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Salesforce Essentials vs SuiteCRM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

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
SuiteCRM
Ranking in CRM
43rd
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 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 SuiteCRM is 0.5%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Salesforce Essentials0.6%
SuiteCRM0.5%
Other98.9%
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

AA
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
Has provided a reliable service with responsive support and offers valuable features, though pricing could be more affordable
We are a large organization with 14,000 people. As a user, Salesforce Essentials is extremely easy to use. The complete rollout from minimum viable product to final acceptable product took two years for our global deployment. The business operations for our 14,000 people are managed by approximately 10 people on the business side. These business admins are responsible for sales operations, troubleshooting, training, and driving features and requirements from the sales and marketing organizations. Additionally, we work with product owners on the IT side and a team of programmers. Daily operations require about five people for IT work, security programming, system connections, and development execution. For day-to-day user support, we need eight to ten people in the business. We operate on Microsoft Azure private cloud infrastructure. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate Salesforce Essentials a 9 out of 10.
JV
Owner at CPSTECH
Provides valuable reporting tools, but the user interfaces could be simplified
I use the platform mainly for lead management, opportunities, marketing automation, sales flow, and reporting The product's most valuable feature is the ease of obtaining information to make decisions. The platform's user interfaces could be simplified.  I have been using SuiteCRM for five…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution helps to track the performance of salespersons before closing deals."
"I can download the data to Excel, create tables, and do whatever I want. I am very comfortable with the tool's mobile application. Its main benefit is transparency because I can share it with representatives."
"Salesforce makes tracking every product and customer activity easy, enabling managers to monitor their products, such as key products and their peak performance."
"The CRM system has SAP Sales, SAP Service, and SAP Billing, with everything integrated into an on-premise SAP CRM system. Salesforce Essentials replaced this on-premise system, bringing all functionalities onto the cloud platform."
"The product is stable."
"The combination of product and service are exceptional."
"Their reporting and analytics features have a very significant impact on my company's operational efficiency."
"In terms of features, the cloud-based solution and easy deployment are standout elements that have made a difference."
"The product's most valuable feature is the ease of obtaining information to make decisions."
 

Cons

"Integrating Salesforce with SAP, considering our business relies heavily on SAP for ERP, has been quite challenging due to the intricate product configurations. Unlike standard products like computers with a few options, our products have hundreds of configurable options, making the integration complex. If such integration were possible, it would have been easier to understand the unique nature of our industry and the limited number of customers who buy steel products, unlike consumer electronics."
"The solution needs to be more user-friendly. It's difficult for a senior to track leads when a salesperson uploads leads. The solution should also improve its integration capabilities."
"The cost of running Salesforce Essentials is significant. The licenses are expensive, and the operational costs are considerable, including the necessity to maintain a team of approximately 15 people to run the system."
"Salesforce Essentials does not contain domain-specific solutions."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"The solution's UI is not user-friendly."
"Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables. This is not very user-friendly for mobile."
"The primary area for improvement in Salesforce Essentials is its pricing. There are other competitors, like Zoho CRM, that offer similar features at a lower cost."
"The platform's user interfaces could be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is a bit on the expensive side."
"The pricing is on the higher side, especially with additional costs for professional services like consultants."
"It's a perpetual license, and the subscription can be expensive."
"I rate Salesforce Essentials' pricing an eight out of ten."
"Salesforce Essentials is quite expensive, almost 10 out of 10. I don't have the exact cost, but we found it to be very expensive based on our budget constraints."
"We chose quarterly payments."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"The product's initial price is quite low, around $100 for a fixed deployment."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
23%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Salesforce Essentials?
Salesforce provides the best they have with the current version. Most of the features we need are already there, and it's very easy to use.
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 experience regarding pricing and costs for SuiteCRM?
The product's initial price is quite low, around $100 for a fixed deployment. For ongoing support, there is an additional $50 charge per instance.
What needs improvement with SuiteCRM?
The platform's user interfaces could be simplified.
What is your primary use case for SuiteCRM?
I use the platform mainly for lead management, opportunities, marketing automation, sales flow, and reporting.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Salesforce, Zoho and others in CRM. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.