TinyCRM vs Salesforce
Built for startups, not enterprises
Salesforce requires months to implement, a dedicated admin, and $25–165/user/month. TinyCRM is $9/month flat — live in an afternoon, with an NPM SDK and no Salesforce admin required.
Pricing comparison
TinyCRM
$9/month
Flat pricing. Unlimited users. All features.
- 14-day free trial
- Unlimited team members
- No admin required
Salesforce
$25–$165/user/month
Per-seat pricing, annual contracts.
- Essentials: $25/user/month
- Professional: $80/user/month
- Enterprise: $165/user/month
| Team size | TinyCRM / year | Salesforce Essentials / year | Salesforce Pro / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $108 | $300 | $960 |
| 5 users | $108 | $1,500 | $4,800 |
| 10 users | $108 | $3,000 | $9,600 |
Three key differences
Developer-first
TinyCRM ships an NPM SDK. Two methods. No Salesforce admin certification required. Call identify() from your backend, done.
$9/month flat
Salesforce Enterprise is $165/user/month. A 10-person team pays $19,800/year. TinyCRM is $108/year total.
Hours, not months
Salesforce implementation typically takes 3–6 months. TinyCRM is live in 30 minutes. No consultants, no configuration, no training.
Feature comparison
| Feature | TinyCRM | Salesforce |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly pricing (no per-seat) | ||
| NPM SDK (identify + ping) | ||
| Unified view across multiple products | ||
| Setup in under an hour | ||
| CSV import & export | ||
| Custom fields / params | ||
| Customer status tracking | ||
| No dedicated admin required | ||
| Enterprise pipeline management | ||
| Sales forecasting | ||
| AppExchange integrations | ||
| Territory management | ||
| Advanced reporting / dashboards | ||
| AI-powered insights (Einstein) |
Built for developers, not Salesforce admins
Salesforce is a powerful platform built for enterprises with dedicated CRM administrators, complex approval workflows, and multi-team sales operations. If that describes your company, Salesforce is probably the right choice.
If you're an indie hacker running 2–3 products and you want to see all your customers in one place, TinyCRM is the answer. Install the NPM SDK, call identify(), and you're done. No admin, no configuration, no training.
// Install
npm install tinycrm-sdk
// In your sign-up handler
import { TinyCRM } from "tinycrm-sdk";
const crm = new TinyCRM({
apiKey: process.env.TINYCRM_API_KEY,
});
await crm.identify({
email: user.email,
name: user.name,
status: "trial",
params: { plan: "pro", source: "organic" },
});Ship your CRM in an afternoon
TinyCRM setup
- 1Sign up at app.tinycrm.dev
- 2Create a project, get API key
- 3npm install tinycrm-sdk
- 4Call identify() in sign-up handler
- 5See customers in dashboard
Time: ~30 minutes
Salesforce setup
- 1Purchase license, set up org
- 2Configure objects and fields
- 3Set up permission sets and profiles
- 4Configure validation rules and workflows
- 5Build reports and dashboards
- 6Migrate and clean existing data
- 7Build custom integrations or buy AppExchange apps
- 8Train team (Salesforce Trailhead)
- 9Hire a Salesforce admin
Time: 3–6 months
What is Salesforce?
Salesforce is the world's leading CRM platform, founded in 1999. It provides tools for sales, service, marketing, and commerce — with a massive ecosystem of integrations (AppExchange), AI-powered insights (Einstein), and a highly customizable object model. Salesforce is the standard CRM for enterprise companies managing large sales teams, complex pipelines, and multi-region operations.
Salesforce is the right choice for companies with dedicated sales operations teams, complex approval workflows, and enterprise-scale requirements. For indie hackers running small products on a budget, Salesforce is dramatically over-engineered and overpriced.
How to migrate from Salesforce to TinyCRM
Export contacts from Salesforce
In Salesforce, use Data Export or the Reports feature to export your Contacts or Leads as CSV. Include email, name, and any relevant custom fields.
Import into TinyCRM
In TinyCRM, go to Import → CSV. Map Salesforce's Email column to email and FirstName + LastName to name. Custom fields become JSONB params.
Install the NPM SDK
Run npm install tinycrm-sdk in your backend. Get your API key from TinyCRM Settings → Projects.
Replace Salesforce API calls
Replace any Salesforce API calls in your sign-up flow with crm.identify(). It's significantly simpler — one method, no authentication complexity.
Cancel Salesforce and save the difference
Verify your data in TinyCRM, then cancel your Salesforce subscription. Redirect those savings to your product.
Frequently asked questions
Is TinyCRM cheaper than Salesforce?
Dramatically cheaper. TinyCRM is $9/month for your whole team. Salesforce Essentials is $25/user/month, Professional is $80/user/month, and Enterprise is $165/user/month. A 5-person team on Salesforce Professional pays $4,800/year; the same team on TinyCRM pays $108/year.
Can a solo founder use TinyCRM instead of Salesforce?
Absolutely. TinyCRM was built specifically for indie hackers and solo founders. Install the NPM SDK, call identify() from your sign-up handler, and you have a unified customer view in under an hour. Salesforce requires weeks of setup and dedicated admin time.
What does Salesforce do better than TinyCRM?
Salesforce is the industry standard for enterprise CRM: opportunity management, forecasting, territory management, complex approval workflows, a massive AppExchange ecosystem, and dedicated admin tools for large organizations. These features are valuable for enterprise sales teams but are overkill for an indie hacker's customer database.
How long does it take to set up TinyCRM vs Salesforce?
TinyCRM takes about 30 minutes: sign up, create a project, install the SDK, call identify(). Salesforce typically requires weeks of implementation work: portal setup, object configuration, permission sets, workflow rules, data migration, and team training.
Does TinyCRM scale like Salesforce?
TinyCRM is designed for indie hackers tracking customers across multiple small products. Salesforce scales to thousands of enterprise users with complex hierarchies and workflows. If you're building a company with a dedicated sales team, you'll eventually need Salesforce. TinyCRM is the right tool before that point.
Start building with TinyCRM
14-day free trial. $9/month after. No per-seat fees, ever.
npm install tinycrm-sdk
Also see: All CRM comparisons · Framework integrations