What are the Features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud? Posted by
MacLain JohnsonThe short answer: Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a family of marketing platforms, and its core product, Marketing Cloud Engagement, delivers cross-channel campaigns through features like Journey Builder, Email Studio, Mobile Studio, and Einstein AI. In 2026 the family also includes Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) for B2B and the newer Growth and Advanced editions built on the core Salesforce platform, so knowing which “Marketing Cloud” you are evaluating matters as much as the feature list.
“Salesforce Marketing Cloud” has meant different things in different years, and Salesforce’s naming has not made it easier. This guide covers the features of the classic platform most people mean by the name, Marketing Cloud Engagement, and then maps the wider 2026 family so you can tell the products apart.
What is Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement?
Marketing Cloud Engagement (MCE) is Salesforce’s established platform for consumer marketing at scale, originally built from the ExactTarget acquisition. It is designed for high-volume, multi-channel campaigns: email, SMS and push, advertising, and web personalization, coordinated around each customer’s behavior.
What are the core features of Marketing Cloud Engagement?
- Journey Builder. The visual canvas for designing customer journeys that branch and adapt based on real-time behavior: a welcome series that changes path when someone makes a purchase, or a renewal journey that escalates from email to SMS.
- Email Studio. Enterprise-grade email at scale, with drag-and-drop content creation, dynamic content blocks, A/B testing, and the deliverability tooling high-volume senders need.
- Mobile Studio. SMS, push notifications, and group messaging, so mobile touches are part of the same journey logic as email rather than a separate tool.
- Advertising Studio. Syncs your audience segments to ad platforms such as Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn for targeting and suppression, keeping paid media consistent with owned channels.
- Contact Builder and Data Extensions. The data layer: flexible tables (data extensions), SQL-based segmentation, and attribute relationships that support genuinely complex audience logic.
- Einstein for Marketing. AI features including send-time optimization, engagement scoring and frequency management, and content and product recommendations.
- Marketing Cloud Intelligence. The analytics layer (formerly Datorama) that consolidates campaign performance across platforms into unified dashboards and spend reporting.
Which Marketing Cloud is which in 2026?
Four product lines currently share the Marketing Cloud name, and Salesforce’s October 2025 move to the Agentforce 360 brand is adding new labels on top:
Product Best for Notes Marketing Cloud Engagement (MCE) B2C marketing at high volume The classic platform this article’s features belong to; formerly ExactTarget Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE) B2B lead nurturing with sales alignment Formerly Pardot; no end-of-life announced, with newer features arriving through convergence Marketing Cloud Growth and Advanced Teams standardizing on the core Salesforce platform Built natively on core with Data 360 and Agentforce; increasingly marketed under the Agentforce Marketing name Marketing Cloud Next Where the portfolio is heading Salesforce’s convergence of the above onto one platform, announced at Connections 2025
How do you choose the right one?
The B2B-versus-B2C question settles most cases: relationship-driven pipelines with a sales team point to Account Engagement, while high-volume consumer engagement points to Marketing Cloud Engagement. We compare those two in detail in our MCAE versus Marketing Cloud Engagement guide. Newer or smaller teams already invested in core Salesforce should also weigh the Growth and Advanced editions, since that is where Salesforce’s newest marketing investment is going. CloudMasonry’s Marketing Cloud consulting practice implements across the family; contact us for help matching the platform to your actual requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Marketing Cloud Engagement’s core features are Journey Builder for cross-channel customer journeys, Email Studio, Mobile Studio for SMS and push, Advertising Studio for paid media audiences, Contact Builder for data and segmentation, Einstein AI features, and Marketing Cloud Intelligence for analytics.
Is Pardot part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Yes, under the name Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE). Pardot was renamed in 2022 and remains Salesforce’s B2B marketing automation product, distinct from the B2C-oriented Marketing Cloud Engagement.
Is Salesforce Marketing Cloud being renamed?
Partially. Under the Agentforce 360 branding introduced in October 2025, the newer Growth and Advanced editions are increasingly referred to as Agentforce Marketing, while Marketing Cloud Engagement and Account Engagement retain their names for now. Expect the labels to keep shifting as Salesforce converges the products.
What is the difference between Marketing Cloud Engagement and Marketing Cloud Growth?
Marketing Cloud Engagement is the established high-volume B2C platform with its own data layer. Marketing Cloud Growth (and Advanced) is the newer generation built directly on the core Salesforce platform, powered by Data 360 and Agentforce, aimed at teams that want marketing living beside their CRM data.
MacLain JohnsonThe short answer: Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a family of marketing platforms, and its core product, Marketing Cloud Engagement, delivers cross-channel campaigns through features like Journey Builder, Email Studio, Mobile Studio, and Einstein AI. In 2026 the family also includes Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) for B2B and the newer Growth and Advanced editions built on the core Salesforce platform, so knowing which “Marketing Cloud” you are evaluating matters as much as the feature list.
“Salesforce Marketing Cloud” has meant different things in different years, and Salesforce’s naming has not made it easier. This guide covers the features of the classic platform most people mean by the name, Marketing Cloud Engagement, and then maps the wider 2026 family so you can tell the products apart.
What is Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement?
Marketing Cloud Engagement (MCE) is Salesforce’s established platform for consumer marketing at scale, originally built from the ExactTarget acquisition. It is designed for high-volume, multi-channel campaigns: email, SMS and push, advertising, and web personalization, coordinated around each customer’s behavior.
What are the core features of Marketing Cloud Engagement?
- Journey Builder. The visual canvas for designing customer journeys that branch and adapt based on real-time behavior: a welcome series that changes path when someone makes a purchase, or a renewal journey that escalates from email to SMS.
- Email Studio. Enterprise-grade email at scale, with drag-and-drop content creation, dynamic content blocks, A/B testing, and the deliverability tooling high-volume senders need.
- Mobile Studio. SMS, push notifications, and group messaging, so mobile touches are part of the same journey logic as email rather than a separate tool.
- Advertising Studio. Syncs your audience segments to ad platforms such as Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn for targeting and suppression, keeping paid media consistent with owned channels.
- Contact Builder and Data Extensions. The data layer: flexible tables (data extensions), SQL-based segmentation, and attribute relationships that support genuinely complex audience logic.
- Einstein for Marketing. AI features including send-time optimization, engagement scoring and frequency management, and content and product recommendations.
- Marketing Cloud Intelligence. The analytics layer (formerly Datorama) that consolidates campaign performance across platforms into unified dashboards and spend reporting.
Which Marketing Cloud is which in 2026?
Four product lines currently share the Marketing Cloud name, and Salesforce’s October 2025 move to the Agentforce 360 brand is adding new labels on top:
| Product | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing Cloud Engagement (MCE) | B2C marketing at high volume | The classic platform this article’s features belong to; formerly ExactTarget |
| Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE) | B2B lead nurturing with sales alignment | Formerly Pardot; no end-of-life announced, with newer features arriving through convergence |
| Marketing Cloud Growth and Advanced | Teams standardizing on the core Salesforce platform | Built natively on core with Data 360 and Agentforce; increasingly marketed under the Agentforce Marketing name |
| Marketing Cloud Next | Where the portfolio is heading | Salesforce’s convergence of the above onto one platform, announced at Connections 2025 |
How do you choose the right one?
The B2B-versus-B2C question settles most cases: relationship-driven pipelines with a sales team point to Account Engagement, while high-volume consumer engagement points to Marketing Cloud Engagement. We compare those two in detail in our MCAE versus Marketing Cloud Engagement guide. Newer or smaller teams already invested in core Salesforce should also weigh the Growth and Advanced editions, since that is where Salesforce’s newest marketing investment is going. CloudMasonry’s Marketing Cloud consulting practice implements across the family; contact us for help matching the platform to your actual requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Marketing Cloud Engagement’s core features are Journey Builder for cross-channel customer journeys, Email Studio, Mobile Studio for SMS and push, Advertising Studio for paid media audiences, Contact Builder for data and segmentation, Einstein AI features, and Marketing Cloud Intelligence for analytics.
Is Pardot part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Yes, under the name Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE). Pardot was renamed in 2022 and remains Salesforce’s B2B marketing automation product, distinct from the B2C-oriented Marketing Cloud Engagement.
Is Salesforce Marketing Cloud being renamed?
Partially. Under the Agentforce 360 branding introduced in October 2025, the newer Growth and Advanced editions are increasingly referred to as Agentforce Marketing, while Marketing Cloud Engagement and Account Engagement retain their names for now. Expect the labels to keep shifting as Salesforce converges the products.
What is the difference between Marketing Cloud Engagement and Marketing Cloud Growth?
Marketing Cloud Engagement is the established high-volume B2C platform with its own data layer. Marketing Cloud Growth (and Advanced) is the newer generation built directly on the core Salesforce platform, powered by Data 360 and Agentforce, aimed at teams that want marketing living beside their CRM data.
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