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Sage CRM vs Salesforce Essentials comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.0
Sage CRM offers high ROI with excellent accessibility and reporting, but some find its licensing costly compared to cheaper alternatives.
Sentiment score
8.0
Salesforce Essentials offers good ROI with easy implementation, accelerating sales and benefits realized in about three years.
The ROI was always in a positive direction.
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Sage CRM customer service is effective, with highly-rated support and helpful resources, though response times can vary.
Sentiment score
6.3
Salesforce Essentials offers responsive service with minimal issues; users praise its reliability and effective customer support.
Their service and uptime is phenomenal.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
Salesforce Essentials has excellent customer service.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
I would evaluate their support and customer service with Salesforce Essentials as pretty decent, diligent, and to the point.
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Sage CRM is scalable, contingent on team configuration, supporting 80 to 105 users with high user scalability ratings.
Sentiment score
6.9
Salesforce Essentials is highly scalable, supporting diverse teams from small to large, and is praised for easy user addition.
It is one of the most scalable systems available.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Sage CRM is highly praised for its reliability and stability, with long-term users consistently rating it eight to nine out of ten.
Sentiment score
7.6
Salesforce Essentials is highly stable and available, with few bugs or downtimes, though occasional automation delays occur.
Salesforce Essentials has proven stable, with no downtime that affects my work.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Sage CRM requires interface enhancements, faster support, better reporting, improved integrations, and updated features for modernization and efficiency.
Salesforce Essentials struggles with integration, UI, and pricing, needing improvements in analytics, mobile interface, and automation features.
Instead of requiring users to think about system navigation and clicking procedures, they can simply follow a workflow that guides them through the process.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables.
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
There are other competitors, like Zoho CRM, that offer similar features at a lower cost.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Sage CRM is seen as cost-effective for enterprises but can be expensive, especially in Africa, with annual licensing fees.
Salesforce Essentials licensing is costly but valued for flexibility and add-ons, with some finding additional professional expenses burdensome.
The cost of running Salesforce Essentials is significant.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
The costs associated with Salesforce Essentials are substantial, which is a drawback compared to competitors who offer similar services for less.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Sage CRM excels in customization, integration, and functionality, offering robust management, reporting, and scalability for enhanced customer and employee tracking.
Salesforce Essentials offers robust features and user-friendly design but may be costly for some businesses.
Their reporting and analytics features have a very significant impact on my company's operational efficiency.
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Salesforce Essentials is excellent because it is one of the most flexible CRMs available.
Senior Learning Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
It is very customizable to specific needs.
Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG
 

Categories and Ranking

Sage CRM
Ranking in CRM
30th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Salesforce Essentials
Ranking in CRM
25th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Sage CRM is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Salesforce Essentials0.6%
Sage CRM0.7%
Other98.7%
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

VK
Deputy Manager - IT at Nidec Corporation
Useful to access data anytime and helpful in generating reports quickly
Speaking about the product's ability to improve sales processes, I would say that even though the tool offers project management capabilities along with ERP functionalities, my company doesn't use it for project management or HR-related areas. My company majorly uses the tool for finance, logistics, and inventory control. I haven't had the need for my company to not integrate the tool with other products. Though my company uses the product separately, we can export Sage CRM into Excel, after which the data can be integrated with other software products. Though the tool can be integrated with other products, my company doesn't do it because Sage CRM is enough for us. The analytical reporting part of the business product is good. The analytical reporting part of the product is used for financial years, along with the profit and loss reports and inventory reports. For the sales part in our company, we use the analytical reports generated by the product to help the sales people in a region-wise, sales-wise and product-wise manner. In my company, one of the teams will be changing from Sage CRM to Microsoft Dynamics. I recommend the product to others who plan to use it, especially since it is a tool suitable for medium-sized companies and not for enterprise-sized businesses. Medium-sized companies can use the product since it is an economical and reliable tool. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.
SB
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Creates efficient integrations and boosts operational efficiency through comprehensive dashboards
I have experience with products such as Acronis and Huntress, though Salesforce Essentials serves a different purpose. I have had experience with Huntress for the last few months as we are an MSSP and offer Huntress to our clients. I have used Odoo and HubSpot recently, though not extensively. The main differences between Salesforce Essentials and HubSpot or Odoo is the market presence. It is comparable to the Windows versus Linux situation because both have a huge presence. They have deeper pockets so they can spend money on collecting insights and developing features. Integration and good partnerships with major companies make Salesforce Essentials better than the others.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
21%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Construction Company
24%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Sage CRM?
The product could be improved by modernizing the charts and analytics. Additionally, the export features and interactivity of the charts need enhancement.
What is your primary use case for Sage CRM?
We use the product for managing leads and cases. It helps us track cases through customizable workflows and efficiently handle lead tracking.
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?
The mobile access can be improved in several ways. Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables. This is not v...
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Essentials?
I have experience with Salesforce Essentials' Tableau and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, but not extensively. I was more focused on their CRM platform, specifically the core CRM and sales basics. My e...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Avis, Fuji Xerox, Formula 1
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Sage CRM vs. Salesforce Essentials and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.