8 Best Marketing Automation Tools for Businesses in 2025

Digital marketing teams are expected to do more with less in 2025. They must launch campaigns faster, keep customers engaged across multiple channels, and show measurable results. That’s where marketing automation becomes useful.

Instead of spending hours on repetitive tasks like sending follow-up emails, posting on social media, or scoring leads, automation software takes over the routine so your team can focus on strategy and creativity.

The benefits go beyond efficiency. With the right tool, you can scale marketing campaigns without scaling headcount, personalize customer journeys, and use data-driven insights to make smarter decisions. Many businesses see a measurable boost in customer engagement within the first six months of adopting automation, and small businesses now have access to affordable plans that were once reserved for enterprise budgets.

But not every platform may suit your needs. Some focus on ecommerce workflows, others excel at CRM integration or lead generation, and a few offer true all-in-one solutions. Choosing the right one depends on your goals, budget, and existing tech stack.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• The key benefits of marketing automation platforms and how they can transform your campaigns
• What features to look for when comparing platforms
• The best marketing automation tools for businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises
• How ecommerce brands can leverage automation for growth
• Where the Text® App offers unique value compared to other platforms

Let’s dive in and find the right automation tool to power your next marketing campaign.

Benefits of marketing automation

The biggest advantage of marketing automation tools is the time and effort they save. Tasks that once took hours, like sending batch emails, scheduling social posts, or chasing cold leads, are handled automatically. That efficiency doesn’t just lighten the workload; it reduces operational costs by cutting down on manual and repetitive tasks.

One of the clearest wins from using a marketing automation platform is efficiency. Marketing automation tools handle repetitive work in the background, such as sending follow-ups and performing lead management, so you don't have to do it manually.

This reduces the need for extra staff and lowers operational costs. For smaller teams, it’s often the difference between keeping up and falling behind. For larger organizations, it unlocks the ability to reallocate resources to strategy and creative work rather than task management.

As your business grows, the demands on your marketing team grow too. Without marketing automation tools, scaling means hiring more people just to handle volume. With it, a single workflow can reach hundreds or thousands of prospects at once, and adding new campaigns doesn’t require doubling the team.

Powerful marketing automation platforms do more than send messages; they track them. Built-in analytics show open rates, click-throughs, conversions, and even customer experience across multiple channels. This makes it easier to spot what’s working, where campaigns need tweaking, and which audiences respond best. Instead of running on gut instinct, marketers can rely on hard data to refine strategies and prove ROI to stakeholders. Over time, this kind of insight makes campaigns more effective and budgets more efficient.

Marketing automation tools have evolved far beyond “one email for everyone.” Today’s platforms use behavior, purchase history, and engagement signals to personalize messaging at scale. That could mean sending product recommendations, tailoring offers to specific segments, or adjusting timing based on customer activity.

Personalized campaigns not only feel more relevant but also lead to stronger loyalty, better lead management, and higher conversion rates. For ecommerce, especially, personalization can be the difference between a one-time buyer and a repeat customer.

How to choose?

With so many platforms promising to be “the best,” narrowing down the best marketing automation tools can feel daunting. The truth is, no single solution fits every business.

Your choice should reflect your goals, current tech stack, and long-term growth plans.

Here are the key areas to evaluate.

Integration with existing tools

A marketing automation platform is only as good as the systems it connects with. If your CRM, ecommerce platform, or analytics tools don’t sync properly, you’ll spend more time exporting spreadsheets than running campaigns. Smooth integration ensures customer data flows across all touchpoints, creating a consistent view of your audience.

For example, Zapier connects with more than 8,000 apps, making it easier to unify fragmented tools. When evaluating platforms, check whether they integrate natively with the tools you already use (like Shopify, Salesforce, or Google Analytics) or if you’ll need third-party connectors. Poor integration is one of the biggest reasons businesses churn from marketing automation platforms within the first year.

Reporting and analytics

Marketing automation isn’t just about sending emails faster, but about learning from the results. The best platforms include real-time dashboards that track open rates, click-throughs, conversions, and revenue attribution. Advanced tools go a step further with customer journey mapping and predictive analytics, showing where prospects drop off and where marketing campaigns succeed.

According to recent surveys, companies that use advanced analytics in their automated marketing see up to a 15–20% improvement in ROI within the first year. When comparing platforms, ask: Can I generate reports easily? Do I need extra plugins? Can non-technical team members interpret the data without help from IT?

Scalability

Your marketing automation platform should grow with your business, not hold it back. A small retailer might start with 500 contacts today but could reach tens of thousands in a few years. Tools like Brevo and Omnisend offer flexible, affordable plans that allow small teams to grow steadily. On the enterprise side, HubSpot and Marketo provide advanced segmentation, multi-team collaboration, and global campaign management.

The key is to choose a tool that won’t force you to migrate once you hit a certain size, a process that can be costly and disruptive. A scalable solution will also handle spikes in traffic or seasonal campaigns without slowing down or hitting usage caps.

Testing with free trials and demos

It’s easy to be wowed by marketing promises, but usability matters more than glossy landing pages. Most providers offer free trials or live demos; use them. Set up a test campaign, build a workflow, and try connecting it to your CRM. If it takes hours to figure out basic tasks, the platform may not be a good fit.

Mailchimp, for example, is often praised for its beginner-friendly setup, while ActiveCampaign has a steeper learning curve but more advanced marketing automation once you’re comfortable. Don’t underestimate team adoption. If your staff avoids the tool because it’s too complicated, it won’t matter how powerful it is.

Cost-effectiveness and ease of use

Pricing varies dramatically. Brevo’s paid plans start as low as $8 per month, while HubSpot’s marketing automation platform starts at $800 per month and can climb into the thousands depending on contact volume and features. Many tools use tiered pricing, so costs increase as your subscriber list grows.

The important step is to map the pricing against the features you’ll actually use. Are you paying for advanced reporting when all you need is email automation? Or are you stuck on a free plan that caps your contacts too early? Businesses that regularly review their tool costs against usage save up to 25% annually by avoiding “feature bloat.”

Features of marketing automation tools

Every marketing automation platform promises to make campaigns easier, smarter, and more impactful, but the real difference lies in the features.

The right tool should save time, connect data across channels, personalize customer experiences, and provide insights that drive better decisions.

Below are the core features of most leading platforms and why they matter for your business.

Marketing automation for ecommerce

Ecommerce businesses often see the biggest gains from marketing automation because so much of their customer journey can be tracked and improved synchronously. Abandoned carts, browsing history, and past purchases all provide valuable signals that marketing automation tools can turn into personalized experiences.

Instead of blasting the same email to everyone, ecommerce brands can create timely, relevant messages that nudge shoppers to complete a purchase or come back for more.

Some of the most common ways marketing automation tools support ecommerce include:

• Cart recovery emails that remind shoppers of items left behind and encourage them to check out.
• Personalized product recommendations based on browsing or purchase history.
• Customer retention workflows that reward loyalty, win back lapsed buyers, or cross-sell complementary items.

Certain platforms have built their reputation by focusing specifically on online retail. Omnisend, for example, offers a free plan packed with ecommerce-focused marketing automations like cart recovery and product recommendation flows. Klaviyo takes it further with powerful segmentation and predictive analytics, helping stores anticipate what customers might buy next and when they’re most likely to engage.

For ecommerce brands, the key takeaway is simple: choose a tool that’s tailored to the sales funnel. A general-purpose automation platform may cover the basics, but tools built with ecommerce in mind give you the edge in personalization, scalability, and customer loyalty.

With the right fit, marketing automation tools don’t just drive conversions; they help turn one-time buyers into repeat customers.

Best marketing automation tools

There’s no shortage of marketing automation software, but the right choice depends on your team size, budget, and long-term goals.

Below are some of the best marketing automation tools to consider in 2025, each with its own strengths and best-fit use cases.

Text® App

The Text® App is an AI-first platform that unifies marketing automation with customer service tools. While most solutions focus narrowly on email workflows or campaign scheduling, Text brings chat, email, social, and automation together in one workspace.

Its strength lies in blending AI-driven virtual agents with human support. The AI can send personalized follow-ups, nurture leads, and answer customer questions instantly, while seamlessly escalating complex cases to people when needed. Because everything flows through the same platform, analytics give a full picture of what messaging works best and how it impacts the customer journey.

• Pricing: Flexible subscription plans with a free trial available.
• Strengths: Unified workspace, AI-first automation, seamless live chat and ticketing integration, and real-time insights across campaigns.
• Best for: Businesses that want both marketing automation and customer engagement tools in one platform, without juggling multiple subscriptions.

Centralizing marketing and customer interactions via the Text® App helps teams scale campaigns, improve personalization, and keep data connected, making automation part of the full customer lifecycle, not just one channel.

HubSpot

HubSpot is often considered the gold standard for an all-in-one marketing automation tool. In addition to automating campaigns, it includes a fully integrated CRM, marketing and sales tools, and a customer service hub.

That makes it especially powerful for companies that want to manage the entire customer lifecycle in one place. HubSpot’s marketing automation lets you design complex customer experiences, build detailed lead generation scoring models, and connect campaigns across email, social, and paid ads.

• Pricing: Starts at around $800/month, which can feel steep for smaller businesses but is well justified for mid-sized and enterprise teams.
• Strengths: Deep CRM integration, scalable workflows, and reporting dashboards that tie automated marketing directly to revenue.
• Best for: Businesses that want a single ecosystem instead of stitching together multiple tools.

While it requires more upfront investment, HubSpot is often a long-term solution that grows with you rather than one you outgrow.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is built for marketers who want advanced marketing automation without losing flexibility. Its workflow builder supports multilingual campaigns, making it ideal for businesses with global audiences.

One of its biggest strengths is behavioral segmentation. This allows you to trigger campaigns based on demographics and how customers interact with your brand across channels.

• Features: Pre-built workflow templates, dynamic content personalization, SMS automation, and detailed customer behavior mapping.
• Advantages: ActiveCampaign has one of the largest libraries of workflow marketing automations in the industry, which inspires marketers and saves them time.
• Best for: SaaS businesses, ecommerce brands, and B2B marketers who need nuanced, personalized funnels.

It does have a learning curve, but once mastered, it offers more sophistication than most platforms at its price point.

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Brevo is widely recognized as one of the most affordable yet feature-rich options. It combines CRM, email marketing, SMS marketing, and marketing automation into one accessible package. Small businesses and startups love Brevo because it lets them launch professional campaigns without committing to enterprise-level costs.

• Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at just $8/month.
• Highlights: Integrated CRM, transactional email, live chat, and marketing automation software in a single platform.
• Strengths: Affordability, ease of use, and flexibility for small-to-medium businesses.

Because Brevo includes CRM features, it’s a great choice for teams that don’t yet have a dedicated CRM but still want unified data for campaigns. It’s a smart stepping stone for growing companies that need marketing automation without heavy overhead.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp has been the entry point for millions of small businesses exploring email marketing and marketing automation. While it started with newsletters, it now offers customer journey builders, segmentation, and even basic ecommerce automation. What keeps Mailchimp popular is its approachable design and beginner-friendly learning curve.

• Free plan: Available with generous limits for smaller lists.
• Strengths: Drag-and-drop email builder, pre-made templates, and integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other ecommerce tools.
• Best for: Small businesses or startups looking for a low-risk entry into marketing automation software.

Mailchimp may not have the advanced capabilities of ActiveCampaign or HubSpot, but it delivers excellent value for straightforward email campaigns and nurturing workflows.

Omnisend

Omnisend is built from the ground up for ecommerce. It specializes in marketing automations that directly increase sales, such as cart recovery emails, product recommendations, and order updates.

Unlike many platforms, Omnisend combines email, SMS, and push notifications under one roof, which makes it particularly powerful for online retailers who want to reach customers across channels.

• Free plan: Includes many ecommerce-focused features.
• Strengths: Shopify and WooCommerce integrations, drag-and-drop workflows, and revenue attribution reporting.
• Best for: Online stores that want a digital marketing automation platform designed around the shopping funnel.

For ecommerce teams, Omnisend often pays for itself quickly through higher recovery rates and repeat sales.

Customer.io

Customer.io stands out by going beyond email. It supports SMS, push notifications, and in-app messaging, allowing businesses to create seamless, multi-channel campaigns. It’s particularly strong for SaaS and app-based businesses that want to engage users both inside and outside the product.

• Features: Real-time event tracking, behavioral triggers, and highly customizable workflows.
• Advantages: Strong developer tools and API flexibility, which allow for deep customization.
• Best for: Tech-savvy teams who want control and personalization beyond traditional email.

It requires some technical know-how, but the flexibility pays off for companies that want marketing automation software to adapt to their product, not the other way around.

Ortto

Ortto (formerly Autopilot) focuses on blending customer data, marketing automation, and analytics in one modular system. It allows teams to visualize customer journeys, track user behavior, and create campaigns that adapt dynamically to activity. This makes it valuable for businesses that want to go deeper than “if/then” automation rules.

• Strengths: Activity tracking, audience segmentation, and easy-to-use dashboards that combine marketing and analytics.
• Use cases: Great for mid-sized businesses that want a balance of affordability and sophistication.
• Differentiator: Modular approach lets you add the features you need without paying for extras you won’t use.

Ortto is ideal for companies that are ready to grow into data-driven campaigns but don’t want the cost of a heavyweight platform like HubSpot.

Customer retention

Keeping customers engaged after the first interaction is one of the toughest challenges marketers face, and marketing automation tools can make the difference between one-time buyers and long-term advocates. Delivering personalized experiences at scale, automated campaigns build trust, loyalty, and relevance without overwhelming your team.

The most effective engagement strategies focus on targeted content that speaks directly to customer needs. Instead of sending the same newsletter to everyone, marketing automation tools segment audiences and deliver messages that match their behavior, like recommending products based on browsing history or sending a tutorial after someone signs up for a trial.

Loyalty emails are another proven tactic, offering rewards, discounts, or exclusive access that make customers feel valued. Social retargeting also plays a role, automatically reminding shoppers of what they viewed or left in their cart.

Best practices go beyond simply setting up campaigns. The strongest results come when marketers:

Tools like Customer.io and ActiveCampaign excel in this space. Customer.io enables businesses to run multi-channel campaigns that span email, SMS, push notifications, and even in-app messages, ensuring no opportunity to connect is missed. ActiveCampaign adds depth with multilingual workflows and behavioral segmentation, making it easy to nurture relationships across diverse audiences.

Take a practical ecommerce example: an online clothing store uses one of the tools to identify customers who haven’t made a purchase in 90 days.

Instead of sending one generic discount code, the platform triggers a sequence based on browsing history, showing jackets to those who viewed outerwear, or sneakers to those who previously purchased shoes.

The campaign might start with an email, follow up with an SMS reminder, and finish with a retargeted ad on social. This kind of marketing automation software feels personal to the customer, and for the store, it often translates into reactivation rates that manual outreach simply can’t match.

Ease of use and implementation

A common mistake businesses make is investing in a powerful platform only to discover months later that it sits underutilized because the learning curve was too steep. Ease of use and a smooth implementation process determine how quickly you see results and whether your team embraces the tool or resists it.

At the entry level, platforms like Mailchimp and Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) are designed with simplicity in mind. They provide drag-and-drop workflow builders, pre-made templates, and clean dashboards that even first-time users can navigate.

Setting up a welcome email series or basic newsletter can take just a few hours. Brevo adds extra appeal for small businesses by including both CRM and marketing automation tools in its affordable plans, reducing the need to juggle multiple apps. These tools are perfect for teams that want fast results without weeks of onboarding.

As you move into mid-market or enterprise-grade software, the implementation timeline gets longer, but so do the payoffs. ActiveCampaign sits in the middle ground. While it may take a week or two to configure workflows and connect integrations, its segmentation and behavioral triggers allow you to build highly personalized customer journeys. Companies willing to invest that extra setup time often find that the depth of marketing automation tools pays dividends in engagement and conversions.

At the high end, HubSpot demands the most effort. Full implementation, including CRM migration, workflow building, and multi-team onboarding, can take several weeks or even a couple of months, depending on company size.

But once it’s configured, HubSpot acts as a true all-in-one ecosystem, managing marketing, sales, and customer service under one roof. For larger organizations, that level of integration justifies the extra time and cost.

A good rule of thumb is to approach implementation in stages rather than trying to master everything at once:

• Start small: Launch simple workflows like welcome emails for new subscribers, abandoned cart reminders for ecommerce, or re-engagement campaigns for inactive users. These early wins show value quickly and help teams build confidence.
• Build momentum: Once the basics are working, expand into more sophisticated campaigns, such as segmented messaging, loyalty workflows, and A/B-tested subject lines.
• Scale gradually: Only after your team is comfortable should you move into advanced features like predictive analytics, multi-channel orchestration, and dynamic content.

Another factor that influences adoption is onboarding support. Mailchimp and Brevo rely on tutorials, FAQs, and a strong user community. ActiveCampaign and Customer.io provide extensive documentation and instant chat support for technical questions.

HubSpot, by contrast, often pairs new customers with a dedicated success manager to guide implementation, which can make the transition smoother but adds to the cost. When comparing platforms, don’t just look at features; ask what kind of training, support, and resources are available.

Ultimately, ease of use is not only about design but also about how quickly you can go from sign-up to seeing results. For some businesses, that might mean a campaign going live within 24 hours; for others, it’s a carefully staged rollout that takes weeks but leads to long-term scalability.

Either way, the best choice is the one your team will actually use consistently. A simple tool that gets adopted is far more valuable than a complex one that sits idle.

Best practices

Marketing automation tools work best when they’re implemented thoughtfully. Jumping straight into complex workflows or relying too heavily on templates can lead to wasted time and uninspired campaigns.

The following best practices will help you get the most out of your platform, no matter your business size.

Start with simple workflows for the customer journey

It’s tempting to dive into advanced personalization and multi-channel orchestration right away, but the smartest approach is to begin small. Set up a welcome series for new subscribers, an abandoned cart flow if you’re in ecommerce, or a basic re-engagement campaign for inactive contacts.

These straightforward workflows prove the value of marketing automation software early, build confidence within your team, and provide data you can build on later.

Continuously measure and refine for customer engagement

Marketing automation isn’t a one-time setup; it’s an ongoing process. Use built-in analytics to track key metrics like open rates, click-throughs, and conversions. Run A/B tests on subject lines, message timing, and audience segments to identify what works best.

According to industry research, companies that test and refine their campaigns regularly see significantly higher engagement than those that “set and forget.” Treat every campaign as an experiment, and don’t be afraid to pivot if the data tells you something different from your assumptions.

Train your team on features

Even the most powerful platform won’t deliver results if your team doesn’t know how to use it. Training is critical. For smaller tools like Mailchimp or Brevo, a few hours of onboarding tutorials may be enough.

For platforms like HubSpot or ActiveCampaign, more formal training sessions or guided onboarding from customer success managers can save weeks of frustration. Investing time upfront ensures your team isn’t just using the basics but also leveraging the advanced features that maximize ROI.

Establish a feedback loop

The best marketing automation strategies evolve with input from both customers and your team. Encourage your staff to share what’s working and where friction arises. At the same time, monitor customer feedback through surveys, reviews, or direct conversations.

Did an email feel too frequent? Did a message miss the mark? Feeding this information back into your marketing automation strategy ensures it stays relevant and customer-focused. Over time, a strong feedback loop keeps campaigns aligned with changing customer expectations and business goals.

Connecting best practices to the right tool

Not every platform makes these practices equally easy to follow. Mailchimp and Brevo, for instance, simplify starting small with pre-built workflows, while ActiveCampaign excels in testing and refinement thanks to its advanced segmentation options.

HubSpot often shines in team training and onboarding, pairing customers with success managers to guide implementation. Matching your marketing automation strategy to the strengths of the software you choose ensures that best practices aren’t just theoretical; they become part of your daily workflow.

How Text® App Fits In

Following best practices is much easier when the software you choose supports them across channels, not just in one area. Many marketing automation tools focus narrowly, an email platform here, a social campaign manager there.

The result is often a patchwork of disconnected apps that don’t share data, forcing marketers to waste time on integrations or miss opportunities to personalize campaigns.

The Text® App takes a more holistic approach. While it was originally built as an AI-first customer service platform, its design also benefits marketing teams. Combining marketing automation tools, communication, and analytics in one workspace helps marketers move beyond siloed campaigns and engage customers at every step of the journey.

• AI-powered follow-ups: Instead of relying solely on scheduled emails, Text’s virtual agents can nurture leads with context-aware responses. If someone downloads a white paper, for example, the system can automatically follow up with a relevant offer or connect them to a sales rep at the right moment. This creates an always-on presence without adding pressure to your team.
• Unified communication: Marketers don’t need to juggle multiple tools for email, chat, and social. All interactions flow into a single dashboard, reducing silos and ensuring that no message is missed. This also means customer data stays consistent, so when a campaign email drives someone to live chat, the agent sees the full context of their journey.
• Scalable insights: Because every touchpoint is connected, reporting goes beyond vanity metrics. Instead of tracking email opens in isolation, marketers can see how campaigns influence chat conversations, conversions, and long-term retention. Real-time analytics help teams adjust quickly, identifying which messages resonate and which need refinement.

With Text® App, the process can be multi-layered: an AI agent sends a personalized chat message on the website within minutes, an email reminder follows later in the day, and if the customer still doesn’t purchase, a tailored social retargeting ad appears the next day.

Choose your marketing automation tool

What used to be optional is now essential: marketing automation software drives growth, personalization, and customer loyalty for modern businesses. From simple platforms like Mailchimp and Brevo to enterprise solutions like HubSpot, the right tool can save time, speed up lead management, reduce costs, and turn campaigns into lasting customer relationships.

The key is matching the software to your business goals. Start small, test continuously, and grow into advanced features as your team builds confidence.

And if you’re ready to unify marketing and customer engagement in one place, the Text® App gives you AI-powered follow-ups, a single workspace for all channels, and real-time insights that make campaigns smarter every day.

Try Text® App today and see how easy it can be to turn marketing automation into stronger connections and measurable growth.