Customer engagement platform comparison
Actito vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud: a European alternative
Choose Actito if you want one European platform your marketers run themselves: 11 native channels, deliverability experts at your side, data hosted in the EU and access to the Ibexa Agentic Marketing Platform included. Choose Salesforce Marketing Cloud if your company already runs on Salesforce CRM and Data 360, and has the budget and partners to operate a large suite.
Actito vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud at a glance
-
Actito
European brands whose marketers run campaigns on their own
EU by design, ISO 27001 certified
4.3/5 on G2- Ibexa Agentic Marketing Platform included
- Included: Channels 11 native channels, incl. RCS, WhatsApp, wallet passes, call centre and print
- Included: AI agents Actito Agents, a large agent catalogue and your own agents
- Included: Security and compliance GDPR and NIS 2 compliant. Consent, preferences, automatic purge and processing register built in
- Included: Deliverability Dedicated expert team, automatic IP warming, smart filter
- Included: Support A dedicated support team by email, chat and phone, with extended hours available, plus your account manager. Rated 9.1/10 for quality of support on G2
- Included: Cost model Two plans, Standard and Advanced, sized by active profiles and seats
- Included: Time to implement 2 months on average, per G2 reviewers. Operational in a few weeks.
-
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Companies built on Salesforce CRM and Data 360
US company, EU hosting depending on product and contract
4.0/5 on G2- Agentforce billed by usage, with Flex Credits
- Included: Channels Email, SMS, WhatsApp, push, in-app and RCS
- Included: AI agents Campaign Agent (Marketing Cloud Next), Budget Optimization and Data Guardian (Marketing Intelligence add-on)
- Included: Security and compliance Data can be transferred to the US, under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Binding Corporate Rules
- Included: Deliverability Sender Authentication Package: dedicated domain and IP
- Included: Support Rated 7.7/10 for quality of support on G2
- Included: Cost model Base subscription, plus paid add-ons, Premier support and Agentforce credits
- Included: Time to implement 3 months on average, per G2 reviewers. 4 to 6 months or more for multi-brand or enterprise projects, according to Salesforce partners.
4.3/5
on G2, from 180 verified reviews
400+
brands, incl. Deutsche Bank and Libération
99%+
industry-leading deliverability
20+
years of email expertise
Why teams choose Actito as a Salesforce Marketing Cloud alternative
Which is easier for marketers to run day to day?
Actito
An interface designed for marketers: drag-and-drop, no-code editor and pre-designed templates. Segments built from behavioural, socio-demographic and transactional data. Marketers launch campaigns, forms and scenarios on their own, without technical skills.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
A powerful suite with a very broad scope, and a learning curve to match. SQL queries and AMPscript are common, so marketing teams often depend on IT or consultants for simple tasks.
Verdict: Actito, for marketing teams that want to launch campaigns without waiting on IT or consultants.
How do the AI agents compare?
Actito
Access to the Ibexa Agentic Marketing Platform comes with both Standard and Advanced. You get:
- Actito Agents: Editorial Creator, Omnichannel Adopter, Report Generation and the Actito AI Assistant, working directly on your campaigns, contacts and channels
- A large catalogue of agents ready to use on the platform
- Your own agents, built by your team for your workflows
Nothing goes out until you approve it.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Campaign Agent comes with the Marketing Cloud Next editions. Budget Optimization and Data Guardian sit in the Marketing Intelligence add-on. All three are generally available since October 2026. Wider Agentforce usage is billed separately: Flex Credits, per conversation or per-user add-ons.
Verdict: with Actito, access to the Ibexa Agentic Marketing Platform is included in your plan: Actito Agents, a large catalogue of ready-made agents, and the option to build your own. Salesforce embeds Agentforce agents across its own platform and bills their actions with Flex Credits.
Where is your data hosted, and how is GDPR handled?
Actito
EU by design. 100% European infrastructure, all data on EU servers, ISO 27001 certified, with GDPR and NIS 2 compliance. Actito stays close to European regulators such as the CNIL, so new rules are supported in the product as soon as they apply.
- Explicit consent collection
- Preferences by channel and message type
- Automatic data purge after your retention period
- A processing register to document compliance
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
US company, subject to the CLOUD Act, as its own FAQ states. EU hosting is possible, with conditions:
- Marketing Cloud Engagement contracts signed on or before 28 November 2019 are hosted in the US
- If a European Marketing Cloud Engagement site suffers a disaster, data is restored to the US
Verdict: Actito, when EU hosting and GDPR compliance by design are requirements.
Highly Rated and recommended
We have a rating of 4.3 out of 5 on G2 —based on 181 verified reviews
Which should you choose?
-
Choose Actito if
- Your marketers need to build and send without IT or consultants
- EU hosting and GDPR compliance by design are requirements
- You want wallet passes, call centre or print in the same journeys
- You want a dedicated account success manager and deliverability experts at your side
- You want AI agents included in your plan: Actito Agents, a large catalogue, and the freedom to build your own
-
Choose Salesforce Marketing Cloud if
- Your sales and service teams already run on Salesforce
- You want marketing, CRM and Data 360 under one contract
- You have the budget and a partner to run a large implementation
How to migrate from Salesforce Marketing Cloud to Actito
You are operational in a few weeks, and a full migration typically takes 3 to 6 months. Our experts work with you at every step, from activating your licence to creating users, configuring data models and preparing IP addresses. Our deliverability specialists secure the transition to protect your sender reputation, and a dedicated account success manager stays at your side after go-live.
Read the 9-step migration guideAudit your setup
Campaigns, data and integrations to keep, improve or retire.
Plan the move
Timeline, resources and a progressive switch.
Map your data
Clean, map fields, check opt-in status.
Rebuild campaigns
Templates, segments and journeys.
Warm up your IPs
Over several weeks, most engaged contacts first.
Moving from Salesforce Marketing Cloud? Let’s map it out.
Our experts study your setup and propose a migration path that fits your needs.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
For European brands that want marketers to run campaigns on their own, yes. Actito covers 11 native channels, hosts data in Europe and includes deliverability experts. Teams that want everything inside the Salesforce platform may prefer to stay.
To give marketers autonomy: they build and launch campaigns without waiting on IT or consultants. Teams also look for a cost they can plan, EU data hosting with GDPR built in, and close support from a dedicated account manager.
You are operational in a few weeks, and G2 reviewers report 2 months on average to implement Actito. Larger migrations depend on your setup, and most campaigns can be rebuilt in a few weeks with an Actito project manager.
Actito’s deliverability specialists secure the transition. They prepare your IP addresses and warm them up over several weeks, starting with your most engaged contacts, to protect your sender reputation.
Two plans, Standard and Advanced, sized by active profiles and seats. Access to the Ibexa Agentic Marketing Platform is included in both. Pricing is on quote.
