MarketBetter vs Demandbase: SDR Workflows vs Enterprise ABM [2026]

Demandbase is the OG of account-based marketing. Founded in 2006, they've spent nearly two decades building the most comprehensive ABM platform on the market.

But here's the catch: Demandbase was built for enterprise marketing teams, not SDR teams.

Their median customer pays $65,000 per year. Implementation takes months. And when it's finally running, your SDRs still have to figure out what to do with all that account intelligence.

If you're looking for a Demandbase alternative that actually helps SDRs book meetings—not just marketers run campaigns—read on.

Quick Comparison

Factor	Demandbase	MarketBetter
Built For	Marketing Ops + ABM Teams	SDRs + Sales Leaders
Pricing	$65K+ median/year	Accessible to SMBs
Setup Time	Months	Days
Core Output	Account dashboards	Prioritized task lists
ID Level	Company-level	Company + person-level
Smart Dialer	❌	✅
AI Email Writer	❌	✅
Best For	Enterprise ABM advertising	SMB/Mid-market sales execution

What Demandbase Does Well

Let's give credit where it's due. Demandbase has been in ABM longer than most companies have existed:

1. Enterprise-Grade ABM Advertising

Demandbase runs one of the few B2B-specific demand-side platforms (DSPs). They can target specific accounts with display ads across the web—and they're genuinely good at it.

2. Account Identification at Scale

Their identity graph combines IP matching, cookies, device IDs, and even VPN provider data to identify companies visiting your site. They claim <30% match rates, but it's enterprise-solid.

3. Intent Data Integration

Demandbase aggregates third-party intent signals (including Bombora data) with first-party website behavior to score account engagement.

4. Sales Intelligence

Their account insights surface technographics, news, and engagement data that help enterprise reps research large accounts.

If you're a Fortune 500 company running coordinated ABM campaigns across marketing and sales with a dedicated ops team, Demandbase delivers.

Where Demandbase Falls Short for Sales Teams

1. It's Marketing-First, Not Sales-First

Demandbase was built for marketers running ABM advertising campaigns. Sales features came later as add-ons.

The result? SDRs get account intelligence and dashboards. They don't get:

• A prioritized task list for the day
• AI-written email drafts ready to send
• A smart dialer built into the workflow
• Chatbot conversations handed off automatically

Demandbase tells you which accounts are engaged. MarketBetter tells your SDRs exactly what to do next.

2. Enterprise Pricing, Enterprise Complexity

Let's talk real numbers:

Company Size	Demandbase Typical Cost
~200 employees	$18,000-$32,000/year
Mid-market	$60,000-$70,000/year (median)
Enterprise	$100,000-$300,000/year

Source: Vendr, Dimmo, and user reports.

These aren't typos. Demandbase is priced for enterprise marketing budgets, not SMB sales teams.

And the pricing isn't transparent—you'll spend weeks in sales negotiations before you even know what you're paying for.

3. Company-Level Only (Not Person-Level)

This is critical for SDRs: Demandbase identifies companies, not the specific people at those companies.

When Demandbase tells you "Acme Corp visited your pricing page," your SDR still has to:

1. Research Acme Corp
2. Find the right decision-maker
3. Get their contact info
4. Figure out what to say
5. Actually reach out

MarketBetter identifies the visitor, finds the decision-maker, generates personalized outreach, and puts it in your task list. That's the difference between intelligence and execution.

4. Months to Value

Demandbase implementations are notoriously complex:

• Define your ICP and account tiers
• Configure integrations with your CRM and MAP
• Set up intent topics and tracking
• Build account segments and audiences
• Train your teams on the platform
• Optimize over time

Expect 2-4 months before your team is productive. Some enterprise deployments take 6+ months.

MarketBetter? SDRs start working tasks on day one.

5. G2 Reviewers Confirm the Gaps

From actual G2 reviews:

"The platform has a steep learning curve for new users."

"Pricing negotiations were lengthy, and the lack of transparency required significant justification to leadership."

"Demandbase excels at account-level targeting but lacks granularity when you need person-level insights."

These aren't edge cases—they're the consistent feedback pattern.

How MarketBetter Approaches This Differently

Tasks, Not Dashboards

Demandbase approach: Here's a dashboard showing account engagement scores. Segment them, build audiences, run campaigns.

MarketBetter approach: Here's your task list for today. Call Sarah at Acme Corp first—she visited your pricing page twice and matches your ICP. Here's a personalized email draft based on their recent product launch.

SDRs don't want to analyze data. They want to execute.

Person-Level Intelligence

While Demandbase stops at "Company X visited," MarketBetter goes further:

• Identifies the company
• Enriches with decision-maker contacts
• Scores by ICP fit and intent
• Routes to the right SDR automatically
• Generates personalized outreach

The difference is crucial. Company intelligence is useless if your SDR still has to spend 15 minutes researching each lead.

AI That Executes, Not Just Analyzes

Demandbase uses AI to score accounts and predict engagement.

MarketBetter uses AI to:

• Write personalized cold emails based on prospect research
• Generate pre-call briefs before sales calls
• Recover missed meetings automatically
• Prioritize the highest-impact tasks each morning

It's the difference between AI telling you what might happen and AI doing the work.

Built-In Execution Tools

Demandbase requires you to export data to separate tools for outreach.

MarketBetter includes:

• Smart Dialer with click-to-call from any task
• AI Email Sequences that personalize at scale
• Chatbot that qualifies visitors and books meetings 24/7
• Task Management that prioritizes your SDRs' day

One platform. Complete workflow. No data exports required.

MarketBetter gives SDRs everything they need in one workspace—not scattered across dashboards and integrations.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Demandbase	MarketBetter
Website Visitor ID	✅ Company-level	✅ Company + person enrichment
Intent Data	✅ 3rd party + 1st party	✅ Behavioral + firmographic
Account Scoring	✅	✅
ABM Advertising	✅ Industry-leading	❌
SDR Task Management	❌	✅
AI Email Writing	❌	✅
Smart Dialer	❌	✅
Pre-Meeting Briefs	❌	✅
Missed Meeting Recovery	❌	✅
Chatbot with Handoff	❌	✅
CRM Sync	✅ Salesforce, HubSpot	✅ Salesforce, HubSpot
Setup Time	2-6 months	Days
Pricing Model	Custom enterprise	Accessible to SMBs

When to Choose Demandbase

Demandbase is the right choice if you:

• Run enterprise ABM advertising campaigns at scale
• Have a dedicated marketing ops team to manage the platform
• Need to coordinate marketing + sales across 100s of target accounts
• Have an enterprise budget ($65K+/year for a single tool)
• Want display advertising built into your ABM platform

When to Choose MarketBetter

MarketBetter is the right choice if you:

• Want SDRs executing within days, not months
• Need person-level contacts, not just company names
• Want one platform for visitor ID, email, calling, and chat
• Have a realistic SMB/mid-market budget
• Care more about meetings booked than accounts reached

The Real ROI Question

Here's how to think about this decision:

Demandbase ROI Model:

• Cost: $65,000+/year
• Primary value: Account-based advertising + marketing alignment
• Metric: Account reach, engagement scores, influenced pipeline
• Who benefits: Marketing team

MarketBetter ROI Model:

• Cost: Fraction of Demandbase
• Primary value: SDR productivity + workflow automation
• Metric: Meetings booked, reply rates, time saved
• Who benefits: SDR team directly

If your goal is "run sophisticated ABM campaigns," Demandbase delivers.

If your goal is "help SDRs book more meetings," MarketBetter wins.

Making the Decision

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Who will use this daily? If it's your marketing ops team, consider Demandbase. If it's your SDRs, consider MarketBetter.

2. What's your budget? If you can justify $65K+ for one tool, Demandbase is viable. If that makes your CFO flinch, look elsewhere.

3. How fast do you need results? If you can wait 3-6 months for implementation, Demandbase is thorough. If you need SDRs productive this week, MarketBetter delivers.

4. Do you need person-level or company-level? If company intelligence is enough, Demandbase works. If you need specific contacts, MarketBetter is better.

Bottom Line

Demandbase is an enterprise marketing platform that added sales features.

MarketBetter is an SDR workflow platform with built-in intelligence.

Demandbase answers: "Which accounts should marketing target?"

MarketBetter answers: "What should your SDRs do right now?"

If you're running enterprise ABM with a dedicated marketing ops team and a six-figure budget, Demandbase is a solid choice.

If you're running an SDR team that needs to book meetings—not interpret dashboards—MarketBetter delivers what Demandbase can't: a daily playbook that turns signals into action.

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Ready to see the difference? Book a demo and we'll show you how MarketBetter would work for your SDR team—in a 30-minute call, not a 3-month implementation.