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Salesforce vs Zoho CRM

The enterprise heavyweight: a long edition ladder that starts with a small-business suite and climbs to AI-heavy editions sold on annual contracts. A broad, highly configurable CRM that lists workflows, cadences and forecasting from its first paid edition and includes a free edition for very small teams.

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Short answer: For 10 people who need workflow automation, Zoho CRM is cheaper: Standard at $140 a month vs Salesforce Starter Suite at $250, a difference of $1,320 a year.

Both are credible choices; the right one depends on team size, billing preference and which tier you need for automation. The tables below use each vendor's published prices and seat rules, so the totals are what a team of that size would be billed before tax.

At a glance

	Salesforce	Zoho CRM
Score	58 / 100	78.2 / 100
Cheapest paid plan (annual)	Starter Suite: $25	Standard: $14
Top published price (annual)	Max: $550	Ultimate: $52
Free plan	Yes, up to 2 users	Yes, up to 3 users
Month-to-month billing	Yes	Yes
Trial	free 30-day trial	free trial on paid editions
Seat rules	Free Suite capped at 2 users	Free Edition capped at 3 users
Workflow automation	Starter Suite and upBuilt-in Sales Flows and Lead Routing	Standard and upWorkflows & assignment rules
Email sequences / cadences	Not listed	Standard and upCadences
Sales forecasting	Pro Suite and upSales Quoting and Forecasting	Standard and upSales forecasting
Single sign-on (SSO)	Not listed	Not listed

"Not listed" means the vendor's pricing page doesn't mention the feature for any plan. It may still exist on a higher tier, as an add-on, or in a separate feature matrix, so check with the vendor before ruling a CRM out.

Monthly cost by team size (annual billing)

Pipeline & contacts only

Team	Salesforce	Zoho CRM
1 person	$0 Free Suite	$0 Free Edition
3 people	$75 Starter Suite	$0 ✓ Free Edition
10 people	$250 Starter Suite	$140 ✓ Standard
25 people	$625 Starter Suite	$350 ✓ Standard
50 people	$1,250 Starter Suite	$700 ✓ Standard

Workflow automation

Team	Salesforce	Zoho CRM
1 person	$25 Starter Suite	$14 ✓ Standard
3 people	$75 Starter Suite	$42 ✓ Standard
10 people	$250 Starter Suite	$140 ✓ Standard
25 people	$625 Starter Suite	$350 ✓ Standard
50 people	$1,250 Starter Suite	$700 ✓ Standard

Automation + email sequences

Team	Salesforce	Zoho CRM
1 person	—	$14 Standard
3 people	—	$42 Standard
10 people	—	$140 Standard
25 people	—	$350 Standard
50 people	—	$700 Standard

Each cell is the cheapest plan that fits the team and lists every feature in that row's need, using each vendor's seat minimums and caps. ✓ marks the cheaper option.

Where each one comes out ahead

Salesforce

No clear advantage on the published data.

Choose Salesforce if you expect to need deep customisation, forecasting and a large partner ecosystem as you grow.

See Salesforce pricing

Zoho CRM

Lower entry price: Standard at $14 vs Starter Suite at $25 per user per month
Cheaper route to workflow automation for 10 people: $140 vs $250 a month
Lists email sequences (from Standard); Salesforce's pricing page doesn't
Cheaper route to sales forecasting for 10 people: $140 vs $1,000 a month

Choose Zoho CRM if you want automation and forecasting on a low per-seat budget and don't mind a configuration-heavy tool.

See Zoho CRM pricing

Worth knowing

Salesforce: Salesforce says most of its products use annual contracts.
Salesforce: Only Starter Suite is shown with month-to-month billing; every higher edition is billed annually.
Zoho CRM: Zoho defaulted to Singapore dollars for our capture location; the USD figures come from its own USD currency switch.
Zoho CRM: Local sales taxes are added on top of the listed prices.

FAQ

Is Salesforce or Zoho CRM cheaper?

For 10 people who need workflow automation, Zoho CRM is cheaper: Standard at $140 a month vs Salesforce Starter Suite at $250, a difference of $1,320 a year.

Which has a free plan, Salesforce or Zoho CRM?

Salesforce has one for up to 2 users; Zoho CRM has one for up to 3 users.

Can I pay monthly for Salesforce and Zoho CRM?

Salesforce publishes month-to-month prices; Zoho CRM publishes month-to-month prices.

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Full details: Salesforce pricing · Zoho CRM pricing