SAP Business ByDesign vs Unit4 Business World comparison

SAP and Unit4 are both solutions in the Cloud ERP category. SAP is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.5, while Unit4 is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.7. SAP holds a 5.3% mindshare in CE, compared to Unit4’s 4.1% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of SAP users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of Unit4 users who would recommend it.

SAP Business ByDesign

Read 16 SAP Business ByDesign reviews

841 Views
513 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Unit4 Business World

Read 6 Unit4 Business World reviews

454 Views
286 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

SAP Business ByDesign

Unit4 Business World

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

SAP Business ByDesign and Unit4 Business World are competing products in the enterprise resource planning space. SAP Business ByDesign seems to have an edge in analytics and integration, while Unit4 Business World offers flexibility and significant modularity, which are valued by its users.

Features: SAP Business ByDesign offers robust analytics, easy integration, and extensive cloud solutions. Its ability to provide real-time data and reporting adds great value. Unit4 Business World stands out for its flexibility, adaptability to various industries, and advanced financial management, making it a versatile choice.

Room for Improvement: SAP Business ByDesign could improve its adaptability across diverse industries, user interface customization, and detailed financial features. Unit4 Business World can enhance its analytics capabilities, speed of deployment, and cloud-based real-time reporting.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP Business ByDesign benefits from a streamlined cloud-based deployment model and offers proactive service support. Unit4 Business World parallels this approach with a modular cloud solution, but is notably adaptable to a broader range of customer needs, supported by attentive service.

Pricing and ROI: SAP Business ByDesign offers competitive upfront pricing with strong ROI through efficient operations and scalability. Unit4 Business World typically requires a higher initial investment but delivers substantial long-term returns thanks to its customized solutions and adaptability, which can justify the pricing.

To learn more, read our detailed SAP Business ByDesign vs. Unit4 Business World Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SAP Business ByDesign vs. Unit4 Business World

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,082 peers since 2012

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

SAP Business ByDesign

Ranking in Cloud ERP

6th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Unit4 Business World

Ranking in Cloud ERP

9th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Cloud ERP category, the mindshare of SAP Business ByDesign is 5.3%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Unit4 Business World is 4.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud ERP Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SAP Business ByDesign	5.3%
Unit4 Business World	4.1%
Other	90.6%

Cloud ERP

Featured Reviews

Manoj Sahoo

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.

Read full review

Ian Moore

Head Of Operations Support Unit For One Corporate System (Ocs) at CGIAR

Integrated finance and HR have supported growth while support and on-premise limits need work

Unit4 ERP7 will not be improved as it is no longer supported by Unit4. The cloud ERP CR and ERP X do have clear roadmaps available to customers. Many of the gaps have been filled by the ERP suite of products. New improvements will include AI agents to automate finance and HR processes.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most helpful feature is the integrations. Integrating the tool with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is easy, facilitating implementation and deployment. The runtime analysis checks for real-time analytics to see if the software works properly. This is a powerful feature."

"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 have found the consolidation of the business and group reports very useful. There is plenty of features and the manufacturing and finance aspect of the solution are strong."

"When comparing SAP Business ByDesign to much larger ERP solutions, such as SAP ECC 6.0 or SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business ByDesign is more user-friendly and easier to implement."

"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."

"When we were using it, we did see an immediate benefit, especially in the inventory on consignment issue. We were a biotech pre-revenue company and most of our manufacturing was outsourced. So being able to track inventory within the system without creating a financial impact was very key for us."

More SAP Business ByDesign pros

"The Unit4 ERP product is very flexible and can be configured to fit most business processes."

"We try not to do customization, but we do configuration, and the configuration is extremely flexible with many options for integrations as well."

"Unit4 Business World's most valuable feature is flexibility. Its dashboards are easy."

"Unit4 Business World is a reliable product."

"The product's self-service capabilities have benefited our organization."

Cons

"ByDesign could be improved by making screen modifications easier."

"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."

"The solution does not support customization for forms and reports. It's not flexible in case you need some enhancements in business processes."

"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."

"There might be some hurdles when integrating with SAP ECC, but integration with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is smooth."

"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."

"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."

"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."

More SAP Business ByDesign cons

"Reporting and analytics features must be improved."

"I would like to see more flexibility in the customization for us to be able to customize it based on the client's requirements."

"I would like to see direct communication support to engage with clients. The parent company should have a direct relationship with clients. Also, the tool's licensing, upgrade, and maintenance costs should be reduced."

"For people on-premise, customer service is not great. During these 12 years, the quality of support has been a significant issue."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Everything is included in the licensing cost of the solution. However, they use a per-user model for additional charges."

"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 pricing depends on company size. It's cheaper for small companies and more expensive for large ones."

"The cost starts anywhere between fifty thousand dollars and up depending on the number of licenses."

"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 price of the solution could be better. They have to come up with a new strategy."

More SAP Business ByDesign pricing and cost advice

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud ERP solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Healthcare Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

University

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Agriculture

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	5

No data available

Questions from the Community

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.

See all answers

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%.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SAP Business ByDesign?

See all answers

What do you like most about Unit4 Business World?

The product's self-service capabilities have benefited our organization.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Unit4 Business World?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Unit4 Business World?

We have been using Unit4 Business World on-premises with 10 different research institutes for Finance, HR, Procurement, and Projects. This Unit4 product is no longer supported by Unit4. It is repla...

See all answers

Comparisons

SAP S/4HANA Cloud vs SAP Business ByDesign

Compared 33% of the time

SAP S/4HANA vs SAP Business ByDesign

Compared 15% of the time

SAP Business One vs SAP Business ByDesign

Compared 14% of the time

Infor LX vs SAP Business ByDesign

Compared 11% of the time

Sage Business Cloud Enterprise Management vs SAP Business ByDesign

Compared 9% of the time

More SAP Business ByDesign Competitors

SAP ERP vs Unit4 Business World

Compared 44% of the time

Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP vs Unit4 Business World

Compared 27% of the time

Sage Intacct vs Unit4 Business World

Compared 16% of the time

NetSuite ERP vs Unit4 Business World

Compared 13% of the time

More Unit4 Business World Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SAP Business ByDesign

January 2026

Download SAP Business ByDesign product report

Buyer's Guide

Cloud ERP

January 2026

Download Unit4 Business World product report

Also Known As

No data available

Agresso ERP

Overview

SAP Business ByDesign is a cloud-based business management software that supports everything from finance to CRM – and is available anytime, anywhere, on almost any device. It helps medium-sized businesses seize new opportunities and accelerate growth – and it helps subsidiaries take advantage of head office resources, while keeping their flexibility.

Streamline end-to-end processes and maximize efficiency across your organization
Gain timely business insights with integrated analytics and reporting powered by SAP HANA
Manage your business from anywhere, at any time, with built-in mobile apps
Rely on highly secure data centers that are managed, monitored, and maintained by SAP experts

SAP

Unit4 Business World is a cloud ERP solution that enables service-centric organizations in the public and private sectors to gain a significant advantage over their peers. Its leading-edge architecture facilitates faster innovation at a lower cost and with less disruption. The result is more opportunity and smarter operations.

Unit4

Sample Customers

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

Media Prima Berhad, IKEA, Cranfield University, The Salvation Army, Avis Europe plc, Nando's

Buyer's Guide

SAP Business ByDesign vs. Unit4 Business World

December 2025

Free Report: SAP Business ByDesign vs. Unit4 Business World

Find out what your peers are saying about SAP Business ByDesign vs. Unit4 Business World and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our SAP Business ByDesign vs. Unit4 Business World report.

See our list of best Cloud ERP vendors.

We monitor all Cloud ERP reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.