THE MarTech Replacement Survey 2025which offers insight into which application marketing teams will be replaced in 2025 and why, has found a level of stability never before seen in its history.
Over the past five years, the survey found Marketing Automation Platforms (MAP) were the most replaced tool in martech. But in 2025, the survey found that SEO tools were the most replaced apps, 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 rate in 2005 than in 2025.
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Martech replacements took a dramatic turn in 2025, with many of the most replaced apps from previous years finding stability. Get all the details in this free report.
The number of SEO tool replacements has increased in previous years. In addition to MAPs, RCMP, email distribution platforms And content management systems (CMS) all saw their replacement decrease compared to 2024.
CRM replacements fell more than 12% between 2024 and 2025, placing CRM replacements at their lowest level in the history of the MarTech Replacement Survey.
What is the impact of AI on replacing martech applications?
For the first time in the history of the Martech Replacement Survey, respondents who replaced martech applications in 2025 were asked about the role of artificial intelligence in their decision.
- 37.1% cited AI capabilities as an important factor in their replacement decision.
- 33.9% cited wanting AI capabilities as a reason for replacing their app.
- 2.1% of all replacements involved internally developed applications specifically designed with AI (either replacing commercial platforms with AI-created internally developed solutions or replacing older internally developed platforms with AI-created versions).
On the latter point, the 2025 survey showed an increase in the replacement of commercial martech solutions with local solutions, a scenario that had almost disappeared only a few years ago.
Replacing commercial martech tools with internally developed 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 reevaluating their “build or buy” strategy.
“AI-assisted coding changes the calculus between build and buy,” said martech analyst Scott Brinker in his analysis of the results. “It’s easier and faster to build than ever before. Businesses should always buy applications where they have no comparative advantage. But in cases where they can tailor capabilities to differentiate their operations or customer experience, bespoke software is an increasingly attractive option.”
Costs remain a key factor when replacing martech applications
In 2025, 43.8% of marketers who replaced a commercial martech app cited cost reduction as the reason. This is a significant increase from 23.0% in 2024 and 22% in 2023, indicating that cost management and optimization of the martech stack are quickly becoming top concerns for marketers.
Invitations to complete the MarTech 2025 Replacement Survey were distributed via email, website, and social media in Q4 2025. A total of 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 app in the previous 12 months.
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