Ever heard the saying “You are what you eat”? Well, in the world of sales and marketing tools, we’d argue that you are what you use (and sync).
Your choice of marketing automation tool can say a lot about your company’s workflows, sales cycles, and even your customers. When we looked at Outfunnel usage data across different CRM platforms, a clear pattern emerged: certain marketing tools tend to pair up with specific CRMs—and not always for the reasons you might expect.
In this post, we’ll share which marketing automation platforms are most commonly used with each CRM—and what that might say about the teams and workflows behind them.
Mailchimp: still the dominant force (yes, still)
Despite the rise of countless competitors (seriously, we’ve lost count), Mailchimp remains the most popular marketing automation tool across every CRM platform Outfunnel supports. It may not be trendy, but it gets the job done—and it’s still the go-to choice for many.
Now, here’s the kicker: all the major CRMs that Outfunnel connects with—like HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Copper—offer free native integrations with Mailchimp. But people still choose Outfunnel to connect them. Why?
Because those native syncs are usually limited to basic syncing. That’s fine for simple funnels, but once you need to:
- Sync contact data both ways (contacts from CRM → Mailchimp and back again),
- Connect email engagement (opens, clicks, unsubscribes) to the CRM for sales follow-up, or
- Run automated lead nurturing that actually talks to your sales process…
…you need something stronger. That’s where Outfunnel steps in. (Quick plug: see our Mailchimp integrations.)
Klaviyo: a rising star (and an e-commerce twist)
Coming in hot as the second most popular tool across CRMs is Klaviyo—which is impressive, considering Outfunnel’s integration with Klaviyo has only been live for about 1.5 years. That’s less time than our integrations with Brevo or ActiveCampaign, yet usage is growing fast.
What’s especially interesting is how Klaviyo is being used.
We’re seeing companies run parallel sales strategies: traditional B2B sales (with reps managing pipelines in a CRM) and B2B e-commerce sales through an online store (usually Shopify). Think:
- A company selling industrial equipment through a sales team
- But also offering online orders for spare parts or add-ons via Shopify
Klaviyo, known for its deep Shopify integration, makes it easy to connect the dots—and now Outfunnel does too. We recently added support for syncing e-commerce events like “Viewed Product” into CRMs. That means a sales rep could get a heads-up when a lead views a specific product online but doesn’t complete an order—and follow up with a tailored pitch. Pretty neat, right?
HubSpot + Klaviyo = the B2B e-commerce power couple?
Diving deeper, Klaviyo seems particularly popular with HubSpot users. That might seem odd at first—after all, HubSpot already offers pretty elaborate marketing automation. But we think we know what’s going on.
There’s a growing group of companies doing both:
- B2B sales (via reps, pipelines, and all the CRM stuff)
- B2B e-commerce (taking orders directly from businesses online)
For these companies, HubSpot CRM + Klaviyo is a powerful combo: a CRM that’s great for managing relationships and sales, paired with a marketing platform that’s deeply integrated with their online store.
ActiveCampaign vs. Brevo: close contenders
ActiveCampaign and Brevo (formerly known as Sendinblue) show similar usage levels overall across Outfunnel’s user base. But dig a little deeper and you’ll notice an interesting twist Brevo is relatively more popular among Copper users.
We’re not entirely sure why, but it may be due to Brevo’s affordability and flexibility, which aligns well with the kinds of teams that use Copper—often focused on sales without the need for many marketing bells and whistles.
Some disclaimers
- This data is based on Outfunnel users, not the global market. So while we’re not claiming these stats are universal, we do see enough volume for them to be a useful snapshot of how real-world sales and marketing teams are connecting their tools.
- MailerLite looks to have very few users in our dataset, but it’s one of our newer integrations. We’re certain it will rank higher in our next analysis. See our MailerLite integrations.
TL;DR: what we learned from the data
- Mailchimp still reigns supreme, even when free native syncs are available, because Outfunnel unlocks more advanced use cases.
- Klaviyo is rising fast, especially for companies running B2B + e-commerce in tandem.
- HubSpot + Klaviyo is becoming a popular combo for hybrid sales models.
- Brevo is punching above its weight with Copper users.
- Your marketing tool choices can tell you a lot—not just about your stack, but about your business model.
