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Affinity vs Salesforce Essentials comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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

Affinity
Ranking in CRM
23rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Salesforce Essentials
Ranking in CRM
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Affinity is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

Marcus Quinn - PeerSpot reviewer
Open source, stable and capable of working with existing Adobe files
Affinity Photo needs to work more. They need to align as much as possible with the shortcuts and keystrokes of Adobe. It's just because when you learn a tool as a professional, you tend to learn all the shortcuts and keystrokes. And if they're not the same as the same type of products that you migrated from, you lose productivity because you forget how to do things. You don't know where things are on the menu. You don't know the icon for it because you just know it as, "Oh, if I press this key, I get that." You forget the user interface. You just remember the keystrokes and the shortcuts. So, if that could align as much as possible with what I'm used to from Adobe, that would be good. And there's another product I use called Pixelmator Pro. And as much as I wish Affinity Photos did everything that Photoshop did, I actually ended up using this other product, Pixelmator, more for image editing because I just find it faster and more in line with what I remember from Photoshop. So, they are good. They've designed a good product. It's just the shortcuts and keystrokes need to match what people are used to, especially coming from Adobe because, let's say, it didn't exist. Affinity is a newer product.
Srini-Dhanaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
Manages service requests and dispatches engineers to resolve issues
I work from home for a heater manufacturing company. They wanted to move away from their current SAP CRM system to Salesforce. There is a fulfillment process, which involves taking an order, delivering it, and providing service. Salesforce is used to manage the order-taking process. Once an order is taken, the backend system, SAP ERP, handles product manufacturing, delivery, and installation. After installation, the Service Cloud in Salesforce takes over for ongoing service management. Once your order is confirmed, integration with the SAP ERP backend will be seamless. The system takes the sales order from Salesforce and starts processing it for procurement, starting with creating a production order, manufacturing, and then delivery. Once the product is delivered, this information is passed back to Salesforce Service Cloud. In the Service Cloud, a service engineer receives a notification indicating that a product needs to be delivered to a specific location for installation. The engineer then inspects and installs the product at the designated site. SAP ERP manages the product manufacturing and delivery processes. After the product is delivered to the customer, Salesforce Service Cloud takes over. It manages service requests and dispatches engineers to resolve issues reported by customers. Service Cloud captures the information and creates an incident record when a customer reports a product fault. Engineers receive this information and promptly visit the client site to fix the issue. The solution is easy to implement. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that it's completely automated. It's a very robust system. You are not going to have faults in it."
"The most valuable features of Affinity are the connection features it provides because you have a large database of startups. The people who worked in the companies and founded them are displayed in Affinity. It can show if they are using some special intelligence feature and that you may know this person, of your connections. For example, if they know the person. It works similar to the way LinkedIn does when you seek a connection. Additionally, Affinity shows how close this person is and how often they contact each other."
"For me, the most valuable feature is the fact that they work with existing Adobe files. And open and edit PDFs and web-optimized exports. It's been very good."
"Salesforce makes tracking every product and customer activity easy, enabling managers to monitor their products, such as key products and their peak performance."
"I've found the product's basic AI functionalities, such as predictive analytics and workflow automation useful for optimizing processes and improving productivity."
"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."
"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."
"In terms of features, the cloud-based solution and easy deployment are standout elements that have made a difference."
"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 combination of product and service are exceptional."
"The most important feature is how Salesforce Essentials brings together information from multiple channels. The nature of our complex custom product data has been challenging due to our manufacturing nature. Salesforce also allowed business processes like finance, credit lines, customer complaints, and quality issues to integrate seamlessly. I haven’t used the mobile app functionality, because we haven't fully utilized because of our preferance of more personal interactions over using mobile apps."
 

Cons

"Affinity could improve by adding more features. It has been a while since I have used it, but when I did, the features could improve."
"It would be better if it were "pay-per-user" instead of "pay-per-account." For example, I'm Siddharth Mallya, and I have two email accounts. Each of those accounts is a separate payable account for me. For instance, I have created a network using my personal email ID, and now I have moved to my company email ID. It'll choose any one of those accounts, and that will become my paid account. For example, if I put in my personal email ID, then that's the account that I pay for. But I'm no longer using it, and it's not going to get updated. If I put in my work email ID, then that's an entirely separate account that I have to pay for."
"To get people to migrate, Affinity needs to somehow give them an incentive to change. The key is to make it as similar as possible. Shortcuts and keystrokes would be my biggest learning curve. So, to scale, you're going to have to convince people to relearn their workflow, and everybody's too busy to do that. Scalability is kind of mid because you face adoption resistance if you're pushing out to a studio or staff that are used to Adobe. Many products don't think beyond Microsoft and Adobe. If it's not Microsoft, then they don't understand. So, scalability is a challenge."
"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."
"Salesforce should encourage new users by offering smaller license packages, such as packages for three or two users."
"Salesforce Essentials does not contain domain-specific solutions."
"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 solution could be cheaper."
"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."
"Areas that could be improved or upgraded in the next release include analytics, automation capabilities, and stability."
"Improvements in connectivity issues, especially for the online version, would enhance the user experience for the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Affinity is an expensive solution. However, they over a free version trial. The solution is expensive but the people that have used it say it is worth the money."
"Affinity follows a pay-per-account model, and I think there will be a monthly or a yearly paid subscription. I have heard that it was expensive."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"The pricing is on the higher side, especially with additional costs for professional services like consultants."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"I rate Salesforce Essentials' pricing an eight out of ten."
"We chose quarterly payments."
"It's a perpetual license, and the subscription can be expensive."
"The pricing is a bit on the expensive side."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Affinity?
For me, the most valuable feature is the fact that they work with existing Adobe files. And open and edit PDFs and web-optimized exports. It's been very good.
What needs improvement with Affinity?
Affinity Photo needs to work more. They need to align as much as possible with the shortcuts and keystrokes of Adobe. It's just because when you learn a tool as a professional, you tend to learn al...
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?
The costs associated with Salesforce Essentials are substantial, which is a drawback compared to competitors who offer similar services for less.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Essentials?
The primary area for improvement in Salesforce Essentials is its pricing. There are other competitors, like Zoho CRM ( /products/zoho-crm-reviews ), that offer similar features at a lower cost. Sal...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

T3 Advisors, Cushman & Wakefield,
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Affinity vs. Salesforce Essentials and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.