SAP ERP vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud comparison

The compared SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA Cloud solutions aren't in the same category. SAP ERP is ranked #2 in ERP , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 20.0% mindshare in the category. SAP S/4HANA Cloud is ranked #3 in CE , with an average rating of 8.1, and holds a 19.2% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of SAP ERP users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of SAP S/4HANA Cloud users who would recommend it.

SAP ERP

Read 104 SAP ERP reviews

15,213 Views
13,712 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Read 52 SAP S/4HANA Cloud reviews

1,645 Views
681 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

SAP ERP

SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA Cloud based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and others in ERP.

To learn more, read our detailed ERP Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ERP

April 2025

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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 ERP

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

104

Ranking in other categories

ERP (2nd)

SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud ERP (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. SAP ERP is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 20.0%, down 23.0% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 19.2% mindshare, up 12.4% since last year.

ERP

Cloud ERP

Featured Reviews

Srinivasan Kuppuswamy

Founder Partner & Chief Consultant at Sagesse Abundance

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.

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Sajid Farooq

Head of Professional Services at HCC - Technology & Advisory

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the solution's ability to close plans and resource requirements in deals."

"Its integration is most valuable."

"This is a robust and feature-rich solution."

"It is a comprehensive and robust solution. It can provide lots of functional features."

"The Material Management and Sales and Distribution modules are great. The Financial Accounting module is also great."

"The most valuable feature of SAP ERP is the financial module, pre-configured packages, and plenty of features. The solution is updating and adding new features that are helpful."

"The payroll solution and the localization for advances are valuable."

"The features are very useful for finance."

More SAP ERP pros

"SAP S4HANA Cloud has improved the efficiency and visibility of business operations, leading to potential cost and time savings."

"SAP S/4HANA Cloud provides easy database access."

"I come from a functional consultancy background, and S/4HANA provides excellent procurement solutions for inventory management. One of S/4HANA's best features in the manufacturing module is the ability to calculate product costs."

"The guidance SAP offers for implementing the product is clear and the online resources are great."

"For supply chain management, we are using WMS. When you go to public cloud, you get a full-fledged EWM."

"The product's most valuable features include its real-time data storage and integration capabilities through SAP connectors."

"It is stable and scalable. In the S4HANA plain version, they have new dashboards and things like that."

"With the newer update, there are more funnels as well as ample opportunity to customize the solution. With the SAP Optimizer, companies are using about five to ten percent of the product as-is while the other ninety to ninety five percent is customized to automate and standardize processes."

More SAP S/4HANA Cloud pros

Cons

"SAP ERP's initial setup phase needs to be simplified."

"The solution's graphical user interface (GUI) is outdated and could be improved."

"In previous generations, SAP was stable and the roadmap was very predictable, but currently it's very difficult."

"It is not easily integrated with outside products."

"The power of ABAP Development Tools is the main valuable feature in the SAP ECC system. Every couple of years SAP upgrades ABAP technology significantly, which facilitates developers' work."

"SAP ERP needs to consider simplifying a few areas within the tool. Compared to SAP ERP, other solutions in the market are much more easily configurable and understandable. SAP has a lot of complex features."

"The initial setup was challenging initially. People did not understand much about what SAP could do."

"I think we have not seen any tangible benefits from SAP ERP."

More SAP ERP cons

"They can improve the interface. It has a client-server kind of interface, which is kind of old."

"The product can be improved by including a module for after-sales service modules."

"Public cloud is single-tenant so there are limitations on what can be customized."

"We have encountered challenges with integration projects, particularly between SAP and non-SAP systems, which have caused delays."

"When it comes to the SAP PM material's module, it would be nice to see the inclusion of predictive analytics."

"One thing that could be better in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, especially in the public cloud, is how easily you can make changes."

"The reporting aspect needs improvement, specifically in integrating the EWM and MM modules into a single report."

"The solution’s reporting could be improved."

More SAP S/4HANA Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When you have a solution that is stable, reliable, and has a high performance as this solution, the price is going to be expensive. However, when you evaluate the service you are paying for the cost is quite reasonable for 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 ERP is an expensive tool."

"Licensing can vary, but for educational institutions, there are often favorable conditions."

"This is a costly product."

"The solution is expensive so I rate cost a five out of ten."

"The solution is expensive and is best-suited for large enterprises."

"There is a one-time license that is needed to use the solution. The support is what is needed to be renewed annually."

More SAP ERP pricing and cost advice

"SAP S/4 Hana isn't cheap, but its value depends on how much you can leverage from it. It's not just about the system but how well your people are trained to use it and adapt to derive benefits."

"This is a pricey solution that best serves large enterprises. Be sure to ensure that your company's requirements need to be fulfilled by SAP. There are many other ERP's that are cheaper yet highly functional. However, it is still cheaper than some of the competition (i.e. Oracle, ESD, etc.)"

"The pricing model can be complicated in certain scenarios."

"I'm not directly involved in the pricing discussions; it's more of a concern for the finance team."

"I don't remember the specifics about the licensing, but it's scaled and modular. You pay for what you use. It's not a one-size-fits-all license. You have a license for every single module. It's similar to Oracle."

"The licensing process for SAP S/4HANA Cloud has worked well."

"The solution is affordable."

"The solution’s pricing is very high."

More SAP S/4HANA Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

14%

Computer Software Company

12%

Retailer

University

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Educational Organization

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

See all answers

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...

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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.

See all answers

What do you like most about SAP S/4HANA Cloud?

The manufacturing area is a good feature.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

SAP S/4HANA vs SAP ERP

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Dynamics AX vs SAP ERP

Compared 12% of the time

Infor M3 vs SAP ERP

Compared 12% of the time

Anaplan vs SAP ERP

Compared 11% of the time

Infor LN vs SAP ERP

Compared 10% of the time

More SAP ERP Competitors

SAP Business ByDesign vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Compared 22% of the time

Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Compared 22% of the time

SAP Business One vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Compared 13% of the time

NetSuite ERP vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle E-Business Suite vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Compared 8% of the time

More SAP S/4HANA Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SAP ERP

March 2025

Download SAP ERP product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP S/4HANA Cloud

March 2025

Download SAP S/4HANA Cloud product report

Also Known As

No data available

SAP S4HANA Cloud

Overview

SAP ERP addresses the core business software requirements of midsize and large organizations in all industries and sectors. SAP ERP includes four individual solutions that support key areas of enterprise resource planning: human capital management, financials, operations, corporate services.

SAP

SAP S/4HANA stands for SAP Suite 4 HANA. It is a next-generation integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that is designed for businesses of all sizes, in all industries, that require deep and broad functionality combined with a high degree of flexibility. SAP S/4HANA was launched in 2015 and been adopted by more than 3,200 customers over a period of sixteen months. SAP S/4HANA is materially different from anything SAP has done before and represents the company’s biggest innovation since SAP R/3.

SAP S/4HANA is intended to provide a digital core for an organization. It is fully architected for the most advanced in-memory platform, SAP HANA, and is designed on the most modern design principles with the SAP Fiori user experience to create a personalized and simple feel on users’ device of choice (tablet, laptop, mobile). SAP S/4HANA aims to simplify an organizations’ system landscape and reduce total cost of ownership by shrinking the data footprint while at the same time improving productivity levels in the form of higher throughput. Timelines for cloud deployments average around six months.

SAP S/4HANA is designed to drive business innovation by connecting people, devices, and business networks in real time to support the development of new business models. It will also help accelerate the adoption of, and connection to, the Internet of Things and Big Data. SAP S/4HANA can analyze big data at unprecedented speed allowing users to access real-time information from anywhere, any way they’d like and thus help managers make truly insightful decisions. The simplified data model allows customers to reimagine their IT, helping to drive lower costs and deliver IT efficiency. This, coupled with the SAP S/4HANA prediction and simulation capabilities allow it to anticipate the impact of business outcomes. By doing all the above, SAP S/4HANA aims to provide ultimate sophistication in the simplest possible manner.

To learn more about SAP S/4HANA, visit http://go.sap.com/product/enterprise-management/s4hana-erp.html

SAP

Sample Customers

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.

La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.

Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and others in ERP. Updated: April 2025.

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