salesforce-competitors

Salesforce Competitors

Business / By / November 2, 2023

Salesforce is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) provider, allowing businesses to build meaningful and sustained relationships with their customers. With robust, customizable software that integrates with social media, Gmail, and Microsoft Outlook, the Salesforce CRM platform is rated highly among businesses of all shapes and sizes. Recent data has shown that the company has captured 19.5% of the global CRM market.

CompetitorDescriptionKey InsightsCompetitive OverlapDifferentiation
Microsoft Dynamics 365A suite of cloud-based business applications by Microsoft, including CRM and ERP solutions. Microsoft Dynamics competes with Salesforce in the customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise software market.Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers CRM and ERP solutions, focusing on integration with Microsoft’s productivity and cloud services.Both provide CRM solutions, but Microsoft Dynamics integrates seamlessly with Microsoft’s ecosystem.Integration with Microsoft’s productivity tools and broad enterprise software capabilities.
Oracle Cloud ApplicationsOracle offers a suite of cloud-based applications, including customer experience (CX) and enterprise software solutions. Oracle Cloud Applications compete with Salesforce in the CRM and enterprise software market.Oracle Cloud Applications provide CRM, CX, and enterprise software solutions with a focus on data security and scalability.Both offer CRM and CX solutions, but Oracle emphasizes data security and database capabilities.Oracle’s strong emphasis on data security and database management.
SAP Customer ExperienceA suite of customer experience solutions by SAP, including CRM, marketing, sales, and service cloud applications. SAP Customer Experience competes with Salesforce in the CRM and customer experience market.SAP Customer Experience provides CRM, marketing, sales, and service solutions with a focus on end-to-end customer engagement.Both offer CRM and customer experience solutions, but SAP focuses on end-to-end customer engagement and integrates with SAP’s broader enterprise offerings.Integration with SAP’s comprehensive enterprise solutions and focus on end-to-end customer engagement.
HubSpotA comprehensive inbound marketing, sales, and service platform that includes CRM, marketing automation, and customer service tools. HubSpot competes with Salesforce in the CRM and marketing automation market.HubSpot offers an all-in-one platform for inbound marketing, sales, and service, with an emphasis on inbound methodologies.Both provide CRM and marketing automation solutions, but HubSpot focuses on inbound marketing and offers a user-friendly platform.HubSpot’s emphasis on inbound marketing methodologies and user-friendliness.
Zoho CRMA cloud-based customer relationship management platform offered by Zoho Corporation. Zoho CRM competes with Salesforce in the CRM market, targeting businesses of all sizes.Zoho CRM provides CRM solutions with a focus on affordability and customization options for businesses.Both offer CRM solutions, but Zoho CRM emphasizes affordability and flexibility for businesses of all sizes.Zoho CRM’s affordability and extensive customization options.
PipedriveA sales CRM and pipeline management platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. Pipedrive competes with Salesforce in the sales CRM and pipeline management market.Pipedrive offers a sales CRM platform with a focus on simplicity, sales process automation, and sales pipeline management.Both offer sales CRM solutions, but Pipedrive targets small and medium-sized businesses with a user-friendly interface.Pipedrive’s simplicity and sales pipeline management focus.
FreshsalesA CRM software offered by Freshworks, designed for sales teams to manage leads, contacts, and deals. Freshsales competes with Salesforce in the CRM and sales management market.Freshsales provides CRM solutions with an emphasis on AI-driven sales automation and lead scoring for businesses of all sizes.Both offer CRM solutions, but Freshsales focuses on AI-driven sales automation and lead scoring.Freshsales’ AI-driven automation and lead scoring features.
SugarCRMA customer experience and CRM software offered by SugarCRM Inc., catering to sales, marketing, and support teams. SugarCRM competes with Salesforce in the CRM and customer experience market.SugarCRM provides CRM and customer experience solutions, with a focus on flexibility and customization for businesses.Both offer CRM and customer experience solutions, but SugarCRM emphasizes flexibility and customization options.SugarCRM’s flexibility and customization capabilities.
Zendesk SellA sales CRM and engagement platform by Zendesk, designed to improve sales team efficiency and customer relationships. Zendesk Sell competes with Salesforce in the sales CRM market.Zendesk Sell offers a sales CRM platform with features to enhance sales team productivity and customer interactions.Both provide sales CRM solutions, but Zendesk Sell focuses on sales team efficiency and customer engagement.Zendesk Sell’s focus on improving sales team efficiency and customer relationships.
Nimble CRMA CRM platform designed to help small businesses manage relationships and engage with contacts. Nimble CRM competes with Salesforce in the CRM market, targeting small businesses.Nimble CRM offers CRM solutions with a focus on contact management, social engagement, and simplicity for small businesses.Both offer CRM solutions, but Nimble CRM targets small businesses and emphasizes contact management and social engagement.Nimble CRM’s simplicity and focus on small businesses.

Looking at Salesforce for multiple perspectives

Nevertheless, the global reach of Salesforce means that it cannot serve the unique needs of every single client. Some may find the platform excessively complex or unwieldy, preferring a simple dashboard without the bells and whistles. Others may not have the budget to stick with Salesforce long term.

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a similarly global system offered in 40 regions and 41 languages.

The Microsoft CRM is feature-rich but is relatively easy to use. Indeed, it can even run with an Outlook client to give the look and feel of a Microsoft Office environment. Users can maintain accounts, nurture sales leads, create sales collateral, and track contacts.

CRM software delivery can be achieved in several ways. It may be cloud-based, on-premise, or a combination of both and serves businesses of any size in any industry.

Keap

Keap is regarded by many as the best CRM system in terms of ease of use, and for good reason. It features fully automated sales, marketing, and eCommerce packages with the option for clients to pay invoices through their preferred bank via instant message alerts.

Keap offers three tiered monthly subscription options, with each additional user incurring an additional fee. The Basic plan starts at $79, increasing to $149 for the Pro plan and $199 for the Enterprise plan.

Sugar Sell

Sugar Sell is the name given to the sales automation software from Sugar CRM. It is a four-time winner of the PCMAG Business Choice Award for Customer Experience.

The platform gives employees the necessary data to optimize lead conversions and reach out to customers. It brings a plethora of features to the CRM space, including custom reporting, product cataloging, and custom quotes. There is also the option to make sales forecasts to improve predictability and visibility.

Sugar Sell is also available in app form for Android and iOS devices.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is particularly suited to businesses that find the onboarding process for new software daunting. It incorporates features such as email marketing, activities and goals management, and lead generation. It can also synthesize data into smaller, actionable reports.

Compared to Salesforce, Pipedrive is a much more affordable option with an intuitive design and importantly, 24/7 customer service.

HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is suited to self-employed individuals or sole traders. The company offers a feature-packed free version that is simple to use. Of course, individuals who wish to do so can upgrade to a more powerful paid system.

Regardless of which version is utilized, the HubSpot CRM can easily be synchronized to the rest of the HubSpot App Ecosystem.

Zoho CRM

Among CRM options for small businesses, Zoho CRM offers all of the most valuable CRM features at the best price. This makes it a significant force in the CRM market.

Importantly, Zoho has one of the largest integration fields of any provider. This makes it an ideal choice for smaller businesses that cannot afford fully customized software decks. The platform is also backed by extensive documentation to help customers navigate the sometimes difficult process of software upgrades.

Zoho CRM pricing is also versatile, offering five subscription plans. A free option is available for up to three users. Beyond that, businesses can select from a range of affordable plans offering a turn-key solution for tech novices.

Key takeaways:

  • Salesforce has cornered almost 20% of the CRM market, but it is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 and HubSpot CRM are major Salesforce competitors because of their association with affiliated app ecosystems.
  • Platforms such as Zoho CRM and Pipedrive also offer cheap, more automated options for the less tech-savvy.

Key Highlights of Salesforce’s Competitors:

  • Microsoft Dynamics 365:
    • Global system available in 40 regions and 41 languages.
    • Feature-rich and easy-to-use CRM.
    • Can integrate with Microsoft Office environment.
    • Offers cloud-based and on-premise delivery options.
  • Keap:
    • Known for ease of use and automation.
    • Offers sales, marketing, and eCommerce packages.
    • Provides options for clients to pay invoices through instant message alerts.
    • Tiered monthly subscription plans starting at $79.
  • Sugar Sell (Sugar CRM):
    • Award-winning sales automation software.
    • Provides data for optimizing lead conversions and customer outreach.
    • Features custom reporting, product cataloging, and sales forecasting.
    • Available as an app for Android and iOS devices.
  • Pipedrive:
    • Suited for businesses finding new software onboarding daunting.
    • Offers email marketing, activities management, and lead generation.
    • Affordable and intuitive option with 24/7 customer service.
    • Provides actionable reports and data synthesis.
  • HubSpot CRM:
    • Feature-packed free version suitable for self-employed individuals.
    • Upgrade options available for more powerful systems.
    • Easily synchronized with the HubSpot App Ecosystem.
  • Zoho CRM:
    • Offers valuable CRM features at affordable prices.
    • Wide integration capabilities, suitable for smaller businesses.
    • Backed by extensive documentation for software upgrades.
    • Versatile pricing with free and subscription plans.

Related Visual Stories

Who Owns Salesforce

who-owns-salesforce
Marc Benioff, Co-CEO of Salesforce is the main individual shareholder, with 3% of the company’s stock. Other major individual shareholders comprise Parker Harris, Co-Founder, and Chief Technology Officer, and Bret Taylor, who is the company’s CEO. Major institutional shareholders comprise The Vanguard Group, Fidelity, and BlackRock.

Salesforce Business Model

salesforce-business-model
Salesforce follows a SaaS business model, offering four main categories of cloud CRM (Customer Relationship Management) services spanning the sales cloud to the marketing cloud. Where subscriptions drive the primary revenue model. However, the company leverages professional assistance to push the adoption of the software and retention of paying subscribers. Indeed, in 2023 Salesforce generated $29 billion from subscriptions and $2.33 billion from professional services.

Salesforce Revenue

salesforce-revenue-breakdown
In 2023 Salesforce generated $29 billion from subscriptions and $2.33 in professional services, compared to $24.66 billion in subscriptions in 2022 and $1.83 in professional services.

Salesforce Employees

salesforce-employee
Salesforce had 73,000 employees in 2022, compared to 56,000 employees in 2021, and 49,000 employees in 2020.

Salesforce Marketing Expenses

salesforce-marketing-expense-as-percentage-of-revenue
In 2023, Salesforce spent 43% of its total revenue on marketing and sales expenses, compared to 45% in 2022, and 45% in 2021.

Salesforce Cost Structure

salesforce-cost-structure
Professional services are run at negative gross margins. In short, in 2022, on $2.33 billion in revenue from professional services, Salesforce reported a $208 million gross loss. In short, Salesforce runs professional services at a loss to boost its subscription revenue over time since professional services are used to enhance the use and retention of the software. The subscription revenue cost structure is quite effective. In 2022 on a $29 billion in subscription revenue, the company reported $5.82B in cost of revenue (expenses related to delivering the service and providing support, including the costs of data center capacity), thus generating a $23.2 billion in gross profits, in 2023.

Salesforce Revenue Per Employee

salesforce-profits
Salesforce generated $208 million in profits in 2023, compared to $1.44 billion in 2021, and over $4 billion in profits in 2020.

Salesforce Competitors

salesforce-competitors
Salesforce is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) provider, allowing businesses to build meaningful and sustained relationships with their customers. With robust, customizable software that integrates with social media, Gmail, and Microsoft Outlook, the Salesforce CRM platform is rated highly among businesses of all shapes and sizes. Recent data has shown that the company has captured 19.5% of the global CRM market.

Salesforce Mission Statement

salesforce-mission-statement
Salesforce’s mission is to build bridges between companies and customers. Salesforce does that via a SaaS platform, which is enhanced via professional services offered on top of it.

Salesforce Acquisitions

salesforce-acquisitions
Salesforce was founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff, Frank Dominguez, Dave Moellenhoff, and Parker Harris. In a relatively short time, the corporate powerhouse of enterprise software has made numerous acquisitions as part of its broader growth strategy to become a SaaS giant!

Read Also: Salesforce Business Model, Slack Business Model, C3.ai Business Model, SaaS Business Models, IaaS-PaaS-SaaS, AIaaS Business Model, Cloud Business Models.

Read Next: Competitor Analysis, Amazon Competitors, Tesla Competitors, Zoom Competitors, YouTube Competitors, Netflix Competitors.

Main Free Guides:

Competitors Case Studies

Zoominfo Competitors

zoominfo-competitors
Zoominfo is an American software-as-a-service (SaaS) company founded by Henry Schuck and Kirk Brown in 2007. The company sells access to the most comprehensive B2B database in the world to help sales and marketing teams better communicate with prospects. Zoominfo held an IPO in June 2020 raising $935 million. Like similar software companies that are valuable to remote teams, demand for the Zoominfo platform increased because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is now used by over 20,000 businesses, with clients including T-Mobile, Zoom, Amazon, and Google.

Spotify Competitors

spotify-competitors
Spotify is the world’s largest music streaming platform with over 381 million users across 184 markets around the world. The company was founded by Martin Lorentzon and Daniel Ek in 2008 in response to the shutdown of peer-to-peer music service Napster. Spotify became a success because it was the first company to determine how to distribute music legally and compensate the music industry at the same time. The platform now offers various curated music discovery services, music stations, audio customization, and private listening. In recent times, it has also ventured into the streaming of audiobooks, podcasts, comedy, poetry, and short stories.

Poshmark Competitors

poshmark-competitors
Poshmark is a social commerce marketplace where users can buy and sell new or used clothing. The company was founded in 2011 by Manish Chandra, Tracy Sun, Gautam Golwala, and Chetan Pungaliya. Poshmark is one of many companies looking to profit from the explosive growth in the second-hand clothing and resale industry, which is expected to be worth around $51 billion by 2023. Scores of women, in particular, are opting to sell their unwanted fashion items online instead of donating them to charity or thrift stores.

Afterpay Competitors

afterpay-competitors
Afterpay is an Australian fintech company operating in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States.  Founded in 2014 by Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen, the company enjoyed a first-mover advantage in the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) space. Less than seven years later, the company reached 13.1 million active customers with gross sales amounting to $10.1 billion. Despite its success, some suggest the company has lost its edge in the buy-now-pay-later space with the emergence of several high-profile competitors exerting their influence and giving merchants more choice.

Carvana Competitors

carvana-competitors
Carvana is an online used car retailer with vending machines located around the United States. The company was founded in 2012 by Ryan Keeton, Ben Huston, and Ernest Garcia III. The company is the fastest growing online used car retailer in North America and was recently one of the youngest companies to be added to the Fortune 500 list. While Carvana is currently the only American company selling cars in vending machines, its growth and success have not gone unnoticed by other players. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the company’s major competitors.

Carvana Competitors

carvana-competitors
Carvana is an online used car retailer with vending machines located around the United States. The company was founded in 2012 by Ryan Keeton, Ben Huston, and Ernest Garcia III. The company is the fastest growing online used car retailer in North America and was recently one of the youngest companies to be added to the Fortune 500 list. While Carvana is currently the only American company selling cars in vending machines, its growth and success have not gone unnoticed by other players. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the company’s major competitors.

GoodRx Competitors

goodrx-competitors
GoodRx is an American healthcare company known for its telemedicine platform and a website and mobile app that track prescription drug prices. As part of this service, the company makes drug coupons available for free to consumers. GoodRx was created by Trevor Bezdek, Doug Hirsch, and Scott Marlette. Hirsch, an early employee at both Yahoo and Facebook, got the idea for the company after picking up a prescription with private health insurance and still having to pay $450. Given the high variability in prices between different pharmacies, Hirsh went on a mission to make prescription drug prices more transparent and affordable for ordinary Americans. Revenue in the second quarter of 2021 amounted to $177 million with over 7.5 million app customers using the GoodRx app. While the company was the first to provide a comprehensive list of pharmacy drug prices, new players have entered the market. The rest of this article will be devoted to looking at the main GoodRx competitors.

DoorDash Competitors

DoorDash Competitors
DoorDash is an online food ordering and delivery platform founded by Tony Xu, Stanley Tang, Andy Fang, and Evan Moore in 2013. Together with its subsidiaries, DoorDash has a 56% market share in food delivery and a further 60% in the convenience delivery sector.

Pepsi Competitors

pepsi-competitors
In 1965, PepsiCo acquired Frito-Lay in what the chairmen of both companies called a “marriage made in heaven”. The resultant company transformed PepsiCo from a soft drink organization and set it on a path to becoming one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies.  Today, PepsiCo claims to operate in more than 200 countries and territories around the world with seven distinct divisions and many successful brands.

Coca-Cola Competitors

coca-cola-competitors
The Coca-Cola Company has 21 different billion-dollar brands or brands that generate more than $1 billion or more in revenue each year.  The company also sells its products in nearly every country in the world, with Cuba and North Korea the only two countries where it is not sold officially. What’s more, the Coca-Cola brand is worth $87.6 billion, making it one of the most valuable among all companies. Though these figures allow Coca-Cola to enjoy market dominance in many countries, the company is nevertheless subject to intense competition.

Disney Competitors

disney-competitors
Headquartered in Burbank, California, Disney has global reach and influence with its universally popular resorts, movies, streaming services, video games, and merchandise.  But as one of the largest media conglomerates in the world with a diverse range of products in multiple marketplaces, Disney is no stranger to competition. 

IBM Competitors

ibm-competitors
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American multinational technology company. It was founded in New York as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911 by Charles Ranlett Flint. IBM is a diverse company with a similarly diverse portfolio of products and services. It produces and sells hardware, middleware, and software. It also offers hosting and consultancy services in nanotechnology and mainframe computers. What’s more, IBM has a strong culture in research and development, filing the most U.S. patents of any business for the past 28 years.

Uber Competitors

uber-competitors

Starbucks Competitors

starbucks-competitors
Starbucks is a multinational coffee chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker in 1971. From a single and very humble bean roasting store in Pike Place Market, the company is now a global giant operating almost 33,000 stores around the world. This large global footprint obviously increases the competition for Starbucks in many different markets. The coffee industry itself is also highly competitive, with established players including McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts.

Boeing Competitors

boeing-competitors
Boeing is best known for designing and manufacturing commercial aircraft, but the company also produces helicopters, rockets, satellites, spacecraft, missiles, and telecommunications infrastructure. Founded in 1916 by William Boeing in Seattle, Washington, the company is one of the largest aerospace manufacturers and defense contractors in the world.

Google Competitors

google-competitors
While Google (now Alphabet) has been born as a search engine, it is now a diversified company, even though its core business remains search, as most of its revenues still come from Google, the search engine, and YouTube, the “video engine.” However, as a tech giant, which business is primarily based on advertising, the company does compete with Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft (with Bing), and Amazon (with e-commerce search and its advertising machine).

Peloton Competitors

peloton-competitors
Peloton is a media and exercise equipment company primarily making money making money via its fitness products. The idea for the company came from John Foley, who argued that technology could help time-poor individuals get a full workout at home. The company competes with other players like Bowflex, NordicTrack, Life Fitness, MYX Fitness.

IKEA Competitors

ikea-competitors
IKEA was founded in 1943 by Swedish businessman Ingvar Kamprad as a mail-order catalog business. The company is best known for selling affordable flat-pack furniture, but it also sells home accessories and kitchen appliances. Today, IKEA offers approximately 9,500 products across 445 stores in 52 countries. With such broad reach, IKEA is not immune to competition.

Airbnb Competitors

airbnb-competitors
The Airbnb story began in 2008 when two friends shared their accommodation with three travelers looking for a place to stay. Just over a decade later, it is estimated that the company now accounts for over 20% of the vacation rental industry. As a travel platform, Airbnb competes with other brands like Booking.com, VRBO, FlipKey, and given its massive amount of traffic from Google. Also, platforms like Google Travel can be considered potential competitors able to cannibalize part of Airbnb’s market.

Salesforce Competitors

salesforce-competitors
Salesforce is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) provider, allowing businesses to build meaningful and sustained relationships with their customers. With robust, customizable software that integrates with social media, Gmail, and Microsoft Outlook, the Salesforce CRM platform is rated highly among businesses of all shapes and sizes. Recent data has shown that the company has captured 19.5% of the global CRM market.

Shopify Competitors

shopify-competitors
In just fifteen short years, Shopify has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the fastest-growing eCommerce platforms online. The Shopify eCommerce solution is perhaps best suited to users who desire an easy, flexible and affordable starter solution for their online store. The provider now has upwards of 820,000 stores accounting for 20% of the total market share. However, the continued success of any company in the dynamic digital market is never guaranteed.

Netflix Competitors

netflix-competitors
Netflix is the largest streaming video subscription service in the world. Created by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in 1997, the company has revolutionized the video content subscription model with over 139 million subscribers in 190 countries. The success of Netflix is due to two factors. The first is a recommendation system that gives suggestions on what customers should watch based on their viewing history. The second is the vast catalog of content on offer – produced by third parties and by Netflix itself. These factors have resulted in Netflix competing against influential TV networks and film producers for viewership.

Nike Competitors

nike-competitors

YouTube Competitors

youtube-competitors
YouTube is the most popular online video platform, a hybrid between a video search engine and a social media platform with a continuous feed prompted by social interactions and engagement. In fact, the platform is so popular that YouTube.com is the second most visited website on the internet. After being acquired by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion, the platform now boasts over 2 billion registered users. Collectively, these users upload 500 hours of video every minute. The platform competes with other video engines like Vimeo, Dailymotion, and social platforms like IGTV, TikTok, and Twitch.

Zoom Competitors

zoom-competitors
Zoom is a video platform, which enabled remote working. As such it competes with other large tech players like Google and Microsoft for the productivity space, and other startups like Slack and Go-To-Meetings.

Tesla Competitors

tesla-competitors
As an electric automaker and builder of sports cars and now trucks, Tesla’s competitors comprise companies like Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, Rivian Lucid Motors, Toyota, and more. At the same time, Tesla is an electric energy production and storage company (SolarCity); it competes with Sunrun, SunPower, and Vivint Solar. And as an autonomous driving company, it competes with companies like Zoox, Waymo, and Baidu with the self-driving software.

Amazon Competitors

amazon-competitors
Amazon is a consumer e-commerce platform with a diversified business model spanning across e-commerce, cloud, advertising, streaming, and more. Over the years, Amazon acquired several companies. As it operates across several industries, Amazon has a wide range of competitors across each of those industries. For instance, Amazon E-commerce competes with Shopify, Wix, Google, Etsy, eBay, BigCommerce.

Read Next: Business Competition, Direct vs. Indirect Competition

More Resources

About The Author

Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
Scroll to Top
FourWeekMBA