Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

NetSuite ERP vs SAP Business ByDesign comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

NetSuite ERP
Ranking in Cloud ERP
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
ERP (12th), Activity Based Costing Software (6th), Billing Software (4th)
SAP Business ByDesign
Ranking in Cloud ERP
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Cloud ERP category, the mindshare of NetSuite ERP is 17.6%, down from 18.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Business ByDesign is 4.3%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud ERP Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetSuite ERP17.6%
SAP Business ByDesign4.3%
Other78.1%
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

SM
Sr Analyst at Freelance
Integration tools streamline financial operations and enhance data management
The most beneficial feature in Workato is its accessibility. The interface is easily understandable even for a common user, unlike the NetSuite ERP direct website which requires more technical knowledge. In Workato, NetSuite ERP provides options for new employee records, invoice reports, and batch files processing. The batch processing capability allows handling up to 10,000 records simultaneously, which reduces tasks and processing time significantly. Regarding scalability, NetSuite ERP offers excellent options and reduces manual interventions through automation. In the past three months, I have observed improvements in their options and data storage capabilities, showing enhanced scalability compared to previous versions.
MS
Divisional Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Valuable features enhance sales and service capabilities while performance improvements are needed
We received a few complaints about the slowness in SAP Business ByDesign last year, so I think SAP can focus on improving performance, particularly when it becomes slow during data saving and handling. My feedback about the modular architecture and customized features of SAP Business ByDesign is that it is only good, but we have not explored much on this one. The initial setup for SAP Business ByDesign was complex. One disadvantage was that we had the legacy system, SAP Business One, and we could not migrate our data to SAP Business ByDesign. They should have provided a migration path.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The initial setup is easy."
"It's integrated into everything well so you can navigate and use it in a very simple way."
"Technical support is excellent."
"I have found there to be many features, such as manufacturing, accounting, financials, inventory, and purchasing."
"The project management aspect and the timesheets are valuable, especially for ensuring that our milestone billings are automated properly. From a manufacturing perspective, it is more to do with the entire management of the inventory, the overall finance, consolidation of books of accounts, and managing the profit and loss in a more effective manner."
"NetSuite ERP is good for a trading company that involves buying and selling."
"It is a very solid product for finance and procure-to-pay processes."
"In summary, NetSuite is the future and can help small/medium-sized companies to grow in automation."
"When we were using it, we did see an immediate benefit, especially in the inventory on consignment issue. We were a biotech pre-revenue company and most of our manufacturing was outsourced. So being able to track inventory within the system without creating a financial impact was very key for us."
"The most valuable features of Business ByDesign are the integration of its modules, analytics, and dashboards."
"I find the tool’s every feature valuable."
"ByDesign's best features are its speed, real-time data, and reporting."
"I have found the consolidation of the business and group reports very useful. There is plenty of features and the manufacturing and finance aspect of the solution are strong."
"The most valuable feature is the feature called Financial Closing Cockpit. This feature allows us to monitor our accounting and processing closely."
"The most helpful feature is the integrations. Integrating the tool with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is easy, facilitating implementation and deployment. The runtime analysis checks for real-time analytics to see if the software works properly. This is a powerful feature."
"I like the tool’s customization."
 

Cons

"The communication has been peculiar, and the overall commercial process has been less than satisfactory."
"As with any system offering large volumes of data, there are limitations on processing large volumes of data in custom ways."
"The CRM module just does the basics."
"The NetSuite fixed asset module needs to be worked on."
"The solution's initial setup process was complex."
"NetSuite ERP's UI could be improved. There are some features that are very complex that do not have to be. There are some aspects of the solution that could be simplified and this can include the documentation. Since it's a very complex tool, you expect to have great detailed documentation to help you implement it."
"Additionally, adding advanced modules such as AI components or customer service modules could help the system become more scalable."
"The areas that this product needs to improve on is the implementation and inventory processes."
"The Purchase to Pay process could benefit from further sophistication and additional functionality. It would be helpful for the user community to receive clearer information about the future roadmap of the business. Unfortunately, there were some confusing articles in the German press towards the end of last year about the future of SAP Business ByDesign. Therefore, more clarity is needed in the support function to address this."
"I would like the tool’s interface to be better. Currently, we use a client application to access the product. I want that to be replaced with a web version. I would like to improve the tool’s internet availability. I also want the product’s setup to be easier."
"With SAP S/4HANA, you can design your release strategy and modify it to include as many people as possible, which is missing in SAP Business ByDesign."
"SAP Business ByDesign can improve the flexibility and user-friendliness of the reporting during the implementations. Customizing the reports inside the device requires a lot of knowledge and most of the time a developer level is needed. For example, if you want to have a more specific reporting layout."
"One disadvantage was that we had the legacy system, SAP Business One, and we could not migrate our data to SAP Business ByDesign. They should have provided a migration path."
"Scalability is difficult."
"The Arabic localization is neglected. It should have an Arabic interface. It lacks Arabic translation or support from right to left."
"I would say budget controlling needs improvement. I mention this because it does not have all the functionalities that we need in terms of managing the budget."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is completely on a subscription basis. We pay yearly and, and you do not have to do anything on a monthly basis. Prices depend on the organization's scale and all those things, but they are doing a good job with the pricing."
"I would advise that you first meet with and scope out your project with a NetSuite VAR (Value Added Reseller)."
"The price of the solution is quite high."
"Regarding costs, it's not just about licensing. Customization recurring costs can become expensive over five to eight years, especially with new releases. However, NetSuite ERP integrates well with third-party applications, so it can still be used for finance while another ERP is used for localized production."
"NetSuite ERP has a cost per module you want to use, and then you have the license per user."
"When people buy ERP, it's a competitive situation and the pricing is paramount."
"The price is less than the cost of daily hours."
"Pricing for NetSuite ERP is okay, but it could be better. The licensing model for NetSuite ERP is based on the number of modules and users. The standard license covers up to twenty-five users. If you have more than twenty-five users, you'll have to buy the premium license, which would double the price. For one module with five user licenses, the cost is between $40,000 to $50,000."
"The tool’s subscription is yearly. There is no flat pricing involved and everything has a range. Pricing depends on the functionality that you would use. You need to also pay for the additional hosting and maintenance costs."
"I rate the price of SAP Business ByDesign a seven out of ten."
"Everything is included in the licensing cost of the solution. However, they use a per-user model for additional charges."
"The tool’s pricing is expensive."
"We have to pay yearly."
"The price of SAP Business ByDesign is less expensive than SAP S/4HANA. However, the price is on par with other similar competitors, such as Microsoft."
"The pricing depends on company size. It's cheaper for small companies and more expensive for large ones."
"The cost starts anywhere between fifty thousand dollars and up depending on the number of licenses."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud ERP solutions are best for your needs.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Healthcare Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about NetSuite ERP?
The inventory feature in NetSuite ERP is very valuable to me because it provides clear estimates about the depreciation of details and includes useful mobile modules.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetSuite ERP?
The initial cost for NetSuite ERP depends on the business size. My IT managers say that some of their features are quite expensive.
What needs improvement with NetSuite ERP?
Regarding room for improvement, I would single out the user interface. The company needs to spend fifty percent of research and development on improving the user interface. The user interface is qu...
What do you like most about SAP Business ByDesign?
The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Business ByDesign?
The price is high, as every year SAP increases the price by 3.5%.
What needs improvement with SAP Business ByDesign?
We received a few complaints about the slowness in SAP Business ByDesign last year, so I think SAP can focus on improving performance, particularly when it becomes slow during data saving and handl...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

2Pure, Accuvant, Actian, Adtegrity, Advantage Sign Supply, All-Safe Pool Safety Products, Alton Lane, AMC Liquidators
Standard Bank of South Africa, AOK Bundesverband, PT XL Axiata Tbk, Tvoy Dom, Schaidt Innovations GmbH & Co. KG, DeLaval International AB, EMC Corporation, Lenovo, Castle Importing Inc., Unilever, Rifle Paper Co., RAK Ceramics, Rough Country, B&G Manufacturing, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town
Find out what your peers are saying about NetSuite ERP vs. SAP Business ByDesign and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.