Frappe CRM vs Salesforce Starter: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Frappe CRM and Salesforce Starter to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Frappe CRM
7/10
Open-source sales CRM from Frappe for small and mid-sized sales teams, with unlimited users, lead and deal pipelines, calling, and WhatsApp integration.
Salesforce Starter
5.7/10
Salesforce Starter Suite is an entry-level CRM bundling sales, service and email marketing tools with Slack and AI for small businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | F Frappe CRM | S Salesforce Starter |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7/10 | 5.7/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 10/10 | 5/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 4/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $5/mo Frappe Cloud Sites | $25/user/mo Starter Suite |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Self-host | $250/mo Starter Suite |
| Features | ||
| Collaboration | ||
| Contact Management | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Lead Management | ||
| Mobile Access | ||
| Opportunity Management | ||
| Reporting & Analytics | ||
| Sales Automation | ||
| Built-in Calling | Not listed | |
| Customer Support Management | Not listed | |
| Marketing Automation | Not listed | |
Frappe CRM vs Salesforce Starter cost by team size
Frappe CRM costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Frappe CRM | Salesforce Starter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeSelf-host | $25/moStarter Suite |
| 5 users | FreeSelf-host | $125/moStarter Suite |
| 10 users | FreeSelf-host | $250/moStarter Suite |
| 25 users | FreeSelf-host | $625/moStarter Suite |
| 50 users | FreeSelf-host | $1,250/moStarter Suite |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
FWhy choose Frappe CRM
- Has a free plan (Salesforce Starter does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $250/mo
- Higher Cost score (10/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (4/10 vs 2/10)
SWhy choose Salesforce Starter
- Higher Scalability score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Security score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (4/10 vs 2/10)
Pros & Cons
FFrappe CRM
Pros
- No per-user fees, so large sales teams pay the same site price as small ones.
- The open-source AGPL code can be self-hosted for free and moved between hosting providers.
- Twilio and Exotel calling with recordings, plus WhatsApp Business chat, are logged on each lead.
- The ERPNext integration creates quotations from deals and customers from won deals.
- Custom fields, stage renaming, and permissions can be set up without code.
Cons
- Community users report slow progress on long-open issues and feature requests.
- Users report gaps between leads, deals, and ERPNext quotations, with won deals not always creating customers.
- Logging calls and scheduling follow-up tasks is described as tedious.
- There is no marketing automation and fewer out-of-the-box features than HubSpot or Odoo.
- There are very few formal reviews on review sites, and the interface is English only according to AlternativeTo.
SSalesforce Starter
Pros
- At $25 per user per month with monthly billing, it is one of the cheapest ways to get onto the Salesforce platform.
- Sales, service and email marketing come in one product instead of separate clouds.
- Includes a free Slack workspace connected to the CRM, which helps team collaboration.
- Salesforce lists no maximum user count, and teams can upgrade to Pro and higher editions without migrating data.
- Reviewers praise its reporting and its unlimited contacts.
Cons
- Moving from Starter to Pro Suite quadruples the price to $100 per user per month and requires an annual contract.
- Reviewers report limited customization and automation compared with higher Salesforce tiers.
- Reviewers say it has a steeper learning curve than HubSpot or Pipedrive.
- Reviewers say support on the cheaper plans is weak, and Trustpilot complaints mention difficulty cancelling contracts.
- Salesforce states that transaction fees apply to Starter.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Frappe CRM scores higher on our CRM criteria: 7/10 against 5.7/10 for Salesforce Starter. The largest gap is in Cost: 10/10 for Frappe CRM and 5/10 for Salesforce Starter.
Frappe CRM costs less for 10 users: free on its Self-host plan, against about $250/mo on its Starter Suite plan for Salesforce Starter, billed monthly.
Frappe CRM has a free plan; Salesforce Starter does not list one.
Frappe CRM is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 4/10 for them, against 2/10 for Salesforce Starter.
