Do remember that Salesforce has a huge catch. They only offer annual plans, so you are committed for a year even if your business fails. Zoho can revert back to free edition anytime. SF is horrible for start ups as you need to learn the software and it is not intuitive, its like learning a new language. Zoho lacks the polish but it is fast and instant to understand. Finally add on salesforce licenses are also on one year terms. Its inflexible and for businesses of 30 or less employees. I would suggest going with ZOHO and then migrating to SF later when you have the $ 1000 a month to spare on CRM for a mid sized team.

Hi, I would agree. If I boil it down I say… You can pay less for zoho and get most of what you need. It’s a bit clunky, and there are a few things you wish you could do, but just can’t.

Salesforce.com is slicker, more configurable, more add-ons and can be more expensive (and most likely will be).

I don’t mind the idea of the nickel and diming that a user above mentions, as long as I’m clear on the value. And I currently use zoho, and have a bunch of add-ons, and am still happy with the price. But I wish I could pay the zoho price for all the options and slickness of salesforce.com.

It really is hard to say what is best as they each have their perks and, in the end, it really boils down to the features you need and the workflow you prefer. I’d recommend taking a look at the pricing/features for each if you haven’t already (I’ve included links below) and even taking advantage of the free trials offered by both services.

Zoho: http://www.zoho.com/pricing.html
Salesforce: http://www.salesforce.com/crm/editions-pricing.jsp

I know this isn’t a clear recommendation for one over the other, but I honestly don’t think it’s that easy. Hopefully the extra info above will help you decide which is best for you!

Maurice – I’m not personally familiar with either of these options, actually. I’ll have to look them up. Thanks for sharing!

You’re right about the fees for various plug-ins. For those who don’t need all the various plugins, Zoho may be the better choice as it will likely end up being cheaper overall. That said, it’s not hard to get up to the same price level as Salesforce once you start adding in the plug-ins. At that point, you’ll need to more closely compare the two to see what service offers the specific features you need.

The Salesforce site (http://www.salesforce.com/crm/editions-pricing.jsp) states the Enterprise version as their most popular, for $125/month. That’s what I was referring to in the post. That said, you are correct in that there is a $65/month option as well which, I’m sure, is also a very popular plan!