SugarCRM vs Salesforce vs Pipedrive: The complete guide

Comparison

Updated at: Jul 26, 2024

10 min to read

BotPenguin AI Chatbot maker

Are you searching for an e-commerce CRM platform for your website?

Nowadays, having a dedicated website for your business is essential. So, you need an exceptional platform for CRM that caters to your needs. 

You must have come across these platforms: SugarCRM, Salesforce, and Pipedrive. These platforms have options from e-commerce sales, blogging, online booking, event tickets, chatbot, and live chat.

All three are excellent platforms for a CRM. 

SugarCRM is a good match for newcomers and experienced users. Meanwhile, Salesforce is popularly known for its easy customization and ease to use. Pipedrive is one of the oldest and most trusted website builders for any size company.

Choosing one of the top three CRM platforms might be difficult. This blog is a detailed comparison of SugarCRM, Salesforce, and Pipedrive. 

SugarCRM

SugarCRM is a cloud-based solution for addressing demands for account administration, customer relationship management, sales automation, and marketing automation. Customizable home pages, a tool for novice users called a "wizard," shortcut bars, enhanced-view global search capabilities, and downloadable plug-ins are just a few features that SugarCRM offers. The foundation for SugarCRM is open-source software. It gives flexibility in modifying the solution to meet the demands of various businesses. 

Additionally, SugarCRM can accept the additional modules users can add using the integrated tools and interface with various third-party systems. Running on either a Windows or Mac operating system, the program supports Windows, Linux, MySQL, SQL Server, and Oracle systems.

Salesforce

In almost every business, Salesforce, a market leader in CRM software, may be utilized to meet various demands for sales automation. Large or expanding organizations that want a highly configurable solution should use it. Since its founding more than 20 years ago, Salesforce has established a solid reputation and several industry-leading connectors.

Many companies have used Salesforce CRM at some time in their history, many of which leave and then return. We'll review the software's strongest attributes in this review and any possible cons that can discourage you from utilizing it with your sales staff.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a deal-driven CRM tool that could be useful for marketing and the entire sales process. It serves as an instrument for managing accounts as well. Calls and emails are automatically tracked, and their schedules are synced between devices because Pipedrive is proactive. For most small to mid-sized businesses, Pipedrive's ability to visualize the entire sales process may be very enticing (SMBs). It might boost output and lessen team skepticism, which is the main reason for CRM installation failure.

Sales staff members have complete insight into all sales pipelines thanks to Pipedrive. A reliable interface shows the various phases of each deal's progress together with all the information needed to take the necessary next steps. 

SugarCRM vs. Salesforce vs. Pipedrive: The complete comparative guide.

Ease of use

SugarCRM 

SugarCRM is straightforward to use, despite not being the nicest CRM available. The top toolbar offers shortcuts for commonly used functions so that users can quickly access them. Users may quickly browse Home, Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Knowledgebase, Leads, Reports, and more by clicking on the tabs below.

However, many users feel that SugarCRM might be too feature-rich and intimidating. Fully understanding SugarCRM could take some time. It wouldn't be worthwhile to spend time comprehending it if you are a small business owner without prior IT skills.

It's not difficult to find information in SugarCRM documents, but it truly comes down to time and resources for most business owners. Additionally, you can struggle with SugarCRM if you've never installed software before.

You won't have many issues with SugarCRM if you have an internal tech team or even just one person who can manage the deployment and training.

Salesforce

The Salesforce CRM maintains a contemporary aesthetic while eschewing the fashionable and keeping its navigation straightforward. There is no need for an explanation for categories like "Home," "Contacts," "Accounts," "Leads," "Tasks," "Reports," and "Opportunities" because the upper tab-style structure is typical for commercial and personal applications.

The initial setup of this CRM may take more time and knowledge than other choices we analyzed due to the exceptionally high amount of features and customizations offered. However, organizations may utilize the CRM right out of the box and progressively adjust contact, opportunity, account, task, and workflow as they gradually discover its entire extent over time, thanks to Salesforce's much sample data and clever default configuration choices. 

Salesforce provides support resources, webinars, manuals, and its international Trailblazer community access to streamline the adoption process and address any usability issues. For an extra cost, upper-tier plans allow business owners access to live support, coaching sessions, and adoption help in addition to the vendor's promised two-day question response time.   

Pipedrive

An ideal choice for deploying CRM software is Pipedrive. The program is quite easy to set up, it will let you outline your procedures, and its breadth of functionality makes it a long-term ally.

The program is fantastic for managing your sales funnel, allowing you to move deals between stages, make notes, schedule appointments, send emails, etc. In comparison to other alternatives, the UI is relatively simple to use.

The tool's implementation is based on two types of objects: contacts and deals. For individuals accustomed to more complicated solutions, this makes it simple to set up reliable reporting, small amounts of automation, and above important reliable business processes with surprising ease (Salesforce in particular)

Pricing plans

SugarCRM 

  1. Sugar Professional: starts at $52/ user/ month
  2. Sugar Enterprise: starts at $85/ user/ month
  3. Sugar Serve: starts at $80/ user/ month
  4. Sugar Sell: starts at $80/ user/ month
  5. Sugar Market: starts at $1,000/ month for 10,000 contacts

Salesforce

  1. SalesforceIQ CRM Starter – $25/user/month/billed annually
  2. Lightning Professional – $75/user/month/billed annually
  3. Lightning Enterprise – $150user/month/billed annually
  4. Lightning Unlimited – $300/user/month/billed annually

 Pipedrive

  1. Essential: $12.50 per user/month (annual) or $15 per user/month 
  2. Advanced: $24.90 per user/month (annual) or $29 per user/month 
  3. Professional: $49.90 per user/month (annual) or $59.90 per user/month 
  4. Enterprise: $99 per user/month (annual) or $119 per user/month 

Security

SugarCRM 

Sugar has a comprehensive and systematic strategy to protect consumer data regarding data privacy and cybersecurity. The platform offers the solution's on-site, hosted, or hybrid deployment. It seeks to adhere to various security and legal standards for its clients.

Strong physical security measures, such as 24/7 controlled access with motion sensors, security breach alerts, and video monitoring, are used to safeguard Sugar's data centers. The security architecture consists of layers of sophisticated user authentication, firewalled networks, and strong encryption.

Salesforce

A set of three security solutions called Salesforce Shield enables you to add extra layers of compliance, governance, and trust straight into your mission-critical apps. It features Field Audit Trail, Event Monitoring, and Shield Platform Encryption.

There are five different forms of record-level security: org-wide defaults, sharing based on role hierarchy, sharing rules, manual sharing, and Apex-based sharing.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive has solid infrastructure security to secure user data, and its community appears to be in good shape. All data is encrypted through secure HTTPS connections, and Amazon Web Services perform regular backups. In addition to adhering to SOC 2, SOC 3, the US-EU Privacy Shield, and ISO/IEC 27001:2013, Pipedrive conforms with GDPR.

Integrations

SugarCRM 

There are several third-party connectors for SugarCRM, thanks to its open API. There isn't much you can't accomplish with this platform, from interfaces with legacy systems to contact center and e-commerce features.

Your team won't be in the dark because of the in-depth guidelines on adding extensions and synchronizing with other systems. The system is also compatible with PHP and JAVA.

Salesforce

Salesforce's software is incredibly scalable, making it a fantastic option for businesses that are growing quickly. CRM customers may create customized systems and include their preferred business apps through the Salesforce AppExchange marketplace. Similar web shops for add-ons are available from the other CRM software providers we evaluated, but Salesforce is much more extensive and offers hundreds of connectors. 

The business also makes it simple to examine product bundles tailored to particular industries and search for add-ons depending on the product name. Due to Salesforce's size, the selection of add-ons for many industries is broad, and a special area is dedicated to add-ons for small businesses, many of which are free.

Pipedrive

Several native integrations with most of the newsletter, lead-generating programs, and Integromat & Zapier. Their open API, which is very simple to use, also demonstrates how easily information is organized and set up. Although most leaders are covered, the application is short in connecting third-party systems. Thus, you'll probably have to use Zapier or Integromat relatively soon.

Customer support

SugarCRM 

Depending on the package they've chosen, SugarCRM users receive varying levels of customer assistance. Most users are advised to use the Documentation, Knowledge Base, Sugar University, and Community sections on the Sugar Support website to discover solutions to common issues.

Each plan has a certain number of support-authorized contacts for more difficult situations. The precise figure is determined by the Sugar product you've chosen to subscribe to.

The assistance offered by SugarCRM is highly regarded by its users. SugarCRM makes it simple to reach a live customer support agent on the phone, despite having a sizable user base. Additionally, it's fantastic news for consumers and developers that fundamental questions and technical queries are answered quickly.

Salesforce

Salesforce offers a wide range of self-directed materials, access to the Trailblazer community, and basic technical help. The Unlimited plan also includes round-the-clock support. All users get access to specialized account managers, professional coaching, and 24/7 phone assistance for an extra cost.

Although Salesforce leads the industry in terms of its CRM features, integrations, and technology, we discovered that it lags in the area of customer service. We requested information regarding the company's services. However, we received a slow answer. Most of Salesforce CRM's customizable components require a working grasp of CSS and HTML. 

Pipedrive

For all Pipedrive plans, live chat and email support are available constantly. Additionally available to enterprise subscribers are optional bespoke onboarding and phone assistance. There are conflicting reviews about Pipedrive assistance, but remember that your experience may differ based on your specific needs.

Many customers report that Pipedrive staff members are often prompt to respond to questions and provide thorough assistance across all support channels regarding technical issues. However, several customers complained that the quality of the support they received was inadequate regarding billing concerns. 

Therefore, it can be beneficial to exercise due diligence by carefully reviewing the terms and conditions of your Pipedrive subscription and keeping track of any potential invoicing adjustments.

Conclusion

All of the CRM above systems are excellent. Still, each one is better suited to the specific needs of the direct business. But being well-known and favored doesn't always imply being the greatest. Additionally, what works well for one company might not be appropriate for another. For beginners, Pipedrive is easier to use than Salesforce, which is a little more difficult. In the meanwhile, SugarCRM is excellent for small businesses. Therefore, it is up to the business owner to pick the platform that best serves their needs. The best strategy to choose the ideal CRM is to test each version and choose the victor thoroughly. 

Keep Reading, Keep Growing

Checkout our related blogs you will love.

Table of Contents

BotPenguin AI Chatbot maker
  • SugarCRM
  • Salesforce
  • Pipedrive
  • BotPenguin AI Chatbot maker
  • SugarCRM vs. Salesforce vs. Pipedrive: The complete comparative guide.
  • Conclusion