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SAP CRM vs Salesforce Essentials comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.0
Salesforce Essentials offers good ROI with easy implementation, accelerating sales and benefits realized in about three years.
Sentiment score
6.6
Sales and revenue increased; operational efficiency justifies costs, but Salesforce suits large organizations more than smaller ones long-term.
The ROI was always in a positive direction.
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Salesforce Essentials offers responsive service with minimal issues; users praise its reliability and effective customer support.
Sentiment score
7.0
Customer service is responsive and reliable, with 24/7 support, although customization and response times can vary.
Their service and uptime is phenomenal.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
Salesforce Essentials has excellent customer service.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
I would evaluate their support and customer service with Salesforce Essentials as pretty decent, diligent, and to the point.
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
I am satisfied with their response time and quality.
CRM administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Salesforce Essentials is highly scalable, supporting diverse teams from small to large, and is praised for easy user addition.
Sentiment score
8.1
SAP CRM excels in scalability, efficiently supporting numerous users and large data volumes while integrating various business functions.
It is one of the most scalable systems available.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
In terms of scalability with data and number of users, I would give it a nine out of ten.
CRM administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Salesforce Essentials is highly stable and available, with few bugs or downtimes, though occasional automation delays occur.
Sentiment score
8.1
SAP CRM is stable and reliable, with occasional issues, but generally offers smooth operation and minimal downtime.
Salesforce Essentials has proven stable, with no downtime that affects my work.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Salesforce Essentials struggles with integration, UI, and pricing, needing improvements in analytics, mobile interface, and automation features.
SAP CRM requires UI enhancements, better integration, real-time analytics, increased flexibility, and modern tech adoption for future growth.
Instead of requiring users to think about system navigation and clicking procedures, they can simply follow a workflow that guides them through the process.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables.
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
There are other competitors, like Zoho CRM, that offer similar features at a lower cost.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
I am happy with SAP CRM because whenever we have requirements for changes or customization as per our needs, we get them, and the downtime is minimal.
CRM administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Salesforce Essentials licensing is costly but valued for flexibility and add-ons, with some finding additional professional expenses burdensome.
SAP CRM is costly, targeting large enterprises, with high setup costs but competitive features; price cuts could increase appeal.
The cost of running Salesforce Essentials is significant.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
The costs associated with Salesforce Essentials are substantial, which is a drawback compared to competitors who offer similar services for less.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
SAP CRM is not suitable for small companies because of the cost.
CRM administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Salesforce Essentials offers robust features and user-friendly design but may be costly for some businesses.
SAP CRM provides customizable reporting, seamless ERP integration, real-time data, enhancing customer management and improving business processes globally.
Their reporting and analytics features have a very significant impact on my company's operational efficiency.
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Salesforce Essentials is excellent because it is one of the most flexible CRMs available.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
It is very customizable to specific needs.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
If there is any error in our machine, a log is automatically generated, and from SAP CRM, we can see that the machine has problems.
CRM administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Salesforce Essentials
Ranking in CRM
16th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP CRM
Ranking in CRM
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Local Government CRM (2nd), Marketing Management (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP CRM is 1.8%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP CRM1.8%
Salesforce Essentials0.6%
Other97.6%
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

SB
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Creates efficient integrations and boosts operational efficiency through comprehensive dashboards
I have experience with products such as Acronis and Huntress, though Salesforce Essentials serves a different purpose. I have had experience with Huntress for the last few months as we are an MSSP and offer Huntress to our clients. I have used Odoo and HubSpot recently, though not extensively. The main differences between Salesforce Essentials and HubSpot or Odoo is the market presence. It is comparable to the Windows versus Linux situation because both have a huge presence. They have deeper pockets so they can spend money on collecting insights and developing features. Integration and good partnerships with major companies make Salesforce Essentials better than the others.
FA
CRM administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Customization and automation drive effective user training and insights sharing
Recently, the price of SAP CRM has increased, which is one concern. Another issue is that sometimes we experience slow performance. Reports in SAP CRM itself can become very slow. Other than that, it is a very good CRM system. I am happy with SAP CRM because whenever we have requirements for changes or customization as per our needs, we get them, and the downtime is minimal. We are getting very good support from the incident team and the in-house support team who are responsible for customization. Some customer centers have moved to Salesforce, but I don't have any experience with Salesforce to make a comparison.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
27%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Retailer
6%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
University
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Essentials?
Salesforce Essentials is very expensive, but it delivers exceptional value. It is a good platform to have if you can afford it because it has numerous add-ons and modules. Anything that Salesforce ...
What needs improvement with Salesforce Essentials?
The mobile access can be improved in several ways. Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables. This is not v...
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Essentials?
I have experience with Salesforce Essentials' Tableau and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, but not extensively. I was more focused on their CRM platform, specifically the core CRM and sales basics. My e...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP CRM?
SAP CRM is not suitable for small companies because of the cost. It is suitable for medium and large enterprise companies.
What needs improvement with SAP CRM?
Recently, the price of SAP CRM has increased, which is one concern. Another issue is that sometimes we experience slow performance. Reports in SAP CRM itself can become very slow. Other than that, ...
What is your primary use case for SAP CRM?
Currently, we are using SAP CRM for monitoring sales activities, forecasting, and marketing activities.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Brau Union Osterreich AG, Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., AOK Bundesverband, RAK Ceramics, NHS 24, Wholesale Sports Outdoor Outfitters, FC Bayern Munchen AG, Tumi, The Kellogg Company, MVV Energie AG, Anglian Water Services, German Football Association (DFB), Nebraska Book Company Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP CRM vs. Salesforce Essentials and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.