Salesforce is now the dominant software in the CRM world. The biggest question is, what is the best way to load existing data into it? The answers are not simple. Having tried multiple data loaders, I can tell you that not one fits all possible scenarios.

I will try to rank them here, top to bottom and list pros and cons for each.

1. Dataloader.io by MuleSoft. As I write this, MuleSoft has been bought by Salesforce. And it makes sense. Out of all the data loaders I have worked with this one has been the best and is fairly inexpensive.
   Pros: The interface is simple and clean, the lookups are easy and intuitive. Works in the cloud, so you don’t have to babysit your computer. Once the file has been been uploaded to the cloud, it just runs.
   Cons: Size limitation – this is not the tool for running huge data loads. There are no transformations currently available. Knowledge Articles can’t be imported.
2. Salesforce’s own dataloader.
   Pros: Free, No size limitations, the article wizard on the Salesforce site can import Knowledge Articles, although is a bit tricky to use.
   Cons: Runs on the desktop, has a tendency to quit unexpectedly. There are no transformations currently available. Lookups don’t always work.
3. Informatica Cloud. This one has the best design on paper, in reality doesn’t work very well, and is super expensive.
   Pros: Good design, can do a lot, good with SOQL. No size limitations, runs in the cloud, has transformations.
   Cons: Terrible support, expensive, buggy, lookups don’t work properly, out of date learning tools, requires an agent download. Knowledge Articles can’t be imported.