London February 20, 2025 – Salesforce has officially been crowned the world’s top software company for 2025, according to G2’s annual Best Software Companies rankings​

This achievement highlights Salesforce’s continued dominance in the software industry and marks a significant milestone: the cloud-based CRM leader has outranked tech giants including Google and Microsoft on G2’s influential list. The recognition is especially meaningful because it’s driven by the people who use these products — a testament to Salesforce’s strong customer satisfaction and market presence.

A User-Driven Honor from G2

The G2 Best Software Companies 2025 award is a prestigious, user-powered accolade. G2, a popular business software review platform, bases these rankings on thousands of verified user reviews and public market data rather than the opinions of a select few analysts​

In this year’s evaluation, Salesforce emerged as the #1 software vendor globally out of nearly 11,000 eligible software providers considered​

This means that in a pool of over ten thousand software companies, Salesforce received the highest praise and presence, reflecting a broad and satisfied customer base. Such a user-driven endorsement underscores why Salesforce stands out: the company has built its reputation on delivering reliable, innovative solutions that users genuinely appreciate.

Surpassing Tech Giants Like Google and Microsoft

One of the most striking aspects of Salesforce’s win is who they beat. Google secured second place on the 2025 list​

HubSpot came in third, highlighting the competitive field of both mega-cap tech firms and specialized software companies. Perhaps even more surprising, Microsoft – long a titan of the software world – ranked much lower at eighth place​

​Salesforce’s ability to outshine Google and Microsoft in the rankings speaks volumes about its performance and reputation. It suggests that Salesforce’s focus on cloud-first, customer-centric solutions has given it an edge in the eyes of users, even against competitors with massive resources and global reach. G2 noted that the results were “based on honest reviews and ratings” from users​, indicating Salesforce simply earned higher praise from its customers than its biggest rivals.

Being named the top software company is significant for Salesforce’s brand. It’s not just an internal victory lap — it’s public proof that Salesforce’s strategy is resonating. When Microsoft is trailing back in eighth place on a user-driven list​ , it highlights just how far Salesforce has come and how well it is meeting customer needs compared to even the most established software firms.

Excellence Across Products and Categories

Salesforce’s achievement wasn’t limited to the overall company ranking. The company’s flagship product, Salesforce Sales Cloud, was also recognized as the #1 Best Software Product of 2025​

In fact, Salesforce excelled across multiple categories of G2’s awards, demonstrating broad strength across its product portfolio and customer segments. Salesforce took home five major category awards, including honors like Best Enterprise Products, Best Mid-Market Products, Best Small Business Products, Best Software Products, and even Highest Satisfaction Products for 2025​

These accolades show that Salesforce’s offerings resonate with organizations of all sizes—from small businesses to large enterprises—and that users rate Salesforce products highly in both quality and satisfaction.

It’s worth noting that Google, despite being the overall runner-up, actually earned six category awards, edging out Salesforce by sheer count of trophies​

Google’s honors in G2’s 2025 awards spanned areas such as Collaboration & Productivity Software and IT Management Software, and most notably, Google won theBest AI Software Products 2025 category​

This particular category is significant given the tech industry’s focus on artificial intelligence (more on that below). Salesforce’s five category wins versus Google’s six shows that while Salesforce took the top spot overall, competition remains fierce in specific domains. The breadth of Salesforce’s recognition, however, underscores its versatile excellence: the company isn’t just doing one thing well, it’s delivering high-performing solutions across the board.

The AI Factor: Google’s Edge and Salesforce’s Ambition

One area where Salesforce didn’t take the crown is Artificial Intelligence. Google’s win in the “Best AI Software Products 2025” category.This​ highlights that in the realm of AI-driven software, Google currently has an advantage. Salesforce, which has been rapidly investing in AI capabilities, notably did not clinch this particular honor. This is an interesting twist, considering how crucial AI is to the future of software. In fact, Salesforce’s leadership has been very vocal about making AI central to the company’s strategy.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has repeatedly emphasized the importance of AI in Salesforce’s roadmap. He has touted Salesforce’s own AI platform, Agentforce, as critical to the company’s future. Last year, Benioff stated that “everything needs to become about Agentforce at Salesforce – [it] is the only thing that really matters today”​

That bold vision reflects how seriously Salesforce views AI as a competitive frontier. He even indicated in the same discussion that Salesforce would halt hiring new software engineers in 2025 due to productivity gains from AI, doubling down on AI-driven efficiency​

In other words, Salesforce is betting big that AI will drive the next wave of innovation and productivity within the company.

Benioff’s perspective on the competition in AI is also telling. He has praised Google’s AI achievements publicly – at one point saying he was “blown away” by the capabilities of Google’s AI model, Gemini​ calling it “truly groundbreaking.” On the other hand, he’s been less impressed with Microsoft’s foray into AI, jokingly comparing Microsoft’s new AI assistant (Copilot) to “Clippy 2.0” – a tongue-in-cheek reference to Microsoft’s old Office assistant​.

These comments highlight that Salesforce’s top brass are keeping a close eye on AI advancements by competitors, and they recognize Google as a serious rival in this space while playfully downplaying Microsoft’s efforts.

The takeaway here is that while Salesforce is celebrating its overall win in 2025, it’s undoubtedly also thinking hard about how to lead in AI. Google’s recognition in the AI category shows there’s still a race on. For Salesforce, being the best software company in the world is a huge accolade, but the next challenge is to dominate the technologies that will define the future of software. Don’t be surprised if Salesforce intensifies its focus on AI innovation through Agentforce and other initiatives to try to capture that “Best AI” title in the years ahead.

Looking Ahead: Celebration with an Eye on the Future

There’s no doubt that Salesforce has reason to celebrate. Earning the top spot globally in G2’s rankings is a reflection of years of effort building a robust platform and prioritizing customer success. It’s also a public relations win — Salesforce can proudly say it’s ranked number one by a platform grounded in real user feedback​.

This accomplishment, especially with Microsoft only in eighth place on the same list​ solidifies Salesforce’s image as a leader in the software industry. It sends a clear message to customers, investors, and competitors that Salesforce’s strategy is working.

However, Salesforce’s journey doesn’t stop here. The competitive landscape, particularly around emerging technologies like AI, is evolving rapidly. The fact that Salesforce didn’t secure the Best AI Software award in 2025 will likely fuel its determination to innovate even more. As artificial intelligence continues to dominate conversations about the future of software, Salesforce’s leadership is likely aiming for the company to earn accolades not just in traditional categories, but in AI-driven categories as well​

In essence, Salesforce will be striving to turn its current strength into sustained leadership in all key areas of software.

Salesforce’s triumph as the best software company of 2025 is both a confirmation of its past and a challenge for its future. For now, Salesforce stands at the pinnacle of the software world, ahead of every competitor including Google and Microsoft. The company’s broad success across product categories and customer segments is evident, and its community of users has spoken with glowing reviews. Maintaining that leadership will mean not resting on laurels — and if Salesforce’s focus on Agentforce and AI is any indication, the company is already gearing up for the next phase of competition. For customers and industry watchers, this win is a clear sign of Salesforce’s strengths today, and a hint at where the industry is headed tomorrow.