Methodology
A transparent, category-aware scoring system that evaluates what actually matters in martech.
Purpose
The List by The Agile Brand Guide is a dynamic index of marketing technology platforms, publishing monthly rankings of the top platforms. We evaluate platforms beyond financial metrics and marketing hype, focusing on what actually matters: product capabilities, organizational health, proven customer success, and strategic vision for the future.
What the rankings mean
Scored platforms have overall and in-category tiers. Suites and companies have an overall tier. Here's how to read them.
Where a platform stands across the entire market we track — measured against every other platform on The List, regardless of what it does. This is the big-picture view: how a platform compares to the field as a whole. We take into account innovation and feature sets, organizational strength and stability, customer satisfaction and mix, as well as the organization's vision for the future of their category.
Where a platform stands among its direct competitors — the other platforms that do the same job. A CDP is measured against other CDPs, a DXP against other DXPs. This is the most useful view when you're shortlisting tools for a specific need, because it compares like with like.
A platform can look different on the two rankings. A specialist might be a standout in its own category while sitting mid-pack overall, simply because the overall view spans the whole market.
The tiers
Tiers are how we measure and track market momentum. We use a variety of signals to do this (without scraping other platforms' proprietary scoring and ratings) and the tiers are meant to show movement in the market while keeping feature sets and customer considerations in mind.
These are platforms, suites, and companies added within the last 30 days. At this point, we don't have enough data to start tracking momentum.
Platforms, suites, and companies who have had the biggest gains over the last month. Trending takes precedence over other labels, so an entity might be both Trending and Setting the Pace.
At the top of their game with the wind behind their backs. These companies are defining their categories and sometimes inventing new ones. Watch these platforms, suites, and companies to see what's next.
There is momentum here, and some of these platforms are at the top of their category. While there's still room to grow, these are platforms, suites, and companies to watch.
These platforms, suites, and companies are holding their ground and scoring well across what we're watching for.
We're watching these platforms, suites, and companies and we're glad to have them. Greater momentum in the market moves them up to Steady and beyond.
Market Context Adjustments
Not all platforms operate in equal conditions. Some serve particularly complex markets, manage higher-scale challenges, or address more demanding use cases. Our methodology includes modest adjustments to recognize these market realities.
For example, platforms serving enterprise customers typically require more sophisticated capabilities, deeper compliance features, and more complex integration ecosystems. Similarly, platforms serving consumer-facing use cases must handle significantly higher scale and different technical challenges than their B2B-only counterparts.
These adjustments are applied consistently and transparently, ensuring that platforms are rewarded for successfully navigating more challenging market conditions while maintaining the integrity of our core scoring methodology.
We also recognize a small, positive visibility-leadership signal for products that are especially prominent in their primary market. For platforms, it contributes within Organizational Strength; automated suites inherit it through their component platforms, and companies receive a related contribution within Market Momentum. This measures current market prominence—not company growth—and never creates a fifth dimension, changes the four dimension weights, or penalizes a product for low visibility.
Inclusion Criteria
Minimum bar: Evidence of paying customers (count disclosed or verifiable customer references).
Both suites (multi-product platforms) and standalone products are listed. Suites receive special labels and roll-up views. Each platform is tagged with regions served (NA, EU, APAC, LATAM, MEA).
Questions?
If you have any questions, you can contact us for more details.