Zoho CRM

Starting at: $20/mo
Free trial: Yes
Founded: 1996

About

Zoho CRM is the customer relationship management product of Zoho Corporation, a software company founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, with major operations in Chennai, India. Zoho CRM is used by hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide.

Sales and marketing teams use Zoho CRM to manage leads, deals and customer communication, automate sales processes with Blueprint and workflows, and connect with more than 55 other Zoho apps. Zia, Zoho’s AI assistant, offers lead and deal predictions, anomaly detection, writing help and AI agents.

As of October 2026, Zoho CRM has a Free plan for up to three users, Standard at about $20 per user a month ($14 billed annually), Professional at about $35 ($23 annually), Enterprise at about $50 ($40 annually) and Ultimate at about $65 ($52 annually). The full Zia assistant is on Enterprise and above, with some AI agents on lower tiers. Prices vary by country.

Features and integrations

Lead and Deal Management: Track leads, contacts, accounts and deals through customisable pipelines.
Zia AI Assistant: Predicts lead and deal scores, spots anomalies, suggests best times to contact and answers questions.
Zia Agents: AI agents automate tasks such as data enrichment and follow-ups.
Blueprint and Workflows: Enforce sales processes and automate routine actions.
Omnichannel Communication: Email, phone, chat and social interactions in one timeline.
Zoho Ecosystem: Native integration with Zoho Books, Desk, Campaigns, Analytics and 50+ other apps.

Pros and cons

Pros

Affordable pricing: One of the lowest-cost full-featured CRMs.
Free plan for small teams: Up to three users can start free.
Deep Zoho ecosystem: Connects tightly with Zoho's wide range of business apps.
Highly customisable: Custom modules, fields and automation on higher plans.

Cons

Full Zia needs Enterprise: Advanced AI features sit on higher tiers.
Interface can feel dense: New users may need time to learn it.
Best inside Zoho: Integrations with non-Zoho tools can need extra setup.

Founder

Sridhar Vembu

Founder, Zoho Corporation

Sridhar Vembu co-founded Zoho Corporation in 1996 with Tony Thomas, originally as AdventNet. He led Zoho as CEO for decades, building it into a bootstrapped global software company with large operations in rural India.