Sage CRM vs. Zendesk Suite

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Sage CRM
Score 7.6 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Sage CRM is an SMB-oriented CRM platform offered in both SaaS and on-premise editions. Unlike the Sage SalesLogix product, the SaaS version is a true multi-tenant offering. The platform offers excellent integration with Sage ERP and accounting products. It is also a good global solution and is available in many languages and is used by over 12,000 customers worldwide, with many customers in Europe.
$33
per month
Zendesk Suite
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
The Zendesk Support suite is a cloud-based customer support software built for better customer relationships. Designed to improve customer satisfaction and to support customers on any channel: text SMS, web, mobile app, phone, email, social media. The vendor states more than 200,000 companies such as Uber, Groupon, Box, Airbnb, and Slack are using Zendesk to lower their support costs, raise productivity, and increase customer satisfaction. Zendesk offers a full suite of products to meet customer…
$55
per month agent
Pricing
Sage CRMZendesk Suite
Editions & Modules
Sage CRM (cloud)
$45
Per User per Month
Sage CRM (on premise)
Lifetime License per Seat
Support Team (Foundational Support Only)
$19
per month agent
Suite Team
$55
per month agent
Support Professional
$55
per month agent
Suite Growth
$89
per month agent
Suite Professional
$115
per month agent
Support Enterprise
$115
per month agent
Suite Enterprise
$169
per month agent
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Sage CRMZendesk Suite
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsTiered pricing is available for multiple users.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Sage CRMZendesk Suite
Considered Both Products
Sage CRM
Chose Sage CRM
I have looked at and used both Salesforce and Maximizer in the past. Salesforce offer similar functionality to Sage CRM at much higher price typically. Maximer has less funtionality and because of its on premise background lacks the advanced web interface of Sage CRM.
Zendesk Suite

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Sage CRMZendesk Suite
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
8.8
17 Ratings
14% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Customer data management / contact management9.017 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow management8.616 Ratings00 Ratings
Territory management8.517 Ratings00 Ratings
Opportunity management8.917 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)9.016 Ratings00 Ratings
Contract management8.514 Ratings00 Ratings
Quote & order management9.016 Ratings00 Ratings
Interaction tracking9.216 Ratings00 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management8.716 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
8.1
16 Ratings
8% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Case management8.016 Ratings00 Ratings
Call center management8.215 Ratings00 Ratings
Help desk management8.214 Ratings00 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
8.7
16 Ratings
14% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Lead management8.816 Ratings00 Ratings
Email marketing8.715 Ratings00 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
9.0
17 Ratings
17% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Task management9.016 Ratings00 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management9.015 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting9.113 Ratings00 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
8.6
17 Ratings
12% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Forecasting8.716 Ratings00 Ratings
Pipeline visualization8.416 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable reports8.717 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
8.6
17 Ratings
13% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Custom fields8.517 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom objects8.516 Ratings00 Ratings
Scripting environment9.016 Ratings00 Ratings
API for custom integration8.314 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
8.7
17 Ratings
5% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Single sign-on capability8.717 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.813 Ratings00 Ratings
Social CRM
Comparison of Social CRM features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
9.4
13 Ratings
25% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Social data9.513 Ratings00 Ratings
Social engagement9.313 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrations with 3rd-party Software
Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
9.0
14 Ratings
23% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Marketing automation9.114 Ratings00 Ratings
Compensation management8.912 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
7.8
16 Ratings
4% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Mobile access7.816 Ratings00 Ratings
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
-
Ratings
Zendesk Suite
8.2
111 Ratings
4% above category average
Organize and prioritize service tickets00 Ratings8.5110 Ratings
Expert directory00 Ratings7.169 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications00 Ratings7.475 Ratings
ITSM collaboration and documentation00 Ratings7.970 Ratings
Ticket creation and submission00 Ratings9.1111 Ratings
Ticket response00 Ratings8.8110 Ratings
Self Help Community
Comparison of Self Help Community features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
-
Ratings
Zendesk Suite
8.0
98 Ratings
3% above category average
External knowledge base00 Ratings7.994 Ratings
Internal knowledge base00 Ratings8.188 Ratings
Multi-Channel Help
Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Product A and Product B
Sage CRM
-
Ratings
Zendesk Suite
8.0
109 Ratings
4% above category average
Customer portal00 Ratings7.685 Ratings
IVR00 Ratings7.835 Ratings
Social integration00 Ratings7.366 Ratings
Email support00 Ratings8.5107 Ratings
Help Desk CRM integration00 Ratings8.679 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Sage CRMZendesk Suite
Small Businesses
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 9.8 out of 10
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
SAP Service Cloud
SAP Service Cloud
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Sage CRMZendesk Suite
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(28 ratings)
8.3
(149 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
5.1
(11 ratings)
10.0
(40 ratings)
Usability
8.9
(11 ratings)
6.9
(22 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(13 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(1 ratings)
8.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
7.9
(8 ratings)
9.0
(29 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(9 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(18 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Sage CRMZendesk Suite
Likelihood to Recommend
Sage
as it is a very flexible software that can be adapted to any business model, other functions human resource management, manufacturing and supply chain planning, all these functions are housed in a highly technological interface. I liked this system because it made automating accounts payable so much easier.the control of the basic accounting of any type of company
Read full review
Zendesk
The ability to Merge tickets is a good to have feature. Navigation is easy from one ticket to another ticket without having to go back to the list. Admin options should be more clear, internal menu navigation is complex and creates more confusion while arranging the sections and articles. Channel Management is good but Forum management can be brought in with more flexibility. More Apps integration or flexibility in APIs so that a newbie can also integrate the application into the software. A redundant software that brings in 360-degree communication of support/service concepts into practicality however if the option to compile texting with platforms like ringcentral, Twilio or Dialpad will be an awesome thing to share ticket updates with custom templates.
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Pros
Sage
  • When in client profile, it is very intuitive, allowing you to easily transcribe notes in the clients profile.
  • Sage allows 3rd party plugins, so if you utilize a particular phone services or would like to import something as simple as google drive, its compatible.
Read full review
Zendesk
  • Reporting and Analytics
  • Ease of Agent Training and Use
  • Able to add multiple brands with related custom reports and dashboards
  • Adding a new brand and basic help center is easy to do without the need of an expert or web team
  • Ability of agents and supervisors to see customer history across multiple channels
Read full review
Cons
Sage
  • Reliance on Apache Tomcat causes a lot of headaches. There are common issues trying to start up the server, resulting from Apache Tomcat misconfigurations, or Java. Some forum posts on Sage City address common issues, but digging into server logs seems to be an often occurrence.
  • Support is somewhat lacking, less user install base means error messages are sometimes hard to find quick answers for. Most of the knowledge found on the internet is in the Sage City forum.
  • Integration with Microsoft 365 causes you to have to turn off some security features. This will result in your 365 tenants running lower security standards than recommended, it may put you at risk for targeted attacks.
Read full review
Zendesk
  • I think the Graphical User Interface could use a facelift. It not the most aesthetically pleasing platform in my experience.
  • Particular things like where the default is when you click on each and every dropdown menu.
  • The macro integration could be a little more simplified.
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Likelihood to Renew
Sage
There are really no other words to say, it is a very easy to use application that is more straightforward and has provided better results with the bulk of features that appeal to a very broad amount of users. There may be other CRM platforms out there that are more prevalent, but I have found them to be much more clunky and less intuitive than Sage CRM.
Read full review
Zendesk
Zendesk is super easy to use and navigate. I really enjoy the sleek layout, the ability to tailor tickets, the macro option, and the quick key guide they have to make your use of time even more effective. My whole team loves working with Zendesk and rarely ever has problems.
Read full review
Usability
Sage
Excellent integration with the most important social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) to get leads. The mobile app is quite useful for speeding up the tasks at hand and not relying on the computer or being in the office to get them done.
Read full review
Zendesk
As an agent it's very simple to use. As an admin it's also easy to use, but sometimes lacks some functionality that would be nice to have such as expanded native 2 way sync functionality for many major apps that are commonly used today like HubSpot and Salesforce. The ability to add followers to tickets to they get updates and are in the know without the customer seeing this agent cc'd is a nice touch. This ensures additional visibility and easily following the communication without having to appear as a CC to the customer, who could accidentally remove that person in a response, thus breaking the visibility
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Reliability and Availability
Sage
No answers on this topic
Zendesk
In the past year, I'd say I have only noticed maybe two hours total of downtime in my own usage. Very minimal.
Read full review
Performance
Sage
Sage works very quickly based on the network you are using it on. It is internet based so if your network is slow, it will perform slowly. Reports seem to run reasonably fast, if there is too much information it is trying to populate that could slow it down a little. When Sage CRM is integrated with a Sage ERP product it doesn't tend to slow down either system at all
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Zendesk
There has been minor performance degradation on a very few days out of the two years I have been using the product.
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Support Rating
Sage
Support team is really slow and they need to work on this really. Sometimes it takes days to resolve a simple query and there is no way to get it expedited. Rest the product is is amazing but the team should look into the costumer support and get it working
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Zendesk
Every time I contacted them they were not only very responsive and knowledgable, but always seemed to have a positive upbeat attitude. It probably helps that we did not have significant service outages or sev 1 level issues, but even my lower severity issues were quickly answered. And the positive and upbeat attitude really made things feel comfortable.
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In-Person Training
Sage
Most training would come after a upgrade. Otherwise we would self teach new employees. Training was with a Sage Software partner SWK technologies.
Read full review
Zendesk
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Sage
No answers on this topic
Zendesk
Zendesk has tons of available material for training - videos, webinars, articles, etc. The only reason this is not a 10 is because it can be hard to figure out how to navigate to these things and find what you are looking for.
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Implementation Rating
Sage
The implementation and upgrades were rather quick and straight forward. Attempting to link Sage CRM with Sage 100 ERP however was a nightmare and will be avoided by us in the future due to numerous issues.
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Zendesk
I was very satisfied. They have a free trial for 30 days and I recommend you do that and use it. It is very easy to get started with the basics and the build on over time.

The only thing technically complex was single sign-on and integration to Salesforce.com required some tweaks – otherwise setting up system was very easy
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Alternatives Considered
Sage
Whilst SAGE CRM was selected around 10 years ago and we became a partner, the main contenders would have been at the time Sales Logix and MS CRM 4.0. However, we had extensive experience of the mid-market CRM's and decided on SAGE CRM since it had a clean, easy to understand interface and importantly offered both workflow automation and Self Service capability, all of which across both the Case and Sales and Marketing functionality was seamless and saved time. As it was pure browser based, access was from anywhere we wanted. In my view, SAGE CRM still stacks up well against all the other mid-market CRM systems and offers good value for money, but more importantly, it is an easy to operate and customisable solution which user like. Again, we can teach administration users very quickly to support and customise themselves since the admin. function are clear as well.
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Zendesk
Although a bit pricey, it does the job well. We are happy with the results it provides; our team is also quite satisfied on how easy it is to use, login and start working. Compared to the other two we have tried, Zendesk takes the cake. It makes Customer Management much easier, more efficient, and more effective.
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Return on Investment
Sage
  • It is very affordable in pricing, compared to competitors
  • Lead management and convertion into prospects is also a very easy process
  • Lead capture from web pages should be available, and better ways to capture leads from tradeshows by uploading directly from scanned business cards
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Zendesk
  • The positives weigh more than the negatives here, as it gives us a one-stop portal where we can tend to customer needs using one web app
  • It has also helped us identify areas of improvement based on the reporting feature
  • The value it provides outweighs any missing or lacking features that I'm sure will be available in the future
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ScreenShots

Zendesk Suite Screenshots

Screenshot of Zendesk Agent WorkspaceScreenshot of Omnichannel MessagingScreenshot of Zendesk TicketingScreenshot of Bots powered by Zendesk AIScreenshot of Tone shift with Zendesk AIScreenshot of Zendesk ticketing side conversations