Salesforce vs Zoho CRM

Salesforce

• Sales organizations that need forecasting, territories and deep customization
• Very small teams that want a free CRM for 2 users
• Companies that want sales, service and marketing on one platform
• Teams planning to put AI agents to work across the sales cycle

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

Salesforce

• The Free Suite covers only 2 users and 100 marketing emails a month, and stays free only with a login at least every 60 days.
• Only Starter Suite can be billed monthly. Pro Suite, Core, Advanced and Max are billed annually, and Pro Suite requires a contract.
• On Pro Suite the Web Services API costs an extra $25 per user / month and Flow Builder is limited to 5 flows per org.
• Agentforce for Sales is a paid add-on on Core and Advanced, listed from $125 per user / month; only Max includes it.

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.

Salesforce

Lead and opportunity management

Leads, accounts, contacts and opportunities are tracked on every edition, with lead routing, duplicate blocking and web-to-lead capture. Quotes, contracts and orders start at Pro Suite.

Forecasting and pipeline inspection

Pro Suite includes sales forecasting. Core and above add advanced forecast and pipeline management, pipeline inspection, opportunity scoring, deal insights and sales territories.

Agentforce AI agents

Agentforce agents take on lead nurturing, prospecting and pipeline management. They are included in Max and listed as an add-on from $125 per user / month on Core and Advanced.

Flow automation

Flow Builder automates sales processes with drag-and-drop steps. Pro Suite allows 5 flows per org, and approval processes start at Core.

Reports, dashboards and Tableau Next

Customizable reports and dashboards are on every edition, including the Free Suite. Tableau Next analytics and advanced reporting features are included from Core.

Slack, mobile and browser access

Every edition connects to Slack. The iPhone, iPad and Android app is included from Starter Suite; offline mobile use and the Sales Cloud Everywhere browser extension start at Pro Suite.

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.

Salesforce

• Free Suite$0

  2 user licenses with lead, opportunity and case management, simple email marketing and connected Slack conversations.

• Starter Suite$25

  per user / month, billed monthly or annually

  Lead, account, contact and opportunity management, built-in sales flows and lead routing, email marketing and the mobile app.

• Pro Suite$100

  per user / month, billed annually

  Everything in Starter plus more customization and automation, sales quoting and forecasting, and access to AgentExchange.

• Core$195

  per user / month, billed annually

  Sales Cloud with advanced forecasting and pipeline management, API access, Premier Success, Slack Business+ and Tableau Next.

• Advanced$395

  per user / month, billed annually

  Adds enhanced security, Sales Programs, predictive forecasting, lead scoring, a full sandbox and 1 GB of data storage per user.

• Max$550

  per user / month, billed annually

  Adds Agentforce for Sales, Salesforce Spiff, Sales Planning, Salesforce Maps, Slack Enterprise+ and 2.75M Flex Credits a year.

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.

Salesforce

• Nonprofit

  10 free Nonprofit Cloud licenses

  Through the Power of Us Program, eligible nonprofits receive 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Core licenses at no cost, with discounts on additional licenses.

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.