Benchmark
What share of the marketing budget goes to martech in 2026?
Martech takes 19.4 per cent of the marketing budget in 2026, down from 26.6 per cent in 2021 and a five-year low.
Checked against the source on . The underlying research is dated .
| Measure | 2026 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Martech share of marketing budget | 19.4% | 26.6% in 2021 |
| Marketing budget as a share of revenue | 7.8% | 7.7% in 2025 |
| AI initiatives as a share of marketing budget | 15.3% | 30% of CMOs ready to scale AI |
| CMOs planning to invest more in martech | 62% | of 401 respondents |
Gartner surveyed 401 marketing leaders in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe for the 2026 CMO Spend Survey, published on 11 May 2026. Martech's share of the marketing budget has fallen every year since 2021, from 26.6 per cent to 19.4 per cent, while the overall marketing budget has been flat at about 7.8 per cent of company revenue since 2022 and sits roughly 18 per cent below where it was four years ago.
The fall is not a retreat from technology. 62 per cent of respondents plan to invest more in martech, and 56 per cent increased the share of their martech budget allocated to consumption-based pricing. Spend is moving from fixed licences to usage, which pushes cost out of the software line and into the campaign line, and makes the total harder to see in a budget that reports by category.