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Salesforce Sales Cloud vs SugarCRM Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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 Sales Cloud
Ranking in CRM
2nd
Ranking in Sales Force Automation
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
Opportunity Management (1st), Conversation Intelligence Software (2nd)
SugarCRM Platform
Ranking in CRM
26th
Ranking in Sales Force Automation
6th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (10th), Marketing Automation (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Salesforce Sales Cloud is 2.1%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SugarCRM Platform is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Salesforce Sales Cloud2.1%
SugarCRM Platform0.9%
Other97.0%
CRM
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user128490 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Leader at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jan 18, 2016
 

Featured Reviews

Jonny Katz - PeerSpot reviewer
VP of Business Operations at PeerSpot
Uses data-driven insights to improve workflows and highlights a need for simpler automation tools
Salesforce Sales Cloud can be improved in several areas. First, the UI is an area for enhancement. Even though they've launched Lightning, it's clunky at times with page load speeds. It also needs to be made extremely more user-friendly. For new people using Salesforce Sales Cloud, there is a steep learning curve. Additionally, giving non-admins the ability to make changes on the fly is something that I feel is necessary. Currently with Salesforce Sales Cloud, you need to have a consultant. It's hard to build the flows or workflows. Making it easier for that end-user who's not so technically minded to help themselves is essential. I choose seven out of ten because I think you need a consultant or a consulting company to help you build it out. Certain changes should be made much easier and more user-friendly where an admin can do it. The automation processes need to be much simpler. If you're looking at other tools out there, for example SalesLoft or HubSpot, it's much easier to build those workflows and do automation.
reviewer1345677 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager / IT Planning & Architecture Services at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Easily customizable, automation enhances the marketing campaigns but support is the main hiccup for us
It has been effective in managing customer relationships. It has sales email campaigns, plus integration with Active Directory. And there are centralized reports for the CEO and the general managers. We work with automation for these marketing and email campaigns. It sends out emails to prospective customers related to sales offers automatically. And it copies the sales team so that they can follow up. They are tracking the sales leads. So, the automation within SugarCRM enhances the marketing campaigns. For now, my work is done because I am the IT strategy and planning manager. I just try to deliver the solution according to the requirements of the business. From my side, it's implemented already, the requirement related to the sales funnel. But if they have any other requirement from the business side, they will submit it to me, and then I will look for a suitable solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tracking and monitoring of daily activities within each account is the most valuable aspect of Salesforce Sales Cloud. It allows for staying informed about ongoing activities, ensuring comprehensive visibility into the progress made within each account on a regular basis. Additionally, the plugins that are available, such as ZoolInfo are useful."
"The solution is stable."
"I would rate Salesforce Sales Cloud's scalability as very good. We have scaled from 30 to 150 within three years without a glitch."
"You can capture all the contacts that relate to an account or business, including personal details."
"Salesforce highlights what are we selling in different regions and which regions or areas offer opportunities. We are able to view sales by month, quarter or year."
"The ability to work on it from anywhere is most valuable. All you need is a computer, a browser, and an internet connection to access your instance. It can be accessed from anywhere, which is pretty cool and user-friendly."
"The performance is good, and it is easy to use."
"In terms of the return on that investment, a non profit that uses the system well should be able to raise more money with the data and time savings provided."
"The most valuable feature is relation capability, which allows us to relay customers with invoice orders."
"The most valuable features of the SugarCRM platform include its flexibility in customizing fields, layouts, and dashboards."
"It has sales email campaigns, plus integration with Active Directory."
"It works well with Jira. You can customize it to fit your needs."
"Affordable and commercial open source solution is good for organizations with budget constraints."
"The most valuable aspect of this solution is its low cost."
"The most valuable features of Sugar Enterprise are the exports of graphics, statuses, complaints, and tasks."
"Available source code, good documentation, training programs, and a relatively active community, provide the hallmarks for a successful open source effort."
 

Cons

"When importing from other apps, it gets messy."
"The cost of this solution could be improved."
"The main area that I feel could be improved is the performance of the Salesforce1 mobile application."
"The problem is the solution has gotten so big, it's very complex now. It's a bit difficult to figure out how to do certain actions."
"The monitoring is very good, but it could be better."
"The solution's scalability has some limitations."
"Auto clean for duplicate leads, accounts, and contacts needs improving."
"Sometimes they refresh the production environment, which can be a bit of a challenge."
"You cannot include all your entities under one instance at the moment."
"In the next release, I would like to see personalization of information about customers or specific businesses or opportunities."
"Pipelines, forecasts, and reporting in general, are not that good in the free version."
"Sugar Enterprise could improve by removing bugs and glitches. For example, a comment was made but in the comment section, it was never displayed. However, the problems we faced might not be the fault of the solution."
"While it is already user-friendly, a slight enhancement in UI design, especially in terms of color combinations, could make the platform more visually appealing and comfortable to use."
"Functionality and features are well suited for small business companies only."
"I would appreciate it if SugarCRM could support us in on-premise implementation."
"It lacks customization, and this is the main reason that we are switching to a different solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a premium product, so it is not the cheapest solution. I think if it's implemented well, and you're getting the soft cost benefits, the efficiencies, it's justified. But not if you're looking at just apples for apples as a subscription, without the complexity that you can achieve. It can deal with complex business requirements. Some other CRMs can't. But you certainly pay, so it's a premium-charged solution. It's one of the more expensive ones."
"The subscription is on a monthly basis."
"Sales Cloud is expensive."
"Implementation and add-ons may be additional costs."
"There is a license required to use this solution and the price is expensive. It could be reduced."
"We must pay for the licenses."
"We have a yearly license, and there are no hidden costs. Considering the Indian market, the pricing is reasonable. I don't consider it to be on the high side."
"Being license based, the license varies by type. The pricing is considered average."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
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Answers from the Community

it_user128490 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Leader at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jan 18, 2016
Jan 18, 2016
Hello Pratyush. Now that you are 1.5 years out from this post, just wondered how the project is working for you. Sounded like you were leaning towards Salesforce with custom development. Is that where you ended up? Are you meeting your goals? Looking forward to your reply. Steve
2 out of 11 answers
it_user131094 - PeerSpot reviewer
Change & Delivery - Prog Lead / CxO at SJS Access Limited
Jun 26, 2014
I will respond over the weekend
it_user105723 - PeerSpot reviewer
Works at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jun 26, 2014
Hi, I can only really comment on Oracle Siebel, interesting why it isn’t on your list? Regards Simon Collins
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Performing Arts
7%
Engineering Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise40
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What are the pros and cons of MS dynamics vs. Salesforce CRM?
When comparing Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce CRM in 2026, both are leading CRM platforms, but they serve slightly different strengths depending on business needs. Features: Salesforce is t...
What do you like most about Salesforce Sales Cloud?
The features of Sales Cloud most useful for testing and running email campaigns are highly valuable.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Sales Cloud?
Salesforce Sales Cloud can be improved in several areas. First, the UI is an area for enhancement. Even though they've launched Lightning, it's clunky at times with page load speeds. It also needs ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sugar Enterprise?
All are almost the same pricing. Maybe the cheapest is Salesforce, I believe.
What needs improvement with Sugar Enterprise?
The only challenge was that we implemented it in our on-premise data center instead of using it in the cloud. That was a little bit of a challenge. But it was overcome with the help of SugarCRM com...
What advice do you have for others considering Sugar Enterprise?
To start with, SugarCRM is a very good platform. It's easy to implement and easily customizable. Might be later when you want to scale, then I would recommend Salesforce. Overall, I would rate it a...
 

Also Known As

Sales Cloud, SFDC, Salesforce
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coca-Cola Enterprises, Kuoni Global Travel Services, Financial Times, Just Eat, Jobsite, H.R. Owen, PlayerLayer, O2, DMGT, Philips, Xtreme.ie, Business Stream, Remote Asset Management, Dialogue Group
Redglaze Group, TengoInternet, Hilco, Bancvue, Vet Adivsor
Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce Sales Cloud vs. SugarCRM Platform and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.