The top five customer engagement platforms (CEPs) businesses use today to build stronger relationships, increase retention, and drive repeat revenue are Sortment, Braze, HubSpot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and Intercom.

If you’re talking to customers through email, SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications, in-app messages, or your website, you’ve probably realised this already: engagement isn’t about sending more messages. 

It’s about showing up with the right message at the right moment.

That’s exactly why brands are moving away from basic customer engagement software. 86% of customers are willing to pay more for great customer experiences enabled by CEPs, prioritizing CX over price or ads. [source: Freshworks]

Instead, they’re choosing smarter customer engagement tools that actually connect the dots across channels. 

Today, omnichannel customer engagement platforms aren’t a “nice to have” anymore - they’re essential, especially for fast-growing businesses competing in the customer engagement platforms USA market.

A lot of CEPs look great on paper, but once you start using them, they’re complex, slow to implement, and overkill for most teams. 

However, one CEP that takes a more practical route is sortment. It’s built to help teams move fast, using real-time customer behavior and AI-driven personalization, all in one platform - without a long setup or constant engineering help.

For brands that care about turning engagement into real conversions (not just opens, clicks, or dashboards), Sortment stands out as the most effective customer engagement platform on this list.

The Best Customer Engagement Platforms Table: 2026

Here’s a clean table that guides you with the best CEPs list for 2026.

What is a Customer Engagement Platform?

A customer engagement platform is a tool that helps businesses connect with customers in meaningful, timely ways across multiple channels like email, SMS, push notifications, WhatsApp, in-app messages, and web. Instead of treating each interaction in isolation, it brings customer data, behavior, and messaging together so brands can engage people with the right message at the right moment.

In simple terms, the customer engagement platform's meaning comes down to this: it helps you understand what your customers are doing in real time and respond with personalized experiences that actually drive action - whether that’s a purchase, a renewal, or repeat usage.

For example, a customer engagement platform can automatically send a personalized push notification when a user abandons their cart, trigger an email after a key product action, or show an in-app message based on browsing behavior - all without manual effort.

How Customer Engagement Platforms Work?

At their core, customer engagement platforms are built around three key capabilities:

Data Unification: A customer engagement platform pulls data from multiple sources - website activity, app events, purchase history, email interactions, and more - and unifies it into a single customer view. This makes it easier to understand each user’s behavior, preferences, and lifecycle stage without jumping between tools.

Real-Time Personalization: Instead of relying on static segments, modern platforms use real-time behavior to personalize messages as they happen. That means customers receive content, offers, and nudges based on what they’re doing right now, not what they did weeks ago.

Omnichannel Messaging: Customer engagement platforms allow brands to communicate across multiple channels from one place. Whether it’s email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messages, or web, all messaging is coordinated so customers get a consistent experience - not disjointed or repetitive outreach.

Why Customer Engagement Platforms Matter for Modern US Businesses?

Customer expectations have changed fast. Today’s consumers expect brands to recognize them, understand their behavior, and communicate consistently across every touchpoint. 

This is why the benefits of customer engagement platforms go far beyond just sending messages - they help brands build real relationships and improve customer engagement at scale.

For modern US businesses, especially in ecommerce, SaaS, and mobile-first industries, customer engagement platforms have become essential for staying competitive, increasing loyalty, and driving sustainable growth.

Figure: How Customer Engagement Platforms help you reach your customers

Impact on Retention, LTV, and Revenue

Acquiring new customers is expensive. Keeping existing ones is where real growth happens. Customer engagement platforms help improve retention by delivering timely, relevant experiences that keep users coming back.

By using real-time behavior and personalized journeys, brands can nudge customers at key moments - whether it’s encouraging a second purchase, reactivating inactive users, or upselling at the right time. Over time, this directly increases customer lifetime value (LTV) and turns engagement into measurable revenue, not just vanity metrics.

Role in Omnichannel Marketing & Lifecycle Automation

Customers don’t think in channels - and brands shouldn’t either. A customer engagement platform makes omnichannel marketing possible by coordinating messages across email, SMS, push, in-app, and web from a single system.

More importantly, these platforms automate the entire customer lifecycle. From onboarding and activation to retention and win-back, every interaction can be triggered automatically based on user behavior. This ensures customers receive consistent, connected experiences instead of random or repetitive messages.

5 Best Customer Engagement Platforms in the USA

After evaluating leading tools based on personalization depth, omnichannel capabilities, ease of use, scalability, and real-world business impact, these are the best customer engagement platforms for modern US businesses.

Figure: Sortment AI helps you monetize, activate and retain users to fuel your growth

1. Sortment – Best Overall Customer Engagement Platform

Sortment stands out as a customer engagement platform built for teams that want to move fast - without getting stuck in complex setups or relying heavily on engineering.

What really sets Sortment apart is how naturally it brings together real-time customer behavior, AI-driven personalization, and lifecycle automation in one place. 

Instead of managing multiple tools or rigid workflows, teams can design and run conversion-focused journeys across email, SMS, push, in-app, and web - all from a single dashboard.

For subscription apps, mobile-first businesses, and PLG companies in the US, Sortment helps teams move faster, engage users more contextually, and connect engagement directly to revenue.

Best for: Mobile Apps, Subscription businesses, PLG, and fast-growing brands
Key strength: Real-time engagement without complexity

2. Braze – Best for Enterprise Omnichannel Engagement

Braze is one of the most well-known customer engagement platforms, especially among large, mobile-first enterprises. It offers powerful tools for real-time messaging, personalization, and cross-channel orchestration.

While Braze is highly capable, it’s best suited for teams with dedicated resources and technical expertise. For enterprises that need deep customization and global-scale engagement, Braze remains a strong option.

Best for: Large ecommerce enterprises, mobile-first brands
Key strength: Advanced omnichannel orchestration at scale

3. HubSpot – Best All-in-One Customer Engagement Software

HubSpot combines customer engagement tools with CRM, marketing automation, and analytics, making it a popular choice for B2B SaaS in the US. Its biggest advantage is ease of adoption and a unified view across marketing, sales, and support.

However, HubSpot’s engagement capabilities are more structured and less real-time compared to platforms built specifically for behavioral engagement.

Best for: B2B SaaS companies
Key strength: All-in-one ecosystem with low learning curve

4. Intercom – Best for Conversational Customer Engagement

Intercom excels at real-time, conversational engagement through chat, in-app messaging, and support-led interactions. It’s especially effective for SaaS companies focused on onboarding, product adoption, and customer support.

While Intercom isn’t a full omnichannel engagement platform, it plays a strong role in conversational and in-product engagement.

Best for: SaaS, B2B
Key strength: Conversational messaging and in-app experiences

5. Salesforce Marketing Cloud – Best for Data-Heavy Enterprises

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a powerful customer engagement solution designed for large organizations with complex data needs. It integrates deeply with the Salesforce ecosystem and offers advanced segmentation, automation, and analytics.

That said, it often comes with long implementation timelines and higher costs, making it less ideal for teams looking to move quickly.

Best for: Large enterprises with Salesforce infrastructure
Key strength: Deep data integration and enterprise-scale automation

How to Choose the Best Customer Engagement Platform for Your Business?

CEP market projected at approximately $10 billion in 2025, growing to $11.5 billion in 2026 at a 15% CAGR, driven by AI personalization and omnichannel strategies. So, choosing the right CEP for your brand - a tough task indeed!

Choosing the right tool isn’t about picking the platform with the longest feature list. The key to a smart customer engagement software selection is understanding what your business actually needs today - and what it will need as you grow. 

When you choose a customer engagement platform that aligns with your size, industry, and channels, engagement becomes easier, faster, and far more effective.

Here’s how to evaluate your options the right way.

Based on Business Size (SMB vs Enterprise)

For small and mid-sized businesses, ease of use and speed matter most. You want a platform that’s quick to implement, doesn’t require constant engineering support, and allows marketing or growth teams to launch campaigns independently.

Enterprise businesses, on the other hand, often need deeper customization, advanced data handling, and scalability across regions and teams. 

While enterprise platforms offer powerful capabilities, they also come with longer setup times and higher costs - which may not be necessary for every business.

The right choice depends on whether you value flexibility and speed or deep customization at scale.

Based on Industry (Ecommerce, Product, Subscription, SaaS, Fintech, Healthcare)

Different industries engage customers in very different ways.

Ecommerce brands typically need platforms that support real-time behavior tracking, cart abandonment flows, product recommendations, and retention-focused journeys.

Subscription apps, mobile-first businesses, and PLG companies need more than campaign tools - they need a customer engagement platform like Sortment that reacts to user behavior in real time.

SaaS companies benefit from in-app messaging, onboarding flows, and usage-based triggers that improve product adoption.

Fintech and healthcare businesses should prioritize security, compliance, and precise messaging, while still delivering personalized experiences. Choosing a platform that understands your industry’s engagement patterns will save time and reduce friction down the line. 

Based on Channels (Email, SMS, Push, WhatsApp, In-App)

Not every platform supports every channel equally. Before making a decision, map out where your customers actually engage.

If your audience is mobile-first, push notifications and in-app messages may matter more than email. For ecommerce and DTC brands, SMS and WhatsApp often play a critical role in conversions. B2B teams may lean more heavily on email and in-product messaging.

The best customer engagement platforms allow you to manage all these channels from one place, ensuring messages feel connected rather than fragmented.

FAQs – Best Customer Engagement Platforms

What is the best customer engagement platform in the USA?

The best customer engagement platform in the USA depends on your business goals, team size, and channels. For fast-growing PLGs, and mobile app brands, Sortment stands out for its ease of use, real-time personalization, and revenue-focused lifecycle automation. 

Large ecommerce enterprises with complex needs may lean toward platforms like Braze.

Which customer engagement platform is best for small businesses?

Small and mid-sized businesses should look for platforms that are easy to implement, don’t require heavy technical resources, and allow teams to launch campaigns quickly. A good platform for SMBs should support core channels like email, SMS, and in-app messaging while offering automation that scales as the business grows.

Are customer engagement platforms worth the cost?

Yes, when used correctly, customer engagement platforms often pay for themselves. By improving retention, increasing repeat purchases, and delivering more relevant experiences, these platforms help brands generate more revenue from existing customers. Instead of spending more on acquisition, businesses can focus on maximizing lifetime value.

Can customer engagement platforms replace CRMs?

Customer engagement platforms don’t replace CRMs - they complement them. A CRM is built to manage customer records, sales pipelines, and support interactions, while engagement platforms focus on real-time communication and personalization. Many businesses use both together to cover the full customer lifecycle.

Customer Engagement Platform vs CRM vs CDP: What’s the Difference?

While these tools often work together, they serve very different purposes.

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is designed to store customer information and manage sales or support relationships. It’s ideal for tracking contacts, deals, and communication history, but it isn’t built for real-time, behavior-based engagement.

A CDP (Customer Data Platform) focuses on collecting and organizing customer data from multiple sources into unified profiles. However, most CDPs stop at data - they don’t actively engage customers or trigger personalized messaging.

A Customer Engagement Platform sits on top of both. It uses customer data and real-time behavior to engage users through personalized, omnichannel communication. In short, CRMs store relationships, CDPs organize data, and customer engagement platforms turn insights into action.