📊 Our Test Results:
- 🎯 Functiediepte: Salesforce offers dedicated Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud vs Insightly’s unified CRM platform — Salesforce wins
- ⚡ Setup Speed: Insightly was live in under 2 hours vs Salesforce requiring 3+ days of configuration — Insightly wins
- 💰 Prijzen: Insightly Plus starts at $29/user/month vs Salesforce Essentials at $25/user/month — Salesforce wins on entry price
- 🔌 Integraties: Salesforce AppExchange offers 5,000+ apps vs Insightly AppConnect with 2,000+ pre-built connectors — Salesforce wins
- 🤖 AI-mogelijkheden: Salesforce Agentforce (Einstein AI) outperforms Insightly Copilot for enterprise-grade automatisering — Salesforce wins
Are you stuck choosing between two powerful crm platforms for your team?
Salesforce and Insightly are both strong contenders in the customer relationship management space.
Salesforce is the dominant enterprise platform. Insightly punches above its weight for small businesses and growing teams.
We spent weeks testing both platforms. We looked at features, pricing, ease of use, and real-world performance.
By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly which crm is your best bet.
Overzicht
To compare Salesforce vs Insightly fairly, we tested both platforms with real sales gegevens en werkprocessen.
We evaluated contact management, pipeline tracking, rapportage, automation, integrations, and pricing.
Salesforce is a San Francisco-based cloud company. Marc Benioff, a former Oracle executive and co founder, started it in February 1999. Salesforce calls itself a customer company — meaning it puts customers first. It became the world’s largest enterprise software firm in 2022.
Insightly is a modern crm built for sales teams that also need project management inside the same platform.
Both are saas tools that run entirely in the cloud. But they serve very different company sizes and use cases.
Wat is Salesforce?
Salesforce is a leading AI-powered, cloud-based customer relationship management platform used by companies of all sizes.
Salesforce products include dedicated clouds for every bedrijf function. The Sales Cloud manages pipelines. The Service Cloud handles customer support. The Marketing Cloud runs campaigns. The Commerce Cloud powers online stores.
In 2025, Salesforce doubled down on its ai commitments with Agentforce. This groundbreaking ai innovation automates tasks and personalizes customer experiences at scale.
Salesforce takes advantage of the Data Cloud to unify real-time business data from multiple sources into one view.
🏆 Winner: Salesforce
Salesforce is the #1 crm globally, trusted by companies from startups to Fortune 500. Its AI-first platform, 5,000+ integrations, and complete view of every customer make it the gold standard for scaling businesses.
Salesforce-prijzen
Here’s what Salesforce costs in 2026. Pricing is billed annually for all plans.
| Plan | Prijs | Het beste voor |
|---|---|---|
| Essentiële zaken | $25 per gebruiker per maand | Small businesses getting started with CRM |
| Professioneel | $75/user/month | Growing sales teams needing full CRM capabilities |
| Onderneming | $150/user/month | Large organizations with complex workflows |
Gratis proefperiode: Salesforce offers a 30-day free trial. No credit card required to start.
Geld-terug-garantie: Salesforce does not offer a standard money-back guarantee. Review your contract terms before committing.
📌 Opmerking: Salesforce pricing can escalate fast with add ons. Features like advanced analytics, extra storage, and premium support cost extra beyond the base plan price.
⚠️ Warning: Costs can grow significantly as your salesforce team expands. Always calculate total costs including add ons before signing an annual contract.
Key Benefits of Salesforce
Here’s why Salesforce stands out from other crm solutions and crm platforms in 2026:
- AI Agent Automation: The Einstein AI agent (Agentforce) automates repetitive tasks. It can boost employee productivity by 30% according to Salesforce data.
- Complete Customer View: Salesforce gives you a complete view of every customer. You see activity history, key contacts, and all communications in one place.
- AppExchange Marketplace: The Salesforce AppExchange launched in 2006 and now has 5,000+ apps. You can integrate QuickBooks, Zendesk, MailChimp, and hundreds of other tools.
- Dedicated Cloud Products: Salesforce products cover every business need. Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud each do one thing exceptionally well.
- Schaalbaarheid: Salesforce technology is built to scale as your business grows. It can handle even the most complex relationship management processes.
- Datagestuurde inzichten: Integration with Tableau and the Data Cloud gives teams high forecasting accuracy. Reported customer satisfaction improvement is 33%.
Salesforce Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- #1 crm by market share — trusted by most businesses globally
- Groundbreaking AI innovation with Agentforce for enterprise automation
- Massive AppExchange with 5,000+ apps to integrate any tool
- Near-endless customization options for fields, tabs, email templates, and reports
- Scales from kleine onderneming to Fortune 500 without switching platforms
❌ Cons
- Pricing is high compared to other crm platforms — costs escalate with add ons
- Steep learning curve — implementation can take weeks for new users
- Often considered overkill for very small businesses with simple needs
- Complex pricing structure — most businesses need a custom quote for enterprise tiers
Wat is Insightly?
Insightly crm is a modern platform built for growing businesses that need both sales pipeline tracking and project management in one place.
Insightly keeps all current and prospective customer data in one place. Sales teams can establish strong relationships. Managers can monitor employee work and track sales opportunities in real time.
Insightly offers additional products beyond its core CRM. Insightly Marketing handles campaign automation. Insightly Service manages support tickets. These insightly products follow the same pricing structure as the core crm, making it easy to scale.
PC Magazine and other publications recommend Insightly as one of the top crm tools for teams that need a tight link between sales and project delivery.
Insightly CRM
Insightly combines crm and project management into one platform. It’s ideal for teams that need to manage contacts, track a sales pipeline, and deliver projects without jumping between tools. Modern crm teams love its intuitive interface and fast setup time.
Inzichtelijke prijsstelling
Here’s what Insightly costs in 2026. All plans are billed annually.
| Plan | Prijs | Het beste voor |
|---|---|---|
| Plus | $29 per gebruiker per maand | Small teams with basic CRM needs |
| Professioneel | $49 per gebruiker per maand | Growing teams needing dashboards and integrations |
| Onderneming | $99 per gebruiker per maand | Full-access organizations with complex workflows |
Gratis proefperiode: Insightly offers a 14-day free trial. No credit card required.
Geld-terug-garantie: Insightly does not publish a formal refund policy. Contact their team before purchasing if this matters to you.
📌 Opmerking: Other insightly products like Insightly Marketing and Insightly Service have the same pricing tiers as the CRM. Bundling them can add significant cost per user per month.
⚠️ Warning: Insightly’s Enterprise tier is almost double that of some competitors like Zoho CRM at the same tier. Evaluate total cost carefully before upgrading.
Key Benefits of Insightly
Here’s why Insightly stands out from other crm tools:
- CRM + Project Management: Insightly lets you convert a won opportunity into a project direct. No other tool in this price range does this as smoothly.
- Task Management Built-In: You can create tasks, assign tasks to team members, set reminders, and create to-do lists all from inside the crm. Task management doesn’t require a separate app.
- Fast Implementation: Insightly’s implementation is one of the fastest in the crm software category. Most teams are up and running in under two hours.
- Integratie met Google Workspace: Insightly integrates natively with google workspace tools. You can sync contacts, emails, and calendar events without any add ons.
- AI-copiloot: Insightly’s AI-powered assistent named Copilot can summarize emails and retrieve business data fast. It helps sales reps act on information without digging through records.
- Compliance & Beveiliging: Insightly is compliant with SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and HIPAA. This makes it viable for regulated industries like healthcare and finance.
Insightly Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Combines crm software and project management into one platform
- Fast implementation — teams are live in hours, not weeks
- AppConnect offers 2,000+ pre-built connectors for apps and services
- Strong Google Workspace and mobile app support for on-the-go management
- Gantt chart visualizations added in 2025 for better project timeline tracking
❌ Cons
- Less feature-deep than Salesforce — lacks advanced marketing automation
- Enterprise tier is expensive compared to other crms in the same category
- Limited dashboards on Plus tier — you need Professional for full reporting
- Not ideal for very large companies needing complex enterprise infrastructure
Functievergelijking
Ready to dive into a detailed comparison of Salesforce vs Insightly?
We’ll explore 9 key features to help you determine which platform best suits your needs.
| Functie | Salesforce | Inzichtelijk |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price (billed annually) | $25 per gebruiker per maand | $29 per gebruiker per maand |
| Gratis plan | ❌ | ❌ |
| Contactbeheer | ✅ Advanced | ✅ Solid |
| Projectmanagement | ❌ | ✅ |
| Werkstroomautomatisering | ✅ Advanced | ✅ Basic-Moderate |
| AI-mogelijkheden | ✅ Agentforce + Einstein | ✅ Copilot |
| AppExchange / Integrations | ✅ 5,000+ apps | ✅ 2,000+ connectors |
| Marketingautomatisering | ✅ Marketing Cloud | ✅ Insightly Marketing |
| Reporting & Analytics | ✅ Advanced (Tableau) | ✅ Standard |
| Het beste voor | Enterprise & scaling teams | SMBs needing CRM + projects |
1. CRM Platform & Contact Management
Salesforce: Salesforce crm gives you a complete view of every customer. You see activity history, key contacts, and all communications in one place. The platform tracks every touchpoint across sales, service, and marketing. Customization options let you add custom fields, tabs, and email templates to match your exact sales process.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly crm keeps all current and prospective customer data in one place. Sales teams can manage contacts, track leads, and monitor sales opportunities on the opportunities dashboard. You can add new contacts using a business card scan on mobile. Insightly’s interface is easy to pick up, making it ideal for teams with a shorter learning curve.
2. Werkstroomautomatisering
Salesforce: Salesforce allows businesses to automate processes through a simple point-and-click interface. Agentforce (Einstein AI) acts as an ai agent that handles complex multi-step workflows without code. Salesforce takes advantage of this automation to boost employee productivity by a reported 30%.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly offers workflow automation through its visual bouwer. You can assign tasks automatically when a lead moves to a new pipeline stage. Insightly also lets you schedule emails and trigger actions based on contact activity. It handles most common automation needs well, though advanced enterprise workflows require higher tiers.
⚠️ Warning: Insightly’s workflow automation is solid for most small businesses. But if you need complex, multi-branch automation across hundreds of users, Salesforce’s point-and-click builder is more powerful.
3. Analyse en rapportage
Salesforce: Salesforce integrates with Tableau for advanced visual analytics. The Data Cloud unifies real-time data from any source into one analytics layer. Sales leaders get forecasting accuracy that’s hard to match. Salesforce’s analytics can show which campaigns, teams, and products are driving the most customer success.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly provides reports and dashboards to gain visual insights into business performance. You can track sales pipeline progress, team productivity, and project completion rates. The Plus tier limits dashboards, so most businesses need Professional or Enterprise for full reporting access. The data is clear and actionable for most day-to-day analytics needs.
4. Projectmanagement
Salesforce: Salesforce does not include native project management tools. You can manage sales opportunities and accounts in depth, but delivering projects after a sale requires a separate tool or an AppExchange integration. For companies that need CRM-to-project handoff, this is a key gap.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly enables project management with features like milestones, pipelines, and task assignments. In 2025, Insightly added Gantt chart visualizations for better project timeline and dependency management. You can create projects directly from won opportunities. Managers can monitor employee work and track progress without leaving the crm.
✅ Test Result: Insightly’s project management feature is a clear differentiator. No other crm at this price point handles the CRM-to-project handoff this smoothly. If your sales team delivers projects after closing deals, Insightly wins this category easily.
5. Email Templates & Communication
Salesforce: Salesforce’s customization options allow users to customize and build email templates for every stage of the sales cycle. The Marketing Cloud enables personalized campaign management at scale. Apps like MailChimp on the AppExchange let you create and send email campaigns directly from Salesforce. This makes Salesforce a powerhouse for marketing teams.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly lets you schedule emails, create email templates, and track open rates inside the platform. The Insightly Marketing add-on extends email capabilities for full campaign management. You can use email templates to keep messaging consistent across your sales team without needing a separate marketing tool.
6. AI Automation & Innovation
Salesforce: Agentforce and Salesforce’s AI app-ontwikkeling tools represent one of the most advanced AI commitments in the CRM industry. The AI agent handles customer service queries, follow ups, and data entry automatically. In 2025, Salesforce adopted an AI-first strategy focused on agentic automation. This is groundbreaking ai innovation that most businesses haven’t seen before.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly provides an AI-powered assistant named Copilot for summarizing emails and data retrieval. Insightly AI automations can handle task assignments, pipeline updates, and follow-up reminders. The AI features are practical and easy to use for small teams, though they don’t match Salesforce’s enterprise-grade AI depth.
7. Integraties
Salesforce: The Salesforce AppExchange is the largest third-party app marketplace in the CRM industry. It launched in 2006 and now has over 5,000 apps. You can integrate tools like QuickBooks, Zendesk, SAP, and Oracle through MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform. Salesforce offers access to integration templates and API designs for virtually any enterprise system.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly’s AppConnect is a low-code integration engine with over 2,000 pre-built connectors. You can integrate Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Slack, and hundreds of other apps without code. The Google integration is especially strong — native sync with Gmail and Google Calendar makes Insightly feel like an extension of your existing workspace.
8. Customer Support Tracking
Salesforce: Salesforce’s Service Cloud provides case management and tools for enhanced customer service support. It tracks every customer issue from submission to resolution. Companies using Service Cloud report a 33% improvement in customer satisfaction. Salesforce offers 24/7 customer support on higher tiers, which is important for enterprise clients.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly Service is a dedicated support ticketing product that integrates with the CRM. It lets support teams manage tickets and link them to contacts and organizations in the crm database. This creates a single record for every customer interaction — from first lead to ongoing service request.
9. Pricing & Cost
Let’s compare pricing plans side by side.
| Plan | Salesforce | Inzichtelijk |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Tier | Essentials: $25/user/month | Plus: $29/user/month |
| Mid Tier | Professional: $75/user/month | Professional: $49/user/month |
| Onderneming | Enterprise: $150/user/month | Enterprise: $99/user/month |
Salesforce: Salesforce’s Essentials tier is actually the cheaper entry point at $25/user/month billed annually. But costs scale fast. The Professional tier at $75/user/month and Enterprise at $150/user/month, plus add ons, can make Salesforce the most expensive option on the market for growing teams.
Inzichtelijk: Insightly starts at $29/user/month for the Plus tier. Its mid-tier pricing is significantly lower than Salesforce — $49 vs $75 per user. For most small businesses and growing teams, Insightly offers better value at the Professional tier. The Enterprise tier at $99 is still $51 cheaper per user than Salesforce’s equivalent.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise-scale CRM with deep customization | Salesforce | Best crm for complex, large organizations |
| CRM + project management in one tool | Inzichtelijk | Only platform at this price with both |
| Advanced AI automation (Agentforce) | Salesforce | Most powerful AI agent in the CRM industry |
| Fast implementation for smaller businesses | Inzichtelijk | Live in hours vs days or weeks |
| 5,000+ app integrations | Salesforce | Largest CRM marketplace in the industry |
| Better mid-tier pricing (billed annually) | Inzichtelijk | $26/user/month cheaper than Salesforce Pro |
| Google Workspace-first team | Inzichtelijk | Native Google integration out of the box |
💰 Your Budget
Salesforce starts at $25/user/month (billed annually) but costs rise steeply with add ons. Insightly offers better value at the mid-tier with Professional at $49/user/month — making it the smarter choice for most small businesses watching their budget.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
If your team runs on Google Workspace, Insightly is the obvious choice — native Google integration is built in from day one. If your business uses SAP, Oracle, or enterprise infrastructure, Salesforce’s MuleSoft integration and AppExchange give you more options to integrate any system.
📋 Your Sales Process
If your sales process ends at contract signing, both tools work well. But if your sales team also delivers projects after closing deals, Insightly’s built-in project management is a game-changer. You can manage contacts, win deals, and deliver work — all from one platform.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Insightly has a much shorter learning curve. Most users can manage contacts and track a sales pipeline within hours of signup. Salesforce is more powerful but requires proper training — implementation typically takes days or weeks for new teams.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
Both platforms offer free trials. Insightly gives you 14 days. Salesforce gives you 30 days. Test both on a real sales workflow before committing — pricing billed annually means you’ll be locked in for a year once you sign up.
🛟 Support Options
Salesforce offers 24/7 customer support on higher tiers and has a massive training library with Salesforce Trailhead. Insightly provides standard business-hours support with documentation, community resources, and a solid knowledge base for self-service help. Enterprise clients typically need Salesforce’s deeper support infrastructure.
Switching Guide
Already using one of these platforms? Here’s what to expect if you switch.
🔄 Switching from Salesforce to Insightly?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Built-in project management — no need for a separate tool after closing deals
- Much lower cost — especially at Professional and Enterprise tiers
- Faster setup and a shorter learning curve for new team members
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Agentforce and Einstein AI — the most powerful AI agent in the CRM industry
- Access to 5,000+ AppExchange apps and enterprise-level integrations
- Dedicated Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud products
📋 How to switch:
- Export your Salesforce contacts, accounts, and opportunity data as CSV files
- Sign up for an Insightly trial and use their data import wizard to bring in your records
- Rebuild your sales pipeline stages and set up Google Workspace integration before go-live
🔄 Switching from Insightly to Salesforce?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Enterprise-grade AI automation with Agentforce — the most advanced AI agent in CRM
- Access to 5,000+ apps on the Salesforce AppExchange for any integration need
- Dedicated clouds for sales, service, marketing, and commerce — best crm for large teams
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Built-in project management — you’ll need an add-on or separate tool
- Simpler pricing — Salesforce’s costs escalate significantly with add ons
- Fast implementation — expect a longer setup and training period
📋 How to switch:
- Export all contacts, leads, and project data from Insightly as CSV or via API
- Sign up for a Salesforce trial and use Data Import Wizard to migrate records
- Set up your Salesforce team structure, permissions, and workflows before full launch
Eindconclusie
| Categorie | Winnaar |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing (Mid-Tier) | Inzichtelijk |
| 🚀 Core CRM Features | Salesforce |
| 🤖 AI Capabilities | Salesforce |
| 📋 Project Management | Inzichtelijk |
| 🔌 Integrations | Salesforce |
| 👶 Ease of Use | Inzichtelijk |
| 📊 Analytics & Reporting | Salesforce |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | Salesforce |
🏆 WINNER: SALESFORCE
Salesforce wins 5 out of 7 categories in our head-to-head test.
Best for: Enterprise teams, scaling businesses, companies needing advanced AI automation
Salesforce and Insightly are two very different products built for different audiences.
Salesforce crm is the best crm for companies that need enterprise-grade power, near-endless customization, and a complete view of every customer interaction.
Salesforce’s AI-first strategy, Data Cloud, and dedicated sales cloud, service cloud, marketing cloud, and commerce cloud products make it unbeatable for large organizations.
Insightly is excellent for small businesses and growing teams that need CRM and project management in one place at a reasonable cost.
If your salesforce team is large, your needs are complex, and you can absorb the costs — Salesforce is the clear winner.
If you’re a smaller business that closes deals and then delivers projects, Insightly’s combined platform is hard to beat at its price point.
Now go pick the right CRM and start building better customer experiences today!
More of Salesforce Compared
Here’s how Salesforce stacks up against other competitors:
Salesforce wins on: Advanced customization, AI automation, enterprise scalability
HubSpot wins on: Free plan availability, easier onboarding, built-in marketing tools
Salesforce wins on: Enterprise features, AppExchange breadth, AI capabilities
Zoho CRM wins on: Lower pricing, broader free tier, faster setup for smaller businesses
Salesforce wins on: Feature depth, reporting, enterprise integrations
Pijpleiding wins on: Simpler pipeline management, lower cost, faster adoption for sales teams
Salesforce wins on: Scalability, advanced AI, Commerce Cloud and Marketing Cloud depth
Freshsales wins on: More affordable entry pricing, simpler interface for growing teams
More of Insightly Compared
Here’s how Insightly stacks up against other competitors:
Insightly wins on: Built-in project management, faster implementation, compliance standards
HubSpot wins on: Free plan, broader marketing automation, larger user community
Insightly wins on: CRM-to-project handoff, cleaner interface, faster setup
Zoho CRM wins on: More features at a lower price point, better free tier options
Insightly wins on: Project management, task management, compliance features
Pipedrive wins on: Visual sales pipeline simplicity, lower starting price
Veelgestelde vragen
What does Salesforce do exactly?
Salesforce is a cloud-based customer relationship management platform. It helps companies manage contacts, track sales opportunities, automate marketing, and deliver customer service. Salesforce products include dedicated Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, and Data Cloud platforms — each built for a specific business function.
What is Insightly CRM used for?
Insightly crm is used by sales teams to manage contacts, track leads, and monitor the sales pipeline. It’s unique because it also includes project management tools. This lets teams convert a won opportunity into a project directly inside the crm — without switching to another app. Insightly also offers other insightly products like Insightly Marketing and Insightly Service for a complete business platform.
Is Salesforce worth it for small businesses?
Here’s a sneak peek at the real costs: Salesforce can be overkill for very small businesses that don’t need enterprise features. The Essentials tier starts at $25/user/month billed annually, but costs rise fast with add ons. Most small businesses find better value in alternatives like Insightly, which starts at $29/user/month and offers faster implementation. That said, Salesforce is future-proof — it scales without limits as your business grows.
Which is the best crm software for sales teams?
For most enterprise sales teams, Salesforce is the best crm. It’s the #1 CRM by IDC market share and offers advanced AI automation, Sales Cloud capabilities, and a complete view of every customer. For sales teams that also manage projects, Insightly is the better choice — modern crm teams love its clean interface and built-in workflow automation. The best bet depends on your team size and sales process complexity.
How do Salesforce and Insightly compare for integrations?
Salesforce’s AppExchange offers 5,000+ apps — the largest integration marketplace in the crm industry. You can connect QuickBooks, Zendesk, SAP, Oracle, and thousands of other tools. Insightly’s AppConnect provides 2,000+ pre-built connectors and is especially strong for Google Workspace integration. Both platforms let you integrate the tools your business depends on, but Salesforce has the clear advantage in integration breadth.
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