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CRM & Sales · head to head

Affinity vs Zoho Books

Affinity logo

Affinity

CRM & Sales

Relationship intelligence platform for professionals

From
$49/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Books logo

Zoho Books

Accounting & Finance

Simple, smart accounting software for growing businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoho Books has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Affinity built specifically for private capital firms, so it is not a general purpose CRM; Zoho Books payroll only available in Texas and California, limiting US usefulness
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity covers Contact management, Zoho Books covers Invoicing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity and Zoho Books actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity and Zoho Books differ
AttributeAffinityZoho Books
Starting price$49/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryCRM & SalesAccounting & Finance
Founded20131996

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Affinity

  • Contact management
  • Deal tracking
  • Intelligence engine
  • Relationship mapping
  • Integration aggregation
  • Gmail
  • Outlook
  • LinkedIn

Only in Zoho Books

  • Invoicing
  • Expense tracking
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Financial reports
  • Tax compliance
  • Zoho CRM
  • PayPal
  • Stripe

Both cover

  • GDPR
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Affinity

  • Deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equitynot Zoho Books
  • Automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship recordsnot Zoho Books
  • Finding warm introductions through existing relationship networksnot Zoho Books
  • Investor relations and fundraising trackingnot Zoho Books
  • Portfolio company support and reportingnot Zoho Books

Zoho Books

  • Invoicingnot Affinity
  • Expense managementnot Affinity
  • Tax preparationnot Affinity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Affinity

  • Built specifically for private capital firms, so it is not a general purpose CRM
  • Pricing is not published and requires a demo

Zoho Books

  • Payroll only available in Texas and California, limiting US usefulness
  • Limited access to historical financial data compared to competitors
  • Customer support is slow with long response times and frustrating workarounds
  • Fewer integrations than QuickBooks Online and Xero
  • User limit restrictions (1-15 depending on plan) compared to Xero's unlimited users
  • Occasional inaccuracies in automatic exchange rate updates for international transactions

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity

$49/month
  • Pro$49/month
    • Contact management
    • Deal tracking
    • Intelligence
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Everything in Pro
    • Advanced customization
    • Dedicated support

Zoho Books

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user + accountant
    • Unlimited invoices
  • Standard$20/month
    • 3 users
    • Core accounting
  • Professional$60/month
    • 5 users
    • Advanced reporting
  • Premium$120/month
    • 10 users
    • Inventory management

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity if

  • You need contact management.
  • You also want deal tracking.
Affinity review

Choose Zoho Books if

  • You need invoicing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want expense tracking.
Zoho Books review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity or Zoho Books better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity starts at $49/month and Zoho Books at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity or Zoho Books?
Zoho Books has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for Affinity and Free for Zoho Books.
Does Affinity or Zoho Books run on more platforms?
Affinity runs on Web. Zoho Books runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Zoho Books for free?
Yes. Zoho Books has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Affinity starts at $49/month.
What is Affinity best used for?
Affinity is most often used for deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equity, automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship records, finding warm introductions through existing relationship networks, investor relations and fundraising tracking. Of those, deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equity and automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship records are not what Zoho Books is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity do that Zoho Books cannot?
Affinity covers Contact management, Deal tracking, Intelligence engine, Relationship mapping. Zoho Books covers Invoicing, Expense tracking, Bank reconciliation, Financial reports. Both handle GDPR, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zoho Books: Does Zoho Books support payroll?

Zoho Books offers limited payroll integration available only in Texas and California currently. Outside these states, users must use separate payroll software.

Source
Zoho Books: How many users can access one account?

User limits vary by plan: Free tier (1 user + accountant), Standard (3 users), Professional (5 users), Premium (10 users), Elite (15 users). Each business requires separate subscription.

Source
Zoho Books: What integrations does Zoho Books support?

Zoho Books integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Razorpay, PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, Google Sheets, and 500+ apps via Zapier. It integrates with other Zoho products like Zoho Inventory and Zoho Projects.

Source
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Related pages

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