# Marketing Budget Software for CMOs and Their Teams > Marketing budget software for CMOs and their teams. Plan budgets, track spend automatically and analyze plan against actual. From $89 a month, 14-day free trial. Etropo is marketing budget software that tracks your spend for you. Plan the budget with your team, and the actuals arrive from your ad platforms, invoices and Slack. - Canonical page: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-software - Start a free trial: https://app.etropo.com/signup - Book a demo: https://cal.com/alex-etropo-nsz0xj/60min - Plans and prices: https://www.etropo.com/pricing.md --- ## What is marketing budget software? Marketing budget software is budgeting software purpose-built for marketing leaders. It makes budgets easier to plan, automates spend tracking, analyzes actuals against plan, and keeps one view across brands, regions, campaigns and channels. --- ## Features ### Spend tracking Every dollar accounted for. Automatically. Sync ad spend automatically, capture invoices via email, and let your team submit actuals from Slack or their favorite AI assistant. No more chasing. - **Actuals that update themselves.** Connect Google Ads, LinkedIn, and other platforms. Etropo pulls spend data automatically so your budget always reflects what you actually spent — no manual entry, no month-end scramble. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/guide#ad-platform-integrations) - **Invoice inbox that works like magic.** Pass your PDF invoices to a dedicated Etropo email inbox. We'll automatically extract all info, and match it to the right item in your budget. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/invoice-automation) - **Stop chasing your team for actuals.** Set up automated reminders via email or Slack so teammates update their spend on time — without you following up. They can submit actuals directly from Slack, no login required. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/slack) - **Pass actuals via Claude or ChatGPT.** Etropo connects to Claude, ChatGPT, and any MCP-compatible AI client. Talk to your budget in plain English — update actuals, reconcile spend, and bulk-edit line items without ever opening the app. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/mcp) ### Planning Marketing budget editor. Easy, pleasant, and fun to use. - **Hassle-free budget editor, built for marketing teams.** Bulk-edit line items, assign cost centers, and organize spend by category — all in a grid built specifically for marketing budgets. Built in a way that's aligned with finance team requirements. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning) - **Secure way to engage team in marketing ops.** Category-based permissions so people see only what they should. Assign line item owners so they can update their own actuals. Threaded comments and approvals keep decisions in context, not buried in email. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning/access-control) - **Plan A, plan B, and every re-plan after.** Keep a conservative case and an aggressive case side by side in the same budget. When the year shifts — a mid-year cut, a new channel, a re-forecast — copy the active plan into a new version and adjust it there, instead of rebuilding the budget or starting another spreadsheet. Compare versions on the Plans dashboard, then make one active when the number lands; your Google Ads, LinkedIn, Meta, TikTok, and Google Sheets connections follow automatically. Actual spend, categories, and permissions stay shared across every version, so switching plans never touches what you've already spent. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning/versions) ### Analysis Track. Analyze. Move dollars around. - **Spot overspending before it's a problem.** Etropo compares your actuals against planned amounts across every line item, category, and your total budget — so you always know where you stand. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/spend-insights) - **See where your budget really stands.** Real-time visibility into your marketing budget. Track plan vs actuals, break spend down by category, and crunch numbers without building custom reports or waiting for data from finance. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning/dashboard) - **Talk to your budget in Claude or ChatGPT.** Just type a question like you'd ask a colleague. “How much are we spending on social media?” or “What's our total paid media budget for Q1?” Your assistant pulls the answer straight from your data — and with [Marketing Brain](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-brain), it knows your company's context too. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/mcp/what-you-can-do) - **Update your budget with conversation.** Need to add a new campaign? Just say “Add a TikTok Ads line item to Paid Media with $5,000/month for Q1.” Budget Buddy confirms the details, creates the line item, and sets the values — all in one step. [Docs](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-buddy) --- ## Spreadsheet, enterprise suite, or marketing budget software? | Feature | Spreadsheet | Enterprise suite | Etropo | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Spend from ad platforms](https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/guide#ad-platform-integrations) | Copied by hand | Connectors | Daily sync from [Google Ads](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/google-ads), [LinkedIn Ads](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/linkedin) and [Meta Ads](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/meta) | | [Invoices](https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/invoice-automation) | Typed in by hand | Finance system integrations | Emailed PDFs matched to line items | | [Budget versions](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning/versions) | One file per version | Scenarios and forecasts | Versions side by side | | [Permissions](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning/access-control) | Per file | Detailed roles | Access by budget category | | [Approvals](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning/approvals) | A status column | Configurable workflows | Status on every line item | | [Multiple currencies](https://docs.etropo.com/budget-settings/currencies) | Rates you maintain | Built in | Built in | | [Plan against actual](https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/spend-insights) | Formulas you build | Built in | Variance by line item and category | | [Access for AI assistants](https://docs.etropo.com/mcp) | Upload a copy | Varies by vendor | [Claude](https://claude.ai/directory/etropo) and [ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a8ee53706848191b2f258c4d6e6fd58) plugins, any [MCP client](https://docs.etropo.com/mcp) | | [Time to start](https://docs.etropo.com/getting-started/import-budget) | Hours for teams of 7+ marketers | Weeks to months | Minutes: import your spreadsheet | Compare the prices of 10 tools: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-tool-prices/marketing-budget-software --- ## Etropo pricing | Plan | Price (USD) | What it covers | | --- | --- | --- | | Essential | $89 per month | For small marketing teams creating their first marketing budgets. Includes 5 team members, 15 line items, 3 currencies, approvals, budget dashboards and Google Sheets integration. | | Pro | $139 per month | For growing marketing teams that need actuals pulled in automatically. Includes 10 team members, 200 line items, unlimited currencies, budget versions, invoice automation, Slack and Microsoft Teams, Google Ads, LinkedIn, Meta and TikTok Ads, Attio and HubSpot, and AI Budget Buddy. | | Custom | From $299 per month, yearly commitment | For multi-brand companies running a separate budget for every brand, team or region. From $299 a month with a yearly commitment. Unlimited users and line items, RevOps consultation and implementation support. | 14-day free trial. No credit card required. Every plan in detail: https://www.etropo.com/pricing.md --- ## What customers say > Before Etropo, someone on my team was spending a significant chunk of their time just chasing budget actuals. That's gone now. We've saved several days a quarter — and I actually know where our budget stands in real time. > > Abby Hehemann, Marketing Director at GetResponse --- ## Integrations - [Slack](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/slack) - [Microsoft Teams](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/microsoft-teams) - [Google Ads](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/google-ads) - [LinkedIn](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/linkedin) - [Meta](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/meta) - [TikTok Ads](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/tiktok) - [Google Sheets](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/google-sheets) - [HubSpot](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/hubspot) - [Attio](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/attio) - [Claude](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/claude) — official Etropo plugin in the [Claude directory](https://claude.ai/directory/etropo) - [ChatGPT](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/chatgpt) — official Etropo plugin in the [ChatGPT plugin directory](https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a8ee53706848191b2f258c4d6e6fd58) - [Gemini](https://www.etropo.com/integrations/gemini) --- ## Frequently asked questions ### Why do I need another tool to manage my marketing budget? Because the tools you have were not built for this job. A spreadsheet is easy to start and hard to maintain: someone updates it by hand, chases teammates and finance for numbers, and it is out of date by the time anyone asks a question. Finance tools are built for finance, not for marketing. Etropo keeps the marketing budget current for you: spend syncs from your ad platforms, invoices are matched to line items, and your team submits actuals from Slack. ### How much time can I save by using marketing budget software? About 5 to 10 hours a month. That is what teams that run the budget in spreadsheets report spending on manual entry and reconciliation, and Etropo does that work for you. Ad spend syncs in, invoices are matched to line items, and teammates get reminders and submit their own numbers. Abby Hehemann, Marketing Director at GetResponse, says the team saves several days a quarter. You can also ask about the budget and update it without leaving ChatGPT, Claude or Slack. ### What is marketing budget software? Marketing budget software is budgeting software purpose-built for marketing leaders. It makes budgets easier to plan, automates spend tracking, analyzes actuals against plan, and keeps one view across brands, regions, campaigns and channels. ### How much does marketing budget software cost? Etropo costs $89 a month on Essential, $139 on Pro and from $299 on Custom. Enterprise suites are usually sold by quote. Our pricing comparison (https://www.etropo.com/marketing-tool-prices/marketing-budget-software) shows 10 tools. ### Is there free marketing budget software? A spreadsheet with a free template is the free marketing budget tool. Etropo is marketing budgeting software with no free plan, but it has a 14-day free trial. ### What is marketing budget management? Marketing budget management is the process of planning, tracking, and controlling how your marketing dollars are spent. The goal is to give marketing leaders full visibility and control over their spend, without relying on the finance team for every update, report, or reallocation. ### What is Etropo? Etropo is marketing budget software for CMOs and their teams. You plan the budget in Etropo, and it brings in actual spend from your ad platforms, invoices and Slack. You can also ask about the budget and change it from Claude and ChatGPT. ### Who is Etropo built for? Etropo is built for CMOs and marketing ops teams at SMB and mid-market companies. They want real-time budget visibility and AI-powered automation, and they want it without a months-long enterprise implementation. ### What makes Etropo different from other budget tools? Etropo is built AI-first. You can talk to your budget in Claude or ChatGPT, update line items via natural language, and connect any MCP-compatible AI client. Combine that with automatic ad spend syncing, invoice capture, and Slack-based actuals collection. You get a budget that practically manages itself. ### How is Etropo different from FP&A tools and marketing resource management suites? FP&A tools serve finance teams that plan the whole company. Marketing resource management suites add campaign planning and assets, and usually need an implementation project. Etropo is marketing budget management software that a marketing team sets up itself. ### Does managing my budget in Etropo require additional work? No, it takes work away. Etropo collects the actuals you now enter by hand: ad spend syncs from Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads and Meta Ads, and invoices are matched through email automation. You can update the budget by talking to Claude or ChatGPT. Your data can also be automatically synced with Google Sheets (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/google-sheets) or exported to CSV/XLS (https://docs.etropo.com/exporting-budgets), so your finance team can keep working in their spreadsheets. ### Can I plan more than one version of my budget? Yes. A budget can hold multiple versions of the plan, such as the number you're asking for and the number you expect, or a pre-cut and a post-cut scenario. You switch between them from the budget editor, and one version is active at a time: it's what your team sees by default and where integrations write their data. Actual spend, categories, and access permissions are shared across every version, so switching plans never changes what you've already spent or who can see what. You can also compare versions side by side on the Plans dashboard. Budget versions are available on the Pro and Custom plans. Learn more: https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning/versions ### How long does it take to get started with Etropo? You can start in minutes. Import your existing budget (https://docs.etropo.com/getting-started/import-budget) spreadsheet and Etropo processes it in about 60 seconds, or add multiple line items in bulk (https://docs.etropo.com/getting-started/create-budget). Most teams are fully up and running within a week, and no implementation consultant is required. ### How does Etropo automate spend tracking? In four ways. Ad spend syncs daily from Google Ads (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/google-ads), LinkedIn Ads (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/linkedin-ads), Meta Ads (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/meta-ads), and other ad platforms, so those actuals need no manual entry. Invoices that you forward to your Etropo email inbox (https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/invoice-automation) are read by AI and matched to the right line item; you confirm, and the amount becomes an actual. Line item owners get automatic reminders in Slack (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/slack) or by email (https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/email-notifications), and can submit their numbers from Slack without logging in. For everything else, tell Budget Buddy, Claude or ChatGPT (https://docs.etropo.com/budget-buddy) what was spent, and it updates the actuals for you. ### What integrations does Etropo support? Etropo integrates with Google Ads (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/google-ads), LinkedIn Ads (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/linkedin-ads), Meta Ads (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/meta-ads) and TikTok Ads (https://www.etropo.com/integrations/tiktok) for ad spend, Slack (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/slack) and Microsoft Teams (https://www.etropo.com/integrations/microsoft-teams) for reminders and updates, Google Sheets (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/google-sheets) for your finance team, and Attio (https://docs.etropo.com/integrations/attio) and HubSpot (https://www.etropo.com/integrations/hubspot) for campaign results. AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT connect via MCP (https://docs.etropo.com/mcp). ### What AI tools come with marketing budget software like Etropo? Etropo has three AI tools. Budget Buddy (https://docs.etropo.com/budget-buddy) is the built-in AI budget analyst in the web app and in Slack: ask it a question, or tell it to change the budget, and it confirms before it makes the change. Plugins for Claude and ChatGPT (https://docs.etropo.com/mcp), and any MCP-compatible AI client, bring the same budget data into the assistant you already use. Invoice automation (https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/invoice-automation) uses AI to read PDF invoices and match them to line items. There is also Marketing Brain (https://www.etropo.com/marketing-brain), a free product from Etropo: a marketing knowledge base that gives any of these assistants your company's context. ### What budget dashboards does Etropo provide? Etropo has two dashboards. Plans Insights shows how the budget is allocated by month, category and cost center. Spend Insights compares planned and actual spend for every line item and category, by month or quarter. ### How does variance tracking work? Etropo automatically compares your actual spend against planned amounts for every line item, category, and your total budget. You can spot overspending early and reallocate funds before it becomes a problem. Learn more: https://docs.etropo.com/spend-tracking/spend-insights ### Is my budget data secure? Yes. Etropo uses encryption at rest and in transit, role-based access controls, and SOC 2-aligned security practices. Your budget data is never used to train AI models. Read more: https://www.etropo.com/security ### Who can access my budget data? Only the team members you invite. Etropo uses category-based access (https://docs.etropo.com/budget-planning/access-control): admins see the whole budget, and every other user sees only the categories you give them. ### Is my data used to train AI models? No. Your budget data is never used to train AI models. When you use Budget Buddy or connect via MCP, your data is processed in real time to answer your query and is not stored or used for training purposes. --- ## Planning your marketing budget for 2027? Start here. - [Budget calculator](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-calculator): Estimate how much to spend on marketing, from your revenue and your industry. - [Planning guide](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide): Plan, structure and get approval for your marketing budget, chapter by chapter. - [Budget templates](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-template): Free templates by industry, with channel allocations and spend benchmarks. - [Industry benchmarks](https://www.etropo.com/blog/marketing-budgeting/average-marketing-budget-by-industry): The average marketing budget by industry, from research on 12,000+ companies. --- ## Links - Marketing budget software (this page, HTML): https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-software - Pricing: https://www.etropo.com/pricing.md - Marketing Brain, a free product from Etropo: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-brain - Documentation: https://docs.etropo.com - Website: https://www.etropo.com