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NetSuite ERP vs SAP Business ByDesign comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 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

NetSuite ERP
Ranking in Cloud ERP
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Activity Based Costing Software (7th), Billing Software (3rd)
SAP Business ByDesign
Ranking in Cloud ERP
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Cloud ERP category, the mindshare of NetSuite ERP is 17.1%, down from 35.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Business ByDesign is 8.3%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Haggit Russo - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective financial management with real-time analytics and a straightforward setup
Reports are good but not perfect. The custom reports could be improved. The initial setup process for reports can be a bit complicated and may require more user-friendly options. My previous company faced difficulty with reporting when it was too complicated to find proper reports. Overall, improving the reporting feature would be beneficial.
Majid-Mustafa - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides custom versions of reports personalized for users
For AI initiatives, you need to purchase a separate AI license to integrate with SAP Business ByDesign. I'd recommend SAP Business ByDesign for large companies that want to check data graphically, especially for monthly income, expenses, and taxes in the millions or trillions. Overall, for large-scale companies, I'd rate it ten 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

"NetSuite ERP is a user-friendly cloud-based solution that posts into the GL in real time. You can see your profitability at the order level."
"The inventory feature in NetSuite ERP is very valuable to me because it provides clear estimates about the depreciation of details and includes useful mobile modules."
"The user interface is very good."
"The project management aspect and the timesheets are valuable, especially for ensuring that our milestone billings are automated properly. From a manufacturing perspective, it is more to do with the entire management of the inventory, the overall finance, consolidation of books of accounts, and managing the profit and loss in a more effective manner."
"The most beneficial feature in Workato is its accessibility; the interface is easily understandable even for a common user, unlike the NetSuite ERP direct website which requires more technical knowledge."
"I am impressed with the product's ease of use. It also helps us reduce the techstack."
"NetSuite is significantly more affordable than Oracle EBS and offers a wider range of features than other OEMs."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature of SAP Business ByDesign is it has a streamlined design."
"ByDesign's best features are its speed, real-time data, and reporting."
"The most valuable features of Business ByDesign are the integration of its modules, analytics, and dashboards."
"The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports."
"I like the tool’s customization."
"I like its modern approach. It is very modern and new technology."
"The most valuable feature is the feature called Financial Closing Cockpit. This feature allows us to monitor our accounting and processing closely."
"The standard system is stable."
 

Cons

"The custom reports could be improved."
"The main implementation challenge is finding experienced consultants to translate customer needs into NetSuite ERP's standard functionality. The second challenge is getting enough time from customers for proper implementation."
"Many features such as local taxation and fund management are not there yet."
"If you do go through an implementor, you need to be careful that they are actual implementors and not just resellers."
"In terms of the main improvement to NetSuite is the talent itself. It's grown so fast and there are about 25,000 companies running on it, and it's a relatively newer system compared to other competitors. It's growing so fast that the talent base in the partner organization (there's about 200 of them), is pretty thin."
"The product should improve its warehouse management solution."
"The areas that this product needs to improve on is the implementation and inventory processes."
"NetSuite is good for data management, but it's missing payroll features."
"I would like the tool’s interface to be better. Currently, we use a client application to access the product. I want that to be replaced with a web version. I would like to improve the tool’s internet availability. I also want the product’s setup to be easier."
"Scalability is difficult."
"The payroll module of the solution could improve."
"SAP Business ByDesign is a very vast product, but it has to be a bit more centralized. All the models need to be more centralized for a better experience."
"I would say budget controlling needs improvement. I mention this because it does not have all the functionalities that we need in terms of managing the budget."
"There is room for improvement in the reporting capability. To use it properly, you need intensive IT support. You cannot write your own reports."
"ByDesign could be improved by making screen modifications easier."
"The solution does not support customization for forms and reports. It's not flexible in case you need some enhancements in business processes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive."
"I would advise that you first meet with and scope out your project with a NetSuite VAR (Value Added Reseller)."
"There is an annual license required to use this solution."
"When people buy ERP, it's a competitive situation and the pricing is paramount."
"It's very competitively priced due to it being a subscription model. So, clients are quite happy with the pricing. I would rate it an eight out of ten in terms of pricing."
"The price of the solution is quite high."
"It is completely on a subscription basis. We pay yearly and, and you do not have to do anything on a monthly basis. Prices depend on the organization's scale and all those things, but they are doing a good job with the pricing."
"Regarding costs, it's not just about licensing. Customization recurring costs can become expensive over five to eight years, especially with new releases. However, NetSuite ERP integrates well with third-party applications, so it can still be used for finance while another ERP is used for localized production."
"The price of the solution could be better. They have to come up with a new strategy."
"I rate the price of SAP Business ByDesign a seven out of ten."
"The price of SAP Business ByDesign is less expensive than SAP S/4HANA. However, the price is on par with other similar competitors, such as Microsoft."
"The tool’s pricing is expensive."
"Everything is included in the licensing cost of the solution. However, they use a per-user model for additional charges."
"We have to pay yearly."
"The cost starts anywhere between fifty thousand dollars and up depending on the number of licenses."
"The tool’s subscription is yearly. There is no flat pricing involved and everything has a range. Pricing depends on the functionality that you would use. You need to also pay for the additional hosting and maintenance costs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
6%
Computer Software Company
23%
Healthcare Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about NetSuite ERP?
The inventory feature in NetSuite ERP is very valuable to me because it provides clear estimates about the depreciation of details and includes useful mobile modules.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetSuite ERP?
If you buy it through Europe or North America, it is quite expensive. However, if you can buy it from developing markets according to NetSuite, you can get significant discounts, up to 70%.
What needs improvement with NetSuite ERP?
Reports are good but not perfect. The custom reports could be improved. The initial setup process for reports can be a bit complicated and may require more user-friendly options. My previous compan...
What do you like most about SAP Business ByDesign?
The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Business ByDesign?
The price is high, as every year SAP increases the price by 3.5%.
What needs improvement with SAP Business ByDesign?
We received a few complaints about the slowness in SAP Business ByDesign last year, so I think SAP can focus on improving performance, particularly when it becomes slow during data saving and handl...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

2Pure, Accuvant, Actian, Adtegrity, Advantage Sign Supply, All-Safe Pool Safety Products, Alton Lane, AMC Liquidators
Standard Bank of South Africa, AOK Bundesverband, PT XL Axiata Tbk, Tvoy Dom, Schaidt Innovations GmbH & Co. KG, DeLaval International AB, EMC Corporation, Lenovo, Castle Importing Inc., Unilever, Rifle Paper Co., RAK Ceramics, Rough Country, B&G Manufacturing, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town
Find out what your peers are saying about NetSuite ERP vs. SAP Business ByDesign and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.