Salesforce Marketing Cloud vs. Zapier

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Marketing Cloud is an AI-powered, cloud-based digital marketing platform within the Salesforce Customer 360 ecosystem. Marketers can segment their audience, deliver personalized messages, track campaign performance, engage leads and accounts, and optimize strategies based on real-time insights.
$1,250
per month per installation
Zapier
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
The Zapier Automation Platform designed to integrate data between web apps. It is scaled for small to mid-sized businesses, with a functional but limited free version of the program.
$29.99
per month 750 tasks per month
Pricing
Salesforce Marketing CloudZapier
Editions & Modules
Account Engagement
$1,250
per month
Engagement
$1,250
per month
Intelligence
$3,000
per month
Loyalty Management
$20,000
per month
Personalization
$100,000
per year
Data Cloud for Marketing
$108,000
per year
Starter
$29.99
per month 750 tasks per month
Professional
$73.50
per month 2k tasks per month
Team
$103.50
per month 2k tasks per month
Company
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Salesforce Marketing CloudZapier
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details33% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Salesforce Marketing CloudZapier
Considered Both Products
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Chose Salesforce Marketing Cloud
I found Marketo to have stronger, more granular functionality around automation. However, Pardot is MUCH easier to use, and thus more manageable for one or two people. You don't need to have a developer on your team to be able to put out some great looking content. Pardot is …
Zapier

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Salesforce Marketing CloudZapier
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.9
167 Ratings
3% above category average
Zapier
-
Ratings
WYSIWYG email editor8.1118 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic content7.9149 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content7.8108 Ratings00 Ratings
Landing pages7.7117 Ratings00 Ratings
A/B testing8.2147 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile optimization7.4107 Ratings00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting8.3128 Ratings00 Ratings
List management7.9125 Ratings00 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences8.191 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.9
121 Ratings
1% above category average
Zapier
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation7.9107 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading7.7108 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management7.8113 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks8.199 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.9
111 Ratings
5% above category average
Zapier
-
Ratings
Calendaring8.1100 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing7.794 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.4
85 Ratings
2% below category average
Zapier
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns7.880 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration7.036 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.9
121 Ratings
7% above category average
Zapier
-
Ratings
Dashboards7.9115 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports8.1120 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports7.797 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.7
121 Ratings
3% above category average
Zapier
-
Ratings
API7.487 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals7.986 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability7.3108 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com8.5110 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM8.313 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM7.410 Ratings00 Ratings
Third-party software integrations7.121 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Data Integration
Comparison of Cloud Data Integration features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zapier
8.4
105 Ratings
5% above category average
Pre-built connectors00 Ratings8.5102 Ratings
Connector modification00 Ratings7.690 Ratings
Support for real-time and batch integration00 Ratings8.489 Ratings
Data quality services00 Ratings8.770 Ratings
Data security features00 Ratings9.269 Ratings
Monitoring console00 Ratings8.278 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Salesforce Marketing CloudZapier
Small Businesses
Vbout
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Score 9.9 out of 10
Make
Make
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.2 out of 10
Make
Make
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.2 out of 10
IBM App Connect
IBM App Connect
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Salesforce Marketing CloudZapier
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(325 ratings)
7.3
(110 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.4
(114 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
4.4
(35 ratings)
9.0
(9 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(11 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.6
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.8
(36 ratings)
1.0
(10 ratings)
In-Person Training
5.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.1
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
3.0
(17 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.7
(34 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Salesforce Marketing CloudZapier
Likelihood to Recommend
Salesforce
I rated this a seven because I love Salesforce, and it is excellent on the sales side. However, the marketing side has some pros and cons. It is terrific for keeping track of lead, customer, and dealer information, but it is not easy to automate workflows, integrate other software, or create well-designed emails. It is also straightforward to generate reports, which is very helpful in keeping track of lead progression to better market those leads and turn them into customers.
Read full review
Zapier
If you have processes that are now managed and controlled using a spreadsheet, Zapier will give you a lot more control over what is happening and will help you increase productivity by eliminating simple steps such as sending emails and sharing information with your colleagues. It frees time for very transactional activities.
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Pros
Salesforce
  • Filter relevant content so you can priorize those that are more relevant and resolve it first
  • Measure the traffic in the different social networks, as well as the response rate, average response time and other relevant metrics
  • Configure automation rules to order the work of those who must interact with the customer
Read full review
Zapier
  • Ease of use - multiple people in the organization can set up and run Zaps per their specific use cases without much training.
  • Connectivity - Zapier is able to connect to multiple applications we use on a regular basis.
  • Functionality - Zapier provides embedded functionality within the app itself (email, data conversion), but also appropriate triggers and actions for apps it connects to.
  • Versatile - Zapier can execute complicated and simple tasks and thus has many use cases.
Read full review
Cons
Salesforce
  • The email builder does not offer any way to catch/check bugs across different email service providers
  • Creating SQL is not as easy as drag-and-drop; a lot of technical knowledge is required
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud is sold as a marketing tool, but to be honest, you need a LOT of technical IT support to run the tool
  • Einstein metrics are across the board; if you have multiple audiences in one instance of Salesforce Marketing Cloud you can't segment the data.
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Zapier
  • Being able to turn off one leg of a Zap without having to delete it or turn the whole Zap off
  • Not all fields populate when using certain aspects of Salesforce, but that could be an SF issue
  • Communication when support is actually needed basically doesn't happen
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Likelihood to Renew
Salesforce
As of right now we have not seen any other program that integrates as seamlessly into our Salesforce platform. We have barely scratched the surface of all the features and use cases. It would be irresponsible to make a move to another platform in the near future. We have not come up against any limitations that would prompt a need to switch
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Zapier
Zapier is now very much an integral part of our business and we could not operate without it!
Read full review
Usability
Salesforce
You won't find another solution that has as many features as Salesforce Marketing Cloud Interaction Studio. We all know Salesforce, we all know how big they are and it's not for nothing... Their tools do most of the things you want, need and even imagine. Using it is complicated, but the usability is infinite.
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Zapier
The interface is very user-friendly, and there are also many tools to help a brand-new user get started. For example, you can put your Zap idea into the AI bot, and it will basically build a shell of your Zap to get started on. The format for each step within a Zap is also very helpful (set up the connection/app, set up the fields/details, then test).
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Reliability and Availability
Salesforce
Upgrades and timing of the upgrades were communicated well and planned during off hours for our work. If we did have a campaign scheduled during that time, it would kick-off after the system was back active. There were a few unplanned system down times, but it was a rare occurrence and those times were also short in duration.
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Zapier
No answers on this topic
Performance
Salesforce
Though the make up of MA apps is not built this way today, it would be nice to see them become more real-time. The integration between Salesforce and Pardot is not a true real-time integration. If I modify something in Salesforce, those changes are not automatically reflected in Pardot immediately. There is a delay of about 15 minutes before the systems sync. This delay, although not long, is less than ideal We would love the systems to be integrated real time such that changes are propagated from one system to the other immediately.
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Zapier
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Salesforce
They are really responsive and more than not solve the problem or give you insight to how you can manage the solution yourself. I do find however sometimes a long delay on the more complex issues when they need to loop in other departments. but overall a good experience with support
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Zapier
Before we purchased Zapier, I contacted support and asked them if Zapier could support my intended workflow (this is actually a selection on their support form - awesome). Within 2 hours, I was contacted by a support team member who seemed sure it would work, but granted me premium access for 2 weeks to try it out for myself. Sure enough, it did! Ever since then, support has replied rapidly to any problems I have experienced and answered my questions within a few sentences.
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In-Person Training
Salesforce
The trainers at the Pardot user conference (Elevate and Connections) were very knowledgeable and presented the material well. Again, the content was targeted to more of a new user audience, and was not really relevant for folks who had been using the product for 2+ years.
Read full review
Zapier
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Salesforce
Pardot's online training touches on all topics briefly and vaguely without much indepth exploration into how a final outcome could look, such as Nurturing Campaigns, Email templates, landing page templates, etc... The only true way to uncover Pardot's full capabilities is to have Front End design and coding experience. Without this key skill set, I would not recommend Pardot to another business.
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Zapier
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Salesforce
From an IT perspective, once you set up the Javascript beacon and start collecting data there is a waiting game. During this time you can start labeling your site actions which can be labor intensive for a single person, but you don't really have the final end-users on the platform yet. We did a lot of training so users were experienced, but it wasn't until they had their first tasks to accomplish that they started using the system and had questions. I'd recommend setting up some immediate goals for an end-user to start segmenting for the purpose of displaying message campaigns so you can jump start end-user action.
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Zapier
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Salesforce
I think that all of the marketing platforms I have evaluated and used in the past serve different markets and purposes. Salesforce Marketing Cloud was more palatable to our team because of our existing tech stack where we had Salesforce CRM already deployed and in use. Compared to Marketo and Hubspot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a bit dated in terms of the UI/UX and the overall experience but still meets the needs of our organization. Mailchimp, however, isn't even playing in the same arena and is meant for small organizations and companies that don't have a need for a full fledged offering that SFMC brings to the table.
Read full review
Zapier
We actually utilize both Integromat and Zapier at our company, for all the reasons detailed in this review. Though Zapier is excellent for simple client integrations, we often run into internal use cases that require complexity that Zapier cannot provide. Specifically working with API calls (not just webhooks), complex multi-step integrations with Routing/parsing/etc, and large volume integrations. Integromat is perfect for these use cases, but doesn’t provide the simplicity and account scalability that Zapier offers.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Salesforce
was not involved with this part but i have not heard about clompaints
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Zapier
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Salesforce
Prior to this, we had no solution and literally were doing things on paper in a world where technology is outpacing paper. Having this process optimized has made it easier for the sales and marketing people to change information. From the training perspective, it has allowed us to see holes in where we could create additional support training, so the ROI here has been a lot more than just the optimization of a process.
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Zapier
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Salesforce
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to more efficiently reach out to a higher number of prospects.
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to nimbly communicate important messages in a timely fashion to facilitate conversion.
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to track who is opening our messages so that we can stop sending to those not interested and focus on the most engaged audiences.
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Zapier
  • It has saved me the money in hiring an administrative assistant
  • It also saved me the time it took to do these tasks
  • It also allowed me to automate things that increased my lead generation
  • It also allowed me to automate several processes
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ScreenShots

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Screenshots

Screenshot of Pardot Analytics - Pardot's reporting and analytics can be used to perform true revenue impact analysis and closed-loop reporting.Screenshot of Pardot Email Analytics - The reach and impact of  email marketing efforts are displayed in real-time with advanced reporting and analytics by device, and email client.Screenshot of Pardot Forms and Landing Pages - Pardot's form and landing page builders are used to turn online traffic to leads with targeted offers and content marketing.Screenshot of Pardot Email Marketing - Lead nurturing flows are defined via an interface that enables definition of the simplest or most complex segmented and targeted campaigns.