Marketing Cloud Account Engagement vs Hubspot: Which tool is best?

Marketing automation is the key to turbo-charging your campaigns and boosting customer engagement. It can streamline your marketing efforts by automating stages including lead nurturing, segmentation, and sales emails. Doing so ensures your marketing remains consistent as your business grows. 

The only question is, what’s the best marketing automation tool for your business? In this article, we compare two options—Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud Accounting Engagement (formerly Pardot) and Hubspot’s Marketing Hub. By examining the features they offer and crucial differences, like their target audiences, you’ll have a better idea of which tool is the right one for you.

HubSpot and Salesforce emerge as prominent contenders in the realm of marketing automation and CRM software. Each brings its own unique strengths designed to cater to a wide range of business needs.

HubSpot is renowned for its user-friendly inbound marketing platform, offering tools for email marketing, content management, social media, and customer relationship management. It provides businesses with a holistic approach to marketing, sales, and customer service. In contrast, Salesforce's Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (“MCAE”) is specialized in marketing automation within the broader CRM ecosystem. It excels in lead nurturing, B2B marketing, analytics, and seamless integration with Salesforce's CRM.

Now, let's delve into the HubSpot vs. Salesforce’s MCAE comparison to help you make an informed decision when selecting the right software suite for your specific marketing and CRM needs.

One of the key differences between MCAE and Hubspot Marketing Hub is their target audience. MCAE is for B2B clients whose sales pipelines are typically longer and more complex than transactional purchases. For B2C clients, Salesforce offers a separate product called Marketing Cloud. MCAE is a focused marketing automation platform that emphasizes lead generation. In comparison, Hubspot is marketed towards a more general audience. This includes B2B and B2C businesses across a wide range of industries. With a particular focus on inbound marketing, the platform offers various marketing tools, one of which is automation. 

As a Salesforce tool, MCAE is highly customizable. It integrates well with Salesforce’s CRM and other products across service, e-commerce, sustainability data management, and analytics categories. Plus, you can use it alongside Salesforce’s other marketing tools, like personalization and loyalty management. This makes it ideally suited for larger organizations that need a scaleable solution and already use Salesforce products. Hubspot offers a narrower range of additional products, including sales, service, CMS, and operations. But what it does, it does well, and these solutions are often an affordable option for SMEs. 

At a more micro level, the two products' contact and email limits differ. Most of MCAE’s plans have a 10,000 contacts limit. Its Premium plan allows for up to 75,000 contacts. All MCAE plans include unlimited emails. Hubspot’s paid plans for individuals and teams, Starter and Professional, include up to 1,000 marketing contacts and 2,000 marketing, respectively. Its Professional plan includes 2,000 contacts; its Enterprise plan, 10,000. You can add further contacts for an additional cost. Compared to MCAE, Hubspot Marketing Hub limits emails. For example, it allows 2,000 monthly email sends with its free tools. Hubspot calculates email sends for its paid plans based on the marketing contact tier.

• Seamless integration: MCAE seamlessly integrates with Salesforce CRM, allowing for a unified view of marketing and sales data, improving collaboration between teams.
• Automation: It offers robust marketing automation capabilities, enabling businesses to create personalized and timely marketing campaigns, nurturing leads efficiently.
• Scalability: Suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises, MCAE scales to meet the evolving needs of growing organizations.
• Lead scoring: It provides advanced lead scoring functionality, helping businesses identify and prioritize high-quality leads, improving sales efficiency.
• Analytics and reporting: MCAE offers comprehensive analytics and reporting tools, allowing users to measure campaign performance and make data-driven decisions.

• Cost: Pricing can be a drawback for small businesses, as Marketing Cloud Account Engagement tends to be more expensive compared to some other marketing automation platforms.
• Learning curve: For new users, there can be a learning curve to fully leverage all the features and customization options available.
• Limited social media integration: Compared to some competitors, its social media integration capabilities are somewhat limited.
• Advanced features: Some advanced features may require additional configuration or add-ons, adding to the overall cost.
• Customer support: Customer support may not always meet the expectations of users, leading to potential frustrations when encountering issues or needing assistance.

• User-friendly interface: HubSpot is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Comprehensive marketing suite: It offers an all-in-one marketing platform with tools for email marketing, social media management, content creation, and more, streamlining marketing efforts.
• HubSpot Academy: HubSpot provides a wealth of educational resources through HubSpot Academy, including courses and certifications, helping users maximize the platform's potential.
• CRM integration: HubSpot's CRM is seamlessly integrated with its marketing tools, enabling businesses to manage contacts and track interactions effectively.
• Robust reporting and analytics: HubSpot offers in-depth reporting and analytics features, allowing users to measure campaign performance, track leads, and make data-driven decisions.

• Pricing: HubSpot can be costly for small businesses, especially as they scale and require more advanced features.
• Limited customization: While user-friendly, HubSpot may have limitations when it comes to highly customized and complex marketing strategies.
• Learning curve for advanced features: Some advanced features may require a learning curve, and users may need to invest time in training to utilize them fully.
• Email limitations: The email marketing tool has certain limitations, such as a cap on the number of emails that can be sent in a day.
• Competitive market: The marketing automation and CRM market is highly competitive, and HubSpot faces competition from well-established players like Salesforce and Adobe, which may offer more extensive feature sets.

When comparing Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and HubSpot, MCAE distinguishes itself with its robust suite of marketing automation tools, catering to the needs of B2B enterprises. It offers advanced features for lead nurturing, scoring, and tracking, making it an attractive choice for organizations looking to optimize their marketing efforts. HubSpot, on the other hand, provides an all-in-one marketing platform with user-friendly features for businesses of all sizes, emphasizing inbound marketing and content management.

The choice between MCAE and HubSpot depends on your organization's specific marketing goals and budget. MCAE excels in providing comprehensive B2B marketing automation, while HubSpot offers a versatile and cost-effective solution for a wide range of businesses, particularly those focused on inbound marketing and content creation.

Determining whether Marketing Cloud Account Engagement is better than HubSpot depends on your unique business requirements. MCAE boasts robust, data-driven marketing automation solutions, ideal for organizations seeking precise targeting and analytics. 

On the other hand, HubSpot shines with its comprehensive and user-friendly inbound marketing tools, making it a go-to choice for businesses focused on content marketing and lead generation. For example, if your business prioritizes email marketing and lead nurturing, MCAE's advanced features may be the better fit. However, if you're looking for an integrated platform for blogging, SEO, and social media management, HubSpot could be the superior option.

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement excels in managing intricate multi-channel marketing strategies. It shines in areas like email marketing, allowing businesses to create targeted campaigns, implement lead scoring, and nurture leads effectively. For instance, a software company can utilize MCAE to automate personalized email workflows based on user behavior, enhancing customer engagement.

Furthermore, MCAE provides robust analytics, enabling organizations to gain insights into campaign performance and audience behavior. It also offers the capability to segment audiences meticulously, tailoring content to specific demographics or behaviors. MCAE's seamless integration with Salesforce is particularly advantageous for businesses already using Salesforce CRM, ensuring a unified ecosystem for marketing and sales teams.

The decision to replace HubSpot with Marketing Cloud Account Engagement hinges on specific business requirements. MCAE excels in intricate marketing automation, particularly for businesses deeply integrated with Salesforce. A B2B enterprise with Salesforce as its CRM backbone, for example, might find MCAE to be a seamless addition to its tech stack, enabling advanced lead nurturing and data-driven marketing.

Conversely, HubSpot offers an all-in-one platform encompassing content management, SEO, social media, and CRM, making it a compelling choice for businesses seeking a holistic marketing solution. Therefore, the choice between MCAE and HubSpot depends on whether your focus is on advanced automation within a Salesforce-driven environment or comprehensive inbound marketing capabilities.

When comparing the pricing of Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and HubSpot, it's essential to consider the trade-off between cost and features. MCAE’s subscription plans typically come at a higher price point, reflecting its advanced capabilities and robust integration with Salesforce. For businesses requiring these sophisticated tools and already invested in Salesforce, the cost may be justified by the enhanced functionality and seamless synchronization.

On the other hand, HubSpot offers a range of pricing tiers, including more budget-friendly options, making it an attractive choice for smaller companies and startups with limited resources. The decision should be based on your specific budget and the level of marketing automation and CRM integration your business demands.

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement is a robust marketing automation tool, but it's crucial to evaluate whether it's the best fit for your specific marketing needs.

Some notable alternatives to MCAE in the marketing automation space include HubSpot, Freshmarketer, Keap, and ActiveCampaign.

The choice of marketing automation software depends on your organization's unique marketing goals, target audience, and budget considerations. While MCAE offers advanced lead nurturing and B2B-focused capabilities, other tools may provide a more user-friendly interface, better integration with your existing systems, or a more comprehensive suite of inbound marketing features.

HubSpot distinguishes itself with its user-friendly inbound marketing and all-in-one platform approach. HubSpot's pricing structure offers scalability and flexibility, accommodating businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, making it a popular choice for inbound marketers.

HubSpot's emphasis on content marketing, SEO tools, and social media management simplifies the creation and execution of inbound marketing campaigns. In contrast, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement focuses on robust marketing automation and lead nurturing, making it well-suited for B2B enterprises looking for advanced marketing capabilities.

The choice between HubSpot and Marketing Cloud Account Engagement ultimately hinges on your specific business needs and priorities. HubSpot stands out for its user-friendly inbound marketing tools and extensive suite of features, making it a popular choice for businesses aiming to streamline their content marketing, social media, SEO, and CRM efforts within a single platform.

In contrast, MCAE excels in data-driven marketing automation and benefits from its seamless integration with Salesforce. If your business relies heavily on Salesforce for customer relationship management and requires sophisticated multi-channel marketing strategies, MCAE might be the preferred option.

HubSpot shines as an all-in-one inbound marketing platform ideal for businesses seeking a comprehensive and user-friendly solution. It excels in various aspects, including content management, SEO optimization, social media management, customer relationship management (CRM), and email marketing. A digital marketing agency can leverage HubSpot to create, manage, and track content marketing campaigns, optimize web content for search engines, nurture leads through automated email workflows, and gain valuable insights into customer behavior through CRM data.

HubSpot's versatility and integrated approach make it a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes looking to streamline their marketing efforts and enhance customer engagement through a unified platform.

The decision of whether HubSpot can replace Marketing Cloud Account Engagement hinges on your unique business requirements. HubSpot is a user-friendly, all-in-one marketing platform known for its ease of use, making it a great choice for businesses looking for simplicity and a broad range of marketing tools. 

On the other hand, MCAE offers advanced data-driven marketing solutions and excels in deep integration with Salesforce. Therefore, if your business relies heavily on Salesforce and requires sophisticated data analytics for marketing campaigns, MCAE might be the preferred option. The choice should align with your specific marketing goals and existing software ecosystem.

In terms of pricing, HubSpot often presents a more budget-friendly option compared to Marketing Cloud Account Engagement. HubSpot’s pricing tiers are designed to accommodate businesses of all sizes and budgets. HubSpot provides a free CRM with basic features, making it an attractive choice for startups and small businesses. 

MCAE, on the other hand, is typically associated with a higher price tag, reflecting its advanced capabilities and Salesforce integration. Therefore, for businesses seeking cost-effective marketing solutions, HubSpot can be a more economical choice, but the final decision should align with your specific marketing needs and financial constraints.

HubSpot is a widely used inbound marketing and sales automation platform, but it's essential to assess whether it's the best choice for your specific marketing needs.

Some notable alternatives to HubSpot in the marketing automation space include Zoho CRM, MCAE, Freshworks, and Monday CRM.

Your choice of marketing automation software should align with your organization's unique marketing goals, target audience, and budget considerations. While HubSpot provides an integrated suite of inbound marketing features and user-friendly tools, other platforms may offer more advanced lead nurturing, B2B-specific functionalities, or better integration with your existing systems.

HubSpot boasts an integrated sales pipeline management feature that empowers businesses to efficiently track, manage deals, set crucial milestones, and gain clear visual insights into their entire sales process. This functionality streamlines sales operations, enhances communication, and facilitates collaboration among sales teams. A sales representative using HubSpot, for example, can easily monitor the progress of leads through various sales stages, ensuring timely follow-ups and conversions. 

In contrast, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement prioritizes marketing automation, lacking the robust sales pipeline management capabilities offered by HubSpot. This makes HubSpot the preferred choice for businesses seeking a comprehensive view of their sales processes and aiming for efficient sales performance.

While both Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and HubSpot offer robust marketing automation features, there's a distinct difference in their ease-of-use. 

MCAE is known for its extensive features and functionality. However, these advantages can also make the platform somewhat complex for the novice user. It often requires a bit of a learning curve, particularly for users unfamiliar with similar advanced SaaS tools. This tool would be better suited for seasoned users looking for a robust, all-in-one solution.

On the other hand, HubSpot is lauded for its user-friendly interface and ease of navigation. It's simple to set up, even for those with limited technical expertise, offering a more streamlined user experience. HubSpot would be a more appropriate choice for those seeking simplicity without sacrificing powerful marketing automation capabilities.

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and HubSpot both provide valuable reporting and analytics features, but HubSpot's capabilities stand out for their depth and customization options. MCAE offers detailed ROI reporting, allowing marketers to assess the performance of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions. The platform can track the ROI of specific email marketing campaigns by analyzing conversion rates and revenue generated, for example.

In contrast, HubSpot offers extensive customizable reporting and analytics dashboards, giving users full control over their data. This level of customization allows businesses to create highly tailored reports and gain deeper insights into their performance. For instance, a company can create custom reports to track the performance of different marketing channels and campaigns, enabling more precise optimization efforts.

While MCAE provides solid reporting capabilities, HubSpot's customizable reporting and analytics offer a higher level of flexibility and insight, making it a preferred choice for businesses seeking in-depth data analysis and decision-making.

When it comes to integration capabilities, both platforms are highly adaptive, but they offer different benefits.

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement shines as it offers seamless integration with other Salesforce products. This allows businesses that use multiple Salesforce solutions to have a smooth, interconnected workflow. However, the integration with other outside tools might not be as efficient or straightforward.

Conversely, HubSpot boasts a vast ecosystem of over 1,400 integrations. These integrations range from CRM software all the way to social media platforms. This makes HubSpot an excellent fit for businesses that use a variety of software and want a marketing automation tool that can easily connect with them all.

In the realm of lead tracking and customer interactions, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement excels with its comprehensive lead tracking capabilities. However, when it comes to converting those leads into customers, HubSpot takes the lead. 

HubSpot's content management feature empowers users to create highly effective landing pages and websites that are designed for conversion. The platform offers an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, making it incredibly user-friendly. This functionality ensures that customer interactions are optimized, resulting in more successful lead captures and ultimately higher conversion rates. So, while MCAE may be superior in lead tracking, HubSpot's content management capabilities provide a valuable edge in turning leads into loyal customers.

While HubSpot offers compelling sales email tracking and templates, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement takes the lead in email marketing with its extensive capabilities. MCAE empowers businesses to create and execute highly targeted and personalized email campaigns for leads. These campaigns can be finely tuned to specific segments, ensuring that the right message reaches the right audience. 

Furthermore, MCAE provides robust tracking features that allow businesses to monitor engagement levels and tailor their email marketing strategies accordingly. This level of control over email marketing, including advanced segmentation and tracking, sets MCAE apart and enables businesses to achieve more effective and personalized email campaigns than what HubSpot offers.

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and HubSpot excel in lead nurturing, albeit through different approaches. MCAE focuses on personalized lead nurturing by sending triggered emails based on user behavior and interests. For example, if a prospect repeatedly engages with content related to a specific product, MCAE can automatically send them tailored emails promoting that product.

On the other hand, HubSpot relies on automation and workflows to nurture leads and streamline sales processes. It can automatically assign leads to sales representatives based on specific criteria, ensuring prompt follow-ups and personalized interactions.

Both MCAE and HubSpot offer powerful lead nurturing capabilities, allowing businesses to engage and convert leads effectively.