Act! vs Maximizer CRM (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Act! grades higher than Maximizer CRM: 2.4 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Act! grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Act!
CRM and email marketing platform for small businesses
Maximizer CRM
Customizable CRM that works from Outlook, with a finance edition
Which one is for you
Pick Act! if
- Fits if you want your CRM and your email campaigns from one vendor
- Works for teams that want a desktop CRM they run themselves, with offline access, at $40 a user
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to pay monthly, as the pricing page only shows annual billing
- Pricey if you want marketing automation and lead scoring, which need Ultimate at $60 a user
- Not for you if you want a free plan, because there's only a 14-day trial
- Watch out: texting is an add-on from $19 a month, and Desktop Sync adds $10 a user to cloud plans
- Tight if you're on Standard, with 2,500 email sends a month and one designated user for forms, surveys and chat
Pick Maximizer CRM if
- Fits if your team lives in Outlook and Microsoft 365
- Makes sense if you need the CRM installed on your own servers
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are one person: Core is $65 a user and the pipeline needs $79
- Skip it if you want automation or AI, because both start on Business + at $89
- Watch out: billing basis isn't stated, and Enterprise and On-Premise have no published price
- Not for you if you want to try before talking to sales, as no trial is listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAct!Fair | 1.6GPAMaximizer CRMWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStandard is $30 a user a month against a $24 middle for CRMs here, which puts it in the dearer quarter, though email marketing, quotes, payments and booking come with it. AI tools wait for Professional at $45, marketing automation for Ultimate at $60, and text messaging is an add-on from $19. | D$65 a user for Core, and the pipeline views start at $79 and the workflows and AI at $89, against a category middle of $25. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial that doesn't ask for a card, which is the ordinary arrangement. After that every listed price is billed for the year, so you're deciding on twelve months at once. | FNo free plan and no trial; the pricing page points to a demo. |
| Features | BContact history, a kanban pipeline with KPIs, email campaigns, online quotes, card and ACH payments, booking, web forms, surveys, website chat and event pages. That covers sales and marketing in one place. On Standard, though, forms, surveys, chat and event pages each come with just one designated user. | CContacts, pipeline, forecasting and workflows. AI insights and automation need Business +, and investment data for advisers is still listed as coming soon. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and this is a big product to settle into: a configurable sales process, campaign templates, lookups and queries, and mailbox and calendar accounts to connect first. | CNo store rating on record. Adding Outlook, dashboards and workflows takes setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with a separate self-managed desktop edition for offline access at $40 a user. It works with Outlook, Microsoft 365, Gmail, Google Calendar, Excel and Word, but our listing names no API. | BWeb, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft 365, a mobile access feature, and an on-premise version. The list of integrations is short. |
| Best for | CRM and email marketing from one vendor | a CRM that works from inside Outlook |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Act! and Maximizer CRM. How we grade
Price against what you get
Act! starts at $30 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Maximizer CRM starts at $65 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Act! scores higher and starts $35 a month lower. Of the other CRM tools on the chart, 7 score higher than Act! for less, and 35 score higher than Maximizer CRM for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Maximizer CRM is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Act! also covers booking links, marketing automation, forms and surveys.
- Maximizer CRM also covers workflow automation, email campaigns and dashboards.
At a glance
| Act! | Maximizer CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $30 per user / month, billed annually | $65 per user / month (billing basis not stated) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Act! LLC | Maximizer Services Inc. |
| Price read from | act.com | maximizer.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Act!
- There is no free plan, and every listed price is billed annually; the pricing page shows no monthly option.
- AI tools, project management and accounting integration start on Professional; marketing automation and lead scoring need Ultimate.
- SMS text messaging is an add-on from $19 a month, and Desktop Sync adds $10 per user a month to cloud plans.
- On Standard, surveys, website chat, web forms and event pages each include only one designated user.
Maximizer CRM
- The pricing page does not say whether the per-user prices are billed monthly or annually, and no trial is listed; it points to a demo.
- AI insights and workflow automation start on the Plus plans; Core has neither.
- Enterprise and On-Premise have no published price and are sold through sales.
- Investment and insurance data beside each client is listed as coming soon on the top financial services plan.
Key features
Act!
- Contact and activity management
- Each contact record holds emails, documents, notes and history alongside scheduled calls, meetings and to-dos, with groups, lookups and advanced queries to segment the database.
- Opportunity pipeline
- Opportunities follow a configurable sales process and can be worked on a drag-and-drop kanban board or in a pipeline view with KPIs such as close rate and closed-won value.
- Built-in email marketing
- Email campaigns with a template editor and tracking come with every cloud tier, with monthly send limits of 2,500, 25,000 and 50,000. Nurture campaigns start on Professional.
- Quotes, payments and scheduling
- Interactive online quotes, card and ACH payments through Act! Payments and online appointment booking are included. A shared team booking calendar needs Professional.
- Forms, surveys, chat and events
- Web lead forms, online surveys, website chat and event sign-up pages feed contacts into Act!. Standard includes one designated user for each; higher tiers cover all users.
- AI tools
- AI History Summary recaps recent contact activity and the AI Writing Assistant drafts marketing content. The pricing page lists both from the Professional tier.
Maximizer CRM
- Work from Outlook
- Emails and appointments sync to Maximizer from the inbox, and the Core plan includes working directly from Outlook.
- Pipeline and forecasting
- Business adds opportunities on kanban boards, a pipeline and forecast view and activity targets for reps and teams.
- AI insights
- The Plus plans add AI that flags deals needing attention, coaches deals, prepares meetings and summarizes calls, emails and notes.
- Financial services edition
- A separate plan set shows a whole book of business, family connections and client investments, and states audit logs and Canadian hosting.
- Workflows and email campaigns
- Automated workflows start on the Plus plans. The plan comparison also lists email campaigns, customer service cases and action plans.
- On-premise option
- The same CRM can run on the customer's own infrastructure, with control over when updates happen.
Plans
Act!
Act! Advantage Standard$30
per user / month, billed annually
Cloud CRM and mobile app, basic email marketing with 2,500 sends a month, quotes, payments, scheduling, reports and 15 GB of storage.
Act! Premium Desktop$40
per user / month, billed annually
Self-managed, on-premises edition with networked and offline access; you deploy the software and control when it updates.
Act! Advantage Professional$45
per user / month, billed annually
Adds 25,000 email sends a month, nurture campaigns, AI History Summary, AI Writing Assistant, accounting integration, project management and 25 GB.
Act! Advantage Ultimate$60
per user / month, billed annually
Adds marketing automation with 50,000 sends a month, lead scoring, custom industry tables, an online customer portal and 35 GB of storage.
Enterprise EngagementCustom
Private hosting, custom deployment, a dedicated project manager and a custom enterprise agreement. Priced by phone quote.
Maximizer CRM
Core$65
per user / month, billing basis not stated
Contacts, tasks and reminders, interaction tracking, mobile access and working from Outlook.
Business$79
per user / month, billing basis not stated
Everything in Core, plus opportunities on kanban boards, pipeline and forecast views, custom dashboards and activity targets.
Business +$89
per user / month, billing basis not stated
Everything in Business, plus AI insights on deals, deal coaching and meeting prep, automated workflows and AI playbooks.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom solution development, a dedicated professional services team and an enterprise SLA. Sold through sales.
On-PremiseCustom
The same CRM deployed on the customer's own servers. Price on request; sold through sales.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Act! or Maximizer CRM?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Act! is cheaper to start with: $30 a month for each person, against $65 a month for each person for Maximizer CRM. Act! starts at $30 per user / month, billed annually, and Maximizer CRM starts at $65 per user / month (billing basis not stated).
Which has a free plan, Act! or Maximizer CRM?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Act! nor Maximizer CRM has a free plan. Act! has a free trial.
Which platforms do Act! and Maximizer CRM run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Act! lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.