LinkedIn Sales Navigator vs. Salesforce Starter

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales intelligence software solution offered by LinkedIn.
$79.99
per month
Salesforce Starter
Score 8.2 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Salesforce Starter (formerly Salesforce Essentials) is a small business CRM that replaces the former SalesforceIQ product. It is priced at $35 per user, on a monthly basis, or at $25 per month for if billed annually ($300) and can be tried free for 14 days on a trial.
$35
per month per user
Pricing
LinkedIn Sales NavigatorSalesforce Starter
Editions & Modules
Professional
$79.99
per month
Team
$134.99
per license
Enterprise
Contact sales team
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
LinkedIn Sales NavigatorSalesforce Starter
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
LinkedIn Sales NavigatorSalesforce Starter
Considered Both Products
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Chose LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Blows them away. I think the fact that this is self-reporting contact info and the enhanced search features just blow any other combos away.
Salesforce Starter

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
LinkedIn Sales NavigatorSalesforce Starter
Prospecting
Comparison of Prospecting features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
8.1
174 Ratings
7% above category average
Salesforce Starter
-
Ratings
Advanced search8.4174 Ratings00 Ratings
Identification of new leads8.3172 Ratings00 Ratings
List quality8.3168 Ratings00 Ratings
List upload/download7.8114 Ratings00 Ratings
Ideal customer targeting8.1167 Ratings00 Ratings
Load time/data access7.8154 Ratings00 Ratings
Sales Intelligence Data Standards
Comparison of Sales Intelligence Data Standards features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
8.0
172 Ratings
6% above category average
Salesforce Starter
-
Ratings
Contact information7.8151 Ratings00 Ratings
Company information8.0172 Ratings00 Ratings
Industry information8.2167 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Augmentation & Lead Qualification
Comparison of Data Augmentation & Lead Qualification features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
8.0
169 Ratings
8% above category average
Salesforce Starter
-
Ratings
Lead qualification process8.0128 Ratings00 Ratings
Smart lists and recommendations8.4151 Ratings00 Ratings
Salesforce integration7.4124 Ratings00 Ratings
Company/business profiles8.3165 Ratings00 Ratings
Alerts and reminders7.9147 Ratings00 Ratings
Data hygiene7.9147 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic data refresh7.8127 Ratings00 Ratings
Tags8.2122 Ratings00 Ratings
Filters and segmentation8.2156 Ratings00 Ratings
Sales Intelligence Email Features
Comparison of Sales Intelligence Email Features features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
7.8
73 Ratings
3% above category average
Salesforce Starter
-
Ratings
Sales email templates7.766 Ratings00 Ratings
Append emails to records7.963 Ratings00 Ratings
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
9.1
3 Ratings
17% above category average
Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Territory management00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Opportunity management00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Quote & order management00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Interaction tracking00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
7.0
3 Ratings
8% below category average
Lead management00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
9.0
2 Ratings
17% above category average
Task management00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
10.0
2 Ratings
27% above category average
Forecasting00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Pipeline visualization00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Customizable reports00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
10.0
3 Ratings
28% above category average
Custom fields00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Custom objects00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Scripting environment00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
API for custom integration00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
10.0
3 Ratings
18% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Social CRM
Comparison of Social CRM features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
5.0
2 Ratings
37% below category average
Social engagement00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Integrations with 3rd-party Software
Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
5.0
2 Ratings
36% below category average
Marketing automation00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Compensation management00 Ratings4.02 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
-
Ratings
Salesforce Starter
10.0
3 Ratings
29% above category average
Mobile access00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Best Alternatives
LinkedIn Sales NavigatorSalesforce Starter
Small Businesses
Lead411
Lead411
Score 9.1 out of 10
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Lead411
Lead411
Score 9.1 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
D&B Hoovers
D&B Hoovers
Score 8.7 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
LinkedIn Sales NavigatorSalesforce Starter
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(175 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.5
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
LinkedIn Sales NavigatorSalesforce Starter
Likelihood to Recommend
LinkedIn
Flexible Saved Searches: I love how we can save a very complex search created for future use so that we don't have to repeat it again and again. The cherry on the top is that you can even share this saved search with your other colleagues having the LinkedIn Sales Navigator license. Access to Decision Makers: With a single click, I can filter out decision-makers in any company. This is again a time saver in many ways. Alerts and Reminders: which can be set custom-based covering specific use cases. For example - if prospect A changes companies today, I can get an alert for it on my email (the only drawback being I need to manually save this prospect in a list first).
Read full review
Salesforce
If you own a business that has complex selling processes or requires integrations with 3rd party tools/systems, you should look at Professional, Enterprise, or Unlimited editions. Salesforce operates very well across pretty much every industry, but not all sales, marketing, and operational processes are created equal. If your marketing process requires a long list of sendable contacts then I would recommend adding on Pardot or Hubspot. Always start small and scale up, to avoid boxing yourself in down the road.
Read full review
Pros
LinkedIn
  • Lists - Very intuitive, simple, way to create and track prospects for campaign purposes
  • InMails - The ability to send direct messages to prospects via InMails can be a differentiator for some reps
  • News Feed - Stay up to date on organizations you are targeting to send relevant messages that resonate
Read full review
Salesforce
  • Tracking phone calls is extremely easy when using the app on the iphone. After a phone call is complete it prompts the user to enter in call details.
  • SalesforceIQ also automatically logs emails for us. This has saved us time from entering in information manually.
  • SalesforceIQ was easy to set up and allowed us customization for fields that were relevant to our business.
Read full review
Cons
LinkedIn
  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator is very powerful, but not super well documented.
  • The tool does not allow for the export of list names, which is disappointing for a tool at this price.
  • LinkedIn's search is loosey goosey, you'll find that it includes names that just barely fit the criteria.
Read full review
Salesforce
  • Price point for smaller startups. Not budget friendly.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
LinkedIn
This question is a no-brainer. The tool is the industry standard for anyone tied to sales and marketing. The name "LinkedIn Sales Navigator" is synonymous with streamlining relevant customer and account data in an easy to use format that is actionable and intelligent. The focus on continuous improvement and richer means of communicating with customers and prospects is evident each time new features are rolled out. The social component of the tool even includes a gamification component to ensure that peers remain relevant among each other, which is refreshing and enjoyable for those who engage the tool on a daily basis.
Read full review
Salesforce
No answers on this topic
Usability
LinkedIn
It lets you pull people with specific titles in specific areas and with the criteria you choose--job changes, mutual connections based on schools, roles, and companies, etc. It is easy to upload these lists into other software or download and save them to a drive.
Read full review
Salesforce
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
LinkedIn
The tool speaks for itself, but the support is definitely a significant portion of why we use the tool. The company cares about their customer's success and it shows. We do not have to wait for long periods of time for the support team to respond; they do so in a timely manner, and virtually always with relevant insights and solutions.
Read full review
Salesforce
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
LinkedIn
I am unsure of the rollout, as I was not involved. I was an early adopter, and I have had a lot of success with the tool personally at multiple organizations, but I have no idea whether the implementation process encountered any errors. I can personally say that it works, and that I have not encountered significant issues with the tool since adoption, although a few issues like messages showing up as being unread even though they have been opened have been an on-again/off-again issues throughout the past few years. Overall, the company is doing a great job, and our implementation seems to have been effective.
Read full review
Salesforce
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
LinkedIn
linkedin has way better data cleanup and relevant contact information. It provides a great insight into how to target personally your prospects, and gives great engagement highlights. ZoomInfo is sometimes outdated, the prospect has moved companies or is no longer employed there-- alot of filtering through the weeds can be hard if you are trying to hit high metrics and make your time valuable
Read full review
Salesforce
Salesforce Starter is exactly what it says. It's specific to getting a small business up and running effectively, without unnecessary development or internal overhead required. It doesn't allow for a ton of customization, but it provides more than most other providers across sales, service, and integration/automating business processes. Some tools are more specific to organizations that want to focus on a specific area to grow or manage their business. That's where the other package types and integrations with specific tools come in
Read full review
Return on Investment
LinkedIn
  • Helped warm up a few leads that I was having trouble getting in touch with via phone and email
  • Allowed me to better identify the key stakeholders at companies I was targeting
  • Kept me up to date on what was happening with my prospects and their companies.
Read full review
Salesforce
  • We have noticed since we have started using SalesforceIQ to communicate items on customer account notes we have freed up hours of phone time between employees allowing us to better answer customer phone calls. This is especially true in our parts department where we have inside and outside sales.
  • We tied in use of Salesforce to our bonus structure to encourage employees to use the software. It is the direction our business is going and we needed everyone to participate to make it work. The newer the employee the better they are about logging information and visits.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Salesforce Starter Screenshots

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