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Customer Experience In Industry

Top 10 Best Customer Engagement Management Software of 2026

Discover top 10 customer engagement management software to boost interactions. Find the best tools here, no setup needed.

Rajesh Patel

Rajesh Patel

Feb 11, 2026

10 tools comparedExpert reviewed
Independent evaluation · Unbiased commentary · Updated regularly
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In a competitive marketplace, customer engagement is the cornerstone of sustainable success, making robust Customer Engagement Management (CEM) software essential for driving meaningful interactions and fostering loyalty. With a wide array of tools tailored to diverse business needs, identifying the right platform is critical—and this compilation showcases the top 10 solutions leading the field.

Quick Overview

  1. 1#1: HubSpot - All-in-one CRM platform for marketing, sales, service, and customer engagement across multiple channels.
  2. 2#2: Salesforce - Comprehensive CRM with Service Cloud and Marketing Cloud for personalized customer interactions and engagement.
  3. 3#3: Intercom - Customer messaging platform enabling real-time chat, targeted messaging, and product tours for engagement.
  4. 4#4: Zendesk - Customer service platform with omnichannel support, ticketing, and engagement tools for better experiences.
  5. 5#5: ActiveCampaign - Email marketing automation platform focused on personalized campaigns and customer journey orchestration.
  6. 6#6: Klaviyo - Ecommerce marketing automation tool for data-driven email, SMS, and personalized customer engagement.
  7. 7#7: Braze - Cross-channel customer engagement platform for mobile push, email, and in-app messaging at scale.
  8. 8#8: Iterable - AI-powered cross-channel marketing platform for real-time personalization and customer journeys.
  9. 9#9: Customer.io - Behavioral data platform for automating personalized messaging and engagement workflows.
  10. 10#10: Marketo Engage - Marketing automation platform within Adobe Experience Cloud for lead management and customer nurturing.

We prioritized tools based on functionality breadth, user-friendliness, performance quality, and overall value, ensuring they deliver actionable results across marketing, sales, and service channels.

Comparison Table

This comparison table explores top Customer Engagement Management Software tools, including HubSpot, Salesforce, Intercom, Zendesk, and ActiveCampaign, to help readers identify options that fit their operational and customer interaction goals. It outlines key features, pricing models, and integration strengths, enabling informed decisions about which software best enhances engagement strategies and drives business growth.

1HubSpot logo9.5/10

All-in-one CRM platform for marketing, sales, service, and customer engagement across multiple channels.

Features
9.7/10
Ease
9.2/10
Value
9.4/10
2Salesforce logo9.3/10

Comprehensive CRM with Service Cloud and Marketing Cloud for personalized customer interactions and engagement.

Features
9.8/10
Ease
7.4/10
Value
8.2/10
3Intercom logo9.1/10

Customer messaging platform enabling real-time chat, targeted messaging, and product tours for engagement.

Features
9.5/10
Ease
8.5/10
Value
8.4/10
4Zendesk logo8.7/10

Customer service platform with omnichannel support, ticketing, and engagement tools for better experiences.

Features
9.2/10
Ease
8.4/10
Value
8.0/10

Email marketing automation platform focused on personalized campaigns and customer journey orchestration.

Features
9.2/10
Ease
7.4/10
Value
8.1/10
6Klaviyo logo8.7/10

Ecommerce marketing automation tool for data-driven email, SMS, and personalized customer engagement.

Features
9.3/10
Ease
8.4/10
Value
8.1/10
7Braze logo8.7/10

Cross-channel customer engagement platform for mobile push, email, and in-app messaging at scale.

Features
9.4/10
Ease
8.0/10
Value
8.2/10
8Iterable logo8.6/10

AI-powered cross-channel marketing platform for real-time personalization and customer journeys.

Features
9.2/10
Ease
7.9/10
Value
8.1/10

Behavioral data platform for automating personalized messaging and engagement workflows.

Features
9.2/10
Ease
7.1/10
Value
8.0/10

Marketing automation platform within Adobe Experience Cloud for lead management and customer nurturing.

Features
9.5/10
Ease
7.8/10
Value
8.2/10
1
HubSpot logo

HubSpot

enterprise

All-in-one CRM platform for marketing, sales, service, and customer engagement across multiple channels.

Overall Rating9.5/10
Features
9.7/10
Ease of Use
9.2/10
Value
9.4/10
Standout Feature

Unified CRM with seamless data syncing across marketing, sales, and service hubs for a single customer view

HubSpot is a comprehensive customer platform that combines CRM, marketing, sales, service, and operations tools to manage the entire customer lifecycle. It enables businesses to attract visitors with inbound marketing, engage leads through personalized automation and live chat, and nurture relationships with robust analytics and workflows. Designed for scalability, it starts with a free CRM core and expands into enterprise-grade features for seamless customer engagement.

Pros

  • All-in-one platform integrating CRM, marketing, sales, and service
  • Generous free tier with powerful core CRM and tools
  • Extensive automation, personalization, and analytics capabilities

Cons

  • Higher tiers can become expensive for scaling teams
  • Steep learning curve for advanced customizations
  • Some advanced features locked behind premium plans

Best For

Growing businesses and marketing teams seeking an integrated, scalable solution for inbound customer engagement without initial high costs.

Pricing

Free CRM forever; Starter plans from $20/user/mo, Professional from $890/mo, Enterprise from $3,600/mo (billed annually).

Visit HubSpothubspot.com
2
Salesforce logo

Salesforce

enterprise

Comprehensive CRM with Service Cloud and Marketing Cloud for personalized customer interactions and engagement.

Overall Rating9.3/10
Features
9.8/10
Ease of Use
7.4/10
Value
8.2/10
Standout Feature

Einstein AI for hyper-personalized customer predictions and automated engagement across channels

Salesforce is a leading cloud-based CRM platform that provides comprehensive tools for managing customer relationships across sales, service, marketing, and commerce. It unifies customer data into a 360-degree view, enabling personalized interactions, automation, and AI-driven insights through features like Einstein. Designed for scalability, it supports omnichannel engagement and extensive customization via its Lightning platform and AppExchange marketplace.

Pros

  • Unmatched scalability and customization options
  • Powerful AI with Einstein for predictive engagement
  • Vast ecosystem of integrations and AppExchange apps

Cons

  • Steep learning curve and complex setup
  • High pricing that scales poorly for SMBs
  • Ongoing maintenance requires skilled admins

Best For

Large enterprises and growing mid-market businesses needing a robust, customizable platform for end-to-end customer engagement.

Pricing

Tiered from $25/user/month (Essentials) to $330+/user/month (Unlimited), plus add-ons for Marketing Cloud ($1,250+/org/month) and implementation costs.

Visit Salesforcesalesforce.com
3
Intercom logo

Intercom

specialized

Customer messaging platform enabling real-time chat, targeted messaging, and product tours for engagement.

Overall Rating9.1/10
Features
9.5/10
Ease of Use
8.5/10
Value
8.4/10
Standout Feature

Fin AI, an autonomous agent that resolves customer queries across channels using generative AI, reducing support tickets by up to 50%.

Intercom is a powerful customer engagement platform that unifies messaging across chat, email, SMS, and in-app channels to support sales, marketing, and customer service teams. It offers AI-driven chatbots, automated workflows, customer segmentation, and a centralized inbox for personalized interactions at scale. With robust analytics and integrations, it helps businesses drive product adoption, reduce churn, and accelerate growth through proactive engagement.

Pros

  • Comprehensive omnichannel messaging with AI automation
  • Deep customer data insights and segmentation
  • Seamless integrations with CRMs and product tools

Cons

  • High pricing scales quickly with user volume
  • Steep learning curve for advanced customizations
  • Limited free tier for testing full capabilities

Best For

Mid-to-large SaaS, e-commerce, and B2B companies seeking scalable, personalized customer engagement to boost retention and revenue.

Pricing

Starts at $74/month (Essential, annual billing) for up to 1,000 contacts; scales to Pro ($139/month), Expert (custom), based on contacts and features.

Visit Intercomintercom.com
4
Zendesk logo

Zendesk

enterprise

Customer service platform with omnichannel support, ticketing, and engagement tools for better experiences.

Overall Rating8.7/10
Features
9.2/10
Ease of Use
8.4/10
Value
8.0/10
Standout Feature

Unified Agent Workspace that consolidates all channels into one intelligent interface for faster resolutions

Zendesk is a leading customer service and engagement platform that unifies support across email, chat, voice, messaging apps, and social media channels into a single ticketing system. It provides AI-driven automation, self-service portals, analytics, and extensive integrations to enhance customer interactions and resolve issues efficiently. Designed for scalability, it helps businesses improve satisfaction scores while streamlining agent workflows.

Pros

  • Comprehensive omnichannel support
  • Powerful AI automation and bots
  • Extensive integrations and app marketplace

Cons

  • High pricing with costly add-ons
  • Steep learning curve for advanced customizations
  • Reporting can feel overwhelming for small teams

Best For

Mid-to-large businesses needing scalable omnichannel customer engagement with AI-driven efficiency.

Pricing

Starts at $55/agent/month (Suite Team, billed annually); higher tiers up to $115+ or custom enterprise pricing.

Visit Zendeskzendesk.com
5
ActiveCampaign logo

ActiveCampaign

specialized

Email marketing automation platform focused on personalized campaigns and customer journey orchestration.

Overall Rating8.6/10
Features
9.2/10
Ease of Use
7.4/10
Value
8.1/10
Standout Feature

Predictive Sending, which uses machine learning to optimize email send times based on individual recipient behavior

ActiveCampaign is a robust customer engagement platform that integrates email marketing, marketing automation, CRM, and multi-channel messaging to help businesses nurture leads and retain customers. It excels in creating personalized customer journeys through behavioral tracking, site visit data, and advanced automation workflows. The tool also offers SMS, chat, and landing pages, making it suitable for scaling engagement strategies.

Pros

  • Powerful visual automation builder with conditional logic and A/B testing
  • Built-in CRM and lead scoring for seamless customer data management
  • Multi-channel support including email, SMS, and site messaging

Cons

  • Steep learning curve for beginners due to complex interface
  • Pricing scales quickly with contact list size
  • Limited native reporting depth compared to enterprise tools

Best For

Mid-sized businesses seeking advanced automation and CRM integration for personalized customer engagement without a massive budget.

Pricing

Starts at $29/month (Starter plan for up to 500 contacts), with Plus ($49), Pro ($149), and custom Enterprise tiers scaling by contacts and features.

Visit ActiveCampaignactivecampaign.com
6
Klaviyo logo

Klaviyo

specialized

Ecommerce marketing automation tool for data-driven email, SMS, and personalized customer engagement.

Overall Rating8.7/10
Features
9.3/10
Ease of Use
8.4/10
Value
8.1/10
Standout Feature

Real-time behavioral segmentation using first-party purchase and browsing data for automated, revenue-optimized customer journeys

Klaviyo is a data-driven marketing automation platform tailored for e-commerce, specializing in personalized email and SMS campaigns to boost customer engagement and revenue. It leverages first-party customer data for advanced segmentation, automated flows, and A/B testing, integrating seamlessly with platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. The tool provides robust analytics to track campaign performance and attribute revenue directly to marketing efforts, making it ideal for scaling personalized communications.

Pros

  • Deep e-commerce integrations and data syncing
  • Advanced behavioral segmentation and personalization
  • Powerful automation flows with revenue attribution

Cons

  • Pricing scales steeply with contact volume
  • Learning curve for complex segments and flows
  • Primarily focused on email/SMS, limited multichannel options

Best For

E-commerce businesses aiming to drive revenue through hyper-personalized email and SMS marketing at scale.

Pricing

Free for up to 250 active profiles; paid plans start at $20/month and scale based on contacts and sends (e.g., $60 for 1,001-5,000).

Visit Klaviyoklaviyo.com
7
Braze logo

Braze

enterprise

Cross-channel customer engagement platform for mobile push, email, and in-app messaging at scale.

Overall Rating8.7/10
Features
9.4/10
Ease of Use
8.0/10
Value
8.2/10
Standout Feature

Canvas: an intuitive visual composer for building multi-step, real-time customer journeys with conditional logic and A/B testing.

Braze is a robust customer engagement platform designed to help brands deliver personalized, real-time interactions across multiple channels including email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messaging, and WhatsApp. It unifies customer data into a single profile, enabling advanced segmentation, journey orchestration, and AI-driven personalization to boost retention and lifetime value. The platform's real-time CDP (Customer Data Platform) and tools like Canvas allow for dynamic campaign building and experimentation at scale.

Pros

  • Multi-channel orchestration with real-time personalization
  • Powerful AI and machine learning for segmentation and recommendations
  • Canvas drag-and-drop journey builder for complex experiences

Cons

  • Steep learning curve for non-technical users
  • Enterprise-level pricing inaccessible for SMBs
  • Complex setup requiring dedicated resources

Best For

Mid-to-large enterprises with high-volume customer bases needing sophisticated, cross-channel engagement at scale.

Pricing

Custom enterprise pricing based on monthly active users (MAU); typically starts at $100,000+ annually with no public self-serve plans.

Visit Brazebraze.com
8
Iterable logo

Iterable

enterprise

AI-powered cross-channel marketing platform for real-time personalization and customer journeys.

Overall Rating8.6/10
Features
9.2/10
Ease of Use
7.9/10
Value
8.1/10
Standout Feature

AI-powered Experiments and optimization for automated journey testing and scaling

Iterable is a powerful cross-channel customer engagement platform designed for personalized marketing across email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messages, and web. It excels in AI-driven orchestration, allowing brands to build dynamic customer journeys based on real-time data and behavioral insights. The platform integrates seamlessly with data warehouses and CRMs to unify customer profiles for hyper-personalized experiences.

Pros

  • Advanced AI-powered personalization and predictive analytics via Iterable IQ
  • Robust omnichannel support with real-time journey orchestration
  • Deep integrations with data sources for unified customer profiles

Cons

  • Steep learning curve for non-technical users
  • High pricing that may not suit small businesses
  • Limited out-of-the-box templates compared to competitors

Best For

Mid-market to enterprise brands seeking scalable, data-driven cross-channel engagement at high volumes.

Pricing

Custom enterprise pricing starting at around $10,000/year, scaled by monthly tracked users (MTUs) and features.

Visit Iterableiterable.com
9
Customer.io logo

Customer.io

specialized

Behavioral data platform for automating personalized messaging and engagement workflows.

Overall Rating8.4/10
Features
9.2/10
Ease of Use
7.1/10
Value
8.0/10
Standout Feature

Integrated behavioral CDP with liquid templating for code-level personalization in automations

Customer.io is a customer engagement platform specializing in behavioral messaging automation across email, SMS, push notifications, and in-app messaging. It combines a customer data platform (CDP) with liquid templating for hyper-personalized campaigns triggered by user actions. Designed for technical teams, it excels in building complex data pipelines, segments, and journeys without rigid no-code limitations.

Pros

  • Powerful behavioral triggers and real-time data syncing
  • Highly customizable with liquid templating and API-first design
  • Scalable CDP for advanced segmentation and experimentation

Cons

  • Steep learning curve for non-technical users
  • Usage-based pricing can escalate quickly at scale
  • Lacks polished no-code builders compared to competitors

Best For

Technical marketing and product teams at SaaS or e-commerce companies needing deep behavioral personalization.

Pricing

Usage-based starting free for up to 300 monthly tracked users (MTUs); paid plans from $150/month scaling by MTUs, messages, and add-ons like SMS.

10
Marketo Engage logo

Marketo Engage

enterprise

Marketing automation platform within Adobe Experience Cloud for lead management and customer nurturing.

Overall Rating8.7/10
Features
9.5/10
Ease of Use
7.8/10
Value
8.2/10
Standout Feature

Munchkin behavioral tracking for anonymous visitor insights and cross-session personalization

Marketo Engage is a comprehensive marketing automation platform tailored for B2B customer engagement, enabling lead management, personalized campaigns, and revenue optimization across the customer lifecycle. It provides tools for email marketing, account-based marketing (ABM), behavioral tracking, and advanced analytics to nurture prospects and drive conversions. As part of Adobe Experience Cloud, it offers seamless integrations with CRM systems like Salesforce and other Adobe tools for unified customer experiences.

Pros

  • Robust lead scoring and multi-channel nurturing capabilities
  • Deep integrations with Salesforce and Adobe ecosystem
  • Advanced revenue cycle analytics and ABM orchestration

Cons

  • Steep learning curve for non-experts
  • High cost unsuitable for small businesses
  • Complex setup and customization process

Best For

Mid-to-large B2B enterprises needing sophisticated marketing automation and analytics for complex revenue cycles.

Pricing

Custom quote-based pricing with minimum annual commitments typically starting at $50,000+, scaling by contacts, features, and usage.

Conclusion

The reviewed customer engagement management tools cater to varied needs, with HubSpot leading as the top choice for its all-in-one CRM and cross-channel capabilities. Salesforce follows as a strong option for comprehensive customer connection, while Intercom excels with real-time, targeted messaging—each offering unique value to suit diverse business goals.

HubSpot logo
Our Top Pick
HubSpot

Take the first step to elevated engagement by exploring HubSpot’s intuitive platform; its integrated tools can help transform how you connect with customers, driving meaningful relationships.