Odoo vs Salesforce

Introduction  

For this paper, we decided to compare Odoo against one of the largest competitors on the market: Salesforce. Specifically, we'll be looking at the Odoo Sales app versus the Salesforce SalesCloud application.
While the abilities and functional possibilities of both Odoo and Salesforce are expansive, this document solely focuses on comparing the two company's specific Sales-focused offerings. That said, many features and options can be utilized with the addition of add-ons and third-party applications. However, the following comparison is dedicated to the basic, standard version of the product, and what it can do right out-of-the-box.
In order to offer the most fair comparison between the two sales platforms, we’ve compiled a table of the most important features that sales software should offer.
These are organized into 6 main categories:
These categories most accurately encapsulate everything a business needs to properly manage its sales. We’ve also included a comprehensive list of pricing conditions and usability analysis for both solutions to further the comparison.  
​
  • General Sales
  • Quotations & Sales Orders
  • Products & Pricing
  • Invoicing
  • Reporting
  • Connectors & Integrations

Limitations

When it comes to comparative white papers of this nature, many claim to present a fully unbiased, straightforward breakdown of two (or more) competing products. However, these materials are usually written and published by one of the companies being analyzed.
Inherently, this doesn’t always lend itself to a completely unbiased, authentic comparison – as the publishing party often ends up looking like the more “favorable” option.
We are well aware of this presumption, and feel inclined to point it out for the sake of full transparency.
That said, even though we are one of the companies being examined in this white paper, we did our very best to avoid such biases, and approached this project with the utmost professionalism, objectiveness, and fairness.
While an earnest effort was put forth during the creation of this comparison white paper, it’s only right to address a few limitations that occurred during the research phase.
Despite our most diligent attempts, we were unable to obtain fully functional use of the SalesForce software. The data obtained for this white paper, related to Salesforce, was collected via a series of software trials and demos, phone conferences with Salesforce product experts, and also with the aid of in-depth, independent research.
Additionally, there isn’t a singular Salesforce “Sales” application to compare against the Odoo Sales application. The Salesforce software combines various elements of Sales and CRM, while Odoo offers individual solutions for each.
For the sake of full disclosure, the entirety of Odoo’s software was readily available throughout the creation of this comparison. Please keep these considerations in mind as you review the remainder of this white paper.

Odoo

Odoo (formerly known as TinyERP) was created by Founder/CEO, Fabien Pinckaers, in 2005 in Wallonia, Belgium. What was once a specialized business management platform has grown into a suite of fully-integrated business applications that constantly communicate with one another.
Odoo’s apps cover a wide variety of scopes, including: Sales, CRM, Accounting, Manufacturing, Inventory, HR, and so much more. In Odoo, there are over 50 open-source applications and 44,000+ add-ons, which are reliably maintained by thousands of partners and developers located around the world.
Odoo is available in three editions: Community, Enterprise, and Online.
 The Community edition is completely free and can be downloaded via the Odoo website. The Enterprise edition offers more advanced features, but comes with an annual cost. Lastly, the Online edition offers the same features as the Enterprise version, but is hosted in the cloud and users are billed monthly.
For the following comparison, we chose to use features that are available with the Online edition.


“Because Amazing Employees
Deserve Amazing Software”

12+
million users  

44k+
apps

5k+

partners 

3.6k+
employees

Salesforce

Salesforce, based in San Francisco, was founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff, Dave Moellenhoff, Parker Harris, and Frank Dominguez. While this cloud-based SaaS provider initially started off as purely a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution, it has evolved into one of the biggest management software companies in the industry.
Salesforce provides a variety of software solutions to its customers, including: CRM, Sales, Marketing, Service, Analytics, eCommerce, IoT, and so much more.
Salesforce is available in four editions, which are all billed annually:
  • Starter
  • Professional
  • Enterprise
  • Unlimited
The Starter edition allows users to begin their journey quickly, with basic solutions for sales, service, and email outreach tools for $25/user/month.
The Professional edition gives users a more advanced version of their Sales/CRM applications for $80/user/month.
The Enterprise edition provides users the advanced version of their Sales/CRM applications, with detailed analytics and API for $165/user/month. 
The Unlimited edition provides users with everything Salesforce has to offer, including the Sales/CRM applications, complete with automation, AI, and built-in developer support for $330/user/month.
For the following comparison, we chose to use features that are available in the Professional edition.


“We bring companies and customers together.”
 

  150k+
paying customers  

  7k+
apps (in AppExchange)

  630+
  resellers

  56k+
employees

Features

General Sales
Configuration   Basic Sales Features   Quotations and Sales Orders   Products   Pricing   Pricelists  Customer Invoices   Send Invoices   Payment Reporting  Tracking App Integrations   Subscription    Projects  

Configuration  

Odoo  

Salesforce  
Multi-User  
 ✔ ​ ✔
Different Languages  
 ✔
​  ✔
Supported Countries  
 ​   80+ ​ ​ 100+
Different Types of Access Rights  
 ​ ✔* ​ ✔
  Email Templates
​✔
✔ 
Schedule Activities   
 ​ ✔
     ✔**  
Conversation History (Chatter)   
 ​ ✔
​ ✔
  Add Attachments
​ ✔
​ ✔
*Must have Odoo Studio app installed
**Only with Unlimited Edition  

Basic Sales Features  

Odoo

Salesforce

  Sales Team/Salespeople  
 ✔
✔
Customer Portal    
 ​ ✔
 ✔*
  Customer Preview  
 ✔
    ✔**
Deliver Content by Email    
 ✔
 ✔*
  Incoterms
✔
     ✔***
*Need Additional Salesforce services
**Enterprise Edition required
***Commerce Cloud product required

Quotations and Sales Orders  

Odoo  

  Salesforce

  Quotation Builder
 ✔
✔
Quotation Templates    
 ✔
✘
   Quotation Expiration Date
✔
✔
  Terms & Conditions Link
​ ✔
✔
Upselling and Cross-Selling   
 ✔
✔
  Optional Products
✔
✔
Online Confirmation (Signature or Payment)  
 ✔ ✘
Show Margins   
  ✔
✘
  Sales Warnings
✔
✘
  Lock Confirmed Sales
​✔
✔

Downloadable & Printable

✔

✔

Delivery Status Visible on Orders

✔

✔

  Configurable Delivery Methods

✔

✘

Lead Times  

✔

✔

Manage Invoicing from Sales Orders  

✔

✘

Inventory Levels when Creating Orders  

✔

✔

Scheduled Delivery Dates  

✔

✘

Import/Export Quotations  

✔

✔

Import/Export Sales Orders

✔

✔
*Enterprise Edition
**Additional Salesforce services required
***Commerce Cloud product required

Products  

Odoo  

  Salesforce

Product Catalog   
 ✔ 
✔
  Product Configurator
✔
✔*
  Product Variants/Attributes
✔  ✔
  Product Variant Grid
​ ✔
✔
Deliver Product Specific Content by Email   
  ✔ ✔*
  Internal Notes
✔
✔

Accessory Products

✔

✔

Alternative Products

✔

✔

Continue Selling when Out-of-Stock

✔

✔*

Print Configurable Labels

✔

✘
*Additional Salesforce Services required  

Pricing  

Odoo 

Zoho Inventory  
Discounts on Order Lines   
  ✔  ✔**
Gift Cards   
   ✔  ✘
e-Wallet   
   ✔  ✘
Coupons   
 ✔
 ✘
  Promo Programs
✔
 ✘

Price Rounding

✔

✘

Multiple Currencies

✔

✔

Time-Based Rules

 ✔*

✔**

Pricelists

✔

✔**

*Only usable with the Subscriptions application
**Additional Salesforce services required

Pricelists  

Odoo  

  Salesforce

Multiple Prices per Product  
  ✔
✔*
Pricing Based on Cost  
  ✔
✔*
Pricing Based on Other Pricelist  
 ✔  ✔**
  Pricing Based on Formula
✔
 ✔**
*Additional Salesforce services required
**Enterprise Edition and/or Commerce Cloud required

Customer Invoices  

Odoo  

  Salesforce

Proforma Invoices
✔
✘
  Multiple Taxes
 ✔
✘
  Advanced Taxes (filed, tax of taxes, etc.)
✔  ✘
   Automatic Invoice Generation
✔
 ✘

Invoice Status

✔

✘

Orders to Invoice

✔

✘

Orders to Upsell

✔

✘

Export Batch Invoices

✔

✘

Calendar View

✔

✘

Graph View

✔

✘

Pivot Table

✔

✘

Kanban Pipeline

✔

✘

Down Payments

✔

✘

Various Invoice Policies

✔

✘

Deliver and Invoice to Different Addresses

✔

✘

Invoice on Project Milestones

✔

✘

Tax Mapping (Avatax or TaxCloud)

✔

✘


Send Invoices   

Odoo  

  Salesforce

Generate PDF Invoices  
 ✔
✘
   Batch Send Invoices by Email
 ✔
✘
   Post Invoices by Standard Mail
✔  ✘

Payment


Odoo  

  Salesforce

  Multiple Currencies
✔
✔
In-Store Payment  
 ✔
✔**
   Online Payments  
✔  ✔**

Credit Card

✔

✔**

PayPal

✔

✔**

Wire Transfer

✔

✔**

Adyen

✔

✔**

Alipay

✔

✔**

Amazon Payment Service

✔

✔**

Asiapay

✔

✔**

Authorize.net

✔

✔**

Buckaroo

✔

✔**

Flutterwave  

✔

✔**

Mercado Pago

✔

✔**

Mollie

✔

✔**

Ogone

✔

✔**

PayU Latam

✔

✔**

PayUmoney

✔

✔**

Razorpay

✔

✔**

Stripe

✔

✔**

Bank Transfer

✔*

✔**

*Only in USA, via Authorize.net
**Additional services are required

Reporting


Odoo  

  Salesforce

   Pivot Table on Multiple Dimensions
✔
✘
Analytics  
  ✔
✔*
   Download as xIsx  
✔  ✔

Insert in Spreadsheet  

✔

✔

Customizable Reports  

✔

✔

Customizable Dashboards  

✔

✔

Multiple Graph View Options  

✔

✔

Customizable KPIs  

✔

✔

Order and Invoicing Analysis
✔

✔

*Additional Salesforce services are required

 Tracking


Odoo  

  Salesforce

    Lead/Opportunity
✔
✔
Campaign   
  ✔
✔
   Medium  
✔  ✔*

  Source

✔

✔

*Commerce Cloud product required

App Integrations  


Odoo  

  Salesforce

    Contacts  
✔
✔*
  Rental
 ✔
✔*
   Documents
✔  ✔*

  Events  

✔

✔*

Sign

✔

✔*

Website

✔

✔*

Projects

✔

✔*

Calendar

✔

✔*

Timesheets

✔

✔*

Barcode

✔

✔*

*API access only available with Salesforce Enterprise Edition

Subscription   


Odoo  

  Salesforce

     Subscription Templates
✔*
✔**
   Recurring Invoices
 ✔*
✘
   Recurring Periods
✔*  ✘

   Automatic Closing

✔*

 ✘
*Must have Odoo Subscriptions application installed 
**Additional Salesforce services required

Projects  


Odoo  

  Salesforce

     Create Projects from Sales
✔
✘
    Create Tasks on Existing Projects from Sales Orders
 ✔
✘
   Create Field Service Tasks
✔  ✘
*Must have Odoo Projects application installed

User  Interface

The mark of a truly valuable platform comes down to its user interface.
A top-tier interface not only makes the completion of complicated tasks quick and efficient, it also provides a heightened level of success and satisfaction, due to the reliable convenience provided by its easy-to-use design, functionality, and wide array of features.
 The best-designed software organically creates a familiarity with the user, by delivering a consistent dashboard layout with predictable interactions, helping users establish an immediate comfortability with the platform.
In the next section, we’ll examine screenshots from these two software interfaces to get a better look at their differences.



Odoo

Salesforce

Main Dashboard



Sales Order Form



Sales Order Portal (Customer View)


Reporting



Usability  Usability Comparison Table

UI Marketplace   General Sales

UI


Odoo

Salesforce  

Full Web Interface  

                                  ✔

                                ✔

Mobile App  

                                  ✔

                                ✔

Android App  

                                  ✔

                                ✔

iPhone App  

                                  ✔

                              ✔


Marketplace  


Odoo

Salesforce

App Store / Add-Ons

                                 44k+

                                4.5k+

General Sales


Odoo

Salesforce

Monthly Pricing  

$24.90*

                             $80**

Number of Users

Unlimited***

Unlimited***

Contract Duration

Yearly/Monthly1

Unlimited

Free Trial

✔

✔

*$24.90/mo pricing is based on an annual subscription, otherwise pricing is $31.10 per month. Both subscription options for Odoo include access to all Odoo apps, in addition to Odoo Sales app
**Billed annually at ~$960/yr 1 Choosing between a yearly or monthly subscription option for Odoo will affect the contract duration as well as the price per monthly subscription (e.g. $24.90/mo for annual, $31.10/mo for monthly)
***There is no cap on user count for either platform. Note: both platforms' subscription plans charge per user.
1 Choosing between a yearly or monthly subscription option for Odoo will affect the contract duration as well as the price per monthly subscription (e.g. $24.90/mo for annual, $31.10/mo for monthly)

User Satisfaction


Odoo

Salesforce

Ratings on G2 
​​​​​

​​​​​

Ratings on GetApp

​​​​​

​​​​​

Ratings on Capterra  

​​​​​

​​​​​

Brand Awareness* 

​​​​​

​​​​​

*Researcher's opinion based on search trend and review sites data

Google Trends

Odoo vs. Salesforce


Odoo Sales vs. Salesforce Sales Cloud



Conclusion

Several factors come into play when searching for the ideal sales software, like overall cost, user interface, and amount of features, to name a few. But it all comes down to what’s really important for your business.
Selecting a software that strikes the perfect balance between these vital elements will ultimately lead to positive results.
Another aspect to consider is the day-to-day needs of your sales team. Finding a simple solution to aid and assist them with their regular duties is paramount.
In short, quality software should help your colleagues get their jobs done faster, while avoiding any costly, time-consuming training sessions.
So, whether you’re a burgeoning startup researching various sales platforms for the first time, or a large business considering a migration from current software, the information presented in this document is a useful way to compare the most important aspects of each sales solution, in order to find the right software for your specific needs.



This whitepaper was compiled by Odoo SA. We did our best to make it objective and fair. If you find a mistake or a missing feature, please report it to feedback@mail.odoo.com and we will update this document. Our goal is to have a continuously updated comparison of the main competitors to be as accurate as possible.

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