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Elasticsearch vs Salesforce

Elasticsearch logo

Elasticsearch

All industries

The heart of the Elastic Stack for search and analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Salesforce logo

Salesforce

All industries

World's #1 CRM

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Elasticsearch has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Elasticsearch eventual consistency model with 1-second default refresh interval, not suitable for real-time transactional requirements; Salesforce sales Cloud tiers as captured 2 January 2024: Starter Suite $25/user/month, Professional $80/user/month, Enterprise $165/user/month, all USD billed annually
  • They diverge on capability: Elasticsearch covers Full-text Search, Salesforce covers Contact management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elasticsearch and Salesforce actually diverge.

Attributes where Elasticsearch and Salesforce differ
AttributeElasticsearchSalesforce
Starting priceFree$25/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, Docker, KubernetesWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryUnknownAll industries
Founded20101999

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Elasticsearch

  • Full-text Search
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Distributed Architecture
  • RESTful API
  • Schema-free JSON
  • Aggregations
  • Machine Learning
  • Kibana

Only in Salesforce

  • Contact management
  • Opportunity management
  • Lead management
  • Reports & dashboards
  • Email integration
  • Workflow automation
  • Mobile access
  • AppExchange

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Elasticsearch

  • Real-time applicationsnot Salesforce
  • Content managementnot Salesforce
  • User profilesnot Salesforce
  • Mobile backendsnot Salesforce
  • Cachingnot Salesforce

Salesforce

  • Sales managementnot Elasticsearch
  • Customer servicenot Elasticsearch
  • Marketing automationnot Elasticsearch
  • Lead generationnot Elasticsearch
  • Analytics & reportingnot Elasticsearch

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Elasticsearch

  • Eventual consistency model with 1-second default refresh interval, not suitable for real-time transactional requirements
  • No support for ACID transactions or rollbacks; updates delete and re-insert documents
  • JVM-dependent architecture requires careful memory management and monitoring to prevent garbage collection issues at scale

Salesforce

  • Sales Cloud tiers as captured 2 January 2024: Starter Suite $25/user/month, Professional $80/user/month, Enterprise $165/user/month, all USD billed annually

Pricing, plan by plan

Elasticsearch

Free
  • Self-ManagedFree
    • Open source
    • Self-hosted
  • Elasticsearch Cloud$16.4/month
    • Managed service
    • 14-day free trial

Salesforce

$25/month
  • Essentials$25/month
    • Account & contact management
    • Opportunity tracking
    • Lead management
  • Professional$80/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Complete CRM
    • Lead scoring
  • Enterprise$165/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Workflow automation
    • Advanced analytics
  • Unlimited$330/month
    • Everything in Enterprise
    • Unlimited customizations
    • 24/7 support

Which should you pick?

Choose Elasticsearch if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want real-time analytics.
Elasticsearch review

Choose Salesforce if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want opportunity management.
Salesforce review

Questions people ask

Is Elasticsearch or Salesforce better?
Neither clearly leads. Elasticsearch starts at Free and Salesforce at $25/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elasticsearch or Salesforce?
Elasticsearch has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Elasticsearch and $25/month for Salesforce.
Does Elasticsearch or Salesforce run on more platforms?
Elasticsearch runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes. Salesforce runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use Elasticsearch for free?
Yes. Elasticsearch has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Salesforce starts at $25/month.
What is Elasticsearch best used for?
Elasticsearch is most often used for real-time applications, content management, user profiles, mobile backends. Of those, real-time applications and content management are not what Salesforce is typically brought in for.
What can Elasticsearch do that Salesforce cannot?
Elasticsearch covers Full-text Search, Real-time Analytics, Distributed Architecture, RESTful API. Salesforce covers Contact management, Opportunity management, Lead management, Reports & dashboards.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Elasticsearch: Is Elasticsearch free?

Yes, Elasticsearch can be deployed as free and open-source software for self-managed installations. Elastic Cloud managed service starts at $16.40 per month, with a free 14-day trial available.

Source
Elasticsearch: Can I use Elasticsearch without Kibana?

Yes, Elasticsearch is a search engine independent of Kibana. Kibana is a visualization and analytics tool that works with Elasticsearch but is optional. You can use the Elasticsearch API directly for searching.

Source
Elasticsearch: Does Elasticsearch support real-time indexing?

Elasticsearch indexes data with a refresh interval, typically 1 second. Data becomes searchable after the refresh cycle, making it near-real-time but not instantaneous. This can be configured but impacts performance.

Source
Elasticsearch: What are Elasticsearch's scaling limitations?

Elasticsearch requires careful operational management at scale, including shard balancing, heap sizing, and monitoring. Large clusters can suffer from garbage collection issues and become expensive to operate.

Source
Elasticsearch: Does Elasticsearch support transactions and rollbacks?

No, Elasticsearch does not support ACID transactions or rollbacks. Updates are expensive operations that delete and re-insert documents, making it unsuitable for transactional workloads.

Source
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