises automation rules from 50 to 100. Advanced dynamic content is a paid add-on on Growth+ and included higher, so a Growth+ order that skips it never gets the dynamic block.
What to weigh before you sign
Name the handoff before the vendor. A score inside the marketing tool, a task in HubSpot or Keap, and a lead created in Salesforce are three different setups, and only one of them matches how your reps work today.
Read the tier that includes scoring, not the seat in the hero. HubSpot Starter is not that tier, and neither is ActiveCampaign's contact price. Act-On's CRM connection is an add-on on Professional, so the first invoice can omit the handoff.
Match the meter to the database you actually mail. HubSpot meters marketing contacts and leaves the rest free, Act-On meters people you engage this month, and Account Engagement meters stored contacts in blocks of 10,000. Brevo meters sends, so a quiet list and a busy list are different bills.
Ask Marketo which package is on the quote, because Growth is the email package and Prime is the lead- and account-based package. Neither prints a public dollar, so the package name is the only way to know what you bought.
Separate a product-event tool from a form tool before you shortlist. Customer.io belongs with a SaaS product team whose trigger is usage, not a white paper. A field-sales motion should start with HubSpot, Account Engagement, or Keap, then read the CRM for B2B guide if the pipeline system is still open.
Evaluation Checklist
On HubSpot, confirm the order is Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, then add the $3,000 or $7,000 onboarding before you compare that base with a quote.
On Account Engagement, write down the edition, the 10,000-contact inclusion, and whether B2B Marketing Analytics, SMS, and advanced dynamic content are on the order or still add-ons.
On ActiveCampaign, price the contact band at your real list size, then ask for the Pipelines add-on in writing if lead scoring is a requirement.
On Marketo, require the package name: Growth is the email package, Prime is the lead- and account-based package, and neither has a public dollar.
Pricing Overview
Suite with a published score
HubSpot when marketing and the CRM should be one login and finance needs a number this week.
Professional base, plus required onboarding
Salesforce-native
Account Engagement when Sales Cloud is already the system of record and marketing should write into it.
Org price, then contact blocks
Contact-priced SMB
ActiveCampaign Plus for journeys on a small list. Act-On when you want to pay for contacts you actually email.
Annual contact band, CRM extra
Small sales team
Keap when two users need pipeline, scoring, and email in one small-business subscription.
Platform rate, implementation required
Quote-only enterprise
Marketo Engage or Eloqua when a marketing-ops owner will run a complex program and can wait for an order form.
No public USD price
Pricing Comparison
| Tool | Best for | Entry price | Where B2B scoring starts | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Score plus CRM, published | $890/mo Professional | Professional, up to 5 scores | Onboarding is $3,000 | |
Account Engagement | Salesforce is the CRM | $1,250/org/mo Growth+ | Listed on the comparison | Extra contacts $100 per 10,000 |
Small-list journeys | $49/mo Plus, annual | Pipelines add-on, no list price | 1,000 contacts at that rate | |
Marketo Engage | Enterprise programs | No public price | Ask for Prime, not only Growth | Get pricing |
Pay for mailed contacts | $900/mo Professional | Predictive score on Professional | Annual contract required | |
Eloqua | Complex enterprise journeys | No public price | Profile and behavior models | Quote |
Product-led SaaS | $100/mo Essentials | Events, not a classic MQL score | Premium is $1,000/mo, annual | |
Keap | Very small sales teams | $299/mo | Lead scoring in the platform | Annual bill is $2,988 |
Brevo | Budget nurture | $18/mo Standard | Contact scoring on Professional | Professional is $499/mo |
Lead Gen & CRM | Former SharpSpring buyers | No public price | Lead scoring, then a custom tier | Billed in arrears on usage |
Verified September 24, 2026 on vendor pages: HubSpot product catalog, Account Engagement pricing, ActiveCampaign pricing, ActiveCampaign USD catalog, Marketo Engage pricing, Act-On pricing, Eloqua, Customer.io pricing, Keap pricing, Brevo pricing, Lead Gen & CRM pricing, SharpSpring rebrand.
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
Comparing HubSpot Starter with Account Engagement Growth+ mixes two products: one is a per-seat email plan with no fit score, and the other is an org platform with 10,000 contacts and scoring on the comparison grid.
- ×
- ×
Buying Marketo Growth because it was the first package, then discovering the account-based analytics were described under Prime.
- ×
Treating Keap's software rate as the full first year. Implementation is required, the services fee is not printed, and leaving an annual term early has its own fee.
- ×
Using the general marketing-automation list for a sales handoff. Ecommerce and newsletter tools answer a different question, which is why they are not ranked here.
Expert Tips
- →
If the company record is already in HubSpot, price Professional and its onboarding before you book Marketo or Eloqua. A quote has to beat a number you can already put in the sheet, including the required services fee.
- →
If the opportunity is already in Salesforce, start with Account Engagement Growth+ and list the add-ons you will actually turn on. Advanced dynamic content and B2B Marketing Analytics are not silent inclusions on the entry edition, and a demo that showed them was showing the next line.
- →
On ActiveCampaign, compare the contact band at 1,000 contacts and at your real list size. Plus at those two sizes is a different invoice, and scoring is still a separate add-on you have to request in writing.
- →
Use Brevo Standard when the job is a workflow on a small send volume. Move to Professional only when contact scoring is the requirement, because that jump is the whole point of the higher offer and it is not a small step.
- →
Keep sales sequences in a sales engagement tool, because this ranking is the marketing system that decides who is ready, not the rep's dialer. The B2B sales software guide is the next page if the gap is the rep's queue rather than the nurture.
Red Flags to Watch For
- !
A Starter or free seat sold as B2B automation, when HubSpot scoring starts on Professional and Brevo scoring starts on Professional.
- !
A Marketo quote that only says Marketo, when Growth and Prime are different packages and only Prime is described as lead- and account-based.
- !
An Act-On Professional order that assumes Salesforce sync is included, when CRM integration is an add-on on that plan.
- !
An ActiveCampaign contact price treated as the full B2B stack, when lead scoring is in the Pipelines add-on and that add-on publishes no price.
- !
A Customer.io workspace bought for a field-sales team that still needs a pipeline, a score, and a rep task in one login.
- !
A SharpSpring renewal that ignores the rebrand and the usage bill. The product is Lead Gen & CRM, and overages on leads, emails, and page impressions arrive after the month.
The Bottom Line
Buy HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional when a B2B team wants scoring and the CRM at a published price, and add the required onboarding before you call that tier cheap. Buy Account Engagement when Salesforce already holds the opportunity and you can live with contact blocks and add-ons above the org price.
Use ActiveCampaign Plus for a small list if scoring can wait on an unpriced Pipelines add-on. Use Act-On when you should pay for contacts you email and you will budget the CRM add-on. Use Customer.io when the trigger is a product event. Use Keap when two people run sales and marketing together, and ask what implementation costs before you sign. Use Brevo Standard when the budget is a workflow, not a score.
Marketo Engage, Eloqua, and Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM stay on the short list for teams that can wait for a quote. Ask Marketo for Prime if the work is lead- and account-based, not only email. Prices above were checked on vendor pages in September 2026, against the 343 tools in the marketing automation category, with no paid placement. Cite this: Toolradar, "Best B2B marketing automation software 2026", September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best B2B marketing automation software in 2026?
HubSpot Marketing Hub is the best default in 2026 for a B2B team that wants lead scoring and the CRM at a published price. Professional includes 3 seats and up to 5 scores, and onboarding is a required fee on top of that base, so the monthly headline is not the year-one bill. Starter, from $20/mo per seat, does not include that scoring.
Choose Account Engagement when the pipeline is already in Salesforce. Growth+ is priced per organization and includes 10,000 contacts. Choose ActiveCampaign Plus, billed annually for 1,000 contacts, when the list is small and scoring can wait on the Pipelines add-on. Marketo Engage and Eloqua publish no list price, so both wait on a quote.
How much does B2B marketing automation cost?
Published USD entry points in September 2026 start with HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional at $890/mo and Account Engagement Growth+ at $1,250/org/mo. ActiveCampaign Plus is $49/mo billed annually for 1,000 contacts, Act-On Professional is $900/mo, and Keap is $299/mo. Brevo Standard is $18/mo, and Brevo contact scoring is on Professional at $499/mo. Customer.io Essentials is the monthly plan when the trigger is a product event, not a form fill.
HubSpot also charges $3,000 onboarding on Marketing Hub Professional. Account Engagement then sells more contacts in blocks of 10,000 after the included allowance. Marketo Engage, Eloqua, and Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM publish no list price.
Is there a free B2B marketing automation platform?
There is a free door, and it is not the scoring product. HubSpot's free tools and Marketing Hub Starter do not include the Professional lead-scoring limits. Brevo's free plan is $0 and, once sending is approved, up to 300 emails a day, which tests deliverability rather than a nurture. Automation workflows start on Standard, above that free send cap.
Keap's trial sends at most 25 emails and does not require a card. ActiveCampaign publishes no free plan, and Account Engagement, Marketo Engage, Act-On, and Eloqua do not offer a free edition. Customer.io's startup program can be a free year for companies that qualify, which is an application, not a public free tier.
HubSpot or Marketo for B2B marketing?
Choose HubSpot when you want the price in writing. Marketing Hub Professional includes 3 seats and up to 5 lead scores, and onboarding is required on top of the monthly base. Choose Marketo Engage when an enterprise team will run Adobe's program and can wait for a quote. The pricing page lists four packages and no USD amount.
Ask for Prime if you need lead- and account-based marketing with journey analytics. Growth is the email, segmentation, and measurement package, so a Growth quote can leave the account program off the order. The wider market, including ecommerce tools, is the marketing automation software guide.
Pardot or HubSpot if we already use Salesforce?
Choose Account Engagement, still often called Pardot, when the opportunity already lives in Salesforce and marketing should write into that CRM. Growth+ includes 10,000 contacts, and further contacts are sold in blocks of 10,000. Choose HubSpot when you want the published Professional edition and you are willing to sync Salesforce rather than live inside it.
HubSpot Professional includes up to 500 Salesforce field mappings per object, and it is still a second system. The CRM decision underneath both is HubSpot vs Salesforce.
ActiveCampaign or Act-On for a mid-size B2B team?
Choose ActiveCampaign Plus when the list is near 1,000 contacts and the annual rate in the comparison is the journey you need. Lead scoring is not in that price, because it lives in the Pipelines add-on, which publishes no price. At 10,000 contacts, Plus is $189/mo on the annual catalog, a different invoice from the entry band.
Choose Act-On when the database is large and you only mail part of it, because an active contact is someone you engage that month. Professional is the published starting rate, it requires an annual contract, it includes a predictive lead score, and it sells CRM integration as an add-on. Enterprise, where CRM integration is included, does not print a price.
Is SharpSpring still a B2B marketing automation platform?
Yes. Constant Contact's knowledge base, updated March 4, 2026, says SharpSpring rebranded to Lead Gen & CRM and is still developed there. The pricing page lists lead scoring, automation, and CRM, and it publishes no dollar. Direct clients are billed in arrears on stored leads, emails, and page impressions, on tiers set in the customer agreement.
Salesforce integration is optional and not part of the base service price. If you need a number without a demo, start with HubSpot Professional or Account Engagement Growth+ instead.
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Best B2B Marketing Automation Software in 2026", updated September 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/best-b2b-marketing-automation-software
Related Guides
From the team behind Toolradar
Editorial content for B2B tech
Automation only matters if pipeline flows in. We build the content that fills it.
See how we work