Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

NetSuite ERP vs SAP ERP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

NetSuite ERP
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Activity Based Costing Software (6th), Billing Software (1st), Cloud ERP (2nd)
SAP ERP
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
ERP (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. NetSuite ERP is designed for Cloud ERP and holds a mindshare of 20.8%, down 34.4% compared to last year.
SAP ERP, on the other hand, focuses on ERP, holds 20.0% mindshare, down 23.0% since last year.
Cloud ERP
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sudni - PeerSpot reviewer
It's a user-friendly cloud-based solution that startups and small businesses can afford
Setting up NetSuite ERP is pretty straightforward. It's a plug-and-play solution that comes with the default bundle. We uploaded our GLs and charter accounts and added our company code to the architecture. It can be up and running in under a month. It takes at least five people to deploy NetSuite.
Srinivasan Kuppuswamy - PeerSpot reviewer
The amazing, robust framework with unlimited scalability earns its #1 status
The solution is not ready for the current e-commerce environment. Its was built for large enterprises who need to predictably optimize their human, material, and financial resources. ERP has evolved and businesses are changing. There are not many large corporations. Most are small enterprises with the capabilities of large enterprises through networking and platform integration. Some companies promote products but get things done with other enterprises as a network. Companies do not want to create new capacity but want to leverage existing capacity with innovative products. They do not want to spend resources on duplicating capacity or facilities. I do not think any ERP product is ready to support this environment so ERPs as a whole might end up being used for back-office functions only. It is not easy to evolve an ERP product because its intent is to integrate functions and processes within an organization. Whereas, in the new business model, processes are not limited to one's own enterprise but cut across different enterprises. There is no enterprise solution as this point in time for the current e-commerce environment so companies must integrate with many solutions.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The initial setup is easy."
"I am impressed with the product's ease of use. It also helps us reduce the techstack."
"The inventory feature in NetSuite ERP is very valuable to me because it provides clear estimates about the depreciation of details and includes useful mobile modules."
"The project management aspect and the timesheets are valuable, especially for ensuring that our milestone billings are automated properly. From a manufacturing perspective, it is more to do with the entire management of the inventory, the overall finance, consolidation of books of accounts, and managing the profit and loss in a more effective manner."
"The most valuable feature in NetSuite ERP is the user interface."
"We can install the bundles based on our needs."
"It's integrated into everything well so you can navigate and use it in a very simple way."
"It offers reporting flexibilities that were previously unavailable to us."
"This is a robust solution with a lot of control measures."
"The valuable feature of SAP ERP is that everything is connected and under one roof, creating a unified system."
"It gives us full control over each change, to the level of the individual field in a master record, including certificates."
"They provide a full service."
"The solution is quite scalable."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"I like the solution’s features in finance, supply chain, sales, and distribution."
"Its customer support is highly rated, and the technical support provided by SAP is considered very good."
 

Cons

"The solution is not user-friendly and it is complex to use."
"The solution's initial setup process was complex."
"The custom reports could be improved."
"The product should improve its warehouse management solution."
"If you do go through an implementor, you need to be careful that they are actual implementors and not just resellers."
"The pricing is high."
"Additionally, adding advanced modules such as AI components or customer service modules could help the system become more scalable."
"The main implementation challenge is finding experienced consultants to translate customer needs into NetSuite ERP's standard functionality. The second challenge is getting enough time from customers for proper implementation."
"Technical support is an area that is in need of improvement."
"It has a high cost."
"It needs a more complete guidance with complete processes. Right now, it only has single transactions."
"Presently, the solution's interface is not intuitive."
"There will always be something within our business that it won't fit."
"When evaluating the current version I am using now, the SAP GUI is old-style and needs to be replaced with something more modern and easy to use. However, the SAP GUI is very optimized for connection networks and is extremely good. Many people would like to have a WebGUI or something else to have access in a different way. Additionally, there could be some drag and drop functionality added because these features are normally in any website that this solution does not have."
"ERP could use better integration with other systems."
"There is room for improvement in the integration of the solution, especially in the payroll area."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is less than the cost of daily hours."
"The price of the solution is quite high."
"Regarding costs, it's not just about licensing. Customization recurring costs can become expensive over five to eight years, especially with new releases. However, NetSuite ERP integrates well with third-party applications, so it can still be used for finance while another ERP is used for localized production."
"When people buy ERP, it's a competitive situation and the pricing is paramount."
"NetSuite ERP has a cost per module you want to use, and then you have the license per user."
"It's very competitively priced due to it being a subscription model. So, clients are quite happy with the pricing. I would rate it an eight out of ten in terms of pricing."
"I would advise that you first meet with and scope out your project with a NetSuite VAR (Value Added Reseller)."
"There is an annual license required to use this solution."
"The price of SAP ERP is high, but it is worth the money. The maintenance and support can be expensive. There should be a different price model for businesses that are not as large to be able to afford it."
"SAP ECC is not cheap but I consider it the best system for managing an organization's data and processes."
"SAP is quite expensive."
"The solution can cost approximately $1 million a year for maintenance for a small-size company and can grow from there. Approximately $1 million is needed for a good-size company."
"SAP ERP is an expensive tool."
"The licensing costs are slightly on the higher side. They need to make it more competitive."
"It could always be cheaper. They don't have a very easy model of licensing, but large entities would get the upper hand in negotiating the license."
"When we talk about pricing it is expensive. On a scale of one to ten, it would rank a two. There are no additional fees but the user licenses are high."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud ERP solutions are best for your needs.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
46%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about NetSuite ERP?
The inventory feature in NetSuite ERP is very valuable to me because it provides clear estimates about the depreciation of details and includes useful mobile modules.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetSuite ERP?
If you buy it through Europe or North America, it is quite expensive. However, if you can buy it from developing markets according to NetSuite, you can get significant discounts, up to 70%.
What needs improvement with NetSuite ERP?
Reports are good but not perfect. The custom reports could be improved. The initial setup process for reports can be a bit complicated and may require more user-friendly options. My previous compan...
Is Anaplan better than SAP ERP?
There are different aspects of both Anaplan and SAP ERP that I like and dislike. Anaplan improves forecast accuracy and drives up the quality of analytics. Rather than spending all of their time co...
What do you like most about SAP ERP?
The solution has made the most significant impact on our human resources function, specifically in HR operations and HR analytics. One feature of SAP ERP that I found most valuable is its use of co...
What needs improvement with SAP ERP?
There is a need for improvement in the business analytics aspect in financial reporting and also in sales and marketing analytics.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

2Pure, Accuvant, Actian, Adtegrity, Advantage Sign Supply, All-Safe Pool Safety Products, Alton Lane, AMC Liquidators
B&G Manufacturing, Unilever, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town, Bhopal Municipal, Corporation (BMC), adidas Group, Butcher & Packer Supply Company, Franklin Valve L.P., Evoshield, Prime Meats, a Norsan Group company, EMC Corporation, Varian Medical Systems Inc., FC Bayern Mªnchen AG, AkzoNobel Chemicals B.V., T¾V Rheinland, Pacific Drilling S.A., Fire & Rescue New South Wales, University of Amsterdam, Pa_alon S.A.
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle, NetSuite, SAP and others in Cloud ERP. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.