6 Salesforce Marketing Cloud Alternatives for Email Tracking

Did you know that improving the CTR is the biggest email marketing challenge for 35.9% of email marketing professionals?

When they want to improve open rate, CTR or email revenue, many marketing teams opt for email marketing automation, thinking it would solve all their problems. But they often forget that in order to make better decisions – they need to base those decisions on better data.

That’s where email analytics tools come into play. While Salesforce Marketing Cloud can be one of your first choices due to its popularity in personalizing customer journeys, it comes at a high price, and many users consider it complex, making it challenging to use all its features. 

In this article, we've collected the best Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternatives for email tracking that might be a better fit and a tool you can use on top of Salesforce Marketing Cloud for better analytics. 

Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternatives: selection criteria

Here are the criteria we used when choosing the best Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternatives for you:

• Email analytics – We've selected tools that provide multiple metrics, including but not limited to revenue-related metrics (average transaction value, campaign ROI etc.). The software should also be able to do A/B testing and track what performs better.
• User interface – We've chosen user-friendly and intuitive tools that are easy to navigate. Some are suitable for complete beginners, while others have more advanced features.
• Integrations – Salesforce Marketing Cloud is known as a tool that offers many integrations, and that's why we focused on competitors and alternatives who can match that so you can easily integrate them into your existing processes.
• Value for money – Finding a balance between features and cost is essential. All of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternatives come with different pricing plans so everyone can find something that fits their budget and needs.

6 Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternatives for email tracking

Here are the top alternatives to Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

SEINō

SEINō is a cutting-edge email tracking tool, allowing you to analyze your campaigns faster and in more detail, boosting your productivity by 90%. Its comprehensive email marketing reports provide actionable insights you can implement in real-time.

The best part is that you can integrate SEINō with your email marketing platform and analyze customer data like a pro, even if you don't have a strong analytics background.

Here are key features that make this tracking tool stand out from other email marketing tools:

• Advanced analytics: SEINō enables you to analyze large sets of data in a way that's comprehensive and easy to understand. Its advanced reports provide insights and actionable steps for optimizing your campaigns.
• Transactional metrics: Apart from traditional email marketing metrics (open rate, CTR etc.), SEINō also provides a detailed insight into revenue-related metrics, for example, the number of transactions, average order value, revenue per email sent etc.
• Benchmarking: While most email marketing tools allow you to analyze only one campaign at a time, SEINō lets you compare and benchmark multiple campaigns in the same report to discover elements with the best performance.
• Segmentation and A/B testing: SEINō enables you to segment and target your audience with great precision while also being able to test every part of your email campaign.
• Integrations: SEINō integrates with many email service providers such as Deployteq, Selligent, Mailchimp and even Salesforce Marketing Cloud, making it ideal for those who don't want to switch from Marketing Cloud but wish to get better analytics and email tracking. Apart from ESP, it also integrates with web analytics tools like Google Analytics.

Schedule a free demo to see all features in action!

Client stories

Case study #1:

Glanbia, the largest online sports supplement seller worldwide, struggled to analyze multiple emails and campaigns they've been sending daily. SEINō enabled them to do real-time email tracking where they can see transactions and revenue generated from each email.

Our automated reporting saved their marketing team 16 hours weekly, allowing them to focus on more important things like strategy and optimizing campaigns.

Case study #2:

Teemer Group, a fashion brand with over 150 stores and ecommerce shops, struggled with reporting and tracking revenue due to having multiple touchpoints.

SEINō’s data enrichment feature allowed them to combine data from multiple sources, precisely track all revenue streams and understand how each channel performs. The biggest win was fully automating marketing reports and saying goodbye to spreadsheets, which saved their team a lot of time.

Features:

• Transactional metrics
• Benchmarking
• Customer base analytics
• Data Enrichment
• ESP integration
• Automated reporting

Pricing:

• Basic plan: €59 per month for up to 50,000 email sends
• Standard plan: €129 per month for up to 250,000 email sends
• Pro plan: €199 per month for up to 1,500,000 email sends
• Enterprise plan: €499 per month for unlimited email sends

Klaviyo

Klaviyo is an email marketing automation and analytics platform specialized in ecommerce and used by many major brands and retailers. Here are its key features:

• Ecommerce templates: Klaviyo offers many email sequences and templates specialized for commerce businesses, such as back-in-stock, price-drop alerts, special offers, customer win-back emails and birthday discounts.
• Email tracking: Regarding ecommerce, Klaviyo could be a better option than Salesforce Marketing Cloud due to its advanced transactional metrics. It can track average order value, average cart size, average order count and other revenue-related metrics, helping you identify channels and campaigns with the highest ROI.
• Predictive analytics: The latest feature relies on AI to help you predict customer lifetime value and their behavior, which can help you with segmentation, upselling and boosting sales in general.
• Benchmarking: Klaviyo enables you to benchmark and compare your performance not only with your previous marketing campaigns but also with your competitors and brands from the same industry.
• Integrations: It has over 300 integrations, including major ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Magento, and GoogleAds.

CurrentBody, a luxury beauty device seller, increased its abandoned card revenue by 50% since implementing personalized email sequences.

However, it's worth mentioning that Klaviyo is not suitable for beginners. Its reports are detailed but require some analytics knowledge and its UX could also be easier. If you're looking for something simpler, check out Klaviyo alternatives.

Features:

• Ecommerce templates and sequences
• Behavior-based segmentation and automation
• AI-based predictions
• Benchmarking
• SMS and push notifications

Pricing:

• Free plan: up to 500 emails per month
• Email plan: starting at $20 per month for 5,000 monthly emails and up to 500 contacts
• Email and SMS plan: starting at $35 per month, depending on the number of SMS credits you need

The pricing plan is flexible and depends on the number of email subscribers. It starts at $20 per month for small lists from 251 to 500 subscribers and can go up to $1,955 per month if you have up to 150,000 contacts.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive marketing automation platform that you can also use as a CRM for storing customer data. Here's what you can use it for:

• Segmentation & Personalization: ActiveCampaign could be a perfect email marketing platform for businesses that need thorough segmentation thanks to its intelligent segment builder with custom filters and triggers.
• Multi-channel campaigns: ActiveCampaign acts as a tool for customer relationship management that allows you to create and automate marketing campaigns on different channels (website messages, email campaigns, SMS etc.) to provide seamless customer experience at all touchpoints.
• Landing page builder: Apart from an email builder, ActiveCampaign also has a drag-and-drop landing page builder that allows you to create beautiful and professional pages for your services, even if you don't have a background in design.
• Email tracking: ActiveCampaign is one of the best Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternatives, as it tracks all email marketing metrics (revenue metrics included) and provides you with a detailed revenue report and tips for creating a budget.
• Integrations: This software integrates with over 800 other tools, including ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce and different CRM solutions.

SwimUniversity increased its revenue by 66% thanks to personalized email marketing campaigns and trigger-based offers based on customers' actions on their website.

While ActiveCampaign offers numerous integrations with other online marketing services, the integration process can be a bit slow and clunky. Also, their customer support could be improved. Therefore, if you need something simpler, check out ActiveCampaign alternatives.

Features:

• Cross-channel campaigns
• Customer relationship management
• Landing page templates
• Revenue report

Pricing:

1. Email marketing

• Plus: $49 per month, up to three users, ideal for small businesses

• Professional: $149 per month, up to five users (includes split automation and predictive sending)
• Enterprise: custom price (includes custom reporting and unlimited email testing)

2. Sales&CRM

• Plus: $19 per month, ideal for small sales teams
• Professional: $49 per month (includes automation maps and sales engagement automation)
• Enterprise: custom price (includes custom reporting)

3. Bundle (Email marketing + Sales + CRM)

• Plus: $93 per month
• Professional: $386 per month
• Enterprise: custom price available upon request

Braze

Braze (formerly known as Appboy) is a multi-channel customer engagement platform that you can also use for email marketing automation. Here are its main functions:

• Cross-channel customer engagement: You can use Braze to create omnichannel campaigns, including website, email marketing, SMS and in-app messages, push notifications etc. It meets your customers wherever they are, delivering a consistent customer experience.
• AI-insights: AI-insights allow you to optimize your marketing campaigns in real time by constantly generating new customer data, ideas and A/B testing.
• Segmentation: The tool has over 100 segmentation filters that you can automate, allowing you to send custom messages and connect with every customer on a personal level.
• Email tracking: Braze is better than Salesforce Marketing Cloud when it comes to tracking customer engagement metrics and integrating customer data from different channels. Its detailed reports help you understand which channel brings you the most sales.
• Integrations: Braze has many integrations (GoogleAds, Whatsapp, Zapier etc.), but their central premise is that they help businesses save a lot of time because they can manage multiple channels in Braze without needing third-party apps.

Braze helped Canva improve its email deliverability and open rate while increasing customer engagement through testing dynamic content and constant iteration.

On the con side, the setup process is a bit complicated with a steep learning curve, which may turn off companies and individuals looking for a simple email tracking solution.

Features:

• Multi-channel marketing automation
• Customer engagement
• Advanced segmentation
• Real-time optimization

Pricing:

Pricing is available upon request and depends on the number of channels you choose (email, SMS, MMS, web etc.).

See also: Top 6 Braze competitors for email analytics

SendGrid

SendGrid is an email marketing automation platform known for its excellent email deliverability properties. Here's what you can use it for:

• Dynamic content: SendGrid not only offers a wide variety of templates but they're also being adjusted to your target audience in real time. Dynamic elements include but are not limited to location, language, imagery etc.
• Deliverability maximizing: SendGrid uses real-time API tests to detect and avoid sending emails to invalid email addresses and calculates your spam score based on spam filters that different email service providers have in place.
• Email automation: Businesses can also use this software for marketing automation, providing different automated flows like welcome sequence, lead nurturing and follow-up emails.
• Email tracking: SendGrid tracks similar metrics to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, including transactional metrics and comparing the performance of different email marketing campaigns. However, the reports are pretty limited and could be improved with more details.
• Integrations: There are many integrations, especially with ecommerce platforms such as Shopify and Magento. A fun fact is that SendGrid also integrates with Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Some of SendGrid's users are big ecommerce brands like eBay or Shopify, with an average of 99.5% deliverability rate for email campaigns.

However, to fully enjoy SendGrid benefits, you'd need technical knowledge and some programming skills, which is not the case for other email marketing tools on our list. Therefore, you may want to check out SendGrid alternatives.

Features:

• Dynamic content
• Spam filters
• Email automation
• Personalization

Pricing:

• Free plan: up to 100 emails a day
• Essentials plan: $19.95 for up to 50,000 emails per month or $34.95 for up to 100,000 emails per month
• Pro plan: starting at $89.95 per month for up to 200,000 emails, the price grows exponentially with the number of emails (this package includes a dedicated IP address)
• Premier plan: custom price available upon request

AWeber

AWeber could be a good choice for small businesses or solopreneurs who don't have a lot of experience in email marketing automation and are looking for a tool that's easy to use and affordable.

Here's what you can use it for:

• Email automation: AWeber comes with many pre-built email sequences that you can apply with a few clicks, even if you don't know anything about marketing automation. Some templates include a welcome sequence, abandoned cart emails, upsell and others.
• Landing page builder: AWeber could be the quickest way to build your landing page. All you have to do is choose one of the numerous templates and customize it with your branding. Everything is based on drag and drop.
• Online store: Small online businesses that don't want to invest in a whole ecommerce website can use AWeber to set up a simple but convenient online store and sell their products.
• Customer support: 24/7 customer support is what sets this tool apart from the rest. It's available through chat or phone calls.
• Email tracking: Compared to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, AWeber's analytics is a bit limited. You can track basic metrics like open and click rates, but it lacks advanced features and rich reporting.
• Integrations: Many integrations are available, including Shopify, Canva, WordPress, PayPal and Zapier.

Customers mostly choose AWeber because it's easy to use and affordable, making it suitable for those just starting with email marketing. However, the limited analytics could be an issue if you want detailed insights into your email campaigns. In that case, you may want to consider checking out AWeber alternatives.

Features:

• Email marketing automation
• Landing page builder
• Templates
• 24/7 customer support

Pricing:

• Free plan: up to 500 subscribers, no advanced analytics
• Lite: $12.50 per month (unlimited subscribers, advanced analytics, landing page)
• Plus: $20 per month (24/7 customer support)
• Unlimited: $899 per month (for big lists with over 100,000 subscribers)

Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternatives: Comparison table

PlatformFeaturesPricingBest forSalesforce Marketing CloudCRM
Journey builder
AI-driven optimization
Predictive analysisBasic plan: €400 per month (email personalization & segmentation, but without automation)
Pro plan: €1,250 per month (automated workflows, triggered campaigns)
Corporate plan: €3,750 per month (customer journey builder, multi-channel campaigns)
Enterprise plan: custom price available upon requestBuilding customer journeySEINōTransactional metrics
Benchmarking
Customer base analytics
Data Enrichment
ESP integration
Automated reportingBasic plan: €59 per month for up to 50,000 email sends
Standard plan: €129 per month for up to 250,000 email sends
Pro plan: €199 per month for up to 1,500,000 email sends
Enterprise plan: €499 per month for unlimited email sendsEmail tracking and analyticsKlaviyoEcommerce templates and sequences
Behavior-based segmentation and automation
AI-based predictions
Benchmarking
SMS and push notificationsFree plan: up to 500 emails per month
Email plan: starting at $20 per month for 5,000 monthly emails and up to 500 contacts
Email and SMS plan: starting at $35 per month, depending on the number of SMS credits you needEcommerceActiveCampaignCross-channel campaigns
Customer relationship management
Landing page templates
Revenue reportEmail marketing
Plus: $49 per month, up to three users, ideal for small businesses
Professional: $149 per month, up to five users 
Enterprise: custom price 

Sales&CRM
Plus: $19 per month, ideal for small sales teams
Professional: $49 per month 
Enterprise: custom price

Bundle (Email marketing + Sales + CRM)
Plus: $93 per month
Professional: $386 per month
Enterprise: custom price available upon requestEmail automationBrazeMulti-channel marketing automation
Customer engagement
Advanced segmentation
Real-time optimizationPricing is available upon request and depends on the number of channels you choose (email, SMS, MMS, web etc.)Omni-channel campaignsSendGridDynamic content
Spam filters
Email automation
PersonalizationFree plan: up to 100 emails a day
Essentials plan: $19.95 for up to 50,000 emails per month or $34.95 for up to 100,000 emails per month
Pro plan: starting at $89.95 per month for up to 200,000 emails, the price grows exponentially with the number of emails
Premier plan: custom price available upon requestEmail deliverabilityAWeberEmail marketing automation
Landing page builder
Templates
24/7 customer supportFree plan: up to 500 subscribers, no advanced analytics
Lite: $12.50 per month 
Plus: $20 per month
Unlimited: $899 per month (for big lists with over 100,000 subscribers)Email automation for small businesses

Conclusion

We hope this guide helped you learn more about the best alternatives to Salesforce Marketing Cloud and the different features they offer. Choosing the right tool depends on your business needs or the email marketing tools you're already using.

If you're looking for an email tracking and analytics tool to maximize your revenue, SEINō is the software you need. Schedule a free demo and let's reach your business goals together.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternatives: FAQ

What is the alternative to Salesforce Marketing Cloud? If you're looking for a comprehensive marketing platform, good alternatives could be HubSpot or Oracle Marketing Cloud. If you need an alternative for email tracking, check out SEINō, which you can use on top of Salesforce Marketing Cloud for better analytics.

Is Salesforce CRM the same as Salesforce Marketing Cloud? No, but they can integrate and are often used together.

Which is better: Sales Cloud or Marketing Cloud? It depends on your needs, but both tools are often used together. Marketing Cloud can be used for identifying leads and lead management, while Sales Cloud is used for turning qualified leads into customers.

Is Salesforce Marketing Cloud the same as Pardot? Pardot is just one part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud and it's used for email marketing and customer engagement.