Our user review data identifies the 12 software tools rated highest by users in 2021 for marketing including email marketing, content marketing, marketing automation, and brand management.
A socially-distant world has brought many changes to the way small businesses operate, including an increased reliance on digital marketing strategies. Many small businesses revamped their marketing strategy and invested in marketing software tools to build a marketing tech stack for their business. They accelerated digitization efforts that not only streamlined their business processes but also restored their lost sales.
If you're looking for software to help you optimize those digital marketing strategies, we've curated a list of the top 12 products that stood out among 280 tools across 21 software categories for delivering excellent value, according to feedback from thousands of real users. This list will help you compare options and find the right software solution that will fulfill your current and future marketing tech stack requirements.
To help you understand what you can expect from these marketing tools, we've highlighted key features, Shortlist reports that each product appears in, and a few user reviews for each product. We've also captured popularity scores for featured products in this list; the popularity score is weighted out of 100 points and is calculated using the Shortlist methodology.
Products are ordered based on their inclusion in Shortlist reports, from most report appearances to fewest; read more about our selection methodology here.
12 top-rated marketing tools
Key Features
- Marketing automation
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing
- Social media management
- Channel management
- Behavioral targeting
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Survey, Social Media Management, Marketing Automation, Landing Page, Campaign Management, Email Tracking
Shortlist popularity score: 100 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Mailchimp, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“If you want to announce anything big or excited then it is a perfect platform so that you can engage more customers” —Midsize business, computer software, services sales lead
“Mailchimp is really good at what it does. I love the ease of building great looking emails” —Small business, religious institutions, student pastor
“Mailchimp is super beginner-friendly and offers an amazing blog full of helpful hints” —Small business, philanthropy, brand content associate
Key Features
- Ad tracking
- Live chat
- Social media management
- Email marketing
- Campaign management
- Marketing analytics
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Management, Landing Page, Campaign Management, Marketing Analytics
Shortlist popularity score: 59 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about HubSpot Marketing Hub, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“It allows me to have a better grasp on an account and how to best serve it” —Small business, marketing and advertising, marketing manager
“Lots of cool features that are quite easy to use. Great academy to learn how to take good advantage of all the features” —Small business, real estate, marketing and sales director
“It has great design and an incredible UX. Things are simple and easily accessible” —Small business, education management, marketing manager
Key Features
- Email marketing
- Marketing automation
- Social media management
- Campaign tracking
- Marketing analytics
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Social Media Marketing, Social Media Management, Content Marketing, Marketing Automation, Campaign Management, Marketing Analytics
Shortlist popularity score: 66 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about SharpSpring, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“The fact that it's packed full of features that are easy to use makes it a great product for good value” —Small business; information technology and services, data, communication; automation & integration specialist
“Onboarding and support are outstanding. They have a very well planned onboarding process” —Small business, information technology and services, owner
“Well when I decided on Sharpspring I couldn't have been more pleased. Ease of use and value for the Bang it has been great” —Small business, marketing and advertising, president
Key Features
- Email marketing
- CRM
- Scheduling
- Reputation management
- Content marketing
- Campaign management
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Social Media Management, Content Marketing, Campaign Management, SMS Marketing, Landing Page, Reputation Management
Shortlist popularity score: 62 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Marketing 360, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“They are a pleasure to talk to and extremely professional and supportive” —Small business; health, wellness and fitness; owner
“I’ve greatly benefited from all of their creative input. Our website looks beautiful on both desktop and mobile view” —Small business, wine and spirits, assistant manager
“Lots of features, data and analytics, looks very nice, creates great reports” —Small business, construction, owner
Key Features
- Social media management
- Content marketing
- Campaign management
- Landing page
- SMS marketing
- Social media marketing
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Management, Content Marketing, Campaign Management, Landing Page
Shortlist popularity score: 60 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Act-On, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“It is extremely practical and easy to understand to do any marketing work“ —Small business, marketing and advertising, chief operating officer
Key Features
- Marketing automation
- Email marketing
- Reporting
- Segmentation
- Campaign management
- A/B testing
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Campaign Management, SMS Marketing, Marketing Analytics, Marketing Automation
Shortlist popularity score: 67 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Omnisend, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“The directions are easy, the templates are fantastic and it's so much better than a generic email platform” —Enterprise business, retail, HR manager
“Mailchimp themes are basic and are nice too. Omnisend has prettier and more aesthetic themes” —Small business, cosmetics, co-founder
“Omnisend is easy to use and there isn't a huge learning curve either” —Small business, cosmetics, co-founder
Key Features
- Reputation management
- Brand management
- Customer service
- Reporting
- Marketing analytics
- Social media marketing
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Social Media Management, Reputation Management, Social Media Marketing, Marketing Analytics, Brand Management
Shortlist popularity score: 79 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Sprout Social, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“First of all the customer support is absolutely outstanding. They are extremely responsive and helpful” —Midsize business, hospitality, marketing & creative services director
“A great onboarding experience and a lovely and simple user interface. Love the smart inbox feature on the platform” —Small business, marketing and advertising, CMO
“The ability to schedule posts on social media accounts ahead of time is a lifesaver” —Small business, food & beverages, registered dietitian
Key Features
- Social media marketing
- Marketing automation
- Contact list management
- Surveys
- Email tracking
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Management, Marketing Automation, Email Tracking
Shortlist popularity score: 95 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Constant Contact, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“They were very responsive and did a great job helping me figure out the best way to use the software” —Small business, retail, owner
“They look beautiful from the consumer side and are easy to understand from the creative side too” —Small business, real estate, realtor
Key Features
- Campaign management
- Marketing analytics
- Brand management
- Content marketing
- Behavioral analytics
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Social Media Marketing, Marketing Automation, Content Marketing, Campaign Management, Marketing Analytics
Shortlist popularity score: 73 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Salesforce Marketing Cloud, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“The email builder is very easy to use and the ability to specify a preheader was greatly appreciated” —Small business, public relations and communications, VP of operations
“Has easy report creation in it and strong integration with multiple softwares” —Small business, information technology and services, manager of marketing operations
“It has been very helpful in managing customer journeys, sending and preparing emails, and getting good reporting”—Small business, automotive, marketing manager
Key Features
- CRM
- Appointment scheduling
- Social media management
- Reputation management
- Document management
- Campaign management
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Social Media Marketing, Social Media Management, Marketing Automation, Campaign Management, Reputation Management
Shortlist popularity score: 71 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Thryv, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“Fantastic email integration and good tools CRM like to recruit prospects and find new talent” —Enterprise business, information technology and services, tech support engineer
“The ability to use the automated campaign feature has proven to be a huge win for our company” —Small business, accounting, director of business development
“The integration with my website is fantastic and makes follow up with leads SO EASY”—Small business, accounting, CPA
Key Features
- Content marketing
- Marketing analytics
- Social media management
- Link building
- SEO
- Keyword research
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media Management, Marketing Analytics, SEO
Shortlist popularity score: 79 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Semrush, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“Their customer support has also been fantastic and they seem very eager to help” —Small business, marketing and advertising, owner
“Semrush does amazing with identifying competition and gives great recommendations for your ad campaigns” —Small business, marketing and advertising, copywriter
Key Features
- Content marketing
- Forms automation
- Social media management
- CRM
- Project management
- Task management
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Support options
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Recognized in these Capterra Shortlist reports: Social Media Marketing, Social Media Management, Content Marketing, Product Lifecycle Management, Forms Automation
Shortlist popularity score: 92 out of 100
To show you how reviewers feel about Monday.com, here are some of the most positive excerpts from Capterra reviews:
Pros
“Monday.com as good user interface which is easy to use and the looks are awesome” —Small business, information technology and services, IT engineer
“The best feature of monday.com is its ability to help you integrate your tasks into your calendar” —Enterprise business, internet, business development and strategy
“Customer service has been quick and awesome any time I needed to reach out”—Small business, marketing and advertising, marketing
Which marketing tool is best for your business?
Your business can benefit from investing in a marketing tech stack—it will not only help your business stay operational in a socially distanced world, but will also open up revenue streams in the long-term.
Find more helpful software with Shortlist
Capterra’s Shortlist reports have been a valuable resource for software buyers for many years. To create each of these reports, we score vendors on two dimensions: user ratings and popularity.
The rating component is plotted on the X-axis and considers the overall user ratings of products based on reviews written in the last 24 months. Users rate products on a scale of 1 star (lowest) to 5 stars (highest).
The popularity component is plotted on the Y-axis and considers average monthly search volume for a standardized set of keywords for each product, as derived by a proprietary search methodology, as well as the position of the vendor’s domain on the search engine results page (SERP) for each keyword. This is a measure of user interest and relevance used as a proxy for popularity.
Each score (ratings and popularity) is weighted and scaled to a value between 1-50.
To learn more about our Shortlist methodology, read our full explanation here.
Want to learn about hiring a marketing analytics company for your business needs? Our list of the top marketing analytics services and their features will help you narrow your search. Read more in Capterra’s marketing analytics company hiring guide.