Salesforce DevOps tools automate various stages of the development lifecycle, enabling developers to deliver high-quality software faster. They facilitate version control, automated testing, and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD), ensuring smooth and error-free deployments.
Manuel Moya Ferrer is a highly skilled freelancer who serves as a technical architect, developer, and DevOps engineer. He specializes in Salesforce solutions, covering all technical aspects of their development lifecycle.
Matthias Rolke
Freelance DevOps Consultant
Matthias is a freelance DevOps consultant for the Salesforce platform and an advisor for Hutte. He loves open-source software and maintains a few SFDX-related tools.
Article Highlights
The article compares three Salesforce DevOps tools: Copado, Gearset, and Hutte, highlighting their features, benefits, and limitations.
All tools aim to enhance collaboration among teams, improve visibility, manage changes efficiently, and support organizations in achieving faster time-to-market for Salesforce applications1.
These tools also promote collaboration among development teams, enabling seamless coordination, better visibility, and efficient management of changes. Ultimately, they help organizations achieve faster time-to-market, increased agility, and more reliable Salesforce applications.
Two of the top Salesforce DevOps tools in the market are Copado and Gearset.
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But did you know that there is a tool best suited for source-driven development? It’s called Hutte, a web UI to SFDX that allows for visual Salesforce version control.
Features
Best For Release Management: Copado
Best For Continuous Delivery: Gearset
Deployment Automation
Yes
Yes
Continuous Integration (CI)
Yes
Yes
Continuous Deployment (CD)
Yes
Yes
Git-Based Development
Yes
Yes
Scratch Orgs And Sandboxes
Yes
Yes
Code-Free Development
No
No
Change Comparison
Yes
Yes
Learning Curve
Moderate
Moderate
Collaboration And Visibility
Yes
Yes
Release Management
Yes
Yes
Compliance And Security
Yes
Yes
Integration Capabilities
Extensive
Good
Customization Capabilities
Extensive
Moderate
Scalability
Suitable for large organizations.
Suitable for small to large organizations.
Pricing Structure
Subscription-based.
Subscription-based.
Support
24/7 support.
Business hours support.
Let’s dive into what all three tools offer, enhance, and limit regarding Salesforce DevOps.
Core features: automated (robotic) UI testing, multi-cloud deployment, continuous delivery for deployment processes, and built-in governance and compliance.
Copado is a renowned cloud-based platform that facilitates efficient DevOps and release management for Salesforce applications.
It encompasses a comprehensive suite of tools and features that cater to the entire application development lifecycle, including planning, building, testing, deployment, and release.
With its wide array of capabilities, Copado has gained popularity among organizations seeking to streamline their software development and deployment processes. It provides numerous benefits, aiding in the seamless management of Salesforce applications throughout their lifecycle.
Here are some of the key benefits of using Copado:
The tool is designed to scale to the needs of any organization, whether it's a small business or a large enterprise
It can handle large volumes of data and support complex deployments.
Copado enables agile development
By providing a platform that encourages collaboration among team members, automated testing, and continuous delivery of software.
With Copado, you can easily manage and track changes to your Salesforce code and configurations
This ensures that all changes are tracked and can be easily rolled back if necessary.
It offers robust security features to protect your Salesforce data and configurations
This ensures they are only accessible to authorized team members.
Copado's automation features help to streamline the software development process
This makes it faster and more efficient, including automated deployment and release management.
Copado’s limitations include:
Copado is a comprehensive Salesforce DevOps platform with many features and capabilities
However, this complexity can lead to a steeper learning curve for users.
Copado is a subscription-based platform which involves ongoing costs for organizations
Copado's pricing structure may not be suitable for all budgets.
Copado integrates with various external systems, such as version control repositories, CI/CD tools, and deployment environments
While this integration can be advantageous, it also introduces a dependency on these external systems. Any disruptions or changes to these systems can delay workflows.
Moreover, organizations with highly specific or unique Salesforce DevOps processes may find that certain aspects of Copado's workflows or configurations cannot be easily customized to align with their needs.
Implementing and managing Copado effectively may require dedicated resources, including administrators or DevOps specialists who can oversee and maintain the platform
This can add to the operational overhead and resource allocation within an organization.
Pricing: Prices start from $200 per seat per month.
Core features: Continuous integration to automatically build and test code, release pipelines and automation of changes deployed, sandboxing, and backup or restore capabilities.
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Gearset is a Salesforce DevOps and deployment tool designed to help developers and administrators streamline their development process and ensure the quality of theirSalesforce code.
Here are some of the key benefits of using Gearset:
It provides a range of features that enable teams to automate their development workflow
This includes automated testing, continuous integration, and version control.
With Gearset, users can easily compare and deploy changes between Salesforce environments
This includes from development to testing or from testing to production.
Gearset includes a range of reporting and monitoring features
This helps teams track their progress and identify potential issues early in development.
Gearset is a powerful tool that can help Salesforce teams improve their development processes
Gearset increases collaboration and accelerates the delivery of high-quality code.
Gearset can scale to accommodate the needs of organizations of different sizes
It provides responsive customer support to address any issues or questions that may arise during platform use.
Gearset allows users to compare and validate different Salesforce environments, such as sandboxes and production orgs
This feature helps identify differences between environments, reducing the chances of errors and ensuring consistency across deployments.
Gearset’s limitations include:
While Gearset supports a wide range of Salesforce metadata types, certain metadata types or components may not be fully supported or require manual intervention
This can potentially impact the accuracy and completeness of deployments.
Gearset may encounter performance and usability challenges when working with large Salesforce orgs
Especially orgs that have a high volume of metadata components and complex configurations.
Gearset utilizes the Salesforce APIs for various operations, such as metadata retrieval and deployment
However, there are API limits enforced by Salesforce, and Gearset's operations may be subject to these limits.
Moreover, while Gearset offers some collaboration features, such as deployment approvals and notifications, it may have limitations in facilitating real-time collaboration and communication among team members.
Integration with specific tools or custom workflows may require additional configuration or scripting
This is to ensure seamless automation between Gearset and other tools in the DevOps pipeline.
Gearset provides some sandbox management capabilities but may have limitations regarding data seeding or data management in sandboxes
Advanced data operations or complex data migration scenarios may require additional tools or custom solutions.
Pricing: There is a free plan and paid-for plans that range from $25 and above.
Core features: Hutte allows teams to build and ship work on the Salesforce platform more efficiently. Teams don't need to learn to install and use command-line tooling and Git. Users can take a fully prepared development environment (scratch org) from the pool.
With Hutte, you have the power to run your scripts and making use of any SF CLI plugin out there solving your very specific challenges which no DevOps solution could bake into their product.
You can choose to run a script automatically after the Scratch Org creation or manually when launched from a Custom Button in the UI.
Matthias Rolke
Freelance DevOps Consultant
At Hutte, we enable you to visually leverage the benefits of Git-based development without needing CLI. We have removed the barriers Git can pose as Hutte is a web UI to SFDX that allows for visual Salesforce version control.
Here are some of the key benefits of using Hutte:
You can create and manage Salesforce scratch orgs and sandboxes
There is no need for code, meaning no hassle is involved.
Furthermore, you don’t need to install or learn Git, as Hutte’s UI is already integrated into Git hosting tools, like GitLab and Azure.
From Hutte’s integrated hosting providers, you can view the changes you made
This includes your pull request, in a line-by-line comparison format.
Moreover, there is no need to reproduce this data as everything is generated and integrated with Hutte.
Your team does not need to wait for another scratch org to spin up if they can take one from the pool
Hutte has a ready-to-use scratch org pool that you can tap into anytime.
Hutte offers access to Salesforce's full capabilities
This provides custom buttons on our web interface to execute complex multi-line commands, such as using our YAML push script to define the behavior of scratch orgs and development environments. Native SFDX can be used, for example, to push data or metadata within the script.
While these tools solve deployment technicalities and release/org management, it’s also important to consider the positive transformation process that usually (or should) accompany the addition of these tools. This involves setting up a building process, testing strategy, and more controlled releases (among others).
Manuel Moya
Technical Architect, Developer, and DevOps Engineer
Unleash the power of Git
Harness the dynamic forces of version control as you embark on a journey of innovation and collaboration. With Git as your steadfast companion, bid farewell to chaos and welcome streamlined development processes with open arms.
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Seamlessly track changes, conquer Salesforce complexities, and navigate the ever-evolving software development landscape with finesse. Embrace the freedom to experiment, the agility to adapt, and the confidence to stay ahead of the curve.
Git is your ally, secret weapon, and gateway to unparalleled success in technology. Embrace its transformative embrace and unlock a world of possibilities.
By using tools like Hutte, users of any background or skill level can effortlessly collaborate with Git, make code modifications, and create pull requests.
Harald is the Co-Founder of Hutte, bringing his vision of no-code DevOps to life. His passion enables teams and individuals to focus on what matters most – bringing value to the users they build for.
Samantha is Hutte's Content Manager and Chief Editor. She has over six years of experience as both a content writer and a copywriter. Bringing the written word to life is the name of her game.
