# Email Marketing vs. Marketing Automation Software | Capterra > We define and compare email marketing vs. marketing automation software so you can determine which tool is right for your business. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/email-marketing-vs-marketing-automation --- Email MarketingMarketing # Category Compare: Email Marketing vs. Marketing Automation Software By Ashish Upadhyay Ashish Upadhyay Ashish Upadhyay is a writer at Capterra. He provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 ... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/aupadhyay/) Published November 4, 2021 3 min read ## In this report, we define and compare email marketing software and marketing automation software so you can decide which tool is right for your business. Despite having many overlapping features, [email marketing](https://www.capterra.com/email-marketing-software/) and [marketing automation](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-automation-software/) are two distinct software categories. This report will highlight the similarities and differences between the two tools so you can decide which one better suits your business needs. ## What is email marketing software? [Email marketing software](https://www.capterra.com/email-marketing-software/) automates email communication between a business and its prospects and customers. These systems help manage mailing lists, monitor marketing campaign effectiveness, and increase email marketing efficiency. They can be used to strengthen brand recognition, announce new product launches, and promote services, among others. Email marketing software is primarily used by email marketers to automate and streamline email campaign distributions, send bulk blast emails, and track recipient behavior. ## What is marketing automation software? [Marketing automation software](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-automation-software/) helps businesses automate marketing processes and allows for end-to-end management of marketing campaigns, including campaign design, metrics tracking, content publishing, customer segmentation, and marketing analytics. Marketing professionals use marketing automation software to automate repetitive campaign creation, distribution, and tracking tasks across email, social media, website, and other online marketing avenues. ## What do they have in common? Both tools help streamline and scale the distribution of marketing campaigns and engage your audience. But while email marketing software automates email marketing campaigns, marketing automation software has a broader scope and includes more channels than simply email. ### Email marketing software features ### Marketing automation software features ## Which tool is right for you? If your primary work involves email marketing and your data needs are limited to email recipients, opt for an email marketing tool. But if you wish to track user behavior beyond emails and monitor audience interactions on your website and social media, among other platforms, select a marketing automation tool. Once you get an idea of which software to use, head to our [email marketing software](https://www.capterra.com/email-marketing-software/) and [marketing automation software](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-automation-software/) category pages where you can find a sortable list of products, software reviews from verified users, and comprehensive buyers guides. Want to narrow down your search to only the most popular and highest-rated solutions? Check out Capterra’s Shortlist reports for the top [email marketing](https://www.capterra.com/email-marketing-software/#shortlist) and [marketing automation software](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-automation-software/#shortlist) tools—our reports are based on an analysis of thousands of user reviews. ## 12 top-rated email marketing and marketing automation software These 12 products, listed in alphabetical order, are among the top rated in both software categories: #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of date of publication * * * ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * **Note:** Reviews and ratings data in the product cards is as of Oct. 26, 2021. New reviews may have been added since the publication of this article, so the reviews data in this piece may not reflect current conditions. The products in the category comparison images are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations by Capterra. They have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication. Methodology To be included in the list, the products must: 1. Be listed under Capterra’s 2021 Shortlist report for [email marketing](https://www.capterra.com/email-marketing-software/#shortlist) and [marketing automation](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-automation-software/#shortlist) software. Learn more about the Capterra Shortlist methodology [here](https://www.capterra.com/resources/research-methodologies/). 2. Meet our software market definition for email marketing and marketing automation software: - **Email Marketing:** “Email Marketing software helps users leverage their email channel to deliver and optimize marketing messages — such as brand newsletters or contextually relevant, real-time and personalized communications — in support of multichannel engagement across the customer life cycle.” - **Marketing Automation:** “Marketing automation software streamlines marketing functions by managing processes, workflows and multifunctional, omnichannel campaigns that can be automatically triggered by lead behavior and interactions. Marketing professionals use marketing automation software to automate repetitive campaign creation, distribution and tracking tasks across emails, social media, and other website marketing avenues.” * * * Looking for Marketing Automation software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Marketing Automation software](https://www.capterra.com/marketing-automation-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Ashish Upadhyay](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/aupadhyay/) Ashish Upadhyay is a writer at Capterra. He provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 Capterra user reviews and nearly 48,000 interactions between Capterra software advisors and buyers. 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