For a B2B team leaving SugarCRM over package price that still needs deep customization, Zoho CRM is my pick: Zoho CRM Enterprise lists US$40 per user per month on Zoho’s Annually view, below comparable Salesforce, Dynamics 365 and HubSpot plans, and Zoho documents a Sugar CRM import. Salesforce Sales Cloud is the enterprise replacement, HubSpot Sales Hub the marketing-led one and SuiteCRM the self-hosted one. SugarCRM’s entry package, Standard+, costs $68 per user per month, billed annually.
I judged the alternatives against Sugar’s packages on comparable-plan price, deployment, coverage and the documented route out of Sugar, from vendor pricing and help pages read in November 2026.
Quick verdict
For sales and RevOps leads at B2B companies on SugarCRM:
- Deep customization at a lower seat price: Zoho CRM, whose Enterprise edition lists US$40 per user per month on Zoho’s Annually view.
- Enterprise depth: Salesforce Sales Cloud, with Pro Suite as the like-for-like edition.
- Inbound, marketing-led pipeline: HubSpot Sales Hub, free for up to 2 users before you pay.
- Data on your own servers: SuiteCRM, open-source software your team installs and upgrades.
- Stay with SugarCRM if ERP purchase data drives your account selling: Sugar Predict sits in Precision+, priced on request.
In This Article (20 sections)
Best SugarCRM Alternatives at a Glance
Four picks cover four reasons to replace SugarCRM: seat price with customization, enterprise depth, marketing-led selling and self-hosting.
Salesforce Sales Cloud
Best for: enterprise customization
A free 30-day Sales Cloud trial with no credit card lets a Sugar team rebuild one pipeline before it signs.
Limit: Pro Suite costs $100 per user per month against $98 for SugarCRM Advanced+, both billed annually, and built-in AI starts at Core, $195
HubSpot Sales Hub
Best for: marketing-led teams
HubSpot gives two users a free CRM and offers a Pay Monthly option, terms SugarCRM’s pricing page does not print.
Limit: Professional carries a required one-time onboarding fee
Zoho CRM
Best for: deep customization at a lower seat price
Zoho CRM Enterprise lists US$40 per user per month on Zoho’s Annually view, against $100 for Salesforce Pro Suite and $105 for Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise. HubSpot Sales Hub Professional starts at $100 per seat per month. Zoho’s import has a Sugar CRM option.
Limit: a SugarCRM database (.SQL) export needs conversion by Zoho’s migration team first
SuiteCRM
Best for: self-hosted open source
SuiteCRM is open-source CRM you install on your own server, where SugarCRM prices its on-premises Enterprise edition per user.
Limit: your team applies each upgrade pack, and the documented migration covers only SugarCRM Community Edition 6.x
SugarCRM vs Alternatives: Quick Comparison
Each price cell gives the entry plan, then the plan that does the job of SugarCRM Advanced+.
| Software | Best for | Entry price; comparable plan | What you give up | Switching note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SugarCRM | ERP-linked B2B account selling | Standard+ $68 per user per month, billed annually; Advanced+ $98 | Benchmark | Benchmark |
| Salesforce Sales Cloud | Enterprise customization | Starter Suite $25 per user per month, billed monthly or annually; Pro Suite $100 and Core $195, billed annually | An on-premises edition | Data Import Wizard, CSV, 50,000 records at a time |
| HubSpot Sales Hub | Marketing-led teams | Starter $20 per seat per month (regular price); Professional starts at $100 per seat per month | Sugar Predict (Precision+) | Multi-object file import |
| Zoho CRM | Deep customization at a lower seat price | Standard US$14 per user per month; Professional US$23; Enterprise US$40, on Zoho’s Annually view | An on-premises edition | Sugar CRM import option |
| SuiteCRM | Self-hosted open source | – | Vendor-run upgrades | Migration documented from CE 6.x only |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales | Microsoft 365 companies | Professional $65 per user per month; Sales Enterprise $105, paid yearly | Sugar’s lower Advanced+ price | Excel, CSV or XML, 8 MB per file |
| Creatio | No-code process design | Growth platform from $40 per user per month, plus Creatio Sales at $15 per user per month | One all-in seat price | No Sugar import guide on the Creatio pages I read |
| Oracle NetSuite CRM | ERP-native selling | Annual license by quote, plus a one-time implementation fee | A published per-user price | Only when the ERP moves too |
| Vtiger | Sales plus help desk | One Pilot free for up to 10 users; One Growth to One AI priced per Standard User on Vtiger’s pricing page, Single App Users from One Professional | Sugar’s AI guidance | No Sugar import guide on the Vtiger pages I read |
| Freshsales | Inside sales teams | Growth $9 per user per month; Enterprise $59, billed annually | A service desk in the product | No Sugar option in its migration tool |
| Pipedrive | Small pipeline-focused teams | Lite US$14 per seat per month; Growth US$39, billed annually | Sugar Predict’s ERP purchase signals | Import2, free up to 1,000,000 records |
Sources: SugarCRM pricing, Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing, HubSpot free CRM and Starter terms, HubSpot Sales Hub pricing, Zoho CRM pricing, SuiteCRM migration docs, Dynamics 365 Sales pricing, Creatio CRM pricing guide, NetSuite CRM, Vtiger pricing, Freshsales pricing, Pipedrive US pricing, checked November 2026.
Why Look for a SugarCRM Alternative?
Five documented limits push teams off SugarCRM. If you are not yet sure Sugar is the problem, my full SugarCRM review weighs what it does well first.
The entry package covers more than a basic pipeline needs. Standard+ bundles complete sales cycle management, business process management, analytics and mobile, depth a small pipeline team may not need.
Forecasting starts on the second package. Sugar puts Forecasting in Advanced+, at $98 per user per month, billed annually; Zoho CRM lists it in Standard.
Service and marketing sit on separate tabs of the price list. Sugar Serve costs $80 per user per month, billed annually, and Sugar Market has a tab of its own.
Every priced Sell package (Standard+, Advanced+, Premier+) is billed annually on the page. Sugar prints no month-to-month rate. The per-package math at 5, 10 and 25 users sits in my breakdown of what each Sugar package costs.
Self-hosting means Sugar Enterprise, at $85 per user per month, billed annually, where SuiteCRM is open-source software you install on your own server.
1. Salesforce Sales Cloud: Best SugarCRM Alternative for Enterprise Customization
- Comparable plan: Pro Suite, $100 per user per month, billed annually
- Import from SugarCRM: Data Import Wizard, CSV only, up to 50,000 records at a time
Salesforce Sales Cloud can replace the Sugar Sell pipeline job and earns the switch when customization depth and the AgentExchange app ecosystem matter more than the seat price. Pro Suite is the like-for-like edition: it adds Sales Quoting and Forecasting, and forecasting is what Sugar holds back for Advanced+. The catch is AI: built-in AI starts at Core, so an AI-led buyer pays a large premium to move.
Map old quotes before you compare. Salesforce’s pricing FAQ says “Core replaces Enterprise Edition, Advanced replaces Unlimited Edition, and Max replaces Agentforce 1 Edition.”
Where Salesforce Sales Cloud may be better
- Salesforce Starter Suite bundles sales, service, marketing and commerce in one license
- Salesforce Max includes Spiff, Sales Planning and Salesforce Maps
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM Advanced+ includes forecasting and AI Summaries at a lower list price than Salesforce Core
- SugarCRM sells Sugar Enterprise for on-premises deployment
Pro Suite costs $100 per user per month, billed annually, against $98 for Sugar Advanced+, so the seat price does not decide.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Comparable SugarCRM package |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter Suite | $25 per user per month | Monthly or annually | Standard+ |
| Pro Suite | $100 per user per month | Annually | Advanced+ |
| Core | $195 per user per month | Annually | Premier+ |
| Advanced | $395 per user per month | Annually | None |
Sources: Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing and edition FAQ, checked November 2026.
Pros
- A free 30-day trial with no credit card
- Pro Suite adds sales quoting and forecasting
- Pro Suite includes access to AgentExchange
Cons
- Built-in AI starts at Core, the $195 edition
- The Data Import Wizard accepts CSV files only
- Opportunities are not on the Data Import Wizard’s object list
My Salesforce vs SugarCRM comparison goes edition by edition.
- Skip it if:
- you need forecasting for under $100 a seat; Zoho CRM lists sales forecasting from its Standard edition.
2. HubSpot Sales Hub: Best SugarCRM Alternative for Marketing-Led Teams
- Comparable plan: Sales Hub Professional, starts at $100 per seat per month
- Free plan: HubSpot’s free CRM, up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts
- Import from SugarCRM: multi-object file import with associations
HubSpot Sales Hub fits a team whose deals begin as form fills and email clicks, because marketing and sales share one contact record on HubSpot’s Smart CRM. Professional, the plan that replaces Sugar Advanced+, adds Forecasting, Sequences and Conversation intelligence.
Where HubSpot Sales Hub may be better
- HubSpot’s free CRM covers up to 2 users with no time limit
- HubSpot offers a Pay Monthly option on Professional
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM Precision+ adds Sugar Predict for ERP purchase data
- SugarCRM lists no onboarding fee next to its Sell packages
HubSpot Sales Hub Professional starts at $100 per seat per month, so ten seats come to $100 x 10 x 12 = $12,000 over 12 months, plus the required one-time $1,500 Professional Onboarding fee in year one.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | No commitment | Up to 2 users |
| Starter | $20 per seat per month | Regular price | Comparable to SugarCRM Standard+ |
| Professional | $100 per seat per month | Starts at | Onboarding row below |
| Enterprise | $150 per seat per month | Starts at | Onboarding row below |
| Professional Onboarding | $1,500 | One-time fee | Required with Professional |
| Enterprise Onboarding | $3,500 | One-time fee | Required with Enterprise |
Sources: HubSpot Sales Hub pricing, HubSpot free CRM and Starter terms, checked November 2026.
Pros
- Free CRM for up to 2 users
- Forecasting and Sequences on Professional
- A Pay Monthly option on Professional
Cons
- One-time $1,500 onboarding fee on Professional
- Association labels need Professional or Enterprise
- Marketing automation is a separate Marketing Hub purchase
HubSpot’s multi-object import creates associations between companies, deals and activities, so feed it a Sugar report export, which can carry related modules. My HubSpot vs SugarCRM comparison covers the pair head to head.
For HubSpot beyond this switch, read my HubSpot CRM review.
- Skip it if:
- your sellers work existing accounts from ERP order data; stay on SugarCRM Precision+, or look at NetSuite CRM if the ERP itself is moving.
3. Zoho CRM: Best SugarCRM Alternative for Deep Customization at a Lower Seat Price
- Comparable plan: Zoho CRM Enterprise, US$40 per user per month on Zoho’s Annually view
- Free plan: Zoho CRM Free Edition, free forever for 3 users
- Import from SugarCRM: a Sugar CRM option in Zoho’s import, with field mapping
Zoho CRM is my pick for a team that wants deep customization without paying Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or HubSpot Professional seat prices, and Zoho documents a Sugar CRM import of its own. Standard already lists Sales forecasting, and Enterprise adds territory management, custom functions and customer portals.
Pipedrive Growth lists US$39 per seat per month, billed annually, so Zoho wins on those Enterprise features, not on price. The trade-off is Sugar’s top end: no on-premises edition on Zoho’s pricing page and nothing like Sugar Predict.
Where Zoho CRM may be better
- Zoho CRM puts sales forecasting in its entry edition, Standard
- Zoho CRM has a free edition for 3 users
Where SugarCRM may be better
- Sugar Enterprise gives an on-premises option that Zoho’s pricing page does not list
- Sugar Predict reads ERP purchase data inside Sugar Sell
Zoho CRM Enterprise costs US$40 per user per month on the Annually view of Zoho’s pricing page, so a team moves up a feature tier while paying well under SugarCRM’s entry package.
| Edition | Price | Billing | Comparable SugarCRM package |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | US$14 per user per month | Annually view | Standard+ |
| Professional | US$23 per user per month | Annually view | Standard+ |
| Enterprise | US$40 per user per month | Annually view | Advanced+ |
| Ultimate | US$52 per user per month | Annually view | Premier+ |
Sources: Zoho CRM pricing, checked November 2026.
Pros
- A Sugar CRM import option that maps files to modules
- New fields can be created during the migration
- Ultimate includes migration assistance
Cons
- No on-premises edition on the pricing page
- Autonumber and Formula fields cannot be created during migration
- A .SQL export waits on Zoho’s experts
Zoho’s Sugar CRM migration guide moves accounts, contacts, leads, opportunities, quotes, calls, meetings and notes; Zoho’s experts convert a Sugar .SQL dump to .CSV and contact you within two or three business days. My Zoho CRM review covers Zoho’s limits outside this switch.
- Skip it if:
- your CRM must run on your own servers; SuiteCRM or Vtiger’s open-source edition fits that mandate.
4. SuiteCRM: Best SugarCRM Alternative for Self-Hosted Open Source
- License: open source
- Import from SugarCRM: a documented migration from SugarCRM Community Edition 6.x to SuiteCRM 7
SuiteCRM is the exit for a team that wants its CRM on its own server. It is open-source software offered as a download on suitecrm.com, with an open REST API and plugins for connecting other systems.
The trade-off is upkeep: SuiteCRM’s upgrade guide has you apply each upgrade pack to your existing installation, after you check backups, PHP settings and file permissions.
SuiteCRM’s migration documentation covers SugarCRM Community Edition 6.x only, so a current Sugar Sell customer moves by CSV. That route lands on SuiteCRM 7, and moving a SuiteCRM 7 instance to SuiteCRM 8 is a second migration in the same docs.
Where SuiteCRM may be better
- SuiteCRM is open source, with an open REST API
- SuiteCRM installs and upgrades on your own server
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM publishes per-user USD prices for its Standard+, Advanced+ and Premier+ packages
- SugarCRM hosts on AWS with ISO 27001 and SOC2 Type 2
SuiteCRM’s homepage offers Download, Try for Free and Contact Us buttons rather than a price list, so a self-hosted budget covers:
- Your own server and its backups
- Staff time for each upgrade pack, through the Upgrade Wizard or the command line
- SuiteASSURED, SuiteCRM’s assurance program, if finance wants warranties and indemnities
Sources: SuiteCRM homepage, SuiteCRM 7 upgrade guide, checked November 2026.
Pros
- Self-hosting keeps data on your own servers
- Open REST API and plugins for integrations
- SuiteASSURED adds warranties and indemnities
Cons
- Your team applies every upgrade pack
- The Sugar route lands on SuiteCRM 7; SuiteCRM 8 is a second migration
- Sugar migration documented for Community Edition 6.x only
Map each Sugar module’s CSV columns to SuiteCRM’s modules and run a test import on a staging install before cutover.
- Skip it if:
- nobody on your team can run a server and its upgrades; Zoho CRM lists US$ per-user prices and has no on-premises edition to maintain.
5. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales: Best SugarCRM Alternative for Microsoft 365 Shops
- Comparable plan: Sales Enterprise, $105 per user per month, paid yearly
- On-premises option: Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (on-premises), version 9.1
- Import from SugarCRM: Excel, CSV or XML Spreadsheet 2003 files, up to 8 MB each
Dynamics 365 Sales is the pick when the company already lives in Outlook, Teams and Excel, because Microsoft 365 interoperation starts on the Professional plan. Sales Enterprise, the tier to set against Sugar Advanced+, includes Copilot features such as opportunity summaries and email and meeting assistance.
Where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales may be better
- Dynamics 365 Sales Professional includes Microsoft 365 interoperation
- Microsoft offers a free Dynamics 365 Sales trial
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM Advanced+ costs less per user than Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise
- SugarCRM connects to back-office ERPs such as Epicor, NetSuite, Sage and SYSPRO
Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise costs $105 per user per month, paid yearly, $7 a seat above Sugar’s $98 Advanced+.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Professional | $65 per user per month | Paid yearly | Core sales force automation |
| Sales Enterprise | $105 per user per month | Paid yearly | Copilot and advanced customization |
| Sales Premium | $150 per user per month | Paid yearly | 1,000 Copilot Credits included |
| Microsoft Relationship Sales | Variable | Contact sales | 10-seat minimum |
Sources: Dynamics 365 Sales pricing, checked November 2026.
Pros
- Microsoft 365 interoperation from the Professional plan
- An on-premises sibling, Customer Engagement version 9.1
- Copilot features included in Sales Enterprise
Cons
- A higher per-user price than SugarCRM Advanced+
- Import files are capped at 8 MB, or 32 MB for a .zip
- Relationship Sales requires a 10-seat minimum
Microsoft’s import guide recommends its Excel template to avoid mapping errors. My SugarCRM vs Dynamics 365 comparison covers the pair feature by feature.
- Skip it if:
- your company runs Google Workspace or a non-Microsoft stack; Zoho CRM or HubSpot Sales Hub fit that better.
6. Creatio: Best SugarCRM Alternative for No-Code Process Design
- Starting price: Creatio Growth platform from $40 per user per month
- Import from SugarCRM: No Sugar import guide on the Creatio pages I read
Creatio belongs on the demo list of a company that customized Sugar heavily and wants business admins, not a Sugar partner, to build new workflows with its no-code visual designers. The trade-off is pricing clarity: a platform plan plus separate CRM products.
Where Creatio may be better
- Creatio’s Unlimited plan removes per-user limits for users, workflows and custom objects
- Creatio sells sales, marketing and service as separate products on one platform
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM prints one per-user price for each of Standard+, Advanced+ and Premier+
- Sugar Predict surfaces cross-sell and reorder signals from ERP data
Creatio’s CRM pricing guide lists the Growth platform from $40 per user per month, plus $15 per user per month for each CRM product, such as Creatio Sales. It states no billing term, so ask for the contract basis before comparing with Sugar’s annual prices.
| Plan or product | Price | Basis | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth (platform) | From $40 per user per month | Per user | AI-native automation for SMB clients |
| Enterprise (platform) | From $55 per user per month | Per user | Full-scale automation |
| Unlimited | Custom pricing | Organization-wide | All CRM products included |
| Creatio Sales, Marketing or Service | $15 per user per month | Per product | Bought separately or as a suite |
Sources: Creatio CRM pricing guide, checked November 2026.
Pros
- Unlimited custom objects and API calls on Unlimited
- No-code designers for business admins
- Products bought one at a time
Cons
- Seat cost combines a platform and a product price
- Unlimited is priced on request
- No Sugar import route on the Creatio pages I read
Treat the move as a rebuild: CSV out of Sugar, workflows recreated in Creatio’s designers, and the import route confirmed in the demo.
- Skip it if:
- you need a published all-in seat price to take to finance this week; Zoho CRM or Dynamics 365 Sales print theirs.
7. Oracle NetSuite CRM: Best SugarCRM Alternative for ERP-Native Selling
- Pricing model: annual license (core platform, optional modules, users) plus a one-time implementation fee
- Import from SugarCRM: No Sugar import guide on the NetSuite CRM page
NetSuite CRM is an ERP decision dressed as a CRM decision. It makes sense when the company is moving its back office to NetSuite, because quotes, orders, fulfillment and commissions then live in the same system as the customer record. If your ERP stays, Sugar already connects to back-office ERPs, NetSuite among them, so the move buys little.
Where Oracle NetSuite CRM may be better
- NetSuite CRM runs quote-to-order, fulfillment and commissions in the same system as the ERP
- NetSuite CRM includes partner relationship management with partner commissions and royalties
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM publishes per-user prices for its Sell packages
- SugarCRM connects to existing ERPs, including NetSuite, so the ERP can stay as it is
NetSuite publishes no per-user CRM price: customers pay an annual license fee plus a one-time implementation fee. CRM comes with the NetSuite platform, but NetSuite says additional CRM licenses are needed.
- Annual license: core platform, optional modules and users
- Implementation: a one-time fee for initial setup
Sources: NetSuite CRM, checked November 2026.
Pros
- Quote-to-order, fulfillment and commissions on the ERP’s own records
- Partner commissions and royalties for reseller channels
- Marketing automation and customer service in the same platform
Cons
- No published per-user price
- A one-time implementation fee on top of the license
- Additional CRM licenses are needed beyond the platform
The Sugar CSV export feeds the ERP implementation team’s migration plan; ask which Sugar objects they map.
- Skip it if:
- your ERP is staying where it is; keep SugarCRM with its ERP connector, or pick Zoho CRM if price is the reason to leave.
8. Vtiger: Best SugarCRM Alternative for Sales and Help Desk on One License
- Comparable plan: One Professional, priced per Standard User and per Single App User on Vtiger’s pricing page
- Free plan: One Pilot, up to 10 users and 3,000 records
- Import from SugarCRM: No Sugar import guide on the Vtiger pages I read; Vtiger’s support team offers help migrating data from legacy systems
Vtiger answers the Sugar customer who pays for Sell and Serve separately: a Standard User has full access to Marketing, Sales, Help Desk, Projects and Inventory, and One Growth already includes Help Desk & Customer Portal. One Professional adds Process Designer, the replacement for Sugar’s business process management. The trade-off sits in the edition ladder: Process Designer starts at One Professional, and the Built-in AI block (Voice Assistant Integration, Generative AI Designer, Predictive AI Designer) arrives with One AI.
Where Vtiger may be better
- Vtiger One Growth includes Help Desk & Customer Portal on the same license
- Vtiger publishes an open-source edition, version 8.4.0, for self-hosting
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM Advanced+ includes AI Summaries and the Sugar Cube AI Assistant
- Precision+ packages bring ERP purchase intelligence into account selling
Vtiger prices Standard Users for One Growth, One Professional, One Enterprise and One AI on its pricing page, and Single App Users from One Professional up, with one Standard User as the minimum; a mixed team sets its total in the page’s price calculator. One Pilot is free, and an open-source edition, version 8.4.0, suits teams that host it themselves.
| Edition | What its own block on the pricing page adds | Comparable SugarCRM package |
|---|---|---|
| One Pilot | Free plan; Max users – 10, Max records – 3000 | None |
| One Growth | Max users – 15, Max records – 100,000; Customer Portal, Articles & FAQs | Standard+ plus Serve |
| One Professional | Lead Scoring, Sales Forecasting, Service Contracts, Process Designer | Advanced+ plus Serve |
| One Enterprise | Multi Currencies, Internal Ticketing, Work order management | Premier+ |
| One AI | Built-in AI: Predictive AI, Generative AI, Voice Assistants Integration | Premier+ |
Sources: Vtiger pricing, Vtiger open-source CRM, checked November 2026.
Pros
- Help Desk & Customer Portal from One Growth
- Single App users lower the cost of role-specific seats
- One Pilot is free for up to 10 users
Cons
- Process Designer starts at One Professional
- Built-in AI sits on the top One AI edition
- No Sugar import guide on the Vtiger pages I read
Load a sample of Sugar accounts, contacts and opportunities into One Pilot, inside its 3,000-record limit, and check how cases map before moving support data.
- Skip it if:
- your Sugar workflows depend on business process management and you planned to stay on One Growth; Process Designer starts at One Professional, so price that edition in the calculator first.
9. Freshsales: Best SugarCRM Alternative for Inside Sales Teams
- Comparable plan: Freshsales Enterprise, $59 per user per month, billed annually
- Import from SugarCRM: CSV or XLSX files up to 5 MB; no Sugar option in the migration tool
Freshsales suits an inside sales team that lives on calls, emails and lead scores. Pro adds contact scoring, territory management and sales sequences; Enterprise adds forecasting insights, custom modules and a sandbox for well under Sugar Advanced+.
Where Freshsales may be better
- Freshsales Enterprise includes a sandbox and custom modules
- Freshsales offers a 21-day trial of the full product
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM sells Serve for case management from the same vendor as Sell
- Sugar’s Advanced+ pairs Forecasting with the Sugar Cube AI Assistant in one package
Freshsales Enterprise costs $59 per user per month, billed annually, and it is the plan I would match with Sugar Advanced+ for its forecasting insights.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Comparable SugarCRM package |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | $9 per user per month | Annually | Standard+ |
| Pro | $39 per user per month | Annually | Standard+ |
| Enterprise | $59 per user per month | Annually | Advanced+ |
Sources: Freshsales pricing, checked November 2026.
Pros
- Sandbox and audit logs on Enterprise
- Contact scoring and sequences on Pro
- A 21-day trial with full access
Cons
- No SugarCRM option in the migration tool
- Imports capped at 5 MB per file
- Custom fields must exist before the import
The Freshsales migration tool lists other CRMs but not Sugar. Sugar data goes through the CSV or XLSX import. My Freshsales review covers the product beyond the switch.
- Skip it if:
- your team needs sales and support on one license; Vtiger covers both from One Growth.
10. Pipedrive: Best SugarCRM Alternative for Small Pipeline-Focused Teams
- Comparable plan: Pipedrive Growth, US$39 per seat per month, billed annually
- Import from SugarCRM: Import2, which lists Sugar CRM
Pipedrive replaces the Sugar Sell pipeline job for a small team that mostly ran deals in Sugar. Growth carries full email sync with tracking, automations and nurturing sequences, and forecast reports, and Import2, Pipedrive’s migration partner, lists Sugar CRM by name.
Where Pipedrive may be better
- Pipedrive’s Import2 partner lists Sugar CRM and migrates up to 1,000,000 records free
- Pipedrive offers a 14-day trial with no credit card
Where SugarCRM may be better
- SugarCRM covers service with Serve and marketing with Market from the same vendor
- Sugar’s Advanced+ package ships the Sugar Cube AI Assistant
Pipedrive Growth costs US$39 per seat per month, billed annually, on Pipedrive’s US-dollar price list, well under Sugar’s entry package.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Comparable SugarCRM package |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | US$14 per seat per month | Annually | Standard+ |
| Growth | US$39 per seat per month | Annually | Advanced+ |
| Premium | US$59 per seat per month | Annually | Premier+ |
Sources: Pipedrive US pricing, checked November 2026.
Pros
- Import2 is free up to 1,000,000 records
- Forecast reports and full email sync on Growth
- Import2 runs on trial accounts
Cons
- Import2 is available only to global admin users
- Lead routing and scoring wait for Premium
- Contracts and e-signatures wait for Premium
Pipedrive’s Import2 guide asks you to set up users and pipelines first, or every record lands on the admin who started the migration. My Pipedrive review covers the product.
For every plan, see the Pipedrive pricing breakdown.
- Skip it if:
- your Sugar instance also runs support cases; Vtiger keeps sales and help desk on one license.
When Should You Stick With SugarCRM?
Stay with SugarCRM if ERP purchase data drives your selling, if you need vendor-supported on-premises software, or if years of email history live in Sugar.
ERP-led account selling is the strongest case: Sugar Predict, in the Precision+ packages, reads what customers actually buy in the ERP and surfaces cross-sell recommendations, reorder windows and early churn signals inside Sugar Sell. NetSuite CRM is the pick built on the ERP’s records, and it fits only if the ERP moves too.
Email history is an exit cost to plan for: Sugar’s import and export knowledge base says emails leave only by a SQL query against the database.
Consider switching if
- SugarCRM Standard+ covers far more than your contacts-and-pipeline job needs
- You want month-to-month terms that Sugar’s pricing page does not print
- Sales and support should share one license instead of SugarCRM Sell plus Serve
Consider staying with SugarCRM if
- Sugar Predict’s ERP purchase data drives cross-sell and reorder selling
- You need vendor-supported on-premises software (Sugar Enterprise)
- Your alternative is Salesforce Core, where built-in AI starts
How to Choose the Right SugarCRM Alternative
Match your main reason to leave to one row below. For a wider shortlist that starts from the job rather than from Sugar, see my ranking of the best CRM for B2B teams.
| Your priority | Alternative to consider | Reason | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep customization at a lower seat price | Zoho CRM | Zoho CRM Enterprise at US$40 per user per month on Zoho’s Annually view | Autonumber and Formula fields cannot be created during migration |
| Enterprise scale and ecosystem | Salesforce Sales Cloud | Pro Suite adds quoting and forecasting | Built-in AI starts at Core |
| Inbound marketing first | HubSpot Sales Hub | Free CRM for 2 users, Pay Monthly | Onboarding fee on Professional |
| Data on your own servers | SuiteCRM | Open source, installed on your own server | Your team applies each upgrade pack |
| A Microsoft 365 company | Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales | Microsoft 365 interoperation | Higher seat price than Advanced+ |
| Build processes without code | Creatio | No-code designers | Platform plus product pricing |
| The ERP is moving to NetSuite | Oracle NetSuite CRM | CRM on the ERP’s records | Quote-only license |
| Sales plus help desk, small budget | Vtiger | Help desk in One Growth | Process Designer starts at One Professional |
| Inside sales on a budget | Freshsales | Scoring and sequences on Pro | No Sugar migration option |
| Pipeline only, fast import | Pipedrive | Import2 lists Sugar CRM | Lead routing and scoring wait for Premium |
| ERP purchase data drives selling | Stay with SugarCRM | Precision+ adds Sugar Predict | Priced on request |
Sources: SugarCRM pricing, Zoho CRM pricing, checked November 2026.
What 25 users pay per year on SugarCRM and the priced alternatives
At 25 users, SugarCRM Advanced+ comes to $98 x 25 x 12 = $29,400 a year at list price.
| Software | Comparable plan | 25 users, 12 months | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SugarCRM | Advanced+ | $98 x 25 x 12 = $29,400 | Benchmark; Connect+ is extra |
| Salesforce Sales Cloud | Pro Suite | $100 x 25 x 12 = $30,000 | Built-in AI needs Core |
| HubSpot Sales Hub | Professional, monthly seat price over 12 months | $100 x 25 x 12 = $30,000 | Plus the one-time $1,500 onboarding fee |
| Zoho CRM | Enterprise, Annually view price | $40 x 25 x 12 = $12,000 | Local taxes extra |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales | Sales Enterprise | $105 x 25 x 12 = $31,500 | Copilot features included |
| Freshsales | Enterprise | $59 x 25 x 12 = $17,700 | Freddy AI Agent sessions extra |
| Pipedrive | Growth | $39 x 25 x 12 = $11,700 | Lead routing needs Premium |
| SuiteCRM | Open source | – | Server and upgrades are yours |
| Creatio | Growth platform plus Creatio Sales | No total | Billing term not stated |
| Oracle NetSuite CRM | NetSuite license | No total | Annual license by quote |
Sources: SugarCRM pricing, Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing, HubSpot Sales Hub pricing, Zoho CRM pricing, Dynamics 365 Sales pricing, Freshsales pricing, Pipedrive US pricing, checked November 2026.
The totals leave out tax, add-ons and migration services. Vtiger sits outside the table because its total turns on your mix of Standard and Single App Users, which its pricing-page calculator works out. At 25 users, Zoho CRM Enterprise frees more than half of the $29,400 for migration work; Salesforce, Dynamics or HubSpot Professional must win on capability, not price.
Migrating From SugarCRM: What to Consider
A move out of SugarCRM runs in seven steps, and the hard limits sit at the export end.
- Export from SugarCRM. Sugar’s export guide offers two CSV routes: a module list view, which holds every field of the module but no related records, and a report, which can include related modules. Select All in a list view covers the first 1,000 records, so filter larger modules into batches.
- Match each import route to the Sugar export it needs. Feed HubSpot’s multi-object import a report export with related modules, so associations survive. For Microsoft’s model-driven app import (8 MB per file) and Freshsales (5 MB per file), send list-view exports in batches. Salesforce’s Data Import Wizard leaves opportunities off its object list, so plan deals outside it. Zoho’s import has a Sugar CRM option, and Pipedrive’s Import2 lists Sugar CRM.
- List the integrations to rebuild. Sugar’s integrations page names connectors for Office and SharePoint, ZoomInfo and ERPs such as Epicor, NetSuite, Sage and SYSPRO; confirm the target’s equivalent and its plan.
- Rebuild custom fields, BPM workflows and reports unless the target’s docs say otherwise; Zoho and Import2 can create custom fields during the move.
- Trial with a small sample of records on the target’s free tier or trial.
- Cut over with a rollback. Freeze changes in Sugar and keep the full CSV export.
- Cancel SugarCRM last. Sugar builds each offer around the contract length you commit to, so check your term before you give notice.
Email history
Emails do not leave through Sugar’s user interface, so budget for the SQL query before you set a cutover date.
How I Evaluated the Alternatives
I weighed the 10 picks above and the tools under Also Considered against the must-haves and criteria below, from official pricing, product and import help pages read in November 2026. The numbering follows the buyer job of each pick, starting with the four cards, not a price ranking; the 25-user table holds the price comparison.
| Step | Criterion |
|---|---|
| Must-have | B2B pipeline and account records |
| Must-have | A documented import route |
| Must-have | A published price or pricing model |
| Compared on | Comparable-plan price over 12 months, as in the 25-user table |
| Compared on | Deployment fit (cloud, on-premises, self-hosted) |
| Compared on | Migration path from Sugar |
| Compared on | Sales, service and marketing coverage |
| Compared on | Customization depth |
| Compared on | Trial or free entry |
Sources: SugarCRM pricing, SugarCRM export guide, and the pricing and import pages linked in each pick, checked November 2026.
Facts come from the vendors’ own pages; the judgments are mine. How much of a customized Sugar instance survives an import depends on your data, so run a sample export through the trials of your top two.
Also Considered
These tools also appear on the top-ranking lists for this search.
- Insightly: my Insightly CRM review weighs it on its own.
- monday CRM: its pricing page says the price is set by the user’s billing country and plans start from 3 users, so I could not set one US price against Sugar’s packages.
- Also on those lists: Copper, Nutshell, Method CRM, Flowlu, Bitrix24, Apptivo, ClickUp and Keap.
FAQ
Is SugarCRM still available?
Yes. Sugar’s website now carries the line “SugarCRM is now SugarAI”, and its pricing page still sells the Sugar Sell packages.
Are there free SugarCRM alternatives?
Yes: HubSpot’s free CRM for up to 2 users, Zoho CRM’s Free Edition for 3 users, and Vtiger One Pilot for up to 10 users and 3,000 records. SuiteCRM is open source and offered as a download on suitecrm.com, with the server and its upgrades left to your team.
Is SuiteCRM the same as SugarCRM?
No. SuiteCRM is a separate open-source CRM, and its own documentation treats a move from SugarCRM Community Edition 6.x to SuiteCRM 7 as a migration from a different product, not an upgrade. A current Sugar Sell customer moves by CSV.
Final Verdict
Pick Zoho CRM if you want deep customization at a lower seat price than Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or HubSpot Professional: Zoho CRM Enterprise lists US$40 per user per month on Zoho’s Annually view, and Zoho documents a Sugar CRM import. Pick Salesforce Sales Cloud for enterprise depth, HubSpot Sales Hub for a marketing-led pipeline, SuiteCRM for self-hosting and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales for a Microsoft 365 company.
Vtiger fits sales and support on one license, Freshsales inside sales and Pipedrive a pipeline-only team; Creatio and NetSuite CRM fit a no-code rebuild or an ERP move. Stay with SugarCRM if ERP purchase data drives your account selling or you need vendor-supported on-premises software.
