Braze vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement Comparison

Why choose Braze

• Higher Ease of Use score (5/10 vs 3/10)
• Higher Support score (6/10 vs 5/10)
• Better fit for startups (4/10 vs 2/10)

S

Why choose Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement

• Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 6/10)
• Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 8/10)

Braze

Pros

• Covers an unusually wide range of channels in one platform, from email and SMS to push, in-app, content cards, WhatsApp, LINE and KakaoTalk.
• Canvas journeys support flexible multi-step, real-time personalized flows, which reviewers single out as a strength.
• Every edition includes AI tooling, SSO, 2FA and granular permissions.
• Built for scale, with MAU-based contracts used by large consumer brands, and holds a 4.5/5 rating on G2 from about 1,449 reviews.

Cons

• No public pricing, and third-party estimates typically run 60,000 to 200,000 USD or more a year.
• Credit-based charges for channels and AI make spend hard to forecast.
• Reviewers cite friction in the Canvas interface, such as no way to copy steps between canvases and limited editing after launch.
• Reporting is considered rigid, and many teams export data to BI tools.
• Steep learning curve, and custom integrations often depend on developers.

S

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement

Pros

• Built for very high volumes, with Salesforce citing over 4 billion messages sent daily.
• Native connection to Salesforce CRM lets teams use existing customer data directly in segments and journeys.
• Journey Builder combines triggered, transactional and promotional messages, including abandoned-cart flows.
• AMPscript and SQL allow deep one-to-one personalization and complex segmentation.
• Einstein adds engagement scoring, send-time optimization and subject-line suggestions.

Cons

• The entry price of 1,250 USD per org per month on annual billing excludes small teams.
• Reviewers describe the interface as outdated and unintuitive, with a steep learning curve.
• Advanced segmentation and personalization usually require SQL, AMPscript, HTML and CSS skills.
• Reviewers report slow load times, bugs, and support that is hard to reach.
• Integrating with systems outside the Salesforce ecosystem is reported to be difficult.