Keap vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Keap and Salesforce Marketing Cloud are both popular choices in the all-in-one marketing platform space. Keap starts at $299/mo, while Salesforce Marketing Cloud starts at $1,500/mo billed annually. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price.
Quick Verdict
Keap wins on rating, integrations.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud wins on deliverability.
Best for most users: Keap (sales driven small businesses).
Keap
CRM-powered sales and marketing automation for small businesses
Keap (formerly Infusionsoft, founded 2001, acquired by Thryv in 2024) is a premium all-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform built for sales-driven small businesses that need contact management, email sequences, SMS marketing, invoicing, and appointment scheduling in a single tool. Its strength lies in powerful automation workflows and a dedicated Customer Success Manager, but the $299/month starting price for just 1,500 contacts makes it one of the most expensive options in its category.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Personalize every moment with the #1 AI CRM for marketing
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the enterprise marketing automation suite within the Salesforce ecosystem, offering email, SMS, social, advertising, and journey orchestration at massive scale. Powered by Einstein AI, it is the platform of choice for large organizations already invested in Salesforce.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Keap | Salesforce Marketing Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.2/5 | 3.8/5 |
| Starting Price | $299/mo | $1,500/mo billed annually |
| Free Plan | No free plan | No free plan |
| Founded | 2001 | 1999 |
| Email Templates | 70 | 200 |
| Integrations | 5,000 | 300 |
| Deliverability Rate | 93% | 97% |
| Marketing Automation | Yes | Yes |
| A/B Testing | Yes | Yes |
| Landing Pages | Yes | Yes |
| Segmentation | Yes | Yes |
| Drag & Drop Editor | Yes | Yes |
| SMS Marketing | Yes | Yes |
| Ecommerce Features | Yes | Yes |
| API Access | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Language | No | Yes |
| Web Push Notifications | No | Yes |
| Live Chat | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | Yes |
Keap: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Powerful drag-and-drop automation builder that handles complex multi-step sales workflows with conditional triggers
- + True all-in-one platform combining CRM, email, SMS, invoicing, payments, and appointment scheduling
- + Dedicated Customer Success Manager included with every plan for hands-on onboarding and support
- + Deep contact management with tagging, segmentation, and centralized views that reduce manual data entry
- + Built-in text marketing with tiered messaging plans and voice minutes integrated directly into automations
Cons
- − Extremely expensive at $299/month for only 1,500 contacts, with costs escalating quickly for additional contacts and users
- − Steep learning curve with complex campaign builder layouts and no undo button, causing frustration during setup
- − Email marketing capabilities feel half-baked compared to dedicated email platforms despite the premium pricing
- − Invoicing feature is rigid and does not support hourly billing or flexible customization
- − Dated mobile experience and slow feature development compared to more agile competitors like GoHighLevel
Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Deepest integration with Salesforce CRM and the entire Salesforce ecosystem
- + Enterprise-grade cross-channel capabilities across email, SMS, push, social, and ads
- + Einstein AI provides predictive scoring and send time optimization
- + 300+ integrations through AppExchange
- + Native Salesforce CRM integration eliminates data sync issues
Cons
- − Starts at $1,500/month billed annually, with advanced features requiring the higher edition
- − Steep learning curve requiring certified specialists
- − No free plan or self-serve trial
- − Impractical for SMBs; value is mainly realized by large Salesforce organizations
- − Admin overhead is high — often requires a dedicated specialist
The Verdict
Keap edges ahead with a 4.2/5 rating compared to Salesforce Marketing Cloud's 3.8/5. The gap comes mainly from ease of use (4.5 vs 3.2) and value for money (3.7 vs 2.8). On deliverability, Salesforce Marketing Cloud reports 97% compared to 93% for Keap — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Keap | Salesforce Marketing Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $299/mo | $1,500/mo billed annually |
| Deliverability | 25% | 93% | 97% Winner |
| Rating | 25% | 4.2/5 Winner | 3.8/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 5000 Winner | 300 |
| Free Tier | 10% | No | No |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Keap if…
- + You're a sales driven small businesses
- + You're a service based businesses
- + Powerful drag-and-drop automation builder that handles complex multi-step sales workflows with conditional triggers
Choose Salesforce Marketing Cloud if…
- + You're a large enterprises
- + You're a Salesforce CRM users
- + Deepest integration with Salesforce CRM and the entire Salesforce ecosystem