dotConnect for SugarCRM: Query and Update SugarCRM Data with SQL from .NET
dotConnect for SugarCRM is a $339.95 ADO.NET data provider from Devart that lets .NET developers read and write SugarCRM accounts, contacts, leads and other modules with ordinary SQL, ADO.NET classes, Entity Framework Core, Dapper or NHibernate, instead of hand-coding calls to the SugarCRM API. It runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, and the license is perpetual with a year of updates.
If you've ever written the paging, authentication and JSON plumbing for a CRM's REST API, you know how much code it takes just to pull a list of contacts. With this provider, that's SELECT id, first_name, last_name FROM Contacts and a data reader.
Quick facts
- Version: 3.2.223, released October 8, 2026
- Developer: Devart
- Platforms: .NET 5 to 10, .NET Core 2.0 to 3.1, .NET Standard 2.0/2.1, .NET Framework 4.5 to 4.8, on Windows, Linux and macOS (x64 and x86)
- ORMs: Entity Framework Core 1 to 10, Entity Framework 4 to 6, Dapper, NHibernate
- IDE: Visual Studio 2015 to 2026 integration. NuGet packages Devart.Data.Sugar and Devart.Data.Sugar.EFCore work in any NuGet-compatible IDE.
- SugarCRM: all versions of the SugarCRM API
- Price: $339.95 for a single developer, perpetual license with 1 year of updates and support
- Free trial: 30 days, full product, no credit card. Needs a free Devart account and activation.
What we checked: the price on the order page ($339.95 for dotConnect for SugarCRM, single developer, 1 year of updates), the download page (version 3.2.223, 16.21 MB) and the revision history, all on October 29, 2026. We didn't connect it to a SugarCRM instance or build an application with it.
Before you buy
dotConnect for SugarCRM is a developer component, not an app for CRM users: you use it inside your own .NET code. The Windows installer needs a free Devart account to download, and the trial must be activated. On Linux and macOS you add the NuGet package instead. If you only want SugarCRM data in Excel or a reporting tool, Devart sells a separate Excel Add-in and an ODBC driver for SugarCRM, and you don't need this one.
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Overview
dotConnect for SugarCRM connects directly to a SugarCRM instance over HTTPS with a host URL, user name and password, with no SugarCRM client libraries, and exposes the CRM's modules as tables. Simple queries are compiled straight into SugarCRM API calls and run on Sugar's side. Complex ones are split: part runs in SugarCRM, and Devart's local SQL-92 engine handles the JOINs and conditions the API can't do, then returns the result to your application.
The provider is actively maintained. Version 3.0.0 (December 2025) added .NET 10, Visual Studio 2026 and trial activation, 3.1.33 (February 2026) added EF Core 10, and Devart has shipped regular EF Core updates since, most recently in 3.2.223 (October 2026), which also fixed installation on 32-bit Windows.
Visual Studio's Add Connection dialog with the SugarCRM Data Source: Host (a sugaropencloud.eu instance), User Id and Password, a Test Connection button and the generated connection string, next to C# code that opens a SugarCrmConnection and selects the first 10 contacts. From Devart's product page.
Features
SQL against SugarCRM modules
dotConnect for SugarCRM runs standard SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE statements against SugarCRM modules, with JOINs, WHERE conditions and other SQL features, so you work with accounts, contacts and leads as if SugarCRM were a database. It supports all SugarCRM data types and gives paged access to large query results.
Standard ADO.NET classes
dotConnect for SugarCRM follows the ADO.NET model, with SugarConnection, SugarCommand, SugarDataReader and SugarDataAdapter, plus DataSet and DataTable support, a connection string builder, a provider factory, connection pooling and asynchronous command execution. Any .NET developer who has used SqlClient will recognize it.
EF Core, Dapper and NHibernate
dotConnect for SugarCRM supports Entity Framework Core 1 to 10 (through the Devart.Data.Sugar.EFCore package), Entity Framework 4 to 6, Dapper and NHibernate, with LINQ to Entities, change tracking and inheritance mapping. Devart's Entity Developer, a separate product, can design models visually from the SugarCRM schema.
Entity Developer's Create Model Wizard with Devart dotConnect for SugarCRM selected as the provider, and the Connection Editor showing login, pooling and proxy options. The model diagram and Solution Explorer behind it are a generic sample. From Devart's product page.
Fast loading and SQL tracing
dotConnect for SugarCRM includes SugarLoader for loading large amounts of data into SugarCRM quickly, and SugarMonitor plus Devart's dbMonitor utility to trace the SQL your application sends, with output to the IDE if you like.
Visual Studio design-time tools
In Visual Studio 2015 to 2026, dotConnect for SugarCRM adds a SugarCRM data source to Server Explorer, design-time editors, IntelliSense descriptions, SQL syntax highlighting and instant data preview. VS Code, Rider and other IDEs use the NuGet packages without the design-time tools.
Secure connections
dotConnect for SugarCRM connects over SSL/TLS, works through proxy servers, supports Unicode, and can run in FIPS 140-2 mode on Windows.
Real-World Uses
- Sync with an internal system: a nightly .NET service reads new SugarCRM leads with SQL and writes them into your ERP.
- Customer portal: an ASP.NET Core or Blazor site shows a customer their SugarCRM cases and contacts through EF Core.
- Bulk import: SugarLoader pushes thousands of records from a legacy system into SugarCRM.
- Reports: join accounts and opportunities in one query and feed the result to a reporting library.
Who It's For, and Who Should Skip It
dotConnect for SugarCRM fits .NET developers and integration teams who connect applications to SugarCRM regularly and would rather write SQL or LINQ than REST calls.
Skip it if you aren't writing .NET code: Devart's ODBC Driver for SugarCRM works with Excel, BI tools, Python and other ODBC clients, and the Excel Add-in puts SugarCRM data straight into spreadsheets. Skip it too for a single small script, where calling the SugarCRM REST API directly may be simpler than buying a license.
Usage Guide
- Get it: sign in to devart.com and download the installer (16.21 MB) for Visual Studio integration, or run
dotnet add package Devart.Data.Sugar (and Devart.Data.Sugar.EFCore for EF Core).
- Activate: activate the 30-day trial, or your license key after purchase.
- Connect: in Server Explorer add a SugarCRM data source, or create a SugarConnection with
Server, User Id and Password in the connection string.
- Query: run SQL with SugarCommand and read results with SugarDataReader, or fill a DataSet with SugarDataAdapter.
- Use an ORM: scaffold an EF Core model with Scaffold-DbContext, or use Dapper on the open connection.
- Deploy: ship the Devart runtime assemblies with your app. End users don't need their own license.
Where it falls short
- It's still bound by the SugarCRM API. Complex JOINs run locally after the data is fetched, so a big join across large modules pulls many records through the API.
- Licensing takes care. Devart's .NET component licensing has its own steps (license resources, activation), and 3.2.223 had to fix an expired perpetual license being shown as invalid in Visual Studio.
- Entity Developer costs extra. The visual ORM designer in Devart's screenshots is a separate product.
- Updates end with the subscription. The license is perpetual, but new versions, including fixes for SugarCRM API changes, need a renewal.
What Users Say
dotConnect for SugarCRM is a niche developer component and has no published user reviews we could find, on software review sites or in tech magazines. Devart's dotConnect family as a whole is long-established, and this provider gets regular releases. The fairest test is the free 30-day trial against your own SugarCRM instance: check that the modules and custom fields you need show up, and time a typical query.
Comparisons
dotConnect for SugarCRM vs the SugarCRM REST API
The REST API is free and gives you full control, but you write the authentication, paging, error handling and JSON mapping yourself. dotConnect wraps all of that in ADO.NET and SQL, adds EF Core and Dapper support, and Devart updates it for new .NET versions.
dotConnect for SugarCRM vs Devart's ODBC Driver for SugarCRM
The ODBC driver serves any ODBC tool (Excel, Power BI, Python, Delphi). dotConnect is native .NET, with ADO.NET classes, EF Core and Visual Studio integration. For a .NET application, dotConnect is the better fit.
Editions and Pricing
Every license is perpetual and includes one year of updates and support. After that you keep the last version you received, or renew the subscription. Two- and three-year subscriptions, Priority Support and volume discounts of 5%, 10% and 15% on 5, 10 and 20 copies are offered on the order page.
| License |
Price (1 year of updates) |
What it covers |
| Developer, single | $339.95 | One developer, on one or more development workstations |
| Server | About $800 | One server of one organization, including web and application servers with many users |
| Site / OEM | From about $5,000 | Unlimited use within one company (Site), or redistribution inside your own application (OEM) |
FAQs
Can I keep using dotConnect for SugarCRM after the subscription ends?
Yes. dotConnect for SugarCRM licenses are perpetual, so the version you have keeps working. The subscription only covers new versions, fixes and support.
Do my application's users need a dotConnect for SugarCRM license?
No. End users of an application built with dotConnect for SugarCRM don't need a license. Selling the provider as part of a product to other companies calls for the OEM license.
Can I use dotConnect for SugarCRM on Linux or macOS?
Yes. dotConnect for SugarCRM runs on Linux and macOS through the Devart.Data.Sugar NuGet package with .NET 5 to 10 or .NET Core. Version 3.1.33 fixed license key activation on Red Hat-based distributions such as RHEL, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux 9 and 10. The installer and Visual Studio tools are Windows only.
Does dotConnect for SugarCRM work with SugarCRM cloud and on-premises instances?
dotConnect for SugarCRM connects to a SugarCRM instance by its URL with a user name and password, and Devart says it supports all versions of the SugarCRM API. Devart's own example connects to a cloud instance. Test your on-premises server with the trial.
Is a refund possible if dotConnect for SugarCRM doesn't fit my project?
Yes. Devart offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on its dotConnect licenses.
Does dotConnect for SugarCRM include Entity Developer?
No. Entity Developer, Devart's visual ORM designer, is licensed separately. You can still build EF Core models without it, with Scaffold-DbContext.
System Requirements
- .NET 5.0 to 10.0, .NET Core 2.0 to 3.1, .NET Standard 2.0 or 2.1, or .NET Framework 4.5 to 4.8
- Windows, Linux or macOS, x64 or x86
- Visual Studio 2015 to 2026 for design-time integration (optional)
- Languages: C#, VB.NET and F#
- A SugarCRM instance and a user account with API access
Conclusion
dotConnect for SugarCRM is worth $339.95 if you're a .NET developer who has to move data in and out of SugarCRM regularly. The one reason to buy it is time: SQL, ADO.NET and EF Core on top of SugarCRM's API replace a lot of authentication, paging and JSON code, and Devart keeps it current with new .NET and EF Core versions. The main reason not to is the lack of independent user feedback, so lean on the free 30-day trial: if your modules show up and your queries run fast enough, it'll pay for itself in saved development hours.
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