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Business Intelligence · head to head

SAP BusinessObjects vs Synthesio

SAP BusinessObjects logo

SAP BusinessObjects

Business Intelligence

Enterprise business intelligence suite

From
$400/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Synthesio logo

Synthesio

Social Media

Enterprise social intelligence platform owned by Ipsos, with market research methodology behind it

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: SAP BusinessObjects sAP BusinessObjects Private Cloud Edition is listed on UK G-Cloud 14 as a Cloud software service by SAP (UK) Limited titled 'SAP Business Objects Private Cloud Edition', alongside a reseller listing from NTT DATA Business Solutions; the G-Cloud search results describe it as subscription-based but show no per-user or per-month figure in the listing summary; Synthesio there is no published pricing, no free trial and no self-serve signup, so evaluating Synthesio requires a sales process before you can see whether the data quality suits your category.
  • They diverge on capability: SAP BusinessObjects covers Crystal Reports, Synthesio covers Global social listening.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SAP BusinessObjects and Synthesio actually diverge.

Attributes where SAP BusinessObjects and Synthesio differ
AttributeSAP BusinessObjectsSynthesio
Starting price$400/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, MobileWeb, API
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceSocial Media
Founded1972Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 SAP BusinessObjects

  • Crystal Reports
  • Web Intelligence
  • Lumira
  • Analysis for Office
  • Live Office
  • SAP HANA
  • SAP ERP
  • Oracle

Only in Synthesio

  • Global social listening
  • Signals
  • Audience analysis
  • Ecommerce listening
  • Search intelligence
  • Reputation and crisis monitoring
  • Competitive benchmarking
  • ML classification

What people use each for

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

SAP BusinessObjects

  • Enterprise reportingnot Synthesio
  • Executive dashboardsnot Synthesio
  • Regulatory compliancenot Synthesio
  • Strategic planningnot Synthesio
  • Operational analyticsnot Synthesio

Synthesio

  • A global consumer goods brand that wants social listening and commissioned survey research from the same supplier with aligned methodologynot SAP BusinessObjects
  • An insights team tracking product review sentiment across thousands of ecommerce listings in multiple marketsnot SAP BusinessObjects
  • A brand entering a new market that needs audience profiling of who already discusses the category therenot SAP BusinessObjects
  • A corporate communications function that needs crisis detection across languages it has no in-house analysts fornot SAP BusinessObjects

Where each one falls short

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

SAP BusinessObjects

  • SAP BusinessObjects Private Cloud Edition is listed on UK G-Cloud 14 as a Cloud software service by SAP (UK) Limited titled 'SAP Business Objects Private Cloud Edition', alongside a reseller listing from NTT DATA Business Solutions; the G-Cloud search results describe it as subscription-based but show no per-user or per-month figure in the listing summary

Synthesio

  • There is no published pricing, no free trial and no self-serve signup, so evaluating Synthesio requires a sales process before you can see whether the data quality suits your category.
  • Cost is repeatedly cited by reviewers as high relative to peers, and because Ipsos analyst services are priced separately from the platform licence, the quoted software figure is frequently not the figure you end up spending.
  • The interface is dated compared with newer listening tools and the learning curve is steep, which in practice means the platform gets used by one or two trained analysts rather than adopted across a marketing team.
  • Some of the newer AI-driven features have been described by users as glitchy or over-promised relative to the sales demonstration, so insist on testing Signals against your own historical data during evaluation.
  • Historical data access is limited and governed by contract scope rather than being unlimited, so retrospective analysis across several years frequently requires a separately priced data request.

Pricing, plan by plan

SAP BusinessObjects

$400/month
  • Standard$400/month
    • Core BI Tools
    • Web Intelligence
    • Crystal Reports
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full Suite
    • Advanced Features
    • Premium Support

Synthesio

On request
  • Synthesio$undefined/year
    • Global social listening across 181 languages
    • Signals generative AI theme detection
    • Audience and ecommerce analysis

Which should you pick?

Choose SAP BusinessObjects if

  • You need crystal reports.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want web intelligence.
SAP BusinessObjects review

Choose Synthesio if

  • You need global social listening.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want signals.
Synthesio review

Questions people ask

Is SAP BusinessObjects or Synthesio better?
Neither clearly leads. SAP BusinessObjects starts at $400/month and Synthesio at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SAP BusinessObjects or Synthesio?
SAP BusinessObjects starts at $400/month and Synthesio at On request.
Does SAP BusinessObjects or Synthesio run on more platforms?
SAP BusinessObjects runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile. Synthesio runs on Web, API.
What is SAP BusinessObjects best used for?
SAP BusinessObjects is most often used for enterprise reporting, executive dashboards, regulatory compliance, strategic planning. Of those, enterprise reporting and executive dashboards are not what Synthesio is typically brought in for.
What can SAP BusinessObjects do that Synthesio cannot?
SAP BusinessObjects covers Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, Lumira, Analysis for Office. Synthesio covers Global social listening, Signals, Audience analysis, Ecommerce listening.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Synthesio: Who owns Synthesio?

Ipsos, the market research group, acquired it in October 2018 for a reported 50 million USD or more, and it is marketed as an Ipsos company.

Synthesio: Can I try it before buying?

No. There is no free trial or self-serve signup; evaluation runs through a sales-led demonstration process.

Synthesio: What is the practical advantage over Brandwatch?

The ability to buy platform licence and Ipsos analyst services from one supplier, with methodology consistent with survey research you may already commission from the same group.

Synthesio: How many languages does it cover?

Synthesio reports coverage across 181 languages and 25 markets, which is among the broadest in the category.

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