3 Best email marketing automation tools for Agency

Best for managing client relationships with automation

With over 150,000 customers, it’s not surprising that ActiveCampaign was the most commonly mentioned tool in our survey of email markering software options for 2023.

ActiveCampaign has earned its reputation as a leading marketing automation tool by focusing on building a world-class product that provides multiple solutions for B2C, B2B, and e-commerce businesses from around the globe.

It’s by far the most advanced email marketing platform on our list, with machine learning and predictive tools enabling marketers to work smarter and deliver higher ROI.

Often credited with pioneering visual marketing automation, ActiveCampaign is impressively intuitive and easier to use than some tools on our list.

As an all-in-one marketing tool, ActiveCampaign comes with a built-in CRM system to manage your sales, live chat, and of course, email campaigns.

As an all-in-one marketing tool, ActiveCampaign comes with a built-in CRM system to manage your sales, live chat, and of course, email campaigns.

ActiveCampaign’s Pricing

You might think all these features come at a hefty cost. Yet, starting at only $9 a month, ActiveCampaign is reasonably priced and more affordable than many of the tools on this list.

ActiveCampaign’s Pros

• All-in-one platform

  You can build courses, landing pages, websites, membership sites and manage products directly inside ClickFunnels.

• Unique triggers and actions

  As a bi-product of it’s all-in-one platform, ClickFunnels has unique triggers and actions in their automation workflows, like auto-enrolling people into courses or upselling products.

• Community

  ClickFunnels have an active user community (online and offline) with more than 100k customers throughout the year. There is also a wide network of ClickFunnels consultants available for managed campaigns.

• Automation split testing

  This feature enables you to A/B test entire sequences against each other, rather than just test individual emails (which is offered by most marketing automation tools).

ActiveCampaign’s Pros

• CRM

  ActiveCampaign’s marketing automation is particularly powerful because ActiveCampaign has an in-built CRM system. This CRM, however, is not as good as standalone platforms like PipeDrive or Salesforce – though we feel this is a reasonable trade-off for ActiveCampaign’s automation features.

ActiveCampaign Verdict

If you’re looking for a market-leading email marketing solution, there’s no denying that ActiveCampaign has long occupied that position.

Try ActiveCampaign today with a 14-day free trial — no credit card required.

Best for affordable automation for agencies

Sharpspring are best known as ‘the marketing automation tool for agencies’.

The platform itself includes behavioural-based email automation, site tracking, a built-in CRM system (although you can also integrate with over 700+ third-party tools & CRMs via their Zapier integration), and much more.

SharpSpring's Pricing

Renowed for value, you can also expect unlimited users and unlimited support even on the lowest plan.

SharpSpring's Pros

• Cost effective

  Compared to similar tools at this level, Sharpspring is 3-10X less expensive than other tools like Pardot or Marketo.

• Month-to-month contracts

  With Sharpspring there are no long-term contracts or expensive transfer fees. If you want to switch providers, you just need to provide 30 days notice.

• Ideal for agencies

  Sharpspring is particularly well-known for its offering to agencies. Their platform is fully rebrandable, and includes special pricing and user management features designed for agencies.

SharpSpring's Cons

• Limited features

  Compared to its competitors, Sharpspring might not have all the features you're looking for

SharpSpring Verdict

Overall, SharpSpring is a very good piece of software with only a small number of flaws. It has one of the best user interfaces for building automation campaigns, making it easy and enjoyable to use.

Best for comprehensive automation for agencies

Marketo is used by a number of reputable companies including Charles Schwab, Chrysler, Intel, and even Keap, who have outgrown their own marketing automation tool.

Marketo's Pricing

Starting at $895/month, Marketo is a great mid-range marketing automation tool for those requiring something that’s robust for a 100+ person organisation.

Marketo's Pros

• Easy and intuitive to use

  Marketo receives a lot of praise for the usability of their platform. While it may not have the prettiest of user interfaces, everything is well labeled and easy to get used to, making adoption easier than some other tools.

• Great Salesforce integration

  Marketo has an exceptional integration with Salesforce. While syncing between Salesforce and Marketo can take time, the two tools work together effortlessly.

• Quick and easy to setup

  Compared to some of Marketo’s competitors, it’s relatively easy to implement and get up and running.

• Great customer support & community

  Marketo have a great customer support team, and a very active community of users helping one another with campaigns and technical issues.

Marketo's Cons

• Poor landing page & form builder

  Marketo didn’t start as a marketing automation service (it was originally a lead management tool). While most of the product has been updated, there are still a few remnants, such as their landing page builder, that is clunky and difficult to use.

• Reports & analytics

  The most common complaint about Marketo is in regards to their limited analytics and reporting functionality. Without additional extensions, it can take a long time to produce reports that you should be able to produce in the click of a button.

• Steep jumps in pricing

  Marketo offers three standard pricing tiers, at $895, $1,795, and $3,175 per month. Each tier unlocks new features, which means that it might cost an additional $900 – $1,400 per month for just a handful of extra features.

Marketo Verdict

Marketo is extremely intuitive and receives a lot of praise for how easy it is to implement and use. At times, the tool can be a bit slow and buggy, but in general it’s a good piece of software.