Act! vs Zoho CRM

Act!

• Small businesses that want CRM and email marketing from one vendor
• Insurance, financial services and manufacturing firms, which Act! targets
• Teams that need a self-managed desktop CRM with offline access

Zoho CRM

• Small teams that want a free CRM for up to 3 users
• Businesses that want detailed customization and process automation
• Companies already using other Zoho apps

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.

Zoho CRM

• The Free edition is limited to 3 users, 5,000 records and 5 workflow automations.
• Monthly billing costs more: Standard is $20 instead of $14 per user, and Professional $35 instead of $23.
• CPQ and inventory management start at Professional; territory management, custom functions and customer portals need Enterprise.
• Prices exclude local taxes, and the CRM Plus and Zoho One bundles are priced separately from Zoho CRM.

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.

Zoho CRM

Lead, contact and deal management

Leads, accounts, contacts and deals are tracked through the sales cycle. Paid editions add multiple pipelines and sales forecasting, and Enterprise adds territory management.

Workflow and process automation

Workflow and assignment rules handle routine updates, cadences run sequences of follow-ups, and Blueprint holds a team to a structured sales process.

Zia AI

Zia gives predictions and recommendations, rewrites emails and flags anomalies. The pricing page lists AI agents from Standard and an AI sales assistant from Enterprise.

Analytics and forecasting

Reports, dashboards and forecasts track sales performance, with anomaly detection on top. The Free edition is limited to standard reports.

Canvas and customization

Layouts and fields can be customized, and Canvas redesigns record pages without code. Enterprise adds custom functions, wizards and customer portals.

Mobile apps with offline mode

iPhone, iPad and Android apps can add, edit and delete records offline and sync when back online. They also include a business card scanner.

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.

Zoho CRM

• Free$0

  Up to 3 users and 5,000 records, with lead, contact and deal management, standard reports and the mobile apps.

• Standard$14

  per user / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)

  Workflows and assignment rules, cadences, reports and dashboards, sales forecasting, AI agents and self-service kiosks.

• Professional$23

  per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)

  Adds CPQ, email intelligence, process automation, widgets, inventory management and Google Ads integration.

• Enterprise$40

  per user / month, billed annually ($50 billed monthly)

  Adds the AI sales assistant, journey orchestration, territory management, custom functions, wizards and customer portals.

• Ultimate$52

  per user / month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)

  Higher feature limits, custom AI and ML models, data preparation, and consulting and migration assistance.

Act!

No public discounts listed.

Zoho CRM

• Annual discount

  Save up to 34% with yearly billing

  Zoho's pricing page says yearly plans save up to 34%. Standard is $14 per user a month billed annually versus $20 monthly, and Professional is $23 versus $35.