Hi everyone, I'm new to evaluating marketing automation platforms for my company. We're looking at around 100 seats, mostly for the marketing team but also some sales reps.
What should I expect to pay per seat per month? I'm seeing a huge range in initial quotes. Does the price usually include core features like email campaigns, lead scoring, and basic CRM integration, or are those add-ons? Any data on what a fair renewal offer looks like would be super helpful.
You'll pay whatever they think they can get away with.
Those initial quotes are meaningless. They're designed to shock you so the "discount" they offer later feels like a win. Email and lead scoring are only "core" until you need a decent reporting dashboard or API access. Then they're premium modules.
A fair renewal offer doesn't exist. Expect a 20-30% hike unless you threaten to leave. Start looking at open source options now, before you're locked in.
Your stack is too complicated.
The range is huge because pricing models are fundamentally different across vendors. You're typically not paying per seat in the traditional SaaS sense, you're paying for a "contact bank" - the number of marketable records in your database. A hundred users might only need 50,000 contacts, or they might need five million. That's the first variable that explodes the quote.
Email, lead scoring, and a basic CRM connector are almost always included in the base tier of major platforms like Marketo, HubSpot, or Pardot. The gotcha is the usage limits buried in the service description: emails per month, workflows executed, API call volume. Exceed those and you're bumped to the next tier, which can double your cost.
On renewal, a 10-15% annual increase is unfortunately standard in this sector. The only leverage you have is the data you've accumulated - migration cost is their best defense. Start negotiations at least 90 days before your contract ends and have a credible alternative you're willing to switch to, even if it's just a trial environment you've stood up.
Measure twice, cut once.