Salesforce Sales Cloud vs Zoho CRM
Same data, side by side: what each costs for a small team, which features sit on which plan, and where each one falls short.
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The enterprise standard, now with a free two-user suite; automation starts on Pro Suite ($100 per user, annual contract) and the full platform on Core ($195).
- Core plan
- Pro Suite, $100 /user/mo
- 5 users / month
- $500
- Year 1, 5 users
- $6,000
- Free option
- free plan
Low-cost, deep CRM with a free plan for three users that already includes workflow automation; Standard adds email integration, built-in calling and custom modules.
- Core plan
- Standard, $14 /user/mo
- 5 users / month
- $70
- Year 1, 5 users
- $840
- Free option
- free plan
Bottom line
On documented facts, Zoho CRM scores 9.9 and Salesforce Sales Cloud 7.3 out of 10. For 5 users on each core plan with annual billing, Zoho CRM costs $840 in the first year and Salesforce Sales Cloud $6,000, a difference of $5,160. The biggest gap is in price for a small team.
Where they differ
- API access: Zoho CRM ✓ all plans; Salesforce Sales Cloud paid add-on.
Choose Salesforce Sales Cloud if
- Very small teams that want a vendor-backed free start (Free Suite, 2 users) and a $25/user monthly-billed step up (Starter Suite)
- Teams that need custom objects, flows, quotes and a sandbox at $100/user (Pro Suite) and expect to scale into AppExchange and Agentforce
- Mid-size/enterprise sales orgs that want AI, Slack, analytics and Premier support bundled in the per-user price (Core $195 and up)
Choose Zoho CRM if
- Budget-conscious teams that want built-in calling, multiple pipelines, forecasting and custom modules from $14/user/month on annual billing
- Very small teams (up to 3 users) that need workflow automation and API access for free
- Teams already on other Zoho apps (Books, Desk, Campaigns, Sign) that want native integrations
Full comparison
 Salesforce Sales Cloud |  Zoho CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Fact score | 7.3 / 10 | 9.9 / 10 |
| Type | General CRM | General CRM |
| Company | Salesforce, Inc. · San Francisco, CA, USA | Zoho Corporation · Chennai, India; US office in Austin, TX |
| Price | ||
| Free plan | Free Suite: $0, 2 user licenses, no contract or credit card, no expiry as long as a user logs in at least once every 60 days; up to 100 marketing emails/month. Per the edition matrix on the Sales pricing page (source 1) the Free column has no Activity Capture, mobile app, Flow Builder, custom apps or API | Free edition: up to 3 users, permanent. Includes contact management, follow-up reminders, workflow automation, up to 10 custom email templates, tasks/meetings/calls, data import and export (export up to 10 times), standard reports, APIs (5,000 API calls/day) and mobile apps |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 15 days, no card |
| Paid plans from | $25 per user / month | $14 per user / month |
| Core plan | Pro Suite: $100 (annual) | Standard: $14 (annual) · $20 monthly |
| 5 users, year 1 | $6,000 | $840 |
| Seat minimum | none | none |
| Mandatory fees | none documented | none documented |
| Monthly billing | no, annual only | yes |
| Features | ||
| Sales pipeline / deals | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Email sync & tracking | ✓ all plans | ✓ from Standard |
| Workflow automation | ✓ from Pro Suite | ✓ all plans |
| Email marketing | ✓ from Pro Suite | ✓ from Standard |
| Built-in calling | not documented | ✓ from Standard |
| AI assistant / AI features | higher plans only | higher plans only |
| Reports & dashboards | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Custom objects | ✓ from Pro Suite | ✓ from Standard |
| API access | paid add-on | ✓ all plans |
| Mobile app | ✓ from Pro Suite | ✓ all plans |
| Compliance & data | ||
| HIPAA BAA | yes (No edition floor stated on Salesforce's BAA restrictions page; Sales Cloud and Service Cloud (incl. Field Service) and Lightning Platform are listed HIPAA Covered Services. BAA is contracted through the Salesforce account representative.) | yes (Zoho's BAA text does not tie the BAA to an edition. Zoho's own feature comparison (https://www.zoho.com/crm/complete-feature-list.html, German-language version read) shows 'HIPAA compliance settings' for Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate but not Free. Some third-party sites say Enterprise and Ultimate only (unverified).) |
| Open source | no | no |
| Facts checked | 2026-10-03 | 2026-10-03 |
Sources for every value are on each review: Salesforce Sales Cloud · Zoho CRM. Add a third CRM in the comparison tool.
FAQ
Is Salesforce Sales Cloud or Zoho CRM better?
On our fact score, Zoho CRM ranks higher (9.9 vs 7.3). That does not make it better for everyone: check the capability differences and the "choose it if" lists above.
Is Salesforce Sales Cloud cheaper than Zoho CRM?
For 5 users on each core plan with annual billing, Zoho CRM costs $840 in the first year and Salesforce Sales Cloud $6,000, a difference of $5,160.
Do Salesforce Sales Cloud and Zoho CRM have free plans?
Salesforce Sales Cloud: yes (Free Suite: $0, 2 user licenses, no contract or credit card, no expiry as long as a user logs in at least once every 60 days; up to 100 marketing emails/month. Per the edition matrix on the Sales pricing page (source 1) the Free column has no Activity Capture, mobile app, Flow Builder, custom apps or API). Zoho CRM: yes (Free edition: up to 3 users, permanent. Includes contact management, follow-up reminders, workflow automation, up to 10 custom email templates, tasks/meetings/calls, data import and export (export up to 10 times), standard reports, APIs (5,000 API calls/day) and mobile apps).