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Salesforce Essentials vs SuiteCRM 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

Salesforce Essentials
Ranking in CRM
16th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SuiteCRM
Ranking in CRM
43rd
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SuiteCRM is 0.5%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Salesforce Essentials0.6%
SuiteCRM0.5%
Other98.9%
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

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.
JV
Owner at CPSTECH
Provides valuable reporting tools, but the user interfaces could be simplified
I use the platform mainly for lead management, opportunities, marketing automation, sales flow, and reporting The product's most valuable feature is the ease of obtaining information to make decisions. The platform's user interfaces could be simplified.  I have been using SuiteCRM for five…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"High availability is really important for us when getting our reports as a vendor."
"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."
"Salesforce Essentials is a reliable and powerful application."
"The product is stable."
"Salesforce makes tracking every product and customer activity easy, enabling managers to monitor their products, such as key products and their peak performance."
"The solution helps to track the performance of salespersons before closing deals."
"The combination of product and service are exceptional."
"Their reporting and analytics features have a very significant impact on my company's operational efficiency."
"The product's most valuable feature is the ease of obtaining information to make decisions."
 

Cons

"Salesforce should encourage new users by offering smaller license packages, such as packages for three or two users."
"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."
"The product's reporting area has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."
"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."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"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."
"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."
"Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables. This is not very user-friendly for mobile."
"The platform's user interfaces could be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The pricing is a bit on the expensive side."
"I rate Salesforce Essentials' pricing an eight out of ten."
"We chose quarterly payments."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"It's a perpetual license, and the subscription can be expensive."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"The pricing is on the higher side, especially with additional costs for professional services like consultants."
"The product's initial price is quite low, around $100 for a fixed deployment."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Retailer
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SuiteCRM?
The product's initial price is quite low, around $100 for a fixed deployment. For ongoing support, there is an additional $50 charge per instance.
What needs improvement with SuiteCRM?
The platform's user interfaces could be simplified.
What is your primary use case for SuiteCRM?
I use the platform mainly for lead management, opportunities, marketing automation, sales flow, and reporting.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Salesforce, Zoho and others in CRM. Updated: May 2026.
896,034 professionals have used our research since 2012.