Sridhar Vembu trolls Salesforce price hikes; says, 'Just mention Zoho and they'll drop their prices'

Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu took a playful jab at Salesforce over its recent price hikes, claiming that simply mentioning “Zoho” could get customers a discount.

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In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Vembu referenced a Reddit thread where users complained about Salesforce increasing CRM subscription costs by nearly 35% over the past two years.

“If Salesforce hits you with steep price increases like mentioned in this Reddit, just mention the word ‘ZOHO’ and they will drop their prices. That is their official discount code,” Vembu wrote.

The post, which quickly went viral, struck a chord with users frustrated by escalating software costs.

“We are approaching our contract renewal. Last year, Salesforce hit us with an increase of more than 20%. This year, they are hitting us with another large increase. Total increase over the past two years is nearly 35%. We carry 250–300 users over the last several years, though it hasn't grown in the last 3 years,” the post read.

“Is everybody getting slapped with such large increases? Or has someone at Salesforce decided my company has extra money to burn (we don't), and they would like to extract it from us? Has anybody found effective tips to negotiate back down to more modest increases year over year?”

Public service announcement: if Salesforce hits you with steep price increases like mentioned in this Reddit, just mention the word "ZOHO" and they will drop their prices. That is their official discount code 😏

Glad to be of assistance. pic.twitter.com/7muxXvIv4B

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) September 6, 2025

Notably, Salesforce customers have reported repeated double-digit percentage increases in renewal contracts, sparking debates about affordability and vendor lock-in.

Earlier this year, Vembu stepped down as CEO of the privately held SaaS giant to assume a new position as chief scientist, focusing on research and development (R&D) initiatives.

Netizens reaction

The post sparked a flood of responses online, with many praising Zoho’s stance while others raised broader questions about CRM pricing and product gaps.

Sir, why Zoho not coming up with the equivalent to Office 365 with Device Control and Entra ID? If Zoho will make such a product I am sure many Indian mid-size companies can migrate to Zoho,” a user wrote. 

To this, Sridhar Vembu replied: “We are on it. Thank you.”

“I’ve been a Zoho user since 2016, and not once have I felt the need to migrate the services I use to any other platform. Looking forward to seeing more groundbreaking products from Zoho in the future,” another said.

“Too bad Salesforce can only fix the price point, not the pain points. Zoho remains top value,” a third expressed.

“Do the same with Google and Microsoft as well. I have tried it and they slashed the prices after hearing about Zoho,” a fourth added.