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Data Cloud vs Salesforce Essentials 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

Data Cloud
Ranking in CRM
34th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Salesforce Essentials
Ranking in CRM
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Data Cloud is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

LT
Complex setup process impacts functionality and requires improvement
From my experience as a VP of sales, I was not involved directly with development and configuration, but every time I need some change in our strategy and data, it takes a lot of time from our development team or technical team to implement this change. It is not easy to add columns or information in the reports or in the information that I gathered from Data Cloud. It takes a lot of time, and it was not exactly what I was expecting. I had a project that required changing the views that I need from my team, and it took two to three months to make the change. It was just a simple click of a button and adding some information, so what I was expecting to take one or two weeks took three months. It was very complicated to implement in the beginning, and it took a lot of time. It is a very good product, but it is very complex to implement, change, develop, and integrate.
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

"We never had a problem with stability."
"I rate my experience with Data Cloud a nine out of ten."
"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 product is stable."
"The combination of product and service are exceptional."
"The solution helps to track the performance of salespersons before closing deals."
"We use Salesforce Essentials for everything we do on the sales side."
"Salesforce Essentials is a reliable and powerful application."
"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."
 

Cons

"Customizability is both an advantage and a disadvantage. While it provides a suitable solution with many pieces to integrate, it also adds complexity."
"It is a very good product, but it is very complex to implement, change, develop, and integrate."
"Improvements in connectivity issues, especially for the online version, would enhance the user experience for the product."
"The solution's UI is not user-friendly."
"I have seen Salesforce evaluate a lot of AI and analytics into that. But as an end user, I don’t have that much input."
"Less integration would be better. It should work independently."
"Salesforce Essentials does not contain domain-specific solutions."
"Areas that could be improved or upgraded in the next release include analytics, automation capabilities, and stability."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"When we use mixed languages, it can be uncomfortable because there seems to be no consideration for right-to-left speakers. It feels like these tools were developed by people who only speak left-to-right languages and didn't consider other language types' needs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"The pricing is a bit on the expensive side."
"We chose quarterly payments."
"I rate Salesforce Essentials' pricing an eight out of ten."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"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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Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Data Cloud?
There was excessive difficulty to customize for our business processes, so you either change to how they have it set up or you spend money getting someone to fix it. It would work, but it was time-...
What is your primary use case for Data Cloud?
We had Sales with Sales Cloud with a bunch of add-ons, and the things we wanted to do and the price was becoming untenable. So, we had to have an exit strategy. The main use cases were the same exa...
What advice do you have for others considering Data Cloud?
It is considered the Data Cloud CRM now. We deployed it to approximately nine or ten people. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.
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?
We use a limited number of automated workflows in Salesforce Essentials. The workflows we implement are designed to make sales teams' lives easier when executing certain tasks. Instead of requiring...
 

Comparisons

No data available
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Data Cloud vs. Salesforce Essentials and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.