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What is Salesforce Starter?

Find more leads, win more deals, and keep customers happy with out-of-the-box tools built into the world’s #1 CRM suite. Introducing the all-in-one, easy-to-use solutions that bring marketing, sales, and service together. Starter Suite is the fastest, easiest way to get started with a complete CRM. Pro Suite takes Starter to the next level, unlocking customization, automation, and enhanced sales and service functionality.

Who Uses Salesforce Starter?

Salesforce Starter supports small and medium sized business with a simple CRM for marketing, sales, and service.

Salesforce Starter Software - Salesforce Starter home page
Salesforce Starter Software - Salesforce Starter setup
Salesforce Starter Software - Salesforce Starter reporting
Salesforce Starter Software - Salesforce Starter opportunities
Salesforce Starter Software - Salesforce Starter filter leads

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Reviews of Salesforce Starter

Average score

Overall
4.4
Ease of Use
4.0
Customer Service
4.1
Features
4.2
Value for Money
3.9

Reviews by company size (employees)

  • <50
  • 51-200
  • 201-1,000
  • >1,001
James
James
Revenue Operations Manager in UK
Verified LinkedIn User
Information Technology & Services, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Salesforce Admin Review

4.0 last year

Comments: Overall very good, there’s a reason it’s the top CRM in the world, but the backend is very difficult to manage, lots of nuances and takes a dedicated person to manage the platform

Pros:

Extremely customisable, has a wide range of features and functionality, extremely powerful In the amount of automations and how you display the system to the end users which can keep it easy for them to use

Cons:

The range of features does in turn make take away from the core capability of the system which is to be a good crm; it lacks basic features you would expect from a product so expensive sometimes

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Marketing & Advertising, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Salesforce Essentials: The All-in-One Solution for Small Businesses

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Salesforce Essentials is generally well-regarded as a powerful and comprehensive platform for managing customer relationships, sales, and marketing automation. It offers a range of tools and features, and can be highly customizable to fit the specific needs of businesses of various sizes. That being said, as with any software, there can be a learning curve and potential downsides to consider, such as cost and configuration complexity. Overall, Salesforce Essentials is a valuable tool for businesses looking to streamline their operations and grow their customer base.

Pros:

All-in-one platform with CRM, sales and marketing automation, and customer service tools.Easy-to-use interface, even for non-technical users.Mobile app for on-the-go access.Highly customizable to fit specific business needs.Scalable to accommodate business growth.Integrates with other business tools.Offers strong customer support options.

Cons:

Can be expensive, especially with additional features or users.Some users may experience a learning curve with the software.Advanced features may not be available in lower-priced plans.Configuration and customization can be complex.Requires a stable internet connection.Reporting functionality may be limited for some users.Additional fees may apply for advanced features beyond the base subscription cost.

Nathan
SDR in UK
Computer Software, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Essential software for SDRs

3.0 2 years ago

Pros:

Salesforce is great for storing prospects emails and phone numbers. In my previous role I use Salesforce to track the stage of each deal, to import stored contacts into Salesloft for my outreach and to check ex-client or ex trials of the platform (using the reports function) which in turn made my calls a lot warmer.

Cons:

The 'Import to salesloft' button disappeared at least once week which impacted my sales cycle.

Kaitlyn
Partner and Sales Manager in US
Apparel & Fashion, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Just right for small business

5.0 3 years ago

Comments: Being a small business we need a CRM that won't break the bank. We need to keep every customer we have, so the customer experience is paramount. We need to get as much information out of every sale and customer interaction as we can, and we need to accelerate sales. Salesforce essentials has done all of this for us.
There are things that I would improve.

Pros:

Salesforce Essentials is more affordable than standard Salesforce and still has what I need in a CRM. I get work done faster, sell faster, and make our customer experience amazing. I set up a customized self service portal and set particular concerns or questions to be sent to a specific person. This means that if for example a customer asks if a garmet can be altered, they're directed to our seamstress instead of directed to me and then transfered to our seamstress. Salesforce essentials records and tracks my calls and emails meaning I no longer have to. I have gained more information about leads, where they come from and why they choose us.

Cons:

Sometimes it can be hard to find the data I'm looking for. It's not easy to find or get invoices. Customer care wasn't very helpful although I did try to make contact during a very busy time of day. I was still disappointed.. This is the essentials version of Salesforce so obviously the features aren't as robust.

Kenneth
Kenneth
Ops Manager in UK
Verified LinkedIn User
Oil & Energy, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Using Salesforce is incredibly easy for my team

5.0 3 years ago

Comments: This was an awesome experience and an essential for an organization hoping to more readily attract and hold clients on the web

Pros:

I truly like how Salesforce is the most incredible in its industry and offers extraordinary CRM programming. It is ideally suited for connecting with potential clients in view of their past interest in the organization as well as what they would require to remain drawn in and retained. I love the manner in which you can modify it and it mechanizes each thing so extraordinary from messages to calls its incredible.

Cons:

When first starting to use Salesforce, it can seem overwhelming. The pages feel extremely crowded when you don't know where to look for something because there is an abundance of information. Salesforce becomes easier to use with more experience, yet for new clients there may be a learning curve.

Naomi
Naomi
Owner in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Retail, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

If you are seriously committed to growing your business AND have the funds, it’s great!

4.0 4 years ago

Comments: Extremely helpful and a semi-done for you type app! Baby start up companies I would probably steer them away, just so they don’t get overwhelmed in debt and finances immediately; they might have a better chance of reaching that ‘Fortune 500’ status if they so desire!

Pros:

It can do almost anything you need or want it to, very well at that. As many softwares, the restrictions on certain tools lessen with the more money spent.

Cons:

The prices are outrageous. As a small business owner; it is a horribly large pill to swallow to pay that steep of pricing- especially as you are beginning your journey of entrepreneurship! Is it worth it though? Yes.

Ellenore
Administrative Assistant in US
Machinery, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Great software to organize employee information

5.0 last year

Pros:

I like that I'm able to log information about employees and manage their contact info, benefit information, and history easily. It's also very customizable.

Cons:

Sometimes I wish that the platform was able to be more on-brand, and that I was able to create documents with our font package.

Bob
Account Manager in US
Entertainment, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great Functionality But A Bit Pricey

4.0 2 years ago

Comments: It's been fairly easy to implement and use. We were able to get it fully functional with the entire sales team in a matter of a few months and it handles most if not all of the services we require.

Pros:

It has a very intuitive interface that's easy to useThe ability to grab/store email data for our contact management is nice!The mobile apps associated with Essentials are helpful.If you've used any of the Salesforce products, this is built along the same interface so "learning" it is easy!

Cons:

The pricing on this product is a bit higher than competitive products with the same functionality.If you're moving over from a different product, some of the workflows can be a bit confusing.The standard reporting features are less than optimal.

Janet
Project Manager in US
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Salesforce classic better than the new Lightning

4.0 last year

Comments: Classic is great and very easy to get to info.

Pros:

I really like the salesforce classic before they moved to lightning. It was much more intuitive and easier to locate information.

Cons:

That they moved to lightning and it is not as good as classic

Rob
Managing Director in UK
Marketing & Advertising, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: Free Trial
Reviewer Source

A fantastic CRM system!

5.0 last year

Comments: Salesforce Essentials is a game-changer for businesses seeking a powerful yet easy-to-use CRM solution. Its intuitive design, responsiveness, and simplicity in implementation make it a standout choice in the market. Whether you're a small business owner or a busy professional, Salesforce Essentials empowers you to manage your contacts, leads, and sales with unparalleled ease. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to enhance their customer relationship management processes.

Pros:

I recently had the opportunity to use Salesforce Essentials, and I am thoroughly impressed with its user-friendly interface and seamless functionality. As someone who values efficiency and simplicity in a CRM tool, Salesforce Essentials exceeded my expectations in several ways.

Cons:

I don't have much to say here really! It did everything we needed it to!

Alexis
Operations Direcot in UK
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Salesforce

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: We love it and every team the team wants more functionalities out of it

Pros:

If you are a not-for-profit you can get an excellent discounted rate. It is very handy even though it needs some expertise to set it up but don't let this stop you, their resources library is supper useful, and you can figure out how to do many things yourself. Once you get all the team using it is a very very powerful tool and provides you with amazing data to inform your business.

Cons:

Can be hard to set up. But invest in someone that knows how to do it, get it right from the beginning and ti will be very helpful.

Stephanie
Web Manager in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Easy & Intuitive

4.0 last year

Comments: Overall we've had great customer support and feel that the product really fits our CRM needs.

Pros:

Salesforce Essentials provides integration options with other popular marketing tools and applications, facilitating a seamless flow of data. This flexibility can be valuable for marketers who use multiple tools in their marketing stack.

Cons:

Affordability - pricing is somewhat competitive, but wish there were discounts when using multiple Saleforce products. Essentials could also be doing more with automation.

Anish
manager in India
Education Management, 5,001–10,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

salesforce software is very good to record the details and to check the activities as well

5.0 2 years ago

Pros:

salesforce software is very good to record the details and to check the activities as well

Cons:

sometimes in between it gets slow while using ,but sometimes

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Accounting, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

a CRM must-have

4.0 2 years ago

Comments: Salesforce is great because you can work to keep track of real-time user and purchase analytics, customer support, customer complaints, and a variety of other CRM functions with the ease of storage and access in the cloud.

Pros:

Salesforce makes it easy for companies to maintain an ongoing relationship with customers, prospects, or partners and to collect and monitor their data.

Cons:

Quality of the price list is not for everyone.it's expensive

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Insurance, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source
Source: GetApp

Salesforce Is Essential

5.0 3 years ago

Pros:

Salesforce Essentials is easy to use & user friendly. Our team has really enjoyed the ability to search/filter our leads.

Cons:

Salesforce customer service can be hard to reach & get direct answers from.

Pablo
Business Developer in Colombia
Computer Software, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Undoubtedly the best CRM

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: My experience with SalesForce has been the best throughout several years. Best to deploy and to have better results

Pros:

However it can be complex for beginners, it is definitely the best CRM in terms of analytics, reports, organization of data, migrations, etc

Cons:

As mentioned before, the interphase for a beginner isn't the most friendly. However, it doesn't mean it is hard to use. It is just more robust

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Marketing & Advertising, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Great product, lots of features. Takes some time to learn, but its worth it!

5.0 4 years ago

Pros:

I like that this software is comprehensive. It gives you everything you could need to source, manage, track, follow up with, communicate with, and hopefully close a sale.

Cons:

It definitely takes some time to learn all the features and I didn't need some of them so it would be nice to be able to personalize a bit more but its worth the time to learn it all in the end.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Financial Services, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

I use desk.com as the frontline customer service software to create and manage tickets.

5.0 7 years ago

Pros:

Desk is extremely customizable. We have a bunch of different inbound emails that automatically tag and assign tickets which saves us a lot of time. You can set up almost any combination of rules for inbound tickets to make sure your most important customers get prioritized and the right people get assigned to help. Desk also has an API that you can use to build a help center experience on top of their platform. We use it internally for bug reporting and feature requesting and our portal creates tickets right in desk.

Cons:

Desk isn't very user friendly. Once it's set up it's works really well but it takes a lot of time to learn all the nuances of the configuration. The analytics have issues. Some of the metrics like last log in will show that I last logged in a month ago when I've logged in every day and am in fact logged in at the time. We don't use the metrics but if your customer service department relies on them that could be problematic.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Consumer Electronics, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Salesforce IQ is a great add on to Salesforce

4.0 7 years ago

Pros:

Creating leads and contacts in Salesforce is a breeze with this tool. I love that I can instantly add a customer and log their email in Salesforce. I love the ability to add meeting invites or email templates to an email with a couple of clicks. Salesforce IQ has saved me hours of data entry into Salesforce. I don't know what I would do without this tool now that I have used it for close to two years.

Cons:

In the last few months something changed in the way that it pulls the data when you go to add a contact. The previous version use to pull all of the information automatically and now I have to manually add a lot of the information. It is still quicker than adding new contacts into Salesforce but it does require a few more steps. I also wish there was more insight into who opened an email or web link when you include multiple people on an email.

Sheikh
Director in Bangladesh
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Truly Market Leading crm

5.0 4 years ago

Pros:

I have been using Salesforce for many years. I think the most amazing part of this tool is how customizable it Is as per clients needs. Moreover all these cusomized fields are available in reporting!

Cons:

User based security is not available in essential. I wish it was so that we could enroll more users.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Gets the job done, feels 2nd rate.

4.0 7 years ago

Pros:

Desk has been getting things done for us. We've got teams, we can pass tickets easily, tags help to connect disparate tickets.

Cons:

The search/filtering is broken (and has been for as long as I've used the software), it works at about 98% accuracy. You can't really rely on a search of 'all tickets assigned to X' to find every ticket, or "all resolved tickets in X department", and etc. Frustrating when reporting or setting up custom views and such. Similar in frustration created, is the limitations around what fields you can search/sort by. It's always a pet-peeve of mine to see software limit these things.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Computer Software, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Integrations Galore

3.0 7 years ago

Comments: Good starter tool, but lacking a user experience that makes you "want" to use it.

Pros:

Open API that allows you to connect to other tools that you're using to run your business. We have our tool connected to SalesForce, Talkdesk, Google Docs, etc.

Cons:

The platform has gone down a few times, leaving us to figure out how to communicate with our customers. The UI/UX isn't the best.

Jose
IT Engineer in Mexico
Automotive, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Reviewing salesforce essentials

4.0 4 years ago

Comments: Good, but again only used helpdesk part of it.

Pros:

Very easy to use the help desk ticket system.

Cons:

Not sure about rest of the software but only used help desk ticketing.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

I have used DESK daily to submit support tickets to our support team as a Project Manager.

5.0 7 years ago

Pros:

It is easy to use DESK and submit tickets and track and search for your submitted tickets to see the status of those tickets.

Cons:

It is easy to search but I do believe there could be additional ways to search more easily and produce more accurate results.

Melinda
Melinda
Customer Service/ sales in US
Consumer Services, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Salesforce Essentials Great Tool

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: This eliminated the need for spreadsheets and works great for a medium team!

Pros:

This makes the teams more functional and your group can follow up on leads and identify what contacts are a sure sell. I love the way you can customize it and it automates every things so great from emails to calls its great.

Cons:

Runs a little slow at times. Sometimes freezes.