The 2025 MarTech Replacement Survey, which offers a look at the application marketing teams replaced in 2025 and why, found a level of stability never before seen in its history.
For the past five years, the survey found marketing automation platforms (MAPs) were the most-replaced tool in the martech. But in 2025, the survey found 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 a sector built around keyword tracking and traditional search. But SEO tools were actually replaced at a slower rate in 2005 than they were 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 of the details in this free report.
The number of SEO tools’ replacements rose in the previous years. In addition to MAPs, CRM, email distribution platforms and content management systems (CMS) all saw declines in their replacement compared to 2024.
CRM replacements fell more than 12% from 2024 to 2025, putting CRM replacements at their lowest level in the history of the MarTech Replacement Survey.
How does AI impact martech application replacements?
For the first time in the MarTech Replacement Survey’s history, 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 decision to replace.
- 33.9% mentioned wanting AI capabilities as a reason for replacing their application.
- 2.1% of all replacements involved homegrown applications specifically built with AI (either replacing commercial platforms with AI-built homegrown solutions or replacing older homegrown platforms with AI-built versions).
To that last point, the 2025 survey showed an increase in replacing commercial martech solutions with homegrown solutions, a scenario that was nearly extinct just a couple of years ago.
Replacing commercial martech tools with homegrown tools accounted for 8.1% of all replacements in 2025, up from 3.4% in 2024 and 5% in 2023, suggesting a small segment of organizations are reassessing their “build vs. buy” strategy.
“AI-assisted coding is changing the calculus of build vs. buy,” said martech analyst Scott Brinker in his analysis of the findings. “It’s easier and faster to build than ever before. Companies should still buy applications where they have no comparative advantage. But in cases where they can tailor capabilities to differentiate their operations or customer experience, custom-built software is an increasingly attractive option.”
Costs remain a key factor when martech apps are replaced
In 2025, 43.8% of marketers who replaced a commercial martech application cited cost reduction as a reason. This is a huge increase from 23.0% in 2024 and 22% in 2023, indicating that cost management and martech stack optimization are rapidly becoming top concerns for marketing leaders.
Invitations to take the 2025 MarTech Replacement Survey were distributed by email, website and social media in Q4 2025. In total, 207 marketers responded to the survey. The data in this report is based on the 154 respondents (60%) who said they replaced a martech application in the previous 12 months.
Download the 2025 MarTech Replacement Survey, no registration required.