The 2025 MarTech Replacement Survey, which offers a look at which application marketing teams will be replaced in 2025 and why, found a level of stability never seen before in its history.
Over the past five years, the survey found that marketing automation platforms (MAPs) have been the most replaced tool in martech. But in 2025, the survey found that SEO tools were the most replaced applications, but not for the reason you might expect.
Yes, SEO is going through a tumultuous time, as LLMs and zero-click searches disrupt an industry built around keyword tracking and traditional search. But SEO tools were actually replaced at a slower pace in 2005 than in 2025.
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Martech replacements have taken a dramatic turn in 2025, and many of the most replaced apps from previous years have found stability. Get all the details in this free report.
The number of SEO tool replacements has increased in previous years. In addition to MAPs, CRMs, email distribution platforms and content management systems (CMS) have also seen declines in their replacement compared to 2024.
CRM replacements declined more than 12% from 2024 to 2025, bringing CRM replacements to the lowest level in the history of the MarTech Replacement Survey.
How does AI impact the replacement of martech applications?
For the first time in the history of the MarTech Replacement Survey, respondents who replaced martech applications in 2025 were asked what role artificial intelligence played in their decision.
- 37.1% cited AI capabilities as an important factor in their decision to replace.
- 33.9% cited a desire for AI capabilities as a reason to replace their application.
- 2.1% of all replacements were for internally developed applications purpose-built with AI (replacing commercial platforms with internally developed AI solutions or replacing old internally developed platforms with AI-built versions).
Regarding this last point, the 2025 survey showed an increase in the replacement of commercial martech solutions with in-house solutions, a scenario that was almost extinct just a couple of years ago.
Replacing commercial martech tools with internal tools accounted for 8.1% of all replacements in 2025, compared to 3.4% in 2024 and 5% in 2023, suggesting that a small segment of organizations are re-evaluating their “build vs. buy” strategy.
“AI-assisted coding is changing the calculus between build and buy,” said martech analyst Scott Brinker in his analysis of the findings. “It’s easier and faster to build than ever before. Companies should continue to purchase applications where they have no comparative advantage. But in cases where they can customize capabilities to differentiate their operations or customer experience, custom software is an increasingly attractive option.”
Cost remains a key factor when replacing martech apps
In 2025, 43.8% of marketers who replaced a commercial martech application cited cost reduction as the reason. This is a huge increase from 23.0% in 2024 and 22% in 2023, indicating that cost management and martech stack optimization are quickly becoming top concerns for marketing leaders.
Invitations to participate in the 2025 MarTech Replacement survey were distributed via email, website and social media in the fourth quarter of 2025. In total, 207 marketers responded to the survey. The data in this report is based on the 154 respondents (60%) who said they had replaced a Martech application in the last 12 months.
Download the 2025 MarTech Replacements Survey, no registration required.
