Freshsales vs Zoho CRM

Freshsales

• Small sales teams that want calling, email and chat inside the CRM
• Teams already using Freshdesk or other Freshworks products
• Buyers looking for a low per-user entry price

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

Freshsales

• The pricing page lists no free plan; after the 21-day trial an account without a paid plan is suspended.
• Contact scoring, sales sequences and territory management need Pro at $39 per user / month billed annually.
• Monthly billing costs more: Growth is $11 instead of $9 per user, and Pro $47 instead of $39.
• Branded documents ($19 per user / month) and Freddy AI Agent ($49 per 100 sessions) are paid add-ons on every plan.

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.

Freshsales

Kanban deal pipeline

Contacts, accounts and deals are organized in kanban views with drag-and-drop cards, and each contact has a 360-degree view for context before a conversation.

Built-in phone, email and chat

Chat, email and phone are part of every plan, starting with Growth, so conversations happen and are tracked inside the CRM.

Freddy AI

Freddy scores contacts, surfaces deal insights and risk signals, resolves duplicate contacts and helps draft prospecting emails. Contact scoring and deal insights start at Pro.

Workflows and sales sequences

Basic workflows automate repetitive tasks from the Growth plan. Sales sequences for multi-step outreach are added on Pro.

Territories, forecasting and permissions

Pro adds territory management. Enterprise adds forecasting insights, field-level permissions, custom modules, a sandbox and audit logs.

Mobile apps with offline use

The iPhone, iPad and Android apps handle contacts, accounts, deals, calls and email, and the App Store listing says the app can also be used offline.

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.

Freshsales

• Growth$9

  per user / month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly)

  For startups and small businesses: kanban view, contact lifecycle stages, built-in chat, email and phone, email templates and basic workflows.

• Pro$39

  per user / month, billed annually ($47 billed monthly)

  Adds contact scoring, deal insights, custom sales activities, territory management and sales sequences.

• Enterprise$59

  per user / month, billed annually ($71 billed monthly)

  Adds forecasting insights, field-level permissions, custom modules, a sandbox and audit logs.

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.

Freshsales

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  The pricing page's billing toggle advertises a 20% saving on annual plans. Growth is $9 per user a month billed annually against $11 billed monthly.

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.