23 Game-Changing Marketing Automation Tools To Use

Time is an invaluable currency – why waste yours on workflows that can be done quicker and better with automated marketing tools?

Whether you own a marketing agency or just want to get your personal brand out there, these 23 industry-leading marketing automation tools have your back.

Additionally, let’s see how you can safeguard your automated workflows through a handful of cybersecurity protections.

23 Powerful Marketing Automation Tools

#1. Mailchimp

In a nutshell: The logical first stop for any beginner in the world of email automation.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £15.52/month for 500 contacts and 6000 emails/month.

This chimp does more than a few party tricks. Small businesses and individual marketers dipping their toes in the automation waters trust Mailchimp for its affordability, wide range of features, and ease of use.

#2. HubSpot

In a nutshell: The jack-of-all-trades for those who want to take inbound marketing to the next level.

Pricing: Paid professional plans start at £702/month for 2000 contacts and 3 users.

HubSpot’s marketing software is a serious tool for scaling businesses. The platform seamlessly blends:

• All-in-one CRM (customer relationship management);
• Content management tools;
• Advanced multi-channel automation;
• Free CRM upgrades for scaling;
• Customer journey mapping.

#3. Klaviyo

In a nutshell: Personalisation and customer insights for serious ecommerce brands.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £15.68/month for 5000 emails/month, 30 SMS/month (in the UK) and up to 500 active profiles.

Ecommerce brands who want industry-leading email personalisation opt for Klaviyo. However, for those seeking Klaviyo alternatives, it’s important to consider platforms that also offer its strong data-driven approach creates highly segmented campaigns based on customer behaviour and purchase histories.

#4. Marketo Engage

In a nutshell: A favourite among B2B (business-to-business) enterprises that value professionalism and complex customer journeys.

Pricing: Tailored pricing plans are available upon request.

Adobe’s Marketo Engage targets serious B2B companies, offering state-of-the-art lead management and nurturing tools. The robust automation suite helps enterprises map incredibly complex customer journeys and develop powerful strategies.

#5. Pardot

In a nutshell: Powerful B2B lead scoring and seamless integration with the Salesforce CRM.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £1000/month for the “Growth” edition.

Those already loyal to the Salesforce CRM can find a seamless transition to Pardot. This marketing automation solution offers:

• Advanced lead scoring and nurturing;
• Return On Investment (ROI) tracking;
• Salesforce CRM integration.

#6. SharpSpring

In a nutshell: The budget-friendly all-in-one marketing automation and CRM platform for SMBs (​​small-to-medium businesses).

Pricing: Paid plans start at £352.25/month for 1000 contacts + $1999 onboarding package.

SharpSpring is a Swiss army knife for budget marketers who want the same automation tools for a fraction of the price. SharpSpring’s comprehensive platform includes:

• Lead-tracking tools;
• CRM capabilities;
• Extensive personalisation;
• Behavioural insights. 

#7. ActiveCampaign

In a nutshell: Marketing automation that prioritises relationship-building and audience engagement.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £11.77/month for 1000 contacts and 10,000 emails/month.

SMBs with a customer-is-king mindset love ActiveCampaign for its focus on relationship-building. Known for its actionable customer insights, the tool offers marketers unique personalisation capabilities.

#8. Brevo (previously Sendinblue)

In a nutshell: Combines email, SMS, and chat into a GDPR-compliant package.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £5.42/month for 500 contacts and 5000 emails/month.

European and international enterprises who want to keep the EU data police off their backs trust Brevo thanks to its GDPR compliance. The platform unifies email, SMS and chat to make multi-channel campaigns easier to manage.

#9. Drip

In a nutshell: Ecommerce integration and detailed segmentation for online retailers.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £30.60/month for 2500 contacts and unlimited emails.

Drip is renowned in ecommerce circles for its industry-leading segmentation. But that’s not all that the platform offers users:

• Multi-channel marketing automation;
• Detailed customer insights;
• Simple ecommerce integration;
• A/B testing.

#10. Keap

In a nutshell: Marketing automation and CRM blended with invoicing tools.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £195.42/month for 1500 contacts and 2 users.

A favourite among service-based businesses and entrepreneurs, Keap combines automation and payment tools. The platform boosts business-client relationships and trust through streamlined invoicing.

#11. GetResponse

In a nutshell: Email automation with bonus webinar and landing page features.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £10.70/month for 1000 contacts and unlimited emails.

Businesses that need email automation, as well as webinar capabilities, use GetResponse. Content creators and digital marketers who want to engage their audience beyond emails find this tool to be a perfect fit. 

#12. Ortto (formerly Autopilot)

In a nutshell: Customer journey mapping with insights that will tickle the fancy of any data scientist.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £399.49/month for 10,000 contacts and 50 active customer journeys.

Ortto is the dream tool for businesses and individuals obsessed with the customer journey. Ortto is known among marketers for:

• Comprehensive customer journey mapping;
• Advanced segmentation;
• Integration with ecommerce and SaaS tools;
• Personalised multi-channel automation.

#13. Omnisend

In a nutshell: Streamline all customer touchpoints into a single unified platform.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £12.55/month for 500 contacts and 6000 emails/month.

Omnisend helps businesses to be omnipresent – email, SMS, and push notifications are this platform’s speciality. Ecommerce brands use it for their pre-built workflows and integration with the most popular ecommerce platforms.

#14. Constant Contact

In a nutshell: The choice for small businesses that can’t be fussed with complicated automation interfaces.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £8/month for 500 contacts and 5000 emails/month.

Some business owners want the benefits of marketing automation without needing a marketing degree. Constant Contact is a great starting point for simple email automation at a low price point.

#15. ActiveDEMAND

In a nutshell: An all-in-one solution for B2B lead scoring and voice broadcasting.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £15.69/month for the “Reporter” edition.

B2B agencies and enterprises use ActiveDEMAND for its unique inclusion of voice broadcasting tools. Additionally, the platforms offers:

• Email and social media automation;
• Call tracking;
• Lead scoring;
• Landing page and form builder.

#16. Mautic

In a nutshell: The free open-source alternative for customisation-obsessed marketers.

Pricing: Completely free. 

Acquia’s Mautic may be free, but it’s not for the technologically challenged. The automation tool is beloved by developers and open-source enthusiasts for its fully customisable platform, visual workflow builder and multi-channel capabilities.

#17. Hootsuite

In a nutshell: The one-stop-shop for social media management and automation. 

Pricing: Paid plans start at £89/month for 10 social accounts and 1 user.

Hootsuite has made a name for itself as a social media automation giant. The platform centralises social media management, offering users:

• Social listening tools;
• Multi-platform scheduling;
• Integration with 20+ platforms;
• Comprehensive engagement analytics.

#18. Buffer

In a nutshell: User-friendly social media scheduling without the frills.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £3.92/month per social account and 1 user.

Buffer has become a simpler alternative for SMBs who don’t care for all the bells and whistles. Social media scheduling and content management are streamlined through this simple and cost-effective tool.

#19. LeadSquared

In a nutshell: For scaled B2B companies looking to simplify lead management and scoring.

Pricing: Tailored pricing plans are available upon request.

Sales-oriented businesses with a focus on lead nurturing and management look no further than LeadSquared. This tool simplifies the sales process while prioritising business growth and sales automation.

#20. Sprout Social

In a nutshell: Powerful social listening tools for collaborative social media teams.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £156.18/month for 5 social accounts and 1 user.

Some social media teams want to squeeze every last drop out of their automation tools. With Sprout Social, businesses take advantage of:

• Top-tier social listening tools;
• Audience sentiment analysis;
• Multi-channel engagement tracking;
• In-depth customer insights and reporting.

#21. Customer.io

In a nutshell: The go-to email automation tool for tech and SaaS brands.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £78.48/month for 5000 contacts and 1 million emails/month.

For SaaS and tech-based businesses, how users engage with their products is crucial. Customer.io specialises in personalised messaging triggered by customer behaviour. These messages help to drive user engagement and customer retention.

#22. Bloomreach Engagement (formerly Exponea)

In a nutshell: The CDP that blends AI-driven insights with actionable strategies.

Pricing: Tailored pricing plans are available upon request. 

The renowned CDP Exponea was acquired by Bloomreach in 2021 but still offers marketers the same data-driven engine. Now called Bloomreach Engagement, the platform offers:

• An Extensive CDP;
• AI-driven behavioural insights;
• Multi-channel automation;
• Predictive analytics.

#23. SendPulse

In a nutshell: Take your multi-channel marketing and sprinkle in some AI-powered chatbot goodness.

Pricing: Paid plans start at £6.27/month for 500 contacts and unlimited emails.

SendPulse delivers the same marketing automation offered by competitors with a twist. The inclusion of AI chatbot marketing offers SMBs a broader reach with their automated multi-channel campaigns.

How To Secure Your Automated Marketing Workflow

Automating your marketing campaigns is all well and good, but a single cyberattack can topple your automation tower. Secure your automated workflow with a few cybersecurity safeguards.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

EDR monitors your devices for suspicious behaviour and threats. Automated marketing workflows rely on multiple connected devices – employ EDR to secure customer data and crucial marketing assets.

Data encryption

Company-wide data encryption obscures sensitive data from any network intruders. In the event of a breach, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can ensure that if data is ever intercepted, it can’t be used for nefarious purposes.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

DLP tools monitor and control the movement of data across your network. Marketing campaigns handle plenty of data, ranging from customer data to intellectual property. DLP prevents data loss through breaches to maintain your business reputation.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Automated workflows require carefully controlled user access to avoid breaches and theft. Through secure logins and strict permissions, IAM ensures that only those who need to access specific data can access it. 

Choosing the right marketing automation suite

It may seem like the majority of tools on this list offer the same set of features for vastly different price points. Yet digging deeper, you’ll find that each tool serves a specific marketing purpose.

Identify your needs and budget to determine the right fit. You’ll not only save a load of time but simultaneously supercharge your marketing workflows.

Article by

Nicholas Turner

For over 12 years, Nick has been conjuring creative experiences that entertain and - most importantly - resonate with users. He holds a Film and Television Production bachelor's degree from the Cambridge School of Art as well as a degree from the University of the Arts London for Brand Strategy. Whenever he's not willing creative ideas into existence, Nick spends his time travelling, consuming comics and movies as well as writing his own scripts, short stories and novels.