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SAP Business ByDesign vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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

SAP Business ByDesign
Ranking in Cloud ERP
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Ranking in Cloud ERP
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Cloud ERP category, the mindshare of SAP Business ByDesign is 11.0%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is 18.7%, up from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Majid-Mustafa - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides custom versions of reports personalized for users
For AI initiatives, you need to purchase a separate AI license to integrate with SAP Business ByDesign. I'd recommend SAP Business ByDesign for large companies that want to check data graphically, especially for monthly income, expenses, and taxes in the millions or trillions. Overall, for large-scale companies, I'd rate it ten out of ten.
Sajid Farooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides seamless integration of different modules in one place
Certain add-ons like quality control, payroll, and HRMS are not part of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud. SAP S/4HANA Cloud doesn't provide a quality control module. SAP S/4HANA Cloud does not have its own payroll and HRMS system. The partners develop their own cloud and integrate with the solution. There are certain modules specific to some industries, and SAP S/4HANA Cloud doesn't deal with those modules. Every partner of SAP S/4HANA Cloud has to develop its own and then integrate and certify with that solution. We can't say that these modules are part of SAP S/4HANA Cloud. There is a little area of improvement that SAP has to opt for particular types of solutions like QC, payroll, and HRMS. The graphics of SAP S/4HANA Cloud are not user-friendly. They don't look like they belong to a branded solution that costs too much. The solution's user interface is not appealing or user-friendly. On a scale from one to ten, where one is bad and ten is good, I rate the solution's user interface a five out of ten. SAP S/4HANA Cloud has built-in reports that are hard-coated. We have to alter or modify built-in reports in different marking segments, but there are no options for that. We have to build complete reports from scratch, and SAP-developed reports are not used in the market. SAP should provide a tool for customizing its developed reports so that there should not be a process of reengineering or reinventing the process.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of SAP Business ByDesign is it has a streamlined design."
"When comparing SAP Business ByDesign to much larger ERP solutions, such as SAP ECC 6.0 or SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business ByDesign is more user-friendly and easier to implement."
"The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports."
"When we were using it, we did see an immediate benefit, especially in the inventory on consignment issue. We were a biotech pre-revenue company and most of our manufacturing was outsourced. So being able to track inventory within the system without creating a financial impact was very key for us."
"I like the tool’s customization."
"I have found the consolidation of the business and group reports very useful. There is plenty of features and the manufacturing and finance aspect of the solution are strong."
"I like its modern approach. It is very modern and new technology."
"The most helpful feature is the integrations. Integrating the tool with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is easy, facilitating implementation and deployment. The runtime analysis checks for real-time analytics to see if the software works properly. This is a powerful feature."
"I'd rate the solution nine out of ten."
"The guidance SAP offers for implementing the product is clear and the online resources are great."
"I have found the financial and production modules to be the most valuable features."
"For supply chain management, we are using WMS. When you go to public cloud, you get a full-fledged EWM."
"It is a straightforward solution."
"The most valuable features of SAP S/4HANA Cloud are the ease of use from the cloud, CapEx analysis report, and everything being connected together well."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the seamless integration of different modules into one solution."
"The most valuable feature of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is the new UX design."
 

Cons

"SAP Business ByDesign can improve the flexibility and user-friendliness of the reporting during the implementations. Customizing the reports inside the device requires a lot of knowledge and most of the time a developer level is needed. For example, if you want to have a more specific reporting layout."
"I would like the tool’s interface to be better. Currently, we use a client application to access the product. I want that to be replaced with a web version. I would like to improve the tool’s internet availability. I also want the product’s setup to be easier."
"There might be some hurdles when integrating with SAP ECC, but integration with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is smooth."
"The Arabic localization is neglected. It should have an Arabic interface. It lacks Arabic translation or support from right to left."
"There is room for improvement in the reporting capability. To use it properly, you need intensive IT support. You cannot write your own reports."
"SAP Business ByDesign is a very vast product, but it has to be a bit more centralized. All the models need to be more centralized for a better experience."
"I would say budget controlling needs improvement. I mention this because it does not have all the functionalities that we need in terms of managing the budget."
"With SAP S/4HANA, you can design your release strategy and modify it to include as many people as possible, which is missing in SAP Business ByDesign."
"The scalability of SAP S/4HANNA is an area that could be improved."
"Certain add-ons like quality control, payroll, and HRMS are not part of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud."
"I would like to see enhancements in certain features."
"Difficult to install and difficult to test. Testing needs to be improved. Scalability of this solution also needs improvement."
"Generally, there's not much noise or many issues, but we sometimes open tickets. These are mainly due to underestimating business needs at the beginning of deployment or sudden changes in the business. For example, when we suddenly open branches in other countries, add many users or the business grows fast, we might need more memory or disk space. We sometimes underestimate our needs from the cloud. This isn't a problem with the cloud or the vendor but more about our estimation. We raise tickets for things like increasing memory, dealing with one-time errors, or issues with space utilization. We might need to increase resources or improve performance."
"Integrating SAP with other products like payroll solutions should be smoother. I wish there were some tools a consultant could build according to the client's requirements. For example, say I want to process debit and credits. In SAP, we have to follow SAP terminologies and patterns. I need a template to deploy my structure according to the client's requirements. There is no structure available in SAP that a consultant can mold."
"We have encountered challenges with integration projects, particularly between SAP and non-SAP systems, which have caused delays."
"SAP promotes the cloud, but customers are worried about the security of their data. SAP suggests they have SAP S4HANA with RISE, which is a private cloud environment, but it is difficult to sell many of the customers on the cloud concept because of the privacy issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of SAP Business ByDesign is less expensive than SAP S/4HANA. However, the price is on par with other similar competitors, such as Microsoft."
"We have to pay yearly."
"The tool’s pricing is expensive."
"The pricing depends on company size. It's cheaper for small companies and more expensive for large ones."
"The tool’s subscription is yearly. There is no flat pricing involved and everything has a range. Pricing depends on the functionality that you would use. You need to also pay for the additional hosting and maintenance costs."
"Everything is included in the licensing cost of the solution. However, they use a per-user model for additional charges."
"The price of the solution could be better. They have to come up with a new strategy."
"The cost starts anywhere between fifty thousand dollars and up depending on the number of licenses."
"Its pricing is way over any of the other ERPs. I'd rate it one out of ten in terms of pricing."
"The pricing is competitive with other products at that level in that category."
"The solution's costs have significantly increased, and we have not seen any anticipated cost savings."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The licensing process for SAP S/4HANA Cloud has worked well."
"Pricing wise, SAP S4HANA Cloud is very expensive. The licensing cost can be 100,000 euros per year, depending on the number of users in your company."
"I'm not directly involved in the pricing discussions; it's more of a concern for the finance team."
"The tool's pricing is reasonable."
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Answers from the Community

RB
Jun 30, 2021
Jun 30, 2021
The main difference is RISE is associated with S/4 Product Range on Cloud while By Design is modeled after SAP Business One also on Cloud. So both are SaaS but the difference is in enterprise size and also application complexities. Also, RISE offers a bundle of pre-configured modules while By Design is similar to B1 with a lot more flexibility and high scalability. License wise both are per us...
See 2 answers
EB
Jun 28, 2021
Hello @Terry Jones ​, @Sanath Premachandra ​, @Ben Melchionno ​and @ASalman. Can you please assist in answering this question?
PB
Jun 30, 2021
The main difference is RISE is associated with S/4 Product Range on Cloud while By Design is modeled after SAP Business One also on Cloud.  So both are SaaS but the difference is in enterprise size and also application complexities. Also, RISE offers a bundle of pre-configured modules while By Design is similar to B1 with a lot more flexibility and high scalability. License wise both are per user on the cloud.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SAP Business ByDesign?
The most valuable features of SAP Business ByDesign are customer invoicing and cost and revenue, from which I get the data for my project reports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Business ByDesign?
The pricing depends on company size. It's cheaper for small companies and more expensive for large ones.
What needs improvement with SAP Business ByDesign?
There might be some hurdles when integrating with SAP ECC, but integration with SAP S/4HANA Cloud is smooth.
What do you like most about SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The manufacturing area is a good feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is very expensive, both to purchase and maintain. It's important to evaluate the costs of recruiting and maintaining trained personnel as it's not just a one-time payment yet requ...
What needs improvement with SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The system is very heavy and requires a lot of resources and a dedicated team. It is costly to maintain, demanding trained professionals, which adds to the expenses. This makes the overall cost ver...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP S4HANA Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Standard Bank of South Africa, AOK Bundesverband, PT XL Axiata Tbk, Tvoy Dom, Schaidt Innovations GmbH & Co. KG, DeLaval International AB, EMC Corporation, Lenovo, Castle Importing Inc., Unilever, Rifle Paper Co., RAK Ceramics, Rough Country, B&G Manufacturing, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town
La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP Business ByDesign vs. SAP S/4HANA Cloud and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,194 professionals have used our research since 2012.