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Customer Support · head to head

Cresta vs Zoho CRM

Cresta logo

Cresta

Customer Support

Real-time AI coaching and autonomous agents that sit on top of an existing contact centre platform

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho CRM logo

Zoho CRM

CRM

The world's favorite CRM

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoho CRM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cresta cresta depends on the CCaaS platforms it integrates with, and NICE, Genesys and Five9 are all shipping native real-time assist and auto-QA of their own, so at renewal you may be paying twice for capability your platform vendor will bundle at a discount.; Zoho CRM free tier limited to 3 users only
  • They diverge on capability: Cresta covers Real-time agent assist, Zoho CRM covers Lead management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cresta and Zoho CRM actually diverge.

Attributes where Cresta and Zoho CRM differ
AttributeCrestaZoho CRM
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM
FoundedUnknown1996

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 Cresta

  • Real-time agent assist
  • Autonomous AI Agent
  • Conversation intelligence
  • Automated quality management
  • Behavioural coaching
  • Knowledge surfacing
  • Multilingual deployment
  • Supervisor dashboards

Only in Zoho CRM

  • Lead management
  • Deal tracking
  • Contact management
  • Sales automation
  • Analytics
  • Mobile CRM
  • Email marketing
  • AI assistant (Zia)

What people use each for

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

Cresta

  • A 1,500-seat telecommunications sales centre that wants conversion lift from live agent prompting without migrating off an incumbent Genesys deploymentnot Zoho CRM
  • An insurance contact centre replacing manual QA sampling of two per cent of calls with automated scoring of every call for regulatory evidencenot Zoho CRM
  • A retail support operation deploying autonomous voice agents on high-volume order status calls while keeping humans on complex claimsnot Zoho CRM
  • A contact centre director who needs to prove which specific agent behaviours drive outcome differences, rather than relying on post-call survey scoresnot Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM

  • Sales automationnot Cresta
  • Lead managementnot Cresta
  • Customer supportnot Cresta
  • Marketing automationnot Cresta
  • Analytics & reportingnot Cresta

Where each one falls short

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

Cresta

  • Cresta depends on the CCaaS platforms it integrates with, and NICE, Genesys and Five9 are all shipping native real-time assist and auto-QA of their own, so at renewal you may be paying twice for capability your platform vendor will bundle at a discount.
  • Pricing is not published and contracts are seat-based and annual at enterprise scale, which in practice means six-figure commitments and a procurement cycle measured in months rather than weeks.
  • Real-time guidance only pays back where conversation outcomes are measurable and repeatable, so support teams handling long, varied, low-volume cases rarely recover the licence cost.
  • Deploying real-time assist requires agents to accept on-screen prompting mid-call, and contact centres with strong union representation or experienced tenured agents frequently see adoption resistance that no amount of model quality fixes.
  • Automated quality scoring changes what agents are measured on, and organisations that switch from human QA without rewriting their evaluation rubric and appeals process create industrial-relations problems that surface months after go-live.

Zoho CRM

  • Free tier limited to 3 users only
  • Steep pricing when scaling beyond 10 users
  • Limited offline capabilities compared to some competitors
  • Setup and configuration can require significant customization

Pricing, plan by plan

Cresta

On request
  • Cresta$undefined/year
    • AI Agent
    • Agent Assist
    • Conversation Intelligence

Zoho CRM

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 3 users
    • Basic modules
    • Standard dashboards
  • Standard$14/month
    • Sales forecasting
    • Custom dashboards
    • Workflow automation
  • Professional$23/month
    • Inventory management
    • AI predictions
    • Advanced customization
  • Enterprise$40/month
    • Zia AI assistant
    • Multi-currency
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Cresta if

  • You need real-time agent assist.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want autonomous ai agent.
Cresta review

Choose Zoho CRM if

  • You need lead management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want deal tracking.
Zoho CRM review

Questions people ask

Is Cresta or Zoho CRM better?
Neither clearly leads. Cresta starts at On request and Zoho CRM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cresta or Zoho CRM?
Zoho CRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cresta and Free for Zoho CRM.
Does Cresta or Zoho CRM run on more platforms?
Cresta runs on Web, API. Zoho CRM runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use Zoho CRM for free?
Yes. Zoho CRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cresta starts at On request.
What is Cresta best used for?
Cresta is most often used for a 1,500-seat telecommunications sales centre that wants conversion lift from live agent prompting without migrating off an incumbent genesys deployment, an insurance contact centre replacing manual qa sampling of two per cent of calls with automated scoring of every call for regulatory evidence, a retail support operation deploying autonomous voice agents on high-volume order status calls while keeping humans on complex claims, a contact centre director who needs to prove which specific agent behaviours drive outcome differences, rather than relying on post-call survey scores. Of those, a 1,500-seat telecommunications sales centre that wants conversion lift from live agent prompting without migrating off an incumbent genesys deployment and an insurance contact centre replacing manual qa sampling of two per cent of calls with automated scoring of every call for regulatory evidence are not what Zoho CRM is typically brought in for.
What can Cresta do that Zoho CRM cannot?
Cresta covers Real-time agent assist, Autonomous AI Agent, Conversation intelligence, Automated quality management. Zoho CRM covers Lead management, Deal tracking, Contact management, Sales automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cresta: Does Cresta replace my contact centre platform?

No. It is designed to sit on top of NICE, Genesys, Five9, Amazon Connect and similar platforms, which is why it is chosen where a full CCaaS migration is not feasible.

Zoho CRM: Does Zoho CRM have a free tier?

Yes. Zoho CRM offers a free plan for up to 3 users that includes core CRM functionality like lead, contact, and account management, basic workflow automation, and customizable dashboards.

Source
Cresta: What does it cost?

Cresta does not publish pricing. Contracts are seat-based and annual, and at the enterprise scale it sells into they are typically six figures per year.

Zoho CRM: What does Zoho CRM cost for a paid plan?

Zoho CRM pricing ranges from $14 per user per month for the Standard plan up to $52 per user per month for the Ultimate plan when billed annually. Most sales teams use the Professional plan around $23/user/month or Enterprise at $40/user/month.

Source
Cresta: Is it viable for a contact centre under 100 seats?

Rarely. The commercial model, implementation effort and required outcome measurement all assume several hundred seats or more.

Zoho CRM: Is Zoho CRM independent or owned by another company?

Zoho CRM is part of Zoho Corporation, which is independent and bootstrapped. The parent company was founded in 1996 as AdventNet, rebranded to Zoho in 2009, and has never accepted external venture funding.

Source
Cresta: Who owns Cresta?

It is an independent venture-backed company, having raised roughly 282 million USD in total including a 125 million USD Series D in November 2024 co-led by World Innovation Lab and the Qatar Investment Authority.

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