Email marketing platforms
Asked as “email marketing platform”, and as “email marketing tool”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. 18 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, six models each.
Gane, the publisher, sells software in this category. Every product here is measured by the same method as in every other category. How the conflict is handled.
Standing · first-choice share
67%
Consensus
67HubSpot Marketing Hub11Brevo11Sender11others
67% of first choices, consensus.
The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all six models, for a mid-market B2B software company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince September 2026
01
HubSpot Marketing Hub67%23%26endorsed leadernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 67% now.
HubSpot Marketing Hub67%23%26endorsed leadernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 67% now.
Show the six products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
08
Adobe Marketo Engage0%18%11accepted challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.
Adobe Marketo Engage0%18%11accepted challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.
06
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement0%0%10accepted challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement0%0%10accepted challengernewNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.The floor is 12 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one can't be told apart from repeat variation, and both are shown. Each index measures its own floor from its own repeat, over its own categories, so the floor differs from one index to the next. How the floor is measured
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
One product takes 67% of first choices here, so the chart would put eight markers in one corner and one at the far edge. The two measurements it plots are columns in the standing above: share, and the negative label rate. One product carries a negative rate above 25% in this category.
What they warned about
Six of six models held their first choice under the paraphrase. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Mailchimp50%
10 of 20 labels negative · 6 of 6 models · 3 hard negative
“Mailchimp is the clearest documented case. Since Intuit acquired Mailchimp ... the platform has raised prices or reduced free plan limits nearly every year” Claude Opus 5, negative prompt
Constant Contact56%
5 of 9 labels negative · 5 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Verdict: Avoid if you run an e-commerce store or want to set up advanced, automated email funnels.” Gemini 3.1 Pro, negative prompt
HubSpot Marketing Hub23%
6 of 26 labels negative · 4 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Verdict: Avoid if you do not have a clear path to high revenue or if you only need a standalone email marketing tool.” Gemini 3.1 Pro, negative prompt
Brevo22%
4 of 18 labels negative · 3 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Brevo's is notably strict: ... if the account is suspended again, they state they won't be able to reactivate it.” Claude Opus 5, negative prompt
What they cite
Six of the six models returned a source list in this edition: six return the pages they cited.
Sites the answers cite
28 of 36 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 6 of 6 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 469 links across 222 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. None of the 36 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category.
12 answers · 25 citations · 4 models
vendor site · Sender11 answers · 17 citations · 5 models
10 answers · 17 citations · 4 models
vendor site · Mailtrap10 answers · 13 citations · 3 models
vendor site · Mailchimp8 answers · 13 citations · 4 models
vendor site · HubSpot8 answers · 11 citations · 2 models
vendor site · ActiveCampaign7 answers · 7 citations · 4 models
vendor site · Klaviyo7 answers · 7 citations · 5 models
vendor site · Sequenzy6 answers · 10 citations · 2 models
vendor site · Brevo6 answers · 6 citations · 3 models
vendor site · Salesforce6 answers · 6 citations · 5 models
5 answers · 6 citations · 2 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
6 answers · 3 models
6 answers · 3 models
5 answers · 2 models
5 answers · 2 models
4 answers · 2 models
4 answers · 2 models
3 answers · 2 models
3 answers · 1 model
3 answers · 2 models
3 answers · 2 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best email marketing platform”, “email marketing platform”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot parent site HubSpot Marketing Hub 67% | 67% | 991 | 368,000 | 9,776 | ||||
| Brevo brevo.com | 11% | 440 | 40,500 | 327 | 81,741 | $17,847 | 106 | 9 |
| Sender sender.net | 11% | 75 | 9,900 | 10,349 | 69,078 | 13 | ||
| MailerLite mailerlite.com | 6% | 150 | 49,500 | 311 | 59,716 | $85 | 115 | 7 |
| Zoho parent site Zoho Campaigns 6% | 6% | 53 | 5,400 | 58 | ||||
| ActiveCampaign activecampaign.com | 0% | 437 | 18,100 | 307 | 235,709 | $1,424 | 32 | |
| Customer.io customer.io | 0% | 218 | 2,900 | 174 | 15,750 | $6,920 | 112 | |
| Salesforce parent site Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement 0%, Salesforce Marketing Cloud 0% | 0% | 317 | 550,000 | 60,632 | ||||
| Kit kit.com | 0% | 42 | 90,500 | 355,784 | 208,645 | $10 | 98 | |
| Klaviyo klaviyo.com | 0% | 365 | 90,500 | 1,560 | 200,057 | $572 | 20 |
Google's top ten for the two searches hold 11 sites; 6 of them are among the sites the models cited here (emailtooltester.com, emailvendorselection.com, hubspot.com, mailchimp.com, mailtrap.io, ventureharbour.com). The first result for “best email marketing platform” is emailvendorselection.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best email marketing platform for a mid-market B2B software company?”Paraphrase“Which email marketing tool would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B software company?”Comparative“What are the top email marketing platforms and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best email marketing platform for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating an email marketing platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which email marketing platforms should I avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Opus 5HubSpot Marketing Hubagainst: Braze, KlaviyoHubSpot Marketing HubHeldagainst: Adobe Marketo EngageActiveCampaign, Klaviyoagainst: MailchimpBrevono first choiceagainst: Brevo, Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Five alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo Engage, Customer.io, Ortto, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementTwo alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Customer.ioFour alternatives
Brevo, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Kit, MailerLiteTwo alternatives
EmailOctopus, MailerLiteClaude Opus 4.8HubSpot Marketing HubHubSpot Marketing HubHeldagainst: Adobe Marketo Engage, MailchimpKlaviyoagainst: MailchimpMailerLiteno first choicenothing named
Five alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo Engage, Braze, Customer.io, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementTwo alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Customer.ioFive alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Constant Contact, HubSpot Marketing Hub, MailerLiteThree alternatives
Brevo, Mailchimp, Zoho CampaignsGPT-6 AstraHubSpot Marketing HubHubSpot Marketing HubHeldMailerLiteagainst: HubSpot Marketing HubSenderagainst: Brevono first choiceagainst: Brevo, Constant Contact, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Klaviyo, Mailchimp
Three alternatives
Adobe Marketo Engage, Customer.io, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementTwo alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo EngageFive alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Constant Contact, Kit, KlaviyoOne alternative
MailerLiteSix alternatives
Adobe Marketo Engage, Braze, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Salesforce Marketing CloudGPT-5.6 SolHubSpot Marketing HubHubSpot Marketing HubHeldMailchimpZoho Campaignsagainst: MailerLiteno first choiceagainst: Constant Contact, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, SendGrid
Four alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo Engage, Customer.io, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementFour alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo Engage, Customer.io, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementEight alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Beehiiv, Brevo, Constant Contact, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Kit, Klaviyo, OmnisendTwo alternatives
Brevo, KitGemini 3.1 ProHubSpot Marketing HubHubSpot Marketing HubHeldActiveCampaignagainst: HubSpot Marketing HubSenderagainst: Mailchimp, MailerLiteno first choiceagainst: Mailchimpagainst: AWeber, Brevo, Constant Contact, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Keap, Mailchimp
Four alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo Engage, Customer.io, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementThree alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Customer.io, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementFour alternatives
Brevo, Kit, Klaviyo, MailchimpThree alternatives
Brevo, EmailOctopus, MoosendEight alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo Engage, Braze, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Iterable, Klaviyo, SAP Emarsys, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementPerplexity Sonar ProHubSpot Marketing HubHubSpot Marketing HubHeldno first choiceBrevono first choiceagainst: AWeber, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, GetResponse, Mailchimp, Mailjet
Four alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementThree alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Customer.io, EnchargeSeven alternatives
ActiveCampaign, Brevo, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, MailerLite, OmnisendFour alternatives
MailerLite, Moosend, Sender, Zoho CampaignsBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency.
Thirty-six rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 20:13 | yes | 25 | 47 s |
| Direct recommendation | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 20:14 | no | 0 | 19 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 20:15 | yes | 6 | 39 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 20:15 | yes | 5 | 35 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 20:14 | no | 0 | 26 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 20:14 | yes | 20 | 6 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 20:16 | yes | 38 | 59 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 20:17 | no | 0 | 18 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 20:18 | yes | 5 | 30 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 20:18 | yes | 6 | 31 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 20:17 | no | 0 | 21 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 20:17 | yes | 20 | 6 s |
| Comparative | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 20:19 | yes | 32 | 50 s |
| Comparative | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 20:20 | yes | 38 | 49 s |
| Comparative | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 20:22 | yes | 9 | 55 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 20:23 | yes | 9 | 69 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 20:21 | yes | 9 | 29 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 20:20 | yes | 18 | 12 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 20:25 | yes | 25 | 134 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 20:25 | no | 0 | 13 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 20:27 | yes | 3 | 65 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 20:28 | yes | 4 | 49 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 20:26 | yes | 21 | 41 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 20:26 | yes | 20 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 20:29 | yes | 16 | 46 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 20:29 | no | 0 | 25 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 20:31 | yes | 6 | 49 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 20:32 | yes | 5 | 77 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 20:30 | no | 0 | 25 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 20:30 | yes | 20 | 9 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 20:33 | yes | 40 | 55 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 20:34 | yes | 39 | 60 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 20:35 | yes | 5 | 30 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 20:36 | yes | 5 | 56 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 20:35 | no | 0 | 25 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 20:34 | yes | 20 | 7 s |
Noise floor in this category
Flips between the edition run and its calibration repeat. Six prompts per model is a small sample; the index-wide floor is the number to trust.
ShowHide
Claude Opus 5
1 of 4 flipped
Claude Opus 4.8
1 of 4 flipped
GPT-6 Astra
1 of 4 flipped
GPT-5.6 Sol
1 of 4 flipped
Gemini 3.1 Pro
2 of 5 flipped
Perplexity Sonar Pro
1 of 4 flipped
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
ShowHide
Category-scoped readings
HubSpot read as HubSpot Marketing Hub
Unresolved, counted raw
None awaiting human review.
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.