SAP Marketing Cloud: HubSpot vs Salesforce vs Marketo (2026)

As you probably already know, SAP will end Marketing Cloud development and platform support in 2026.

If you’re still using SAP Marketing Cloud, you have 11 months to evaluate platforms (6-8 weeks), select vendors (4-6 weeks), negotiate contracts (4-8 weeks), implement your replacement (12-24 weeks), and stabilize operations (4-8 weeks). The timeline is tight.

For most B2B enterprises (€50M-€500M revenue), platform selection depends on three factors: 

• SAP C/4 HANA integration  (8 - 12 weeks setup)
• Lowest 3-year total cost of ownership (€250K-€450K vs €650K-€1.2M+ for Salesforce), 
• and fastest user adoption rates (2-4 weeks to team proficiency vs 6-8 weeks for competitors)

This analysis covers three leading replacement options for B2B enterprises: HubSpot Marketing Hub, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and Adobe Marketo Engage.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Critical SAP Marketing Cloud Capabilities You Cannot Lose

2. Platform Comparison: HubSpot vs Salesforce vs Marketo for SAP Users

3. HubSpot Marketing Hub: Fastest SAP Integration Path

4. Salesforce Marketing Cloud: The Enterprise Powerhouse

5. Adobe Marketo Engage: The B2B Lead Management Specialist

6. SAP Integration: What You Need to Know

7. Implementation and Migration Timeline

1. Critical SAP Marketing Cloud Capabilities You Cannot Lose

SAP Marketing Cloud provided five core capabilities for European B2B enterprises:

• Native C/4 HANA integration - Real-time data sync with S/4HANA, Business One, C4C
• Bidirectional lead-to-cash automation - Marketing qualified leads flow to SAP, closed deals flow back to marketing for attribution
• Unified customer data - Contact, account and opportunity from marketing activities
• Multi-country campaign orchestration - Support for multiple languages, currencies, and regional compliance requirements (GDPR)
• Revenue attribution - Closed-loop reporting connecting marketing activities to won revenue in SAP

Your replacement platform needs to maintain these five capabilities. Preserving SAP integration continuity is critical for commercial operations. 

2. Platform Comparison: HubSpot vs Salesforce vs Marketo for SAP Users

Disclaimer: Cost estimates based on European mid-market implementations (100-500 marketing users, €50M-€200M revenue). Your costs will vary based on user count, customization requirements, and existing technology stack.

3. HubSpot Marketing Hub: Fastest SAP Integration Path

What it is: Unified CRM and marketing automation platform designed for B2B commercial operations.

Core strengths:

HubSpot provides the fastest path from SAP Marketing Cloud to operational marketing automation. The platform combines marketing, sales, and service capabilities in a single system, simplifying integration. 

Marketing capabilities:

• Campaign management across email, social, paid advertising
• Landing pages and forms with native A/B testing
• Lead scoring and nurturing automation
• Content management system with SEO recommendations
• Social media scheduling and monitoring
• Marketing analytics and attribution reporting
• Native integration with Sales Hub and Service Hub

SAP C4C Integration Architecture:

HubSpot connects to SAP via middleware solutions:

Standard integration scope:

• Contact and account master data sync
• Opportunity and deal pipeline sync
• Closed deal revenue attribution (SAP to HubSpot)
• Marketing qualified lead handoff (HubSpot to SAP)

Integration setup process:

• Technical assessment and data mapping (5-6 week)
• Middleware configuration and testing (6-8 weeks)
• UAT and refinement (2 week)
• Production deployment and monitoring (2 week)

Total timeline: 12 - 16 weeks from kickoff to production.

Proven SAP integration examples:

An international food ingredients company (10,000+ employees, €5B revenue, 100+ countries) implemented HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise integrated with SAP CRM. Started with Belgium pilot to validate purchase-based segmentation strategy. Order history data now syncs automatically, enabling marketing to identify active buyers of specific product lines and target them with cross-sell campaigns. Team gained ability to measure campaign impact tied directly to purchasing behavior. Belgium implementation serves as template for global rollout across remaining markets.

Read more about HubSpot x SAP-integration possibilities here

Best for SAP Marketing Cloud users:

• €10M-€500M revenue B2B enterprises
• Organizations prioritizing speed to value and user adoption
• Teams needing unified marketing, sales, and service platform
• Companies wanting to reduce technology complexity
• Multi-country European operations (2-10 countries)
• Standard lead-to-cash SAP integration requirements
  

What to watch:

• Pure B2C email marketing at scale (5M+ contacts)
• Advanced segmentation for complex consumer audiences
• Preference centers exist but are less flexible for large B2C compliance needs
• Native connection to SAP (middleware required for all integrations)
• Advanced marketing resource management (MRM) capabilities

4. Salesforce Marketing Cloud: The Enterprise Powerhouse

What it is: Enterprise-grade multi-channel marketing platform, part of the broader Salesforce ecosystem. Known for scale and sophistication.

Core strengths:

• Multi-channel orchestration (email, mobile, social, advertising, web)
• Advanced journey builder and automation
• AI-powered personalization (Einstein)
• Scale capabilities for millions of contacts
• Comprehensive analytics and attribution
• Strong B2C capabilities alongside B2B
  
  

SAP C4C Integration Architecture:

SAP integration capabilities: Integration requires MuleSoft or custom API development. More complex architecture with higher technical expertise needed. Integration often requires dedicated middleware specialists and Salesforce/SAP integration experts.

Typical integration setup: 8–12 weeks with higher technical requirements than alternatives for mid-market

Bidirectional sync is possible with proper implementation, but the path is more complex.

Best for SAP Marketing Cloud users:

• Large enterprises with complex, high-volume marketing needs
• Organizations already invested in Salesforce ecosystem
• Companies needing sophisticated B2C capabilities
• Teams with strong technical resources and marketing ops

What to watch:

• Significantly higher cost structure (see TCO section)
• Steep learning curve and implementation complexity
• Requires dedicated technical expertise for maintenance
• SAP integration more complex than HubSpot

Lastly, organizations with straightforward B2B marketing needs (single-channel campaigns, basic automation) often don't utilize Salesforce's advanced capabilities, making the cost-to-value ratio unfavorable 

5. Adobe Marketo Engage: The B2B Lead Management Specialist

What it is: Enterprise marketing automation focused on B2B, part of Adobe Experience Cloud. Known for sophisticated lead management and scoring.

Core strengths:

• Advanced lead scoring and nurturing

• Sophisticated segmentation and personalization

• Comprehensive program management

• Strong revenue cycle modeling
• Deep analytics and attribution
• Excellent for complex B2B sales cycles
  
  

SAP C4C Integration Architecture:

Integration via Adobe Experience Platform or custom connectors. Supports bidirectional data flow with proper setup. Requires technical implementation expertise and often involves Adobe consulting or certified partners.

Typical integration setup: 6-10 weeks with certified Adobe/SAP integration expertise. Additional middleware often recommended.

Best for SAP Marketing Cloud users:

• B2B enterprises with long, complex sales cycles
• Organizations prioritizing sophisticated lead management
• Companies already using Adobe ecosystem
• Teams with dedicated marketing operations resources

What to watch:

• User interface less intuitive than competitors, this could impact the cost and time for your team to get on board
• Steep learning curve for marketing teams
• Higher dependency on technical resources for changes
• Content management capabilities less developed than HubSpot
• SAP integration complexity similar to Salesforce
  

6. SAP Integration: What You Need to Know

How does each CRM platform integrate with SAP C/4HANA?

HubSpot approach: Integrates with SAP systems through middleware platforms that provide the necessary connectors. Real-time synchronization can be set up for standard objects, ensuring marketing and CRM data flows smoothly. For a mid-market migration, setup typically takes 12–16 weeks, depending on data complexity and workflows. While the technical effort is generally lower than a full enterprise CRM migration, there is no native connector for SAP C/4HANA, so middleware is always required to link HubSpot and SAP systems.

Read more about HubSpot x SAP-integration possibilities here

Salesforce approach: MuleSoft integration platform or custom API development. More complex architecture. Setup typically 8-12 weeks. Higher technical requirements. May require dedicated Salesforce/SAP integration specialists on staff or retainer.

Marketo approach: Adobe Experience Platform or custom connectors. API-based integration. Setup typically 6-10 weeks. Needs certified Adobe/SAP integration expertise. Additional middleware often recommended.

All three can maintain your SAP connectivity. HubSpot gets there faster with less complexity. Salesforce and Marketo require more technical investment.

7. Implementation and Migration Timeline

HubSpot migration: Timeline: 12-16 weeks typical for a full project. Data migration straightforward with established tools. Team training: 2-4 weeks to proficiency. User adoption is highest among the three options. Business disruption risk: Low.

Salesforce migration: Timeline: 16-24+ weeks typical. Data migration complex and requires data architecture planning. Team training: 6-8 weeks to proficiency. User adoption is moderate (steep learning curve). Business disruption risk: Medium-High.

Marketo migration: Timeline: 14-20 weeks typical. Data migration has moderate complexity. Team training: 4-6 weeks to proficiency. User adoption moderate. Business disruption risk: Medium.

You have 11 month until December 2026. Factor in platform evaluation (6-8 weeks), vendor selection (4-6 weeks), contract negotiation (4-8 weeks), implementation, and stabilization. You're looking at 6-9 months minimum from decision to go-live.

With a December 2026 deadline and 6-9 month minimum timeline from decision to stabilization, you should begin evaluation by Q1 2025.

Read more our migration service here

How Elixir Helps Enterprises Migrate from SAP Marketing Cloud

We specialize in complex implementations for B2B enterprises. We've migrated multiple organizations off SAP Marketing Cloud and connected HubSpot to various SAP environments.

Our approach combines SAP integration expertise with HubSpot implementation experience. We understand both systems, which matters for successful migrations.

We offer a free discovery meeting that includes:

• Specific timeline estimate for your organization
• SAP integration complexity evaluation
• Platform recommendation based on your requirements
• Honest assessment of readiness and approach