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CRM · head to head

Agile CRM vs Zoho Marketing Automation

Agile CRM logo

Agile CRM

CRM

All-in-one CRM, Marketing, and Service Software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Marketing Automation logo

Zoho Marketing Automation

Marketing

Contact-count marketing automation priced well below the mainstream platforms, tightest with Zoho CRM

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Agile CRM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Agile CRM limited to 10 free users with basic features only; Zoho Marketing Automation pricing is by contact count, so an inactive or unengaged list costs the same as an active one, and nobody in the business has an incentive to prune it until the next tier boundary arrives.
  • They diverge on capability: Agile CRM covers Contact management, Zoho Marketing Automation covers Journey builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Agile CRM and Zoho Marketing Automation actually diverge.

Attributes where Agile CRM and Zoho Marketing Automation differ
AttributeAgile CRMZoho Marketing Automation
Starting priceFree$19/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by contact count
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryCRMMarketing
Founded2009Unknown

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 Agile CRM

  • Contact management
  • Email automation
  • Marketing automation
  • Service desk
  • Web forms
  • Analytics
  • Zapier
  • Slack

Only in Zoho Marketing Automation

  • Journey builder
  • Unlimited email sends
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Web behaviour tracking
  • Social campaigns
  • SMS and WhatsApp
  • Lead attribution and X-RAY

Both cover

  • Lead scoring

What people use each for

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

Agile CRM

  • Managing customer relationships and contactsnot Zoho Marketing Automation
  • Automating sales workflows and pipeline trackingnot Zoho Marketing Automation
  • Running email marketing campaigns and lead generationnot Zoho Marketing Automation
  • Building helpdesk and customer support systemsnot Zoho Marketing Automation

Zoho Marketing Automation

  • A B2B team already on Zoho CRM that wants scoring and nurture without paying for a separate platform and an integrationnot Agile CRM
  • A business emailing its list frequently, where unlimited sends beats a competitor metering both contacts and emailsnot Agile CRM
  • An Indian or emerging-market marketing team that would otherwise pay a US-dollar list price plus card forex feesnot Agile CRM
  • A small team upgrading from plain newsletter sending to behaviour-triggered journeys without a five-figure annual commitmentnot Agile CRM

Where each one falls short

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

Agile CRM

  • Limited to 10 free users with basic features only
  • Email and phone support included starting at $8.99 tier
  • CRM analytics features require additional per-usage pricing for email counts

Zoho Marketing Automation

  • Pricing is by contact count, so an inactive or unengaged list costs the same as an active one, and nobody in the business has an incentive to prune it until the next tier boundary arrives.
  • The Enterprise plan caps users at 25, which is a hard ceiling for larger marketing organisations rather than an upgrade path.
  • Its value depends heavily on running Zoho CRM; used alongside Salesforce or HubSpot the integration is shallower and much of the scoring and attribution advantage disappears.
  • Zoho sells Campaigns, Marketing Automation and MarketingPlus as separate products with overlapping function, and buyers regularly purchase the wrong one and then migrate lists between them.
  • Support and deliverability tooling are basic next to dedicated senders, so sender reputation problems on a large list get less expert help than a specialist provider would give.

Pricing, plan by plan

Agile CRM

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 10 users
    • 1
    • 000 Contacts & Companies
  • Starter$8.99/monthly
    • 10
    • 000 Contacts & Companies
    • 3 Plugins
  • Regular$29.99/monthly
    • 50
    • 000 Contacts & Companies
    • 50+ Plugins/Integrations
  • Enterprise$47.99/monthly
    • Unlimited Contacts & Companies
    • 50+ Plugins
    • Dedicated Account Rep

Zoho Marketing Automation

$19/month
  • Standard$19/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Unlimited social campaigns and signup forms
  • Professional$29/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Contact scoring
    • Journey builder with reports
  • Enterprise$59/month
    • Priced for 1,000 contacts, billed annually
    • Lead attribution and X-RAY journey tracing
    • Landing page personalisation

Which should you pick?

Choose Agile CRM if

  • You need contact management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want email automation.
Agile CRM review

Choose Zoho Marketing Automation if

  • You need journey builder.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want unlimited email sends.
Zoho Marketing Automation review

Questions people ask

Is Agile CRM or Zoho Marketing Automation better?
Neither clearly leads. Agile CRM starts at Free and Zoho Marketing Automation at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Agile CRM or Zoho Marketing Automation?
Agile CRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Agile CRM and $19/month for Zoho Marketing Automation.
Does Agile CRM or Zoho Marketing Automation run on more platforms?
Agile CRM runs on Web. Zoho Marketing Automation runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Agile CRM for free?
Yes. Agile CRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zoho Marketing Automation starts at $19/month.
What is Agile CRM best used for?
Agile CRM is most often used for managing customer relationships and contacts, automating sales workflows and pipeline tracking, running email marketing campaigns and lead generation, building helpdesk and customer support systems. Of those, managing customer relationships and contacts and automating sales workflows and pipeline tracking are not what Zoho Marketing Automation is typically brought in for.
What can Agile CRM do that Zoho Marketing Automation cannot?
Agile CRM covers Contact management, Email automation, Marketing automation, Service desk. Zoho Marketing Automation covers Journey builder, Unlimited email sends, Landing pages and forms, Web behaviour tracking. Both handle Lead scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Agile CRM: How much does Agile CRM cost?

Agile CRM offers a free plan for up to 10 users with basic CRM, sales, and helpdesk features. Paid plans start at $8.99/user/month for the Starter tier and go up to $47.99/user/month for Enterprise with unlimited contacts and custom features. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20241226213740/https://www.agilecrm.com/pricing

Source
Zoho Marketing Automation: How does it differ from Zoho Campaigns?

Campaigns is email sending and newsletters. Marketing Automation adds journeys, lead scoring, web tracking and CRM writeback. Buying Campaigns and outgrowing it is the common mistake.

Agile CRM: Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan at any time?

Yes, you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your plan at any time directly from Agile CRM's online dashboard, with no penalties or long-term contracts required.

Source
Zoho Marketing Automation: Are email sends limited?

No, sends are unlimited on all plans. Only contact count determines your tier, which is unusual at this price level.

Agile CRM: What is the uptime guarantee for paid plans?

Agile CRM offers a 99.5% uptime guarantee on all paid plans, ensuring your system is available 99.5% of the time. The platform is hosted on Google and Amazon cloud infrastructure for reliability.

Source
Zoho Marketing Automation: Is there a user limit?

Yes, up to 25 users on Enterprise, with lower limits below that. It is not designed for large marketing departments.

Zoho Marketing Automation: Can I pay in local currency?

Yes, Zoho publishes real local pricing in several markets including India rather than converting the US dollar figure at checkout.

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