Act-On

The smartest, easiest-to-use marketing automation platform

Marketing Automation
★★★★☆ 4.1
2008 Founded
201-500 Employees
4,000+ Customers
Portland, OR, USA Headquarters

Quick Facts

Website
act-on.com →
Starting Price
900
Pricing Model
tiered
Company Type
acquired

About Act-On

Act-On Software is a marketing automation vendor focused on giving B2B marketers enterprise-grade capability without the heavy complexity of traditional marketing clouds. Delivered as a cloud-based SaaS platform, Act-On brings together email marketing, landing pages and forms, lead scoring and nurturing, SMS, social publishing, account-based marketing, and analytics in a single environment designed for modern digital campaigns.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Act-On initially grew as a lower-cost, service-oriented alternative to first-generation MAPs. Over time the company expanded from SMB-focused offerings to support sophisticated mid-market and enterprise B2B teams, adding features such as Data Studio for BI exports, advanced analytics, AI-powered scoring and insights, and deep integrations with leading CRM systems and webinar tools.

Act-On’s go-to-market positioning centers on ease of use, fast time-to-value, and an “Active Contacts” pricing model in which customers pay only for contacts they actively engage each month rather than their entire database. This makes the platform attractive to organizations that want to scale sophisticated lifecycle programs while keeping licensing predictable and aligned to actual usage.

In the marketing automation landscape, Act-On is typically evaluated alongside HubSpot, Marketo, and Salesforce’s Account Engagement (Pardot), but it differentiates by emphasizing usability, open data integrations, and human-centric support. The platform is especially strong for B2B demand generation, customer lifecycle marketing, and revenue-focused teams that need powerful automation and analytics while still enabling non-technical marketers to build and optimize campaigns.

Key Features

Multichannel campaign automation - Orchestrate email, SMS, social, and web touchpoints across the entire customer lifecycle.

Email marketing automation - Drag-and-drop email builder, templates, A/B testing, adaptive sending, and deliverability services.

Automated journey builder - Visual workflow designer for drip programs, complex nurture flows, and behavior-triggered campaigns.

Lead scoring & behavioral tracking - Score leads and accounts based on website visits, email engagement, and custom events to prioritize follow-up.

Advanced segmentation - Build dynamic segments using demographic, firmographic, and behavioral data for precise targeting.

Landing pages & forms - Host responsive landing pages and adaptive forms with progressive profiling to capture richer intent data over time.

Website visitor tracking - Identify anonymous visitors at the account level and monitor on-site behavior with Website Prospector.

Account-based marketing - Account-level profiles, engagement rollups, and programs tailored to buying committees and key accounts.

Analytics & reporting - Dashboards and reports for engagement, funnel metrics, and revenue attribution, plus Data Studio export to BI tools.

CRM integrations - Native, bidirectional sync with major CRMs so marketing and sales share a unified, up-to-date view of leads and customers.

SMS marketing - Built-in SMS orchestration and reporting alongside email and other channels in a single interface.

Social media publishing - Schedule and track LinkedIn and X (Twitter) posts directly from Act-On and tie engagement back to campaigns.

AI-powered features - Predictive lead scoring, audience insights, and emerging AI analytics to surface opportunities and optimize programs.

Transactional & triggered messaging - Event-based, lifecycle-aware emails and messages driven by behaviors and milestones.

Sales enablement tools - Act-On Anywhere browser and Outlook extensions surface engagement history and assets directly in sales workflows.

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • User-friendly email and campaign builder that allows non-technical marketers to stand up programs quickly once they learn the basics.
  • Comprehensive feature set for the price, combining email, landing pages, forms, webinars, social, and basic ABM in one platform.
  • Strong native integrations with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and other CRMs that keep sales and marketing data synchronized.
  • Flexible segmentation and behavioral lead scoring that help teams target specific audiences and prioritize sales follow-up.
  • Support team is frequently praised as responsive and helpful, with ongoing product enhancements and iterative improvements.

👎 Cons

  • User interface and design tools are sometimes described as dated or clunky compared with newer competitors, especially the WYSIWYG editor.
  • Users report occasional glitches or performance slowdowns, particularly when working with large email assets or complex campaigns.
  • Reporting and dashboards, while capable, can be less flexible and visually polished than dedicated BI tools, leading some teams to export data for deeper analysis.

User Reviews

G2
4.1
★★★★☆
Capterra
4.3
★★★★☆
TrustRadius
8.0
★★★★★

Integrations

Salesforce Microsoft Dynamics 365 Zendesk Sell SugarCRM Oracle NetSuite Infor CRM Simpleview CRM Google Analytics Google Ads Microsoft Power BI Zoom WebEx GoToWebinar WordPress Oktopost Gmail Microsoft Outlook LinkedIn X Zapier

Best For

Company Size

smb mid-market enterprise

Industries

Financial Services Banking and Credit Unions Manufacturing Healthcare Insurance Technology and SaaS

Use Cases

Lead Nurturing and Drip Campaigns Multichannel Marketing Automation Account-Based Marketing Programs Customer Onboarding and Lifecycle Marketing Webinar and Event Promotion and Follow-up

FAQ

What is Act-On?

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Act-On is a cloud-based B2B marketing automation platform that helps organizations plan, execute, and measure multichannel campaigns across email, web, SMS, and social. It includes tools for landing pages and forms, lead scoring and nurturing, account-based marketing, analytics and reporting, and tight integrations with popular CRMs so marketing and sales teams can share a unified view of engagement and pipeline.

How much does Act-On cost?

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Act-On uses an Active Contact pricing model, where you pay for the number of contacts you actively engage each month rather than your full database. Public pricing for the Professional tier starts around $900 per month (billed annually) for roughly 2,500 active contacts, with an Enterprise tier priced on a custom basis depending on scale, add-ons, and implementation needs. There is no permanent free plan, and contracts are typically annual.

What are the main features of Act-On?

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Core Act-On features include email marketing automation with a drag-and-drop builder and A/B testing; visual journey and nurture program builder; landing pages and adaptive forms; website visitor tracking and behavior analytics; advanced segmentation and lead scoring; account-based views and programs; SMS and social publishing; robust integrations with CRMs and webinar tools; and analytics capabilities ranging from campaign dashboards to BI exports via Data Studio.

Who are Act-On's main competitors?

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Act-On is often evaluated alongside other leading marketing automation platforms such as HubSpot Marketing Hub, Adobe Marketo Engage, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot), and ActiveCampaign. Depending on the use case, buyers may also compare it to tools like Oracle Eloqua, SharpSpring, or Keap for email-centric automation.

Is Act-On good for small businesses?

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Act-On can be a strong choice for small and mid-sized B2B organizations that have dedicated marketing resources and want to run more sophisticated, multichannel programs. Its ease of use and Active Contact pricing can work well for growing teams. However, very small businesses or solo marketers who only need basic newsletter sends and simple automations may find leaner email tools more cost-effective and easier to manage than a full-featured MAP like Act-On.

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