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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
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
ERP (10th), Activity Based Costing Software (6th), Billing Software (4th)
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 2026, in the Cloud ERP category, the mindshare of NetSuite ERP is 20.6%, up from 15.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Business ByDesign is 3.6%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud ERP Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetSuite ERP20.6%
SAP Business ByDesign3.6%
Other75.8%
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

SM
Sr Analyst at Freelance
Integration tools streamline financial operations and enhance data management
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. In Workato, NetSuite ERP provides options for new employee records, invoice reports, and batch files processing. The batch processing capability allows handling up to 10,000 records simultaneously, which reduces tasks and processing time significantly. Regarding scalability, NetSuite ERP offers excellent options and reduces manual interventions through automation. In the past three months, I have observed improvements in their options and data storage capabilities, showing enhanced scalability compared to previous versions.
MS
Divisional Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Valuable features enhance sales and service capabilities while performance improvements are needed
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 handling. My feedback about the modular architecture and customized features of SAP Business ByDesign is that it is only good, but we have not explored much on this one. The initial setup for SAP Business ByDesign was complex. One disadvantage was that we had the legacy system, SAP Business One, and we could not migrate our data to SAP Business ByDesign. They should have provided a migration path.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"NetSuite is a better value than some competing solutions. The fee structure is simpler, and other ERP solutions don't offer as many options for configuration."
"A single suite of applications (like NetSuite) is a far better solution than running multiple systems."
"We leverage the core platform but are able to add additional functionality for ease of use, tailored processes, and industry related reporting."
"It is a cloud-based ERP tool with minimal downtime and it can be accessed from anywhere in the world."
"The initial setup is easy."
"I really like the CRM module of NetSuite that gives a 360-degree customer view."
"The user interface is very good."
"No valuable quote could be determined from the review content."
"The most valuable feature is the feature called Financial Closing Cockpit. This feature allows us to monitor our accounting and processing closely."
"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 find the tool’s every feature valuable."
"The stability has been great, and compared to other products that I have used before, they have been doing really well with stability."
"I have found the consolidation of the business and group reports very useful, there are plenty of features, and the manufacturing and finance aspect of the solution are strong."
"SAP Business ByDesign is connected to our S/4 HANA system, and we have developed some APIs which help us integrate the system with S/4 HANA."
"The most valuable features of Business ByDesign are the integration of its modules, analytics, and dashboards."
"I like its modern approach. It is very modern and new technology."
 

Cons

"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."
"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 solution could be more stable."
"The manufacturing and planning side could be improved. That part isn't up to date. NetSuite could be easier to integrate in general."
"The pricing is high."
"Improvement-wise, it should be more customizable. Currently, you can't enhance the product yourself in terms of development for any applications unless you've got a very strong and big development team. Those are the skills that are in very short supply."
"The solution's initial setup process was complex."
"NetSuite is good for data management, but it's missing payroll features."
"Scalability can be an issue. That is why SAP Business ByDesign needs to be more customizable and more flexible."
"ByDesign could be improved by making screen modifications easier."
"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."
"The Purchase to Pay process could benefit from further sophistication and additional functionality. It would be helpful for the user community to receive clearer information about the future roadmap of the business. Unfortunately, there were some confusing articles in the German press towards the end of last year about the future of SAP Business ByDesign. Therefore, more clarity is needed in the support function to address this."
"There might be some hurdles when integrating with SAP ECC, but integration with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is smooth."
"The database needs to be more customizable."
"The solution does not support customization for forms and reports. It's not flexible in case you need some enhancements in business processes."
"The payroll module of the solution could improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"NetSuite ERP has a cost per module you want to use, and then you have the license per user."
"It is expensive."
"Pricing for NetSuite ERP is okay, but it could be better. The licensing model for NetSuite ERP is based on the number of modules and users. The standard license covers up to twenty-five users. If you have more than twenty-five users, you'll have to buy the premium license, which would double the price. For one module with five user licenses, the cost is between $40,000 to $50,000."
"There is an annual license required to use this solution."
"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 is less than the cost of daily hours."
"When people buy ERP, it's a competitive situation and the pricing is paramount."
"I would advise that you first meet with and scope out your project with a NetSuite VAR (Value Added Reseller)."
"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."
"Everything is included in the licensing cost of the solution. However, they use a per-user model for additional charges."
"The tool’s pricing is expensive."
"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."
"We have to pay yearly."
"The cost starts anywhere between fifty thousand dollars and up depending on the number of licenses."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetSuite ERP?
The initial cost for NetSuite ERP depends on the business size. My IT managers say that some of their features are quite expensive.
What needs improvement with NetSuite ERP?
Regarding room for improvement, I would single out the user interface. The company needs to spend fifty percent of research and development on improving the user interface. The user interface is qu...
What is your primary use case for NetSuite ERP?
The primary use cases are general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, project management, project accounting, and timesheets. I use NetSuite ERP. I have been working with NetSuite ERP, C...
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...
What is your primary use case for SAP Business ByDesign?
Our use case for SAP Business ByDesign is our dealer team accessing their system to perform sales and service; these two functionalities are done through SAP Business ByDesign. SAP Business ByDesig...
 

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: June 2026.
909,563 professionals have used our research since 2012.