Why look beyond Braze

Braze is a customer engagement platform designed for multi-channel marketing automation and real-time customer journey orchestration. Its core offerings include tools for messaging across various channels, data and analytics, personalization, and segmentation. Braze provides extensive SDKs for mobile, web, and backend integrations, allowing developers to integrate customer data and trigger personalized campaigns programmatically (Braze API Reference). While Braze is positioned for enterprise-level needs, particularly for companies requiring sophisticated, real-time personalization at scale, its custom enterprise pricing model means it may not be suitable for all budget ranges or organizational sizes.

Organizations may seek alternatives for several reasons. Some might require a platform with a different pricing structure, such as transparent tiered pricing or options more aligned with mid-market budgets. Others may find specific feature sets in alternative platforms that better match their existing tech stack or unique operational requirements, such as deeper CRM integration, specialized analytics capabilities, or a stronger focus on specific channels. Additionally, some businesses might prioritize platforms with a lower barrier to entry for development teams or a more streamlined interface for non-technical users, depending on their internal resource allocation and expertise.

Top alternatives ranked

  1. 1. Salesforce Marketing Cloud — Comprehensive enterprise marketing automation

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud is an integrated platform for customer engagement, offering a broad suite of tools for email marketing, mobile messaging, social media management, advertising, and analytics (Salesforce Marketing Cloud overview). It is designed to manage customer journeys across various touchpoints and includes capabilities for audience segmentation, content personalization, and campaign management. Salesforce Marketing Cloud integrates with the broader Salesforce ecosystem, providing a unified view of customer data across sales, service, and marketing functions. Its architecture supports large-scale deployments and complex marketing strategies, making it a viable alternative for enterprises that require a comprehensive solution for customer relationship management and marketing.

    Best for: Large enterprises requiring a comprehensive, integrated marketing and CRM platform, complex customer journey orchestration, and extensive data integration with other Salesforce products.

    Learn more about Salesforce Marketing Cloud

  2. 2. Iterable — Growth marketing and customer engagement platform

    Iterable is a customer engagement platform that focuses on helping businesses deliver personalized experiences across multiple channels, including email, push notifications, in-app messages, and SMS (Iterable official site). It emphasizes flexibility and experimentation, allowing marketing and product teams to build, test, and optimize customer journeys. Iterable's platform features include a workflow studio for journey design, segmentation capabilities, and A/B testing tools. Its API-first approach supports extensive data integration and customizability, making it suitable for companies that require a platform capable of handling complex data models and dynamic content personalization.

    Best for: Growth-focused companies and marketing teams needing flexible, data-driven personalization, multi-channel campaign orchestration, and robust A/B testing capabilities.

    Learn more about Iterable

  3. 3. Amplitude — Product analytics and customer data platform

    Amplitude is a digital analytics platform that helps businesses understand user behavior and optimize product experiences (Amplitude official site). While primarily a product analytics tool, Amplitude's capabilities extend to informing customer engagement strategies by providing detailed insights into how users interact with products and services. It allows for advanced segmentation, funnel analysis, and cohort analysis, which can be used to identify key user behaviors and personalize messaging. Amplitude's strength lies in its ability to connect user actions to business outcomes, making it valuable for product-led growth companies that want to drive engagement based on behavioral data.

    Best for: Product-led companies and analytics teams focused on understanding user behavior, optimizing product adoption, and driving engagement through data-informed decisions.

    Learn more about Amplitude

  4. 4. Hotjar — User behavior analytics and feedback

    Hotjar provides tools for understanding user behavior on websites through heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys (Hotjar official site). While not a direct multi-channel messaging platform like Braze, Hotjar offers critical insights into user experience that can inform and optimize customer engagement strategies. By visualizing how users interact with web pages and collecting direct feedback, businesses can identify pain points, improve website usability, and tailor messaging to address specific user needs. This qualitative data complements quantitative analytics, helping to refine personalization efforts and improve conversion funnels.

    Best for: UX researchers, product managers, and marketing teams focused on understanding on-site user behavior, gathering qualitative feedback, and optimizing website experience to improve engagement.

    Learn more about Hotjar

  5. 5. Google Analytics — Web and app analytics for user insights

    Google Analytics is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic, user behavior, and conversion data (Google Analytics support). It provides comprehensive data on audience demographics, acquisition channels, on-site engagement, and conversion paths. While not a customer engagement platform itself, Google Analytics is foundational for understanding the impact of engagement strategies and identifying segments of users for targeted campaigns. Its integration with other Google products, such as Google Ads, allows for a unified view of marketing performance and audience insights.

    Best for: Marketing and analytics teams needing robust web and app analytics, performance tracking, and audience segmentation to inform digital marketing and engagement strategies.

    Learn more about Google Analytics

  6. 6. Salesforce — Comprehensive CRM platform with marketing capabilities

    Salesforce is a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform that provides solutions for sales, service, marketing, and analytics (Salesforce Developer Documentation). While Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a distinct product, the broader Salesforce platform offers extensive capabilities for managing customer data, automating business processes, and enabling personalized interactions across the customer lifecycle. Its highly customizable nature and extensive ecosystem of apps and integrations make it a powerful choice for organizations looking to build a unified customer view and orchestrate complex customer journeys that span beyond just marketing communications.

    Best for: Enterprises requiring a comprehensive CRM platform that integrates sales, service, and marketing functions, offering a 360-degree view of the customer and extensive customization.

    Learn more about Salesforce

  7. 7. LinkedIn Ads — B2B advertising and professional engagement

    LinkedIn Ads is an advertising platform focused on reaching professionals and businesses (LinkedIn Ads help). While primarily an advertising tool, it serves as a critical channel for B2B customer engagement, especially for thought leadership, lead generation, and account-based marketing. Unlike multi-channel messaging platforms, LinkedIn Ads excels at targeting specific job titles, industries, and company sizes. For businesses whose engagement strategy heavily relies on professional networking and B2B outreach, LinkedIn Ads provides a specialized environment to connect with target audiences.

    Best for: B2B companies, recruiters, and marketing teams focused on professional networking, lead generation, and account-based marketing campaigns targeting specific industries and job roles.

    Learn more about LinkedIn Ads

Side-by-side

Feature/Platform Braze Salesforce Marketing Cloud Iterable Amplitude Hotjar Google Analytics Salesforce (CRM) LinkedIn Ads
Primary Focus Multi-channel customer engagement Enterprise marketing automation Growth marketing & personalization Product analytics & user behavior UX insights & feedback Web & app analytics CRM & business process automation B2B advertising & professional networking
Key Capabilities Journeys, messaging, data & analytics, personalization Email, mobile, social, advertising, journeys Workflow studio, segmentation, A/B testing, personalization User behavior analysis, funnels, cohorts, retention Heatmaps, session recordings, surveys, feedback widgets Traffic analysis, user flow, conversions, audience insights Sales, service, marketing, custom apps, data management Targeted ads, lead gen forms, sponsored content
Target Audience Enterprise, large-scale consumer brands Large enterprises, diverse industries Growth teams, mid-market to enterprise Product teams, data analysts, growth marketers UX designers, product managers, marketers Marketers, webmasters, business analysts All business sizes, especially large enterprise B2B marketers, sales professionals, recruiters
Pricing Model Custom enterprise Custom enterprise Custom, usage-based Free tier, custom enterprise Free Basic, Plus, Business, Scale Free (GA4), custom (GA360) Subscription-based, tiered Pay-per-click/impression, budget-based
Developer Focus Extensive SDKs, APIs for custom integrations API access, developer tools for customization API-first, flexible data models SDKs for data ingestion, API for data export Tracking code installation, API for data export SDKs for data collection, APIs for reporting Apex, LWC, Visualforce, extensive APIs API for campaign management (limited)
Real-time Personalization Yes Yes Yes Informs personalization (indirect) Informs personalization (indirect) Informs personalization (indirect) Yes (with Marketing Cloud) No (audience targeting)
Multi-channel Messaging Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes (with add-ons/Marketing Cloud) No (advertising only)

How to pick

Selecting an alternative to Braze requires a detailed assessment of your organization's specific needs, technical capabilities, and strategic objectives. Consider the following decision-tree approach:

  1. Define Your Core Problem:
    • Is your primary need multi-channel customer engagement and real-time personalization? If yes, focus on platforms like Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Iterable. These are direct competitors offering similar, or in some cases, more expansive, capabilities for orchestration and messaging.
    • Are you aiming to understand user behavior and optimize product experiences? If your focus is on product-led growth and data-driven insights to inform engagement, Amplitude or Hotjar would be more appropriate. Amplitude provides quantitative behavioral analytics, while Hotjar offers qualitative insights through heatmaps and session recordings.
    • Is your goal comprehensive CRM and business process automation, with marketing as one component? If you need a unified platform that integrates sales, service, and marketing, the broader Salesforce ecosystem, including Salesforce Marketing Cloud, might be the best fit.
    • Are you focused on B2B lead generation and professional networking? For specialized B2B outreach and account-based marketing, LinkedIn Ads provides targeted advertising capabilities within a professional context.
    • Do you need foundational web and app analytics to track performance? Google Analytics is essential for understanding traffic, user behavior, and conversion metrics, serving as a data backbone for any engagement strategy.
  2. Assess Your Budget and Scale:
    • Do you have an enterprise budget for a comprehensive solution? Salesforce Marketing Cloud often aligns with large enterprise budgets and complex requirements. Braze itself is in this category.
    • Are you a growth-stage company needing flexibility and scalability? Iterable offers robust features for growth marketers and can scale with your user base, often with transparent pricing models compared to custom enterprise quotes.
    • Are you looking for cost-effective tools for specific insights? Hotjar and Google Analytics offer free tiers or more accessible pricing for their specialized functionalities, making them suitable for smaller teams or focused needs.
  3. Evaluate Technical Integration and Developer Experience:
    • How critical are extensive SDKs and APIs for custom development? Braze, Iterable, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud all offer strong developer support for deep integration. Amplitude also provides comprehensive SDKs for data ingestion.
    • Do you need to integrate with an existing CRM or data warehouse? Consider platforms with strong native integrations or flexible APIs that can connect with your current tech stack. Salesforce's native ecosystem is a significant advantage if you already use other Salesforce products.
  4. Consider Your Team's Expertise and Workflow:
    • Does your team prefer a highly visual, drag-and-drop interface for journey building? Many modern engagement platforms prioritize user-friendly interfaces for marketers.
    • Do you have dedicated data analysts or product managers who need granular behavioral insights? Amplitude is designed for this audience.
    • Is qualitative user feedback a high priority for your UX team? Hotjar's tools are specifically built for this purpose.

By systematically evaluating these factors, organizations can identify the Braze alternative that best aligns with their strategic goals, operational capabilities, and financial constraints.