SaaS means speed. You and your team are juggling emails, lead gen, onboarding, retention. And doing it all at scale.
The last thing you want is marketing bottlenecks or tedious, repetitive activities that squander your time that could be better spent on strategy and growth.
The answer to this, as you know, is marketing automation. Something that you’re likely already implementing to some extent in your SaaS marketing strategy, but it’s perhaps not the best it could be in terms of efficacy and/or efficiency.
This post will help you change that, as we’ll break down what to look for, which tools are worth your time, and how to use them without overwhelming your team and audience.
Whether you’re a one-man army at your own SaaS startup or leading a big marketing team at a B2B enterprise, these tools can save you hours of manual effort and bring in better results at scale.
What to Look for in a SaaS Marketing Automation Tool
There’s a good deal of overlap when it comes to marketing automation tools. However, some are more lightweight and nimble. Others come with all the bells and whistles (and a steep learning curve).
So before you pick one, here’s what you want to keep an eye on:
Core Features That Actually Matter: Email campaigns, lead scoring, segmentation, behavior-based triggers, CRM integration. These are non-negotiables. Without them, it’s just another glorified email tool.
Ease of Use: If it takes days to set up a simple workflow, that’s a red flag. Look for clean UI, helpful templates, and intuitive logic builders. Advanced capabilities are of no use if your team…doesn’t actually use them.
Scalability: What works for a 500-user SaaS today might be far from ideal at 5,000. Pick tools that can grow with your user base, without locking you into an enterprise tier too early.
Integrations: Your automation tool should play nice with your CRM, analytics, product stack, and support tools. Zapier hacks can only get you so far.
Personalization Power: You want more than “Hi {{First Name}}.” Look for tools that can personalize based on behavior, lifecycle stage, and product usage.
Reporting and Analytics: If you can’t see what’s working, you can’t improve it. Make sure the tool offers clear metrics, conversion tracking, and funnel visibility.
Pricing That Makes Sense: Some tools start cheap and scale fast. Others offer flat rates with generous limits. Watch for hidden costs, especially around contacts and emails.
Support and Documentation: When things go wrong (and they will), good support and clear docs can save you a lot of pain. Bonus points if they offer chat or dedicated onboarding.
With these points on your radar, let’s get to the meat of this.
Top SaaS Marketing Automation Tools in 2025
Marketing automation tools really are a dime a dozen today. You’re spoilt for choice. So we handpicked five of the finest ones available in 2025. Check these out.
1. Customer.io
Customer.io is a data-powered marketing automation tool built for SaaS teams. It ties real-time user data—like app behavior, subscription events, trial status, and more—to multi-channel messaging (email, SMS, push, in-app). It’s designed to keep pace with both lean startups and growing enterprises.
Key Features of Customer.io
Visual workflow builder with drag-and-drop journey mapping
Omnichannel messaging: email, SMS, push, in-app
Event-triggered campaigns based on user actions
Deep API/webhook support and data integrations (reverse ETL, warehouses)
A/B and cohort testing for optimizing sends
Analytics dashboard with conversion goals and AI insights
Pros
Solid control over data and automation logic
Scales well, from hundreds to millions of users
Strong integration support, including Zapier
AI-powered insights for campaign improvement and messaging optimization
Cons
Requires some technical setup (APIs, events, custom objects)
More suited for dev-friendly teams than marketing-only ones
Pricing Overview
14-day free trial, no credit card needed and canceled anytime. Paid plans start at $100/month, scaling with contact volume and message channels.
Customer.io is Best For
SaaS teams that need behavior-driven messaging (e.g., onboarding triggers, trial end reminders, usage nudges). Businesses handling first-party data and wanting tight integration with analytics or data platforms. Brands aiming for precise control over audience segments and message timing.
2. ActiveCampaign
A well-established household name, ActiveCampaign is a powerful, all-in-one marketing automation and CRM platform. You get email, automation workflows, SMS, site messaging, AI support, and a built-in CRM all wrapped up in one neat package.
Key Features of ActiveCampaign
Multi‑step marketing automation with visual builder and 900+ pre-built recipes
Cross-channel messaging: email, SMS, WhatsApp, site messages
Built-in CRM with deal pipelines, tasks, and lead scoring
AI tools for predictive sending, generative content, automation building
In-depth analytics on attribution, conversion tracking, revenue reporting
Pros
Rich feature set: you get marketing + sales + CRM in one
900+ integrations to connect your entire stack
AI-powered tools help guide and speed up workflows
Ranked #1 on G2 for marketing automation
Cons
Multiple add‑ons (CRM, SMS) can drive up costs if you need everything
Pricing scales quickly as your contact list grows
Some setup complexity, especially for CRM and SMS features
Pricing Overview
There’s a 14-day free trial (no credit card) across plans. The Tiers (for 1,000 contacts) include:
Starter: $15/month—email automation, site tracking, 1 user
Plus: $49/month—adds landing pages, SMS, basic CRM, AI features
Pro: $79/month—full automation, conditional content, predictive sending, up to 3 users
Enterprise: starts $145/month—advanced features (custom objects, SSO, dedicated support), up to 5 users
ActiveCampaign is Best For
SaaS teams looking for an integrated marketing + sales solution. Companies with mature workflows needing behavioral triggers, landing pages, and AI assistance. Teams who want cross-channel automation (email, SMS, WhatsApp, site messaging) and businesses scaling their contact lists or wanting full CRM pipelines.
3. Ortto
Ortto (formerly Autopilot) combines marketing automation, customer data, analytics, and live chat into a single platform. Its strength lies in visual journey building and real-time data syncing. This is perfect for teams that want one slick tool to tie everything together.
Key Features of Ortto
Drag‑and‑drop journey builder with pre‑built templates for SaaS, re‑engagement, onboarding, etc.
Built‑in CDP to segment users by events, demographics & behavior in real time
Multi-channel messaging over email, SMS, web push, in‑app, live chat
AI tools that give subject‑line suggestions, open‑rate predictions, AI-powered filters & content support
Custom dashboards, cohort reporting, lead scoring, Slack/email alerts
Pros
Intuitive visual UI with user-friendly journey templates
Unified data view across CDP and marketing channels
AI-driven features speed up campaign build and content optimization
Smooth no-code integrations with top SaaS tools like Salesforce, Shopify, Segment, Slack
Cons
Starts pricey (the Professional plan begins ~$509/month for 10K contacts)
Reporting depth can feel limited at scale
Some users note occasional UI quirks and a learning curve for advanced flows
Pricing Overview
As usual, a 14-day free trial is available. The Professional plan begins at $509/month (10K contacts) and includes core automation, CDP, email/SMS, drag‑and‑drop workflows. The Enterprise plan at $1,699/month includes dedicated success manager, SLA, SSO, multi‑workspace.
Ortto is Best For
Midsize SaaS/tech teams that need slick visual journey creation. Teams with data-driven workflows using events or behavior to trigger messages. Companies wanting a unified platform (marketing, analytics, chat) with AI features and can justify investment in advanced features and integrations.
4. Oktopost
Oktopost is a B2B-focused social media management and marketing automation tool. It helps SaaS teams manage LinkedIn-first social publishing, employee advocacy, social listening, and analytics, all optimized to connect engagement with actual revenue.
Key Features of Oktopost
Centralized scheduling and publishing across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
Employee advocacy boards for sharing company-approved posts via personal social channels
Funnel-focused analytics and revenue attribution to tie social to pipeline impact
Social listening, competitor monitoring, and campaign/conversion tracking
Integrations with CRM and data tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Eloqua, SugarCRM, Google Analytics
Pros
High ease-of-use with an intuitive UI and quick onboarding
Strong ROI tracking with social efforts connected to real business outcomes
Scales with teams via user seats and advocate features
Highly rated support (fast and responsive)
Cons
Designed for social, not traditional email/SMS marketing
Reporting and BI tools can feel limited or overly complex
Higher price point, with pricing starting at around $65/month for basic, jumps steeply
Bulk scheduling and campaign setup can lag behind simpler tools
Pricing Overview
While you need to request a quote for pricing as per your team size, the estimates are:
Basic+: ~$145/mo (or $123 annual)—adds more users, profiles, UTM tracking, lead capture
Business: ~$560/mo (or $476 annual)—advanced advocacy, deeper analytics, multi-team support
Custom enterprise tiers available via quote—scales with seats, advocates, CRM integrations
Oktopost is Best For
B2B SaaS marketing teams serious about social selling, especially on LinkedIn. Companies wanting to amplify brand reach through employee advocacy. Enterprises aiming to connect social engagement with pipeline and revenue and needing compliance-focused workflows or multi-team social publishing.
5. Salesmate
Salesmate is an AI‑powered CRM and marketing automation combo. It streamlines sales and marketing in one platform, covering email, SMS, lead scoring, meeting scheduling, and real‑time engagement tracking.
Key Features of Salesmate
Automated email sequences and follow-ups
MQL scoring and behavior-based segmentation
Multi-channel outreach: email, SMS, WhatsApp, live chat
Meeting scheduler with calendar sync and reminders
Pro: $39/user/month—everything in Basic + Sequences, Quotes, Products, Tickets, Team Inbox, Custom reports, Sandy AI, and 30k Smart Flows credits
Business: $63/user/month—adds power dialer, voicemail drop, SLAs, SSO, advanced goal & duplicate rules, and 40k Smart Flows credits
Enterprise: custom pricing—includes audit logs, dedicated onboarding, IP restrictions, dedicated IP/email reputation, 24×7 support, unlimited credits (50k+/user), and quarterly business reviews
Each plan has monthly execution credits that power automation actions: 20k/30k/40k/50k per user for Basic/Pro/Business/Enterprise. Email actions consume 4 credits, while other actions use 1 credit. Extra credits can be purchased (e.g., $12 per extra 10k credits).
Salesmate is Best For
SaaS teams that want a single platform for CRM, marketing, sales, and support. Companies leveraging AI (Sandy) to speed up outreach. Workflows driven by behavior-triggered lead nurturing and real-time engagement.
Wrapping Up
Marketing automation isn’t about doing more and more. It’s about doing less of the stuff that slows you down.
The right tool helps you scale without burning out. It lets you focus on strategy, storytelling, and building real connections with users while the repetitive stuff runs on autopilot in the background.
Whether you’re a scrappy startup or an established SaaS enterprise, the tools we covered here can tackle a lot of the tedious stuff. However, don’t chase every shiny feature. Start with your goals, pick the tool that fits your workflow, and iterate from there.
And if you’re looking to automate the content side of your SaaS marketing, you’re in the right place. Get in touch with Growfusely to learn how we can take things off your plate.