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Email Marketing · head to head

SAP Emarsys vs Mautic

SAP Emarsys logo

SAP Emarsys

Email Marketing

Retail-focused engagement platform now sold and contracted through SAP

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mautic has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: SAP Emarsys core modules including analytics, recommendations and loyalty are licensed separately, so the platform fee in the first quote is rarely the number you eventually sign.; Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • They diverge on capability: SAP Emarsys covers Tactics library, Mautic covers Visual campaign builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SAP Emarsys and Mautic actually diverge.

Attributes where SAP Emarsys and Mautic differ
AttributeSAP EmarsysMautic
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, REST APIWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker
CategoryEmail MarketingMarketing

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in SAP Emarsys

  • Tactics library
  • Cross-channel campaigns
  • Smart Insight
  • Predict
  • Loyalty
  • SAP Commerce integration

Only in Mautic

  • Visual campaign builder
  • Contact management and segmentation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Lead scoring
  • Dynamic web content
  • Email builder and A/B testing
  • Self-hosted data control
  • No feature gating

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

SAP Emarsys

  • A retailer that needs standard lifecycle programmes live in weeks rather than building them from scratchnot Mautic
  • An SAP Commerce Cloud customer that wants engagement contracted on the same paper as the commerce platformnot Mautic
  • Consolidating email, SMS, push and paid audience suppression for a catalogue retailernot Mautic
  • Teams that want per-programme revenue reporting without building attribution logic themselvesnot Mautic

Mautic

  • A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot SAP Emarsys
  • A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot SAP Emarsys
  • A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot SAP Emarsys
  • A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot SAP Emarsys

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

SAP Emarsys

  • Core modules including analytics, recommendations and loyalty are licensed separately, so the platform fee in the first quote is rarely the number you eventually sign.
  • Licensing counts stored contacts, so a database retained for years costs money every month regardless of whether those contacts are still mailable.
  • Since the SAP acquisition, contracting and support escalation follow SAP processes, which lengthens procurement noticeably for buyers who are not already SAP customers.
  • The product is built around retail patterns, so B2B, media and subscription use cases sit awkwardly on a data model designed for orders and products.
  • Implementation normally involves a partner and runs to a quarter, so the speed advantage of the tactics library only applies after the integration work is finished.

Mautic

  • Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
  • Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
  • Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
  • The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.

Pricing, plan by plan

SAP Emarsys

On request
  • SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement$undefined/year
    • Licensed on stored contact volume with send allowances
    • Smart Insight, Predict and Loyalty modules licensed separately
    • Annual contract through SAP procurement

Mautic

Free
  • Self-hosted communityFree
    • GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
    • All features included, no paid edition
    • You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
  • Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
    • Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
    • Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
    • Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project

Which should you pick?

Choose SAP Emarsys if

  • You need tactics library.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want cross-channel campaigns.
SAP Emarsys review

Choose Mautic if

  • You need visual campaign builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want contact management and segmentation.
Mautic review

Questions people ask

Is SAP Emarsys or Mautic better?
Neither clearly leads. SAP Emarsys starts at On request and Mautic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SAP Emarsys or Mautic?
Mautic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for SAP Emarsys and Free for Mautic.
Does SAP Emarsys or Mautic run on more platforms?
SAP Emarsys runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API. Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Mautic for free?
Yes. Mautic has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SAP Emarsys starts at On request.
What is SAP Emarsys best used for?
SAP Emarsys is most often used for a retailer that needs standard lifecycle programmes live in weeks rather than building them from scratch, an sap commerce cloud customer that wants engagement contracted on the same paper as the commerce platform, consolidating email, sms, push and paid audience suppression for a catalogue retailer, teams that want per-programme revenue reporting without building attribution logic themselves. Of those, a retailer that needs standard lifecycle programmes live in weeks rather than building them from scratch and an sap commerce cloud customer that wants engagement contracted on the same paper as the commerce platform are not what Mautic is typically brought in for.
What can SAP Emarsys do that Mautic cannot?
SAP Emarsys covers Tactics library, Cross-channel campaigns, Smart Insight, Predict. Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SAP Emarsys: Do we need to be an SAP customer?

No, it is sold standalone. But the contracting, legal and support processes are SAP processes, which is a real cost for smaller buyers.

Mautic: Is Mautic free?

Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.

SAP Emarsys: What is actually included in the base licence?

Contacts, channels and the tactics library. Smart Insight, Predict and Loyalty are commonly assumed to be included and are not.

Mautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?

Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.

SAP Emarsys: Is it suited to B2B?

Not really. The data model and the tactic library assume retail orders, products and repeat purchase behaviour.

Mautic: What breaks most often?

Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.

Mautic: Can it handle large contact lists?

Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.

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