Marketing software, by the record it keeps.

Markettrellis uses the same eight categories as the homepage. Each section says what to read on a vendor pricing page.

01

Search engine optimization

SEO software records queries, pages, and links. A useful export is a list of URLs with the query and the date, not a single score for the whole site.

What to check

Ask whether the plan includes the number of projects and the history length you need. Ahrefs and Semrush publish their own plan tables; read the current one before comparing a quote.

02

Content marketing

Content tools hold briefs, drafts, and the date a page went live. The record that matters is the file you can take with you if the subscription ends.

What to check

Ask for the export format of posts and the seat price when a second editor is added.

03

Social media management

Social schedulers queue posts and keep a log of what went out. The limit is usually the number of profiles, not the number of sentences in a caption.

What to check

Count the profiles you actually post to, then read that row of the vendor’s price table.

04

Email marketing

Email platforms bill by contacts or by sends. Mailchimp Standard is published as starting at $20 a month for up to 500 contacts, and the price changes when the list grows.

What to check

Write down the contact count you will have in six months and read that tier, not only the price shown for 500 contacts.

05

Customer relationship management

A CRM stores people, companies, and the next task. HubSpot’s free CRM tools and its paid seats are different products; the seat price is on HubSpot’s product page.

What to check

Ask which fields and pipelines are on the seat you would actually buy, and whether a contact export is included.

06

Marketing automation

Automation software sends a message or updates a record when something you can name happens. The workflow is only as useful as the event that starts it.

What to check

Write one workflow in a sentence, including what the software should do if the address bounces.

07

Analytics and reporting

Analytics tools count visits and conversions. Google Analytics has a free product and a paid 360 product; the difference is volume and support, which Google publishes separately.

What to check

Name the one report a colleague must be able to open without you, and check that the plan includes that property.

08

AI-powered business tools

AI features inside marketing tools draft text or sort records. The vendor page should say what data is sent and whether you can turn the feature off.

What to check

Read the data section of the plan you would buy. A generated paragraph is not a source.

Each category is a different record. Buy the tool that keeps the record you actually need.

people in a working meeting

Search tools keep queries, pages, and links. The useful export is a list of URLs with the query and the date, not a single score for the whole site. Ahrefs and Semrush publish their own plan tables. Read the current one for the number of projects and the length of history you need.

Content tools keep briefs, drafts, and the date a page went live. Ask whether you can take the files with you if you cancel, and what a second editor costs.

Social tools queue posts and keep a log of what went out. The usual limit is the number of profiles. Count the profiles you really post to, then read that row.

Email tools bill by contacts or by sends. Mailchimp Standard starts at $20 a month for up to 500 contacts. Price the list you expect in six months, not only the list you have today.

Customer records are people, companies, and the next task. HubSpot's free CRM tools and its paid Marketing Hub seats are different. Starter starts at $20 a month per core seat. Professional starts at $890 a month. Enterprise starts at $3,600 a month. The gap is large enough that you should know which tier has the pipeline and the export you need.

Automation sends a message or updates a record when something you can name happens. Write that something in a sentence, including what should happen if an address bounces. If you can't name the event, you are not ready to compare tools.

Analytics counts visits and conversions. Google Analytics has a free product and a paid product for larger volume. Name the one report a colleague has to open without you.

AI features draft text or sort records. Read what data is sent, and whether you can turn the feature off. A drafted paragraph is not a source.