Affinity vs Salesforce (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Salesforce grades higher than Affinity: 2.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Salesforce grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Affinity
Relationship-intelligence CRM for investment and deal teams
Salesforce
CRM platform for sales teams with AI agents and a free 2-user suite
Which one is for you
Pick Affinity if
- Fits if you run an investment or advisory firm and track relationships across a team
- Works for teams that want contacts logged from email automatically
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small: $2,000 per user a year is the floor
- Skip it if you want a free try, because none is listed
- Watch out: Notetaker, AI Chat and the MCP server start on Scale at $2,300; enrichment on Advanced
- Watch out: API calls are capped at 100,000 a month on Scale and Advanced, and extra seats and implementation are add-ons
Pick Salesforce if
- Fits if you run a sales team that needs forecasting, territories and lots of customizing
- Works for companies that want sales, service and marketing on one platform
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you outgrow Starter, since Pro Suite is $100 a seat, billed yearly, on a contract
- Pricey if you want AI agents, as Agentforce is an add-on from $125 a seat below Max at $550
- Not for you if you want something simple, because commenters keep calling it overly complex
- Tight if you stay free: 2 users, 100 marketing emails a month, and a login every 60 days to keep it
- Watch out: on Pro Suite the API is $25 a seat extra and Flow Builder stops at 5 flows
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAAffinityWeak | 2.8GPASalesforceGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$2,000 per user a year is about $167 a month, well above the $99 where the dearest tenth of CRM tools starts and the $25 middle. | DStarter Suite is $25 a seat, the middle for this category. Then it quadruples: quoting and forecasting wait for Pro Suite at $100 a seat on an annual contract, where the API is another $25 a seat unless you go up to Core at $195. Max is $550. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial are listed on the pricing page, which sells every tier through sales. | BThe Free Suite covers 2 people with leads, opportunities, cases, reports and up to 100 marketing emails a month, no card needed. Two seats is tight for a sales team, and you have to log in every 60 days to keep it. |
| Features | CAutomatic activity capture, relationship intelligence, deal pipelines, AI Chat, enrichment and an API. The listing's gap: Notetaker, AI Chat and the MCP server start on Scale, and enrichment on Advanced. | ALeads, accounts, opportunities, quotes, forecasting, territories, drag-and-drop automation, dashboards and Agentforce AI agents, and firms build their own apps on top of it. It covers more of the job than any other CRM here, but much of it starts at Pro Suite or higher. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Connecting email, calendar and data sources is part of rolling it out. | B4.75 from about 353,000 App Store ratings, a score that would normally take our top mark. What holds it back is on record too: Hacker News commenters call the platform overly complex, and reviewers say the phone app buries everyday actions several steps deep. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus browser extension, with Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Zoom, Teams and Salesforce connections and an API. | BWeb, iPhone, iPad and Android, with a browser extension from Pro Suite but no desktop app. Every edition connects to Slack, and it works with Tableau, Gmail, Outlook and MuleSoft. There's an API, included from Core and an extra $25 a seat on Pro Suite. |
| Best for | relationship intelligence for investment teams | big sales teams that need forecasting and depth |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Affinity and Salesforce. How we grade
Price against what you get
Affinity starts at $166.67 a month when paid by the year for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Salesforce starts at $25 a month for each person and scores 3.3.
Salesforce scores higher and starts $141.67 a month lower. Of the other CRM tools on the chart, 39 score higher than Affinity for less, and 1 scores higher than Salesforce for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Affinity also covers meeting notes.
- Salesforce also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Affinity | Salesforce | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2,000 per user / year, billed annually | $25 per user / month, billed monthly or annually |
| Free plan | None | Free Suite: 2 user licenses with lead, opportunity and case management, up to 100 marketing emails a month and connected Slack conversations. No credit card; stays free if you log in at least once every 60 days. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial with no credit card required; the Starter Suite trial covers up to 10 users |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Affinity | Salesforce, Inc. |
| Price read from | affinity.co | salesforce.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Affinity
- Every tier is quoted through sales, and the page lists no free plan or trial.
- Notetaker, AI Chat, Ascend agents and the MCP server start on Scale; enrichment and automations start on Advanced.
- API calls, including MCP queries, are capped at 100,000 a month on Scale and Advanced; Enterprise is unlimited.
- Collaborator and sync-only seats, and dedicated implementation support, are add-ons.
Salesforce
- The Free Suite covers only 2 users and 100 marketing emails a month, and stays free only with a login at least every 60 days.
- Only Starter Suite can be billed monthly. Pro Suite, Core, Advanced and Max are billed annually, and Pro Suite requires a contract.
- On Pro Suite the Web Services API costs an extra $25 per user / month and Flow Builder is limited to 5 flows per org.
- Agentforce for Sales is a paid add-on on Core and Advanced, listed from $125 per user / month; only Max includes it.
Key features
Affinity
- Automatic activity capture
- Email and calendar sync creates records and logs interactions without manual entry, with sync policies set by admins at team level.
- Relationship intelligence
- A relationship graph and strength score show the warmest path to any contact, and Scale adds inferred connections beyond direct email history.
- Deal pipeline management
- Pipelines with unlimited smart lists for people, organizations and opportunities, plus reporting and analytics.
- AI Chat, Notetaker and Ascend
- Scale and above include conversational access to the pipeline, meeting capture and follow-up, and agents built for private capital.
- Data enrichment
- Affinity's own enrichment is in every plan. Advanced adds PitchBook, Dealroom and Crunchbase data, and PitchBook needs its own subscription.
- Hosted MCP server and API
- The MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants use Affinity data, and API access is capped at 100,000 calls a month below Enterprise.
Salesforce
- Lead and opportunity management
- Leads, accounts, contacts and opportunities are tracked on every edition, with lead routing, duplicate blocking and web-to-lead capture. Quotes, contracts and orders start at Pro Suite.
- Forecasting and pipeline inspection
- Pro Suite includes sales forecasting. Core and above add advanced forecast and pipeline management, pipeline inspection, opportunity scoring, deal insights and sales territories.
- Agentforce AI agents
- Agentforce agents take on lead nurturing, prospecting and pipeline management. They are included in Max and listed as an add-on from $125 per user / month on Core and Advanced.
- Flow automation
- Flow Builder automates sales processes with drag-and-drop steps. Pro Suite allows 5 flows per org, and approval processes start at Core.
- Reports, dashboards and Tableau Next
- Customizable reports and dashboards are on every edition, including the Free Suite. Tableau Next analytics and advanced reporting features are included from Core.
- Slack, mobile and browser access
- Every edition connects to Slack. The iPhone, iPad and Android app is included from Starter Suite; offline mobile use and the Sales Cloud Everywhere browser extension start at Pro Suite.
Plans
Affinity
Essential$2,000
per user / year, billed annually
Automatic email and calendar capture, relationship scoring, firmwide interaction history, deal pipeline tracking and Affinity Labs early access. Sold through sales.
Scale$2,300
per user / year, billed annually
Everything in Essential, plus Notetaker, AI Chat, Ascend agents, the hosted MCP server and inferred network connections. 100,000 API calls a month.
Advanced$2,700
per user / year, billed annually
Everything in Scale, plus enrichment from PitchBook, Dealroom and Crunchbase, company growth insights, packaged integrations and workflow automations.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Advanced, plus fund-level permissions, enterprise SSO, custom data retention and unlimited API access.
Salesforce
Free Suite$0
2 user licenses with lead, opportunity and case management, simple email marketing and connected Slack conversations.
Starter Suite$25
per user / month, billed monthly or annually
Lead, account, contact and opportunity management, built-in sales flows and lead routing, email marketing and the mobile app.
Pro Suite$100
per user / month, billed annually
Everything in Starter plus more customization and automation, sales quoting and forecasting, and access to AgentExchange.
Core$195
per user / month, billed annually
Sales Cloud with advanced forecasting and pipeline management, API access, Premier Success, Slack Business+ and Tableau Next.
Advanced$395
per user / month, billed annually
Adds enhanced security, Sales Programs, predictive forecasting, lead scoring, a full sandbox and 1 GB of data storage per user.
Max$550
per user / month, billed annually
Adds Agentforce for Sales, Salesforce Spiff, Sales Planning, Salesforce Maps, Slack Enterprise+ and 2.75M Flex Credits a year.
Ways to pay less
Affinity
No public discounts listed.
Salesforce
- Nonprofit
10 free Nonprofit Cloud licenses
Through the Power of Us Program, eligible nonprofits receive 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Core licenses at no cost, with discounts on additional licenses.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Affinity or Salesforce?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Salesforce is cheaper to start with: $25 a month for each person, against $166.67 a month when paid by the year for each person for Affinity. Affinity starts at $2,000 per user / year, billed annually, and Salesforce starts at $25 per user / month, billed monthly or annually.
Which has a free plan, Affinity or Salesforce?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Salesforce has a free plan. Affinity does not.
Which platforms do Affinity and Salesforce run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Salesforce lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and a browser extension. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.