Zoho is still one of the most recognizable CRM platforms out there, but that doesn’t mean that it’s always the best option for customer relations management. While it’s considered one of the best and most affordable options by many, there are still plenty of reasons you might want or need a good Zoho alternative, especially as your business continues to grow and you need more refined features when it comes to contract templates or invoice templates.
These alternatives are all designed to be easy to use, accessible, and work for a wide range of different business and entrepreneurial styles.
So, whether you’re looking for a replacement for your existing account or are looking for a Zoho alternative to get you started, these are some of the best options.
Let’s dive in.
Bonsai Tax is the best overall Zoho alternative if you’re looking for something to replace an existing account or have evaluated Zoho and decided it’s not for you. The 7-day free trial is more than long enough to get a sense of whether the platform fits your style, and whether the tools are worth the spending of $25/mo to have.
Bonsai has the advantage of offering unlimited clients and projects, which lets it scale with your business for more effective management.
It also gives you access to a contracts and proposals management tool that makes it simple to create clear expectations for every project you decide to take on.
Time tracking and management make it simple to stay on top of what you're doing through the day and to find new ways to optimize your workflow. It's no wonder why many consider us the best tax software for professionals.
Bonsai is a fantastic all in one tool for managing CRM, invoices, and more, with the end result being a significantly more productive day for you and your team. Sign up for a free trial today!
Proofhub offers two different subscription levels, but the most affordable version of this program comes to $45 a month, billed annually.
This is a great collaborative platform for your team, whether you’re all working in the same office or are spread across the country. It includes invaluable software like time tracking and proof and approval systems that help make it clear where your attention is needed, and when.
Task management tools combine with a calendar and easy chat features to make it simple to touch base and make cure critical project goals are met on time.
ProofHub also provides project templates and more advanced B2B features on higher subscription levels.
Though Proofub can seem an expensive Zoho alternative at first glance, it’s a good option for larger teams that need great coordination tools.
It also comes with the advantage of offering significant discounts for non-profit organizations that might not otherwise be able to afford this kind of comprehensive program.
Scoro is a good option for mid-sized teams who need a collaborative environment that helps to streamline task management and project planning.
The system does scale in price, so the more features and advanced software you need, the pricier it can become. The 5 team member minimum also means that Scoro isn’t a good option for soloprenuers and small team businesses, and the price can bloat at the other end of the spectrum as well.
It's also worth noting that some features have their own cost, also calculated per-user, which can increase the overall price of the platform. That subscription-style also makes it simpler to add additional tools and access only to the team members who need it, though, which can cut costs.
That said, features like the task board, planner, and calendar invites make collaboration simple, especially if you’re working with a time or distance barrier between team members.
Scoro also helps with managing bills and finances, with even the lowest subscription levels providing valuable financial trackers and insights to make business planning easier.
Basecamp is great for managing a larger team and a lot of clientele, with unlimited collaborators, projects, and clients.
The 30-day free trial is also helpful, since this platform is significantly larger than other CRM, team management, and financial planning tools, and designed to support more users, that longer trial run gives you time to really see if this platform is a good fit for your business needs.
This price is for the business class subscription, which comes with significantly more perks than the smaller personal package, including unlimited users instead of the base of 20 users and 3 projects available in the personal package.
You also get 500GB of free storage to help with managing that kind of volume, and priority support access when you need help with a feature or tool. The advanced client access feature also makes it simple to see what your clients see, making customer relations that much easier.
Like several of the programs on this list, Insightly comes at several different subscription levels, allowing to scale the features and functionality of the program to make the need of your business as it grows and expands.
It's cross-platform compatible, even at the lowest subscription level, which means that you can access your Insightly tools on a wider range of devices, making it easier to check on things when you're on the go.
High subscription levels take Insightly beyond a basic CRM, giving you access to additional tools to help drive and track sales, as well as insights into what is driving conversions for your business.
If you’re looking for enterprise-class project management tools, Clarizen is one of the better options out there. The 30 day trial on this tool, like the other platforms that offer a longer trial run, really helps you get to know the advantages of this tool.
The centralized system makes it easier to access and organize several different projects at once, all within one collaborative team environment. You can also designate separate areas for different teams and projects.
Add to that the ability to prioritize and organize critical tasks, and even whole projects and portfolios, and this makes managing larger organizations much simpler.
However, that per-user price does mean that the cost can bloat over time, especially at higher subscription levels and with large teams.
Copper has three different subscription levels, and you can subscribe with monthly or annual billing. But, considering that even their base level subscription comes with unlimited users and unlimited projects, this is a surprisingly affordable Zoho alternative.
The biggest limitation of the base subscription is that you only get 10Gb free storage space.
The tool allows you to centralize all your project documents as well as proving a collaborative environment that makes it significantly easier to keep track of different people and teams within your organization.
The drag and drop calendar is relatively easy to use, while tasks and timer functions help to keep everyone on track and organized. It also makes it easier to hold your team accountable for their progress toward critical project goals.
Unfortunately, the base subscription rate does not give you access to Copper Project's phone support, but the mid-tier subscription does, along with several additional tools and added storage in the Cloud.
There are two different ways to subscribe to Celoxis, a Cloud version (quoted above) with monthly and annual subscription styles, and an on-premise version where the program is installed directly on your own servers.
The on-premise option is a one time $450 fee, but there are additional costs you may want to subscribe to, like ongoing support and troubleshooting from the company.
Celoxis' bright colors and simplistic design make it one of the more readable CRM and drastically lower the learning curve when you first adopt the program. It's flexible subscription style also makes it easy for different kinds of business to adopt the program quickly and relatively painlessly.
The inclusion of risk and resource management software within the program is a useful addition many CRM don’t include. Add to that the fully customizable desktop, and it’s simple to get a read on how your business is doing at any given time.
You also gain access to several dashboards, so that you can specialize the information you most need at any given time, further streamlining the interface.
ActiveCollab is an interesting platform in that it actually interfaces with Quickbooks, giving you some additional functionality if you choose to use it. ActiveCollab is also different in that instead of offering several truly distinct subscription levels, it has a base subscription with a $4 per month additional subscription you can add when you need it. You can’t get the additional subscription without the base package, but you also don’t have to worry about losing important features or functions in the process.
The platform is designed for both desktop and mobile use and offers customizable notifications to help you stay on top of the most important details in your business.
Even at the base subscription, you get unlimited projects and unlimited tasks and time records. The program also helps with time tracking, invoicing, and profitability management when you add the additional subscription package.
Even without that addition though, the CRM is useful for managing your budget and time to maximize the profits on each project.
Bitrix24 is a very scalable program that starts by offering a fully free version for small businesses and soloprenuers, but that can grow to support unlimited users and enterprise-sized teams.
Bitrix 24 offers a wide range of different features, including online store support, varying levels of free cloud-based storage, and CRM marketing solutions. The exact features you get, and how useful they can become, depends largely on which subscription level you choose.
Bitrix 24 has a whopping 6 subscription levels, with the highest subscription running $199 a month (but there are often discounted rates for this platform).
All versions offer unlimited contracts, unlimited invoices, client profiles, and an internal CRM chat.
In fact, Bitrix24 is so feature-rich that it can at times be a downside of this platform, simply because it has a steep learning curve and takes a good bit of experience to learn to utilize all the program's features effectively.
While we stand by every platform in this list as being a great option, and a great Zoho alternative, Bonsai stands out as a clear platform of choice. Easy to use tools, incredibly affordable pricing, and the advantages of a highly scalable platform make it our top pick Zoho alternative.
Sign up for the no-strings-attached free trial to see for yourself whether Bonsai is a good fit for your organization.
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