Before we get into the nitty-gritty of HubSpot vs. Mautic, it's critical to understand that the importance of marketing automation software lies within its capabilities. Marketing efficiency is critical and marketers can’t afford to spend time on redundant tasks that can be easily replaced by software.
Hence, the need for reliable cost-effective solutions to help automate monotonous tasks throughout multiple marketing channels (i.e. email, websites, social media). Marketing automation software allows organizations to do exactly this by streamlining complex processes in order to generate leads more efficiently. In HubSpot’s State of Inbound 2017 report, 40% of marketers reported that marketing automation is their company’s top priority in terms of inbound marketing projects.
However, with a plethora of marketing automation solutions offered, how do you determine the right one for your organization? For the purposes of this post, I will review two that I have personally been using in my role as Marketing Assistant at Unleashed: HubSpot and Mautic. After leveraging both platforms, I’ve compiled an introductory list of pros and cons for HubSpot vs. Mautic to take into consideration when deciding which platform best meets your organization’s business needs.
Marketing Automation with HubSpot
HubSpot is an inbound marketing and sales automation platform designed to offer an all-in-one approach. Out of the box, HubSpot checks the list for most marketing tasks required to nurture leads down the pipeline. It's training, support, and content resources are unrivaled, as it offers an easy-to-use interface for even the most entry-level marketer.
Pros
- High level of usability in management and setup
- Intuitive for the end-user
- A robust, all-in-one solution
- Offers a growth stack interconnecting sales, marketing, and CRM services
- Voluminous content resource library designed to support marketers on any level
- Extensive reporting and analytics capabilities
- Capacity to build beautiful landing pages without the need of IT support
- A large community offering 24/7 support
Cons
- A 12 month contract locks you in
- Pricing determined by the number of contacts which can result in a hefty price tag for organizations with small budgets
- Limited integration capabilities without developer customizations
- Social Media limitations with formatting & posting videos
Marketing Automation with Mautic
Mautic is still a relatively new player in the marketing automation landscape; however, it introduces a new world of open source marketing automation software to marketers. Mautic offers a complete, feature-packed product at no cost; something marketers would not otherwise receive without paying for premium marketing automation software. While it has a bit more progress to make in terms of usability, it’s already a sharp competitor for HubSpot in my opinion.
Pros
- Open Source software (no contract with annual costs)
- Free to download, reducing business costs
- Unlimited integrations to adapt to your technology stack
- Flexible and scalable for future growth
- Natively supports variable A/B testing for landing pages and websites
- Close integration capabilities with other open source technologies, such as Drupal
Cons
- IT support is needed for setup, configuration, hosting
- Developer support is needed for custom landing pages and custom emails
- A difficult learning curve for Marketers who are not tech-savvy
- Slower support times due to a smaller community backing it
- Not as intuitive for the end user
So, HubSpot vs. Mautic?
When push comes to shove, HubSpot takes the popular vote as a more established solution with a much larger community already backing it. Its vast, prepackaged capabilities cover a multitude of marketing tasks needed to satisfy current business needs from an all-in-one solution.
Mautic is offering marketers an attractive alternative. With more time and an increase in adoption, Mautic could soon be a force to be reckoned with as it continues to evolve to meet the needs of marketers by offering an open source alternative to the marketing automation giants.