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CRM · head to head

Salesforce vs SuiteCRM

Salesforce logo

Salesforce

CRM

World's #1 CRM

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SuiteCRM logo

SuiteCRM

CRM

Open source fork of SugarCRM with no per user licence fee, sold as hosting and support

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SuiteCRM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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; SuiteCRM the interface still carries SugarCRM conventions from over a decade ago, and sales teams used to modern CRMs frequently resist adoption, which is the most common reason SuiteCRM projects fail rather than any technical limit.
  • They diverge on capability: Salesforce covers Contact management, SuiteCRM covers Studio module builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Salesforce and SuiteCRM actually diverge.

Attributes where Salesforce and SuiteCRM differ
AttributeSalesforceSuiteCRM
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, iOS, Android
Founded1999Unknown

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

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 Salesforce

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

Only in SuiteCRM

  • Studio module builder
  • Workflow engine
  • Opportunity and quote management
  • Case management
  • Campaign module
  • Reporting engine
  • Security groups
  • REST API

What people use each for

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

Salesforce

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

SuiteCRM

  • An organisation with two hundred occasional CRM users where per seat pricing from Salesforce or HubSpot would dominate the budgetnot Salesforce
  • A public sector body or regulated firm that must host customer data on infrastructure it controlsnot Salesforce
  • A company that needs custom modules modelling its own objects and wants to build them in Studio rather than pay for platform licencesnot Salesforce
  • A business that wants open source economics but whose procurement requires a warranty, which SuiteASSURED suppliesnot Salesforce

Where each one falls short

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

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

SuiteCRM

  • The interface still carries SugarCRM conventions from over a decade ago, and sales teams used to modern CRMs frequently resist adoption, which is the most common reason SuiteCRM projects fail rather than any technical limit.
  • Zero licence fee does not mean zero cost: hosting, ten hours of annual support and a quick start implementation together run into thousands of pounds before anyone has configured a pipeline.
  • The integration marketplace is small compared with Salesforce or HubSpot, so common connections to marketing, telephony and finance tools are often paid third party add-ons or custom builds.
  • Upgrades between major versions can break customisations made outside Studio, so heavily customised instances tend to lag behind current releases and accumulate security debt.
  • Native email marketing and campaign functionality is basic next to a dedicated tool, so most deployments end up paying for a separate marketing platform and syncing it, undoing part of the cost saving.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

SuiteCRM

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • GPL licensed with no per user fee at any user count
    • All core CRM modules included
    • You provide hosting, upgrades and support
  • Managed hosting$50/month
    • Hosting, security patching, updates and monitoring
    • Still no per user licence fee
    • Support purchased separately
  • Standard support$1200/year
    • Ten support hours per year
    • Discount available when bought with managed hosting
    • Does not include implementation work
  • SuiteASSURED$3350/year
    • Warranty and legal indemnification over the open source code
    • Priority support and security assurances
    • Aimed at organisations whose procurement rules block unwarranted open source

Which should you pick?

Choose Salesforce if

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

Choose SuiteCRM if

  • You need studio module builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, iOS, Android.
  • You also want workflow engine.
SuiteCRM review

Questions people ask

Is Salesforce or SuiteCRM better?
Neither clearly leads. Salesforce starts at $25/month and SuiteCRM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Salesforce or SuiteCRM?
SuiteCRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Salesforce and Free for SuiteCRM.
Does Salesforce or SuiteCRM run on more platforms?
Salesforce runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. SuiteCRM runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, iOS, Android.
Can I use SuiteCRM for free?
Yes. SuiteCRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Salesforce starts at $25/month.
What is Salesforce best used for?
Salesforce is most often used for sales management, customer service, marketing automation, lead generation. Of those, sales management and customer service are not what SuiteCRM is typically brought in for.
What can Salesforce do that SuiteCRM cannot?
Salesforce covers Contact management, Opportunity management, Lead management, Reports & dashboards. SuiteCRM covers Studio module builder, Workflow engine, Opportunity and quote management, Case management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SuiteCRM: Is SuiteCRM really free?

The software is, at any user count. SalesAgility charges for managed hosting from about 50 GBP per month, support from about 1,200 GBP per year and SuiteASSURED from about 3,350 GBP per year.

SuiteCRM: How does it relate to SugarCRM?

It is a fork of SugarCRM Community Edition, created after SugarCRM discontinued its open source release.

SuiteCRM: Are there per user fees?

No. This is the central commercial argument for it, particularly for organisations with many occasional users.

SuiteCRM: What is SuiteASSURED?

A paid subscription that adds warranty, indemnification and legal protections on top of the open source licence, for buyers whose procurement rules block unwarranted software.

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