Which open-source options can replace Marketo Engage?
If you are looking at a Marketo Engage renewal, a licensing change or a residency requirement that your current setup cannot meet, Mautic is the main replacement for lead management and campaigns, with listmonk covering newsletters and Dittofeed covering event-driven product journeys. Most organizations do not need all three on day one. Mautic carries the core of what Marketo users rely on, and the other two tools take over specific sending patterns once you have decided which ones you still need. Teams usually start the search for structural reasons rather than feature gaps. Marketo Engage is part of Adobe Experience Cloud, so its licensing, hosting and roadmap sit inside a broader Adobe commercial relationship that your finance and procurement teams will need to review at renewal. Mautic is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 or any later version, and it is free to self-host on your own database. That means the lead records, activity history, scoring data and form submissions live in a database your team controls, in the cloud account or data center you choose. Before you commit, confirm with your legal team how the GPL terms apply to any modifications you plan to make, and confirm with your architects which hosting model meets your residency rules. The practical decision is how much of the Marketo estate you need to reproduce. List the programs that send email to large audiences, the scoring rules that drive sales handoff, and any event-triggered flows tied to product usage. Map each one to Mautic, listmonk or Dittofeed, and mark the gaps that will need custom work or a different process. Ask your implementation partner to confirm each mapping against the versions you will deploy, because capabilities differ between releases and between your existing integrations and the open-source tools.
Mautic, listmonk and Dittofeed: what each one fits
Marketo bundles lead management, campaigns, forms and newsletters into one suite. The open-source replacement is usually split across tools, so each piece needs a clear owner. Mautic carries lead and campaign work, listmonk covers newsletters, and Dittofeed handles product-triggered journeys across channels.
Mautic for lead and campaign work
Mautic is licensed under GPLv3 or any later version and runs on your own database, so contact records stay in your infrastructure. It covers lead management, campaigns, forms and a Salesforce plugin, which matters if Salesforce stays as your CRM. The trade-off is setup effort: large-scale scoring, segmentation and background imports need deliberate configuration and cron-driven processing. Confirm the Salesforce plugin version against your CRM edition before scoping.
listmonk for newsletters
listmonk is an AGPL-3.0 self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager shipped as a single binary with a PostgreSQL database. It fits teams whose Marketo use is mostly broadcast newsletters and list-based sends. It has no lead scoring, so behavioral scores from Marketo must be rebuilt in Mautic or stored in your CRM. Check AGPL-3.0 obligations with your legal team if you modify the software and offer it to users over a network.
Dittofeed for product-driven journeys
Dittofeed is an MIT-licensed omni-channel customer engagement platform that sends broadcasts and automated user journeys over email, mobile push, SMS, WhatsApp and Slack. It fits journeys triggered by product events, which Marketo often handles through custom integrations. Its channel set is broader than Mautic's core focus, so confirm which channels and providers your deployment needs. Treat it as a complement to Mautic rather than a full Marketo replacement for lead scoring and forms.
Bulk extract before you cut over
Marketo's Bulk Lead Extract API returns lead and person records as CSV, TSV or SSV files, with date range filters limited to 31 days or fewer per job. Plan extraction as a multi-job export that runs before cutover and again for delta loads. Mautic imports CSV with automatic column mapping, but large files should run through the mautic:import console command under cron. Validate field mapping on a sample before any full load.
Running the stack yourself
Each tool adds components you operate: PostgreSQL for listmonk, the Mautic application and its database, and Dittofeed services. Your team owns upgrades, backups, sending infrastructure and access control. Ask any implementation partner to write down who patches each component, how backups are restored, and who answers a deliverability incident. These duties replace the vendor operations model rather than disappear.
Which Marketo capabilities map to which open-source tool
This table maps the main Marketo Engage capabilities to the open-source tool that covers each one, with notes on partial coverage and gaps. Use it to scope a migration, and confirm feature parity against the current Mautic and Dittofeed documentation for the versions you plan to run.
| Marketo capability | Open-source option | Coverage notes |
|---|---|---|
| Smart campaigns | Mautic campaigns | Trigger and decision logic can be rebuilt as Mautic campaigns. Complex nested flows need a manual review during rebuild. |
| Smart lists | Mautic segments | Segments built from contact fields and activity. Confirm that your filter logic maps one to one before cutover. |
| Lead scoring and progression | Mautic points and triggers | Scoring is rebuilt as points and triggers, not as a direct import. Progression stages usually need redesign as campaign steps. |
| Forms and landing pages | Mautic forms and pages | Forms and pages are rebuilt in Mautic. Expect design and template work, and check each form's field mapping. |
| Email programs and newsletters | listmonk for newsletters, Mautic for campaigns | listmonk handles list-based newsletters on PostgreSQL. Mautic covers triggered email. Confirm sending and bounce handling for your domains. |
| Salesforce or CRM sync | Mautic Salesforce plugin | Mautic documents a Salesforce plugin. Confirm object and field mapping, and test sync direction carefully. |
| Bulk Lead Extract | Mautic CSV import and export, or custom scripts | Marketo extracts are capped at 31 days per job. Mautic imports run from the console in batches. Plan extraction and validation separately. |
| Webhooks | Mautic webhooks and API | Confirm event types and payload coverage in your Mautic version. Custom middleware may be needed for some events. |
| Event-driven product journeys | Dittofeed | Dittofeed sends user journeys over email, push, SMS, WhatsApp and Slack. It does not replace Marketo's lead-based model directly. |
| Revenue attribution | Gap: partial or custom | Neither tool provides Marketo-level revenue attribution out of the box. Plan a warehouse or BI layer and confirm requirements. |
| Reporting | Mautic dashboards and reports, plus BI tooling | Standard reports are available. Custom executive reporting usually needs a BI connection. Confirm report parity with stakeholders. |
Which option fits your situation: residency, cost, custom journeys or regulated teams
Teams that must keep marketing data inside a specific country, cloud account or data center usually need the platform itself to run in their own infrastructure, not only the data to be stored there. Mautic is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 or any later version, and it is free to self-host on your own database, so the database, the web tier and the cron jobs sit wherever your infrastructure team places them. That changes the residency conversation from contract terms to architecture.
- Hosting boundary: Confirm which regions, accounts and subprocessors your policy allows, then map every component that stores contacts, including the database, backups, logs and email sending.
- Email relay: Mautic does not send mail by itself at scale. Confirm which outbound relay you will use and where its logs are kept.
- Exports: Marketo's Bulk Lead Extract returns lead and person records in date windows of 31 days or fewer per job, so plan the export schedule before you cut over.
- Access paths: Confirm which support staff or vendors need remote access, and document how that access is granted and recorded.
- Backups: Decide where database snapshots live and who can restore them.
Before choosing, ask your legal and privacy team which data categories and transfer mechanisms apply, and ask your Marketo contract team what export rights you hold.
Teams facing a renewal, a seat or contact-based price change, or a licensing revision need to separate the software license from the operating cost of running it. Marketo's pricing model is set by Adobe in your contract, so the first step is to ask for the full renewal terms in writing. On the open-source side, Mautic's software is free to use under its license, and the recurring spend moves to hosting, database administration, email sending, upgrades and support.
- One-time costs: Migration design, data mapping, template rebuilds, CRM integration work and testing are typically paid once, though the amount depends on how many campaigns and forms you run.
- Recurring costs: Hosting, backups, monitoring, email sending volume, security patching and staff time continue after go-live.
- Cost drivers: Contact volume, number of active campaigns, integration count and how many people maintain the platform all move the total.
- Quote request: Ask any implementation partner for a fixed-scope written proposal that lists each deliverable and each support tier separately.
- Comparison basis: Compare the renewal against a three-year total of licenses, infrastructure, staff and partner fees, not against a monthly software price alone.
Ask your procurement team to confirm the notice period and export clause in the current contract, since those dates set your realistic migration window.
Product-led teams often drive lifecycle messages from in-app events, usage thresholds and account changes rather than from form fills and list membership. Mautic is built around contacts, campaigns and forms, so it fits well for B2B nurture and list-based programs. For journeys that start from product events across email, mobile push, SMS, WhatsApp and Slack, Dittofeed is an MIT-licensed omni-channel customer engagement platform that sends broadcasts and automated user journeys over those channels. Many teams therefore run Mautic for marketing-led programs and Dittofeed for product-triggered messaging, or choose one based on where their triggers originate.
- Event sources: Confirm that your product can send events to the platform in a consistent schema, and who owns that schema.
- Channel scope: Check which channels you need on day one. Email, push and SMS have different provider and consent requirements.
- Journey logic: Map each journey as a set of states, waits and exits so you know what the platform must evaluate in real time.
- Identity: Decide how anonymous and known users are merged, since that rule determines who receives which message.
- Ownership: Name the engineer who maintains journeys after launch.
Before committing, run one realistic journey end to end in a test environment and confirm the platform's current channel support in its repository documentation.
Teams that send frequent newsletters or large subscriber broadcasts often find that a full marketing automation suite is more than they need for that work. listmonk is an AGPL-3.0 self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager shipped as a single binary with a PostgreSQL database. It handles subscriber lists, campaigns and templates for broadcast sending, and it can sit beside Mautic so that scoring and lead management stay in one place while the newsletter stream runs separately.
- Separation of lists: Decide which subscriber lists stay in listmonk and which contacts are synced to Mautic for scoring.
- Consent records: Keep the source and timestamp of each opt-in, and make sure unsubscribe events reach every system that holds the contact.
- Sending path: Confirm how listmonk connects to your mail relay and how bounces and complaints are fed back.
- Licensing: The AGPL-3.0 license has obligations if you modify and distribute the software or offer it as a network service, so have counsel review your plan.
- Volume testing: Load test sending at your peak broadcast size before you rely on it.
Confirm with your email provider which sending limits and feedback loops apply to your domain, since they affect every broadcast.
Banks, healthcare organizations, public bodies and other regulated teams usually need to show how marketing data is collected, consented, retained, accessed and deleted. Self-hosting gives your own control team direct access to the logs, configuration and database, which makes evidence collection more practical. DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence for compliance assessments, but it does not issue audit reports, attestations or certifications. Independent auditors and certification bodies make those determinations, so plan the evidence package with them early.
- Control mapping: Map consent, access, change management, logging and retention requirements to specific configuration and procedure records.
- Access control: Document administrator roles, multi-factor authentication for administrative access and periodic access reviews.
- Audit logging: Confirm which application and database events are logged, where they are stored and how long they are kept.
- Change control: Record every upgrade and configuration change, with approval and testing evidence.
- Data deletion: Show how a deletion request propagates to the database, backups, exports and the CRM.
Ask your compliance lead which control frameworks apply and which evidence your external auditor will request before you start the build.
What the open-source stack costs compared with Marketo Engage
This table sets each cost component of Marketo Engage against the matching cost in a self-hosted Mautic and listmonk stack, with Dittofeed as an optional layer for product-driven journeys. Read it by asking who is paid for each item, whether the cost is one-time or recurring, and what drives it up. The main takeaway is that open-source licensing removes the software line, while hosting, deliverability, migration and internal skills move onto your budget.
| Cost component | Marketo Engage | Mautic and listmonk self-hosted | One-time or recurring, and main driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software licensing | Subscription paid to Adobe, typically tied to contract terms you confirm in your agreement | No license fee: Mautic is GPL-3.0 and listmonk is AGPL-3.0 | Recurring on Marketo; none on open source. Driver: your contract terms and any add-ons |
| Hosting and database | Included in the vendor-hosted service | Your cloud or data center compute, PostgreSQL or MySQL, storage and backups | Recurring. Driver: contact volume, send frequency and high availability design |
| Sending provider fees | Usually bundled into the platform arrangement; confirm with Adobe | Separate SMTP or email API provider, billed by volume | Recurring. Driver: monthly send volume and list hygiene |
| Dittofeed (optional) | Not applicable as a separate product | MIT-licensed, self-hosted for event-driven journeys across email, push, SMS, WhatsApp and Slack | Recurring infrastructure only if adopted. Driver: event volume and channels in use |
| Implementation and rebuild | Vendor or partner configuration of smart campaigns, scoring and forms | Rebuilding smart campaigns, scoring, forms and landing pages in Mautic, plus integration design | One-time. Driver: number of campaigns, scoring rules and forms in scope |
| Data extraction and migration | Bulk Lead Extract REST API, limited to 31-day date ranges per job, according to Adobe's developer documentation | Engineering effort to script exports, then Mautic CSV import or the mautic:import console command for large files | One-time. Driver: total record count, activity history depth and cleansing needs |
| Email deliverability setup | Managed largely by the platform and its sending infrastructure | Your own SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, IP warm-up, bounce handling and complaint monitoring | One-time setup, then recurring monitoring. Driver: sending reputation and volume changes |
| CRM integration | Native connection to the Marketo sync with your CRM | Mautic Salesforce plugin or a custom sync built to your CRM's API limits | One-time build, then recurring maintenance. Driver: CRM version changes and sync frequency |
| Support and internal skills | Vendor support included under your subscription terms; confirm the support tier | Internal staff or a retained partner for patching, upgrades, backups and incident response | Recurring. Driver: team size, upgrade cadence and how much is handled in-house |
What you give up when you leave Marketo Engage
Moving from Marketo Engage to Mautic changes who runs the platform, who keeps the sending reputation, and how you prove results. Each item below is a responsibility that Adobe's platform carries today and that your team, or a partner, must cover after the move.
Vendor-managed uptime and support
Marketo Engage is operated by Adobe as part of Adobe Experience Cloud, so patching, hosting and vendor escalation sit with the vendor. With Mautic on your own database, you own availability, backups, PHP and database upgrades, and the on-call rota for sends. Write an internal runbook for failed imports, stuck cron jobs and campaign outages before cutover, and confirm which support tier, if any, you are buying from a managed provider.
Adobe Experience Cloud integrations
Marketo sits alongside other Adobe products, and some of your teams may rely on data flowing into or out of that suite. Mautic has no native link to Adobe Experience Cloud, so each flow has to be rebuilt through an API, a middleware tool or a file pipeline. Inventory every Adobe connection before you start, and confirm the owner and data contract for each one.
Deliverability and IP reputation
Marketo's sending infrastructure and the reputation it has built are managed for you. Self-hosted Mautic sends from whatever mail server and IP you provide, so SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, bounce handling and complaint feedback loops become your job. Many teams route high-volume mail through a managed sending provider while they warm a dedicated IP. Ask any provider for their warm-up plan and suppression handling in writing.
Prebuilt connectors
Marketo ships with a catalog of connectors to common CRMs, ad platforms and data tools, configured through its admin interface. Open-source alternatives use plugins, APIs and scheduled jobs instead, and coverage varies by system. Mautic documents a Salesforce plugin, but other connectors may need custom development. List each connector your team uses today and mark it as native, plugin, or custom work.
Polished attribution and reporting
Marketo's built-in revenue attribution and dashboards save analysts time, but the logic is specific to the platform. Mautic reports cover campaign and contact activity, so revenue attribution usually moves to your warehouse with custom queries. Bulk Lead Extract can feed that warehouse, but its date filters are limited to 31 days or fewer per job, so plan historical pulls in windows. Agree on attribution rules with finance before you rebuild dashboards.
How to extract leads and activity with Bulk Lead Extract
Start by treating the Bulk Lead Extract export as a planned migration job, not a single download. The Bulk Lead Extract REST API returns large sets of lead and person records as CSV, TSV or SSV files, which suits ETL, warehousing and archival, but its date range filters accept 31 days or fewer per job. A Marketo instance with several years of records therefore needs a sequence of windowed jobs, each with a start and end date, tracked in a simple log so that no window is skipped or run twice. Confirm the current filter parameters and job limits in Adobe's developer documentation before you script the loop, and confirm with your Marketo administrator which API user, role and daily quota apply to your instance.
Next, decide what the archive must hold and map it to Mautic before exporting. Bulk Lead Extract covers lead and person records, so activity history such as email sends, form fills and web visits needs its own confirmation. Ask Adobe or your Marketo administrator which activity types the export includes for your subscription, and whether activity history requires a separate Bulk Activity Extract job. Build a field map that lists each Marketo field API name, its Mautic counterpart and its data type, including custom fields, lead scoring values and consent flags. Any field without a Mautic target should either become a custom field or be written to the archive only. This map becomes the input for the CSV import, where Mautic maps columns to fields automatically but you should still check the mapping before importing.
Finally, validate the extract before you rely on it. Compare record counts per window against counts reported in Marketo, check that email addresses, opt-out status and time zones survive the export, and keep the raw files in encrypted storage with a retention rule that your data protection team approves. Load a small window into a test Mautic instance first, then run the full import with the mautic:import console command through cron, which processes rows in batches of 100 by default. Record every window's row counts and any rejected rows so that the archive can be audited later.
How to move from Marketo to Mautic in phases
This sequence moves Marketo's contacts, campaigns, forms and scoring into Mautic in controlled stages, so each stage ends with a verified result before the next begins. The output is a Mautic instance that runs live campaigns, a documented archive of Marketo records, and a Marketo account that can be switched off without losing data.
Inventory smart campaigns, lists, forms and scoring
Someone from marketing operations, with an administrator from the Marketo instance, lists every smart campaign, smart list, program, form, landing page, scoring model and integration that touches leads. For each item, record its owner, whether it is still in use, the trigger that starts it and the downstream system it writes to. Done means you have a single register where every item is marked keep, rebuild, replace or retire. Confirm with Adobe's current Marketo Engage documentation which features your edition includes, since it determines what you need to rebuild.
Export leads and activity with Bulk Lead Extract
A Marketo administrator uses the Bulk Lead Extract REST API to pull lead and person records as CSV, TSV or SSV files, using date range filters of 31 days or fewer per job, so large databases are split into several jobs. Activity history is exported separately, and the files are stored in an encrypted location with a checksum and record count for each job. The step is complete when the record counts reconcile against Marketo reports and the files are stored outside the live Marketo environment. Confirm the export limits and permissions for your Marketo subscription with Adobe before scheduling jobs.
Map Marketo fields to Mautic fields
A marketing operations lead and a data engineer compare each Marketo field in the export with a Mautic contact field, noting the field type, picklist values, required status and any custom fields that must be created first. Duplicate identifiers, such as email address versus Marketo ID, are decided here, along with how consent and unsubscribe status will be carried over. The output is a signed-off mapping sheet and a test CSV of around 20 illustrative rows that imports without errors. Confirm the consent basis for each contact segment with your legal or privacy team before any contact is imported.
Import contacts into Mautic in batches
For small files, the Mautic user interface imports CSV with automatic column to field mapping, which you can adjust. For large files, Mautic recommends the mautic:import console command run by cron, which processes rows in batches of 100 by default. An administrator runs the import on a staging instance first, then on production, and checks the contact count, duplicate handling and any failed rows in the log. The step is complete when the imported counts match the mapping sheet and a sample of records matches the Marketo source. Confirm the batch size and cron schedule against the Mautic version you run.
Rebuild campaigns, forms and scoring in Mautic
Marketing operations rebuilds each item marked as keep or rebuild from the inventory, starting with the highest-volume nurture flows and the forms that feed them. Mautic campaigns replace Marketo smart campaigns, and point-based scoring is recreated using contact and company points, with thresholds that match the old score bands. Each rebuilt flow is tested with internal test contacts, and form submissions are checked end to end. The step is complete when every rebuilt item has a test record showing the expected action. Note that some Marketo behaviors, such as specific program constructs, may need a different design in Mautic, so review each one rather than copying it.
Run a pilot with one segment
Choose one contact segment and one campaign with low business risk, run it in Mautic for a limited audience, and compare open, click, unsubscribe and bounce data against Marketo for the same period. Confirm that the CRM sync, if in place, writes the expected fields back to the CRM. Deliverability is checked here too: sending domain authentication, bounce handling and complaint monitoring must work before volume increases. The pilot is complete when results are explained and the team signs off on the defects found. Confirm your sending infrastructure, IP reputation and mailbox provider requirements with your email provider before the pilot starts.
Operate Marketo and Mautic in parallel
Run both systems for the segments that are not yet migrated, with clear rules about which system owns each contact and each campaign so no contact receives duplicate emails. Daily reconciliation compares suppression lists, consent status and CRM fields between the two platforms. The step is complete when two consecutive reporting cycles show no unexplained differences in volumes or suppression. Confirm with the CRM team how sync conflicts are resolved, because two active systems writing to the same record is the most common source of errors in parallel runs.
Cut over and decommission Marketo with archive
Switch all remaining sending to Mautic, disable Marketo campaigns and sync, and confirm that no scheduled jobs remain active. Before the Marketo subscription ends, export the final lead, activity and program records, store them in a read-only archive with an index and retention schedule, and document where each archive file lives. The step is complete when Marketo no longer sends email, the archive restores a sample of records successfully, and the contract end is confirmed in writing with the vendor. Ask your legal and records team which retention periods apply to the archive.
Keeping CRM sync and owning email deliverability yourself
CRM sync and deliverability are the two areas where a Marketo exit can quietly break revenue reporting or inbox placement, so decide early who owns each. Mautic has a documented Salesforce plugin for integrating with Salesforce CRM, and its setup follows the steps in the Mautic knowledge base, which should be read alongside the Mautic Salesforce plugin documentation. Before configuring anything, confirm with your CRM administrator which Salesforce edition and API access your organization has, which objects will sync in each direction, and which system is the master for lead status, owner and opt-out fields. Document those decisions in writing, because field mapping errors are harder to unwind than a delayed sync.
Deliverability is the part of the move that no platform hands you. With Mautic you own the sending domains, so someone in the organization must control the DNS records for SPF, DKIM and DMARC, manage bounce and complaint handling, and decide how the sending IP or domain is warmed up. In most organizations the marketing operations lead owns list hygiene and suppression rules, the email or infrastructure team owns DNS and authentication, and a named engineer owns the bounce and complaint processing that feeds back into Mautic. Illustrative example: if a list has not engaged in a long period, the marketing lead decides whether to suppress it before the first large send from the new domain. Confirm your mail transport and its bounce webhook behavior with your provider before cutover.
HubSpot-specific limits do not carry over to this setup. Contact tiers, the export cap on records and the batch limits on the CRM API described for HubSpot do not govern Mautic, although any Mautic-to-CRM sync will have its own rate and volume limits that you must confirm with your Salesforce edition and your Mautic plugin version. Ask the implementation team to test sync with a representative sample of records, including merges, deletions and opt-outs, before enabling it for the full database.
How much effort, time and internal skill does a Marketo move take?
What drives the effort of moving off Marketo?
Effort rises with the number of smart campaigns, the number of integrations, the size of the lead database and the length of the sending history. Each of these changes how much work the move involves. Campaigns are the largest unknown, because each smart campaign contains trigger logic, filters, flows and wait steps that must be rebuilt as Mautic campaigns and tested. Integrations with the CRM, web tracking, ad platforms and data warehouse each need their own mapping and validation. Data volume and sending history matter for extraction time, for deduplication and for deciding how much consent and engagement history to carry over. Ask your team to inventory campaigns, integrations and data sources before any quote is discussed.
Can a team migrate from Marketo without outside help?
A team with marketing operations skills and a working understanding of Mautic can migrate a small, simple instance in-house. Teams with many campaigns, complex scoring, custom objects or several CRM integrations usually need outside help for the technical parts. The software is free under the GNU General Public License version 3 or any later version, so the cost of doing it yourself is staff time and infrastructure rather than licenses. Be realistic about the parallel running period, the testing of every rebuilt campaign and the cutover itself. DeployOpen plans, implements and documents self-hosted platforms in your own infrastructure, and most engagements are fixed-scope with scope and timelines agreed in writing before work starts.
What skills does marketing operations need during a Marketo move?
Marketing operations owns the business logic. Its staff must document existing smart lists, smart campaigns, scoring rules, forms and program structures, decide which of them still matter, and approve the rebuilt versions. They also own list hygiene, consent status and field definitions. IT or platform engineering owns hosting, the database, the mail path, backups, access control and the integration with the CRM. Both teams need to agree on a data model before import starts. Ask both functions to sign off the inventory and the test plan so that neither group discovers missing logic after cutover.
How do Marketo export limits affect the migration timeline?
Marketo's Bulk Lead Extract REST API returns large sets of lead and person records as CSV, TSV or SSV files, and its date range filters are limited to 31 days or fewer per job. A full history therefore needs many extract jobs, which must be scheduled, retrieved, checked and stored. Extraction becomes a sequenced workstream rather than a single export. Plan for this early, because it sets the earliest date at which a full data load can be validated. Confirm the current API quotas and job limits in your own Marketo subscription with Adobe and in the Bulk Lead Extract documentation before you commit to a schedule.
What should a quote for a Marketo migration include?
A useful quote lists the scope in writing before the price is discussed. It should name the campaigns, forms, scoring models, integrations and data sources in scope, and state what is excluded. It should cover the extraction plan, the import approach for Mautic (including background imports with the mautic:import console command for large files), the CRM sync design, the test and cutover plan, and the hosting and backup setup in your environment. Ask for the deliverables and acceptance criteria, the assumptions about your data quality, and which items are one-time and which are recurring, such as retainers for upgrades, support and testing. DeployOpen does not publish a price list; a quote follows from the written scope.
Which costs in a Marketo move are one-time and which recur?
One-time costs include the inventory, extraction, data mapping, campaign rebuild, integration build, testing and cutover. Recurring costs include hosting, the database, backups, email sending infrastructure, monitoring, upgrades and staff time for list and campaign maintenance. Marketo's subscription is removed from the recurring side, but the open-source platform is not free to run. Costs go up with the number of environments, the size of the sending volume and the amount of custom development. Ask for the cost of each component separately so you can compare it with your current contract.
How is email deliverability handled after a Marketo cutover?
After cutover, your organization owns sending reputation. That covers the sending domain, the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, the bounce and complaint handling, unsubscribe processing and warm-up of any new sending IP addresses. Marketo handled much of this for you, so the work moves to your team or to your implementation partner. Plan a staged volume increase and monitor bounce and complaint rates from the first send. Mautic and listmonk provide the mail sending mechanics, but mailbox provider requirements change, so confirm current sender requirements with your mail provider and your own deliverability tooling before the first live send.
Does a Marketo move include ongoing support after go-live?
A migration project ends at an agreed acceptance point, and ongoing work is a separate decision. Upgrades, support, continuous security testing and documentation updates can be covered by a retainer. Ask the vendor or partner which of these are included in the fixed-scope project and which need a retainer, and agree the response expectations in writing. Keep a runbook for operating the platform so that marketing operations and IT can handle routine changes without the project team.
How DeployOpen scopes and hands over a Marketo replacement
DeployOpen plans, implements and hands over self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own infrastructure, including Mautic and Dittofeed for Marketo replacements. Engagements are fixed-scope, with scope, deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work starts.
How we scope
- Inventory Marketo smart campaigns, forms, scoring models and CRM sync rules before any migration work begins
- Agree in writing which lead and activity records are extracted, how far back history goes and where the archive lives
- Confirm which email sending domains, reputation controls and bounce handling you will own after cutover
How we build
- Set up Mautic and any Dittofeed journeys in your cloud account, data center or air-gapped network under your control
- Rebuild campaigns, forms and scoring logic from the inventory, then test them against sample contacts before launch
- Configure CRM synchronization and imports, and run security testing on the deployed platform and its integrations
How we hand over
- Document the architecture, configuration, data flows, backup procedures and operational runbooks for your team
- Provide reconciliation evidence showing extracted record counts and migrated campaigns match the agreed inventory
- Walk your marketing operations and platform staff through daily administration, imports and deliverability monitoring
How we support
- Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as a retainer after handover
- Patch, back up and upgrade the platform on a schedule agreed in the retainer terms
- Prepare systems, controls and evidence for compliance assessments, while independent auditors perform any formal assessment
