Zoho CRM: who it fits, what it costs, and the catch
Who Zoho CRM fits, and who it does not
- Checked 2026-10-14
- 1 source
Scored against the other verified CRM tools. How we score tools. What we earn is not part of it.
- Good for
- Small businesses and small-to-mid-sized sales teams
- Companies already using the Zoho suite
- Teams valuing sales forecasting and pipeline management
- Not for
- Organizations wanting AI (Zia) without higher-tier pricing
- Teams needing consistent customer support
- Users who need more than basic features on the free plan
- The catch
- Feature-rich and affordable, but AI is limited to costlier tiers, reporting is cumbersome and support quality is inconsistent.
Data last verified: 2026-10-14
What Zoho CRM costs over five years
Five years for a team of 5, paid yearly: $4,200
On the Standard plan, at today's price. We do not assume a rise.
- Paid monthly, one year
- $1,200
- Paid yearly, one year
- $840
Paying yearly saves $360 a year (30%).
Change the number to see your own total. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Vendor pricing page · checked 2026-10-18We have tracked Zoho CRM's prices since 2026-10-18; no change so far. All price changes
The free plan, as Zoho CRM describes it.
- Free plan
- Free forever for up to 3 users: up to 10 custom email templates, data export up to 10 times, 5,000 API calls/day
- Vendor page · checked 2026-10-18
What you risk by starting
Trial, refunds and getting your data out of Zoho CRM.
What we verified Zoho CRM can do
Open a row for the vendor's own wording and the page we read it on.
Contact managementYes
Track deals in stagesYes
Works with your emailYes
Automatic follow-up emailsYes
Does routine steps for youYes
Reports and dashboardsYes
Forms that capture leadsYes
Your own fieldsNot verified
Not verified: the vendor gives no detail.
Not verifiedMobile appYes
Connects to your other apps (API)Yes
If Zoho CRM isn’t right for you
Rank 1
Bigin by Zoho CRM
Small businesses wanting an entry-level CRM
Our score93.1 / 100Five years for a team of 5: $2,100
Rank 2
Capsule
Small and medium businesses on tight budgets
Our score88.3 / 100Five years for a team of 5: $5,400
Rank 3
monday CRM
Marketing, creative and sales teams wanting customizable workflows
Our score80.5 / 100Five years for a team of 5: $3,600
Show all 9 alternatives
Rank 4
Pipedrive
SMBs needing strong marketing tools alongside sales
Our score75.1 / 100Five years for a team of 5: $4,200
Rank 5
HubSpot CRM
SaaS startups and B2B sales teams needing pipeline tracking
Our score72.8 / 100Five years for a team of 5: $6,000
Rank 6
Copper
Businesses that live in Google Workspace of any size
Our score72.7 / 100Five years for a team of 5: $6,900
Rank 7
Insightly
Small to mid-sized businesses wanting a user-friendly CRM
Our score69.4 / 100Five years for a team of 5: $8,700
Rank 8
Streak
Teams that do most work in Gmail / Google Workspace
Our score62.1 / 100Five years for a team of 5: $14,700
Rank 9
Nimble
Small and medium businesses and solo entrepreneurs focused on relationships
Our score49.1 / 100Five years for a team of 0: Not verified
Where these facts come from
What to do next
- Work out the cost for your own team size
- Compare the runner-up, Bigin by Zoho CRM
- See how we score, so you can check our work
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Data last verified: 2026-10-14