Salesforce Alternative: a CRM for small businesses, not for enterprises.
Salesforce Sales Cloud is the gold standard of enterprise CRM. Apex code, Lightning components, Sales Cloud + Service Cloud + Marketing Cloud + Data Cloud, and a partner ecosystem to wire it all together. For a 5-person team that needs a CRM, that's an order of magnitude more product than the job calls for.
Salva Sanchiz · Founder ·
Side-by-side comparison
SalesforceThem
- Enterprise-first productDesigned for sales organisations with admins, declarative builders and Apex developers on staff.
- Customisation through codeReal differentiation comes from Apex, Lightning, Flows and the AppExchange, flexibility that needs maintenance.
- Partner-led implementationMost rollouts go through a Salesforce consultancy with discovery, build and training phases.
- Per-edition pricingSales Cloud editions, Service Cloud editions, Data Cloud, Einstein AI, separately licensed, separately metered.
SyncekSyncek
- Small-business firstBuilt for small teams that need a CRM today, not a multi-quarter rollout.
- Customisation without codeTyped fields, pipelines and saved views: configured in clicks. No Apex, no Lightning, no admin role required.
- Self-serve setupSign up, drop a CSV, start. No consultancy, no SOW, no kickoff workshop.
- One simple priceOne published price per user, three plans, published on the pricing page. No edition matrix.
How do Salesforce and Syncek actually differ?
Ten lenses for picking the right shape of CRM.
| Dimension | Salesforce | Syncek |
|---|---|---|
Product shape |
Multi-cloud enterprise platform. Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Data Cloud built on the Lightning Platform. | Syncek Focused CRM: contacts, opportunities, pipelines, and notes. One product, one pricing page, no cloud-by-cloud licensing. |
Target team |
Mid-market and enterprise sales organisations with admins, RevOps, and often Apex developers on staff. | Syncek Small businesses who need a working CRM without an admin role or a partner SOW. |
Time to first useful day |
Weeks to months. Starter Suite gets you in fast; anything beyond it typically involves a Salesforce partner, discovery, and a phased rollout. | Syncek Minutes. Sign up, drop a CSV, map the columns, start. No consultant, no kickoff workshop. |
Customization model |
Deep and code-capable: custom objects, Flow, Apex triggers, Lightning Web Components, and AppExchange packages. Power that needs an owner. | Syncek Typed fields, custom pipelines, saved views, and per-record permissions, configured by clicking, not by writing Apex. |
Pricing model |
Per-user per-month, but priced per edition (Starter, Pro, Enterprise, Unlimited, Einstein 1) and per cloud, with add-ons for Data Cloud, CPQ, and Einstein. | Syncek One published price per user, three plans, no edition matrix. The price you see is the price you pay. |
Automation and AI |
Flow Builder for declarative automation, Apex for code, and Einstein for AI scoring and Copilot. Powerful, but billed and governed separately. | Syncek Built-in automation for the routine CRM jobs: stage changes, assignments, reminders. No separate AI SKU to license. |
Ecosystem and integrations |
AppExchange, thousands of paid and free packages, plus a large partner and ISV ecosystem. Integration depth is unmatched. | Syncek Smaller surface, on purpose. Gmail and Google Calendar sync, CSV and Excel import and export, and a REST API from Business; accounting stays in the tool you already use, and connectors land as small teams ask for them, not as a marketplace race. |
Learning curve |
Trailhead is excellent, but you do need it: admins, end users, and developers each have their own learning path. | Syncek If you have used a spreadsheet, you can use Syncek on day one. Onboarding is in-product, not a certification track. |
Data ownership |
Export via Data Loader and Reports is supported, but Apex, Flows, Lightning components, and Einstein models stay inside Salesforce. | Syncek Export anything to CSV or Excel anytime, including after cancellation. No retention games, no proprietary runtime to leave behind. |
Best at |
Running a multi-team sales, service, and marketing operation when you have the headcount and budget to operate the platform. | Syncek Running the daily CRM job: pipeline, contacts, opportunities, for a small team that does not want a platform to manage. |
Salesforce and Syncek, side by side
- Salesforce starts at
- $25 per user / monthStarter SuiteSource
- Syncek starts at
- $23 per user / monthSalesforce has a free plan; Syncek does not.
- Where Salesforce exports
- Setup > Data ExportData Loader is the other route.
Prices checked on 2026-08-22 against each vendor's own page, each in the currency that vendor publishes, so the two are not a converted comparison. Vendors change them without notice.
How do you move from Salesforce to Syncek?
Four steps, usually a single afternoon for under ~10,000 records. The hardest part is deciding which Salesforce automations you actually still need.
Export from Salesforce
Use Data Loader (or the Setup → Data Export scheduler) to pull Accounts, Contacts, Leads, and Opportunities as CSV. Export Reports for any saved views or dashboards you want to recreate. Apex classes, Lightning components, Flows, and Einstein scoring models do not export. They are the boundary of the migration.
Map fields to Syncek
Syncek's import wizard previews each CSV column and lets you pick the field type (phone, email, currency, stage, relation). Salesforce custom fields map cleanly to typed fields in Syncek; picklists become select fields, lookups become relations. Leads and Contacts can merge into a single Contacts object if your team works that way.
Rebuild the pipeline
Salesforce Opportunity stages become Syncek pipeline stages, same names, same order. Recreate the three or four reports you actually open as saved views. Skip the legacy dashboards no one has looked at in a year; the migration is the right moment to retire them.
Decide what to retire
Apex triggers, Process Builder and Flow automations, Lightning page customizations, and Einstein scoring do not come along. Most small teams find the simpler Syncek automations cover what they actually used; if a specific Apex job is load-bearing, keep that workflow in Salesforce and route only the CRM-of-record into Syncek.
Syncek vs Salesforce, common questions.
Can I migrate my Salesforce data into Syncek?
Yes. Export Accounts, Contacts, Leads, and Opportunities as CSV using Data Loader or the Setup data export tool, then import them into Syncek with the visual field mapper. Custom fields and picklists map to typed fields and select fields. Apex, Flows, Lightning components, and Einstein models stay inside Salesforce. They are not portable artifacts.Is Syncek a replacement for Salesforce Starter Suite?
For a small team that needs contacts, opportunities, pipelines, and shared notes, yes. Starter Suite is Salesforce's entry tier and the closest comparison; if you are already on Sales Cloud Pro or higher with custom Apex and Flows, the honest answer is that Syncek covers the CRM job but does not replicate platform-level customization.Will I lose Apex, Flows, and Lightning customizations?
Yes. Apex triggers, Flow automations (including legacy Process Builder, end-of-support Dec 2025), Lightning Web Components, and AppExchange packages do not migrate. Most small teams find that Syncek's built-in automations cover the routine cases (stage changes, assignments, reminders). If a particular Apex job is load-bearing, treat that as a reason to stay on Salesforce or to keep that single workflow there.Is Syncek cheaper than Salesforce for a small team?
For a 5- to 10-person team that only needs CRM, Syncek is materially cheaper than Sales Cloud Pro or Enterprise, and competitive with Starter Suite once you factor in the Salesforce add-ons most teams end up buying (Data Cloud, Einstein, Inbox). Check the live numbers on each pricing page. Salesforce updates editions and add-on bundles frequently.Do I need an admin or a consultant to run Syncek?
No. Syncek is built so a non-technical operator can configure pipelines, fields, and views from the settings UI. There is no Apex to maintain, no sandbox to manage, no release cycle to track. If your team currently pays a Salesforce admin or partner for routine changes, that line item goes away.
When Salesforce still makes sense.
If you're a mid-market or enterprise organisation with sales-ops, governance and integration requirements that span Sales, Service and Marketing. Salesforce is the standard for a reason. Syncek is the right call for the small businesses sitting under that line who just need pipelines, contacts and opportunities to work today.
Other alternatives to Salesforce
Six CRMs small teams weigh up against Salesforce, with the cheapest way in to each one. Every price read from that vendor's own page, in the currency they publish it in.
| CRM | Free plan | Entry price | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho CRM | Yes | €14 per user / monthSource | Standard billed annually |
| HubSpot | Yes | €20 per user / monthSource | Starter Customer Platform monthly or annually |
| Syncek (this is us) | No | $23 per user / month | Starter billed annually |
| SugarCRM | No | $59 per user / month15 seats minimumSource | Sell Standard billed annually |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | No | $65 per user / monthSource | Sales Professional billed annually |
| Oracle CX Sales | No | $150 per user / month10 seats minimumSource | Fusion Sales Enterprise Cloud Service billed monthly |
| SAP CRM | No | Not publishedSource |
The whole table was last read in full on 2026-08-22, each price in the currency that vendor publishes for Europe. Any row read on a different day carries its own date. Vendors change prices without notice, so treat this as a starting point and confirm before you buy.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 is enterprise software with a CRM module. Syncek is a focused CRM for small businesses without the Microsoft stack overhead.
HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one suite with everything bundled. Syncek is a focused CRM for small teams.
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM lives inside the Zoho One business suite. Syncek is a standalone CRM that pairs with whatever you already use.
Oracle CX Sales
Oracle CX Sales is an enterprise sales suite inside Oracle Fusion Cloud. Syncek is a focused CRM for small businesses.
SAP CRM
SAP CRM (now SAP Customer Experience) is enterprise software tied to SAP ERP. Syncek is a focused CRM for small businesses.
SugarCRM
SugarCRM is built for mid-market and admin-led deployments. Syncek is a self-serve CRM for small businesses.
Sources
Where do these claims come from?
Every limit, price and capability stated on this page is taken from the vendor's own published documentation. Vendors change their plans, so check the source if the detail matters to your decision.