Best for
Best for small businesses that want CRM and email marketing from one vendor, with the option of a self-managed desktop edition.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
CRM Comparison
Act! vs. Salesforce
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for sales organisations that want a CRM that scales from an all-in-one small-business suite to a deeply customizable enterprise platform with AI agents.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Act! | Salesforce |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $30 / user / month Act! Advantage Standard, billed annually. Act! Premium Desktop is $40 per user/month and the Enterprise Engagement tier is quoted by the vendor. Prices in US dollars. | lower value From $25 / user / month Starter Suite, the entry all-in-one CRM edition, at $25 per user/month. The Pro Suite, Enterprise and Unlimited editions are priced per user/month above it. Prices in US dollars. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 30-day free trial across the Sales editions |
| API | Yes, the Act! Web API, a JSON REST API with OData querying and an OpenAPI (Swagger) 2.0 description, plus a .NET native SDK | Yes, developer APIs plus the AppExchange marketplace and MuleSoft integration |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) on AWS, or self-managed on-premises with Act! Premium Desktop | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Made in | United States | Not stated |
| Contacts and companies | Yes, contacts with notes, history, documents and activities, plus companies, secondary contacts, call lists ranked by engagement and an AI history summary | Yes, accounts, contacts and leads with full activity history |
| Deal pipeline | Yes, opportunity management with a drag-and-drop pipeline view, in-context KPIs, an interactive sales funnel and a configurable sales process | Yes, opportunity and deal pipeline management |
| Email and calendar | Yes, two-way contact, calendar and email integration with Microsoft Outlook, Office 365 and Google, on Windows and Mac | Yes, email and calendar integration |
| Workflow automation | Yes, a visual workflow designer for drip and nurture campaigns on every plan; marketing automation with lead scoring, progressive profiling and prioritised activity scheduling on Act! Advantage Ultimate | Yes, workflow automation, with Agentforce AI agents on the higher editions |
| Reporting and forecasting | Yes, reports and interactive dashboards on every plan, plus a welcome-page productivity dashboard showing top deals and key activities | Yes, reports, dashboards and forecasting |
| Integrations and API | Yes, the Act! Web API on every plan (JSON REST with OData and OpenAPI 2.0) plus Microsoft Office, Outlook and Google integrations and .csv data import | Yes, developer APIs plus the AppExchange marketplace and MuleSoft integration |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat | Not stated |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars, Guided onboarding, Personal consulting | Not stated |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Gmail, Google Contacts, Google Calendar | Salesforce AppExchange, MuleSoft |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Act! From $30 / user / month Salesforce From $25 / user / month
- Free trial Act! 14-day free trial, no credit card required Salesforce 30-day free trial across the Sales editions
- Deployment Act! Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise Salesforce Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
- Company size Act! Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Salesforce Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Hosting Act! Cloud (SaaS) on AWS, or self-managed on-premises with Act! Premium Desktop Salesforce Cloud (SaaS)
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Act!
Strengths
- Cloud and self-managed on-premises editions from the same vendor
- CRM, email marketing, web forms, surveys, website chat and appointment booking in one subscription
- Act! Web API included on every plan, with OData querying and an OpenAPI description
- 14-day free trial without a credit card
Limitations
- Prices are quoted per user billed annually
- The entry tier includes 2,500 email sends a month; larger allowances require a higher tier
- SMS text messaging is a paid add-on starting at $19 per month
Salesforce
Strengths
- Scales from an all-in-one Starter Suite to Enterprise and Unlimited editions
- Agentforce brings predictive, generative and agentic AI to the higher editions
- AppExchange marketplace and MuleSoft for a wide integration ecosystem
- 30-day free trial across the Sales editions
Limitations
- Costs climb quickly across editions and with Agentforce add-ons (from $125 per user/month)
- Depth of customization can mean a steeper setup than lighter CRMs
Plans
Pricing
Act!
- Act! Advantage Standard $30 Per user/month billed annually. Full CRM and mobile app, basic email marketing with 2,500 sends a month, Office 365 and Gmail integration, standard forms, surveys, website chat and event management, reports and dashboards, 15 GB cloud storage.
- Act! Advantage Professional $45 Per user/month billed annually. Adds Email Marketing Plus with 25,000 sends a month, turnkey and nurture campaigns, AI history summary and AI writing assistant, accounting integration, project management and 25 GB storage.
- Act! Advantage Ultimate $60 Per user/month billed annually. Adds marketing automation with 50,000 sends a month, lead scoring, progressive profiling, an additional email domain, custom industry tables, an online customer portal, enhanced support and 35 GB storage.
- Act! Premium Desktop $40 Per user/month billed annually. Self-managed on-premises deployment with networked and offline access, self-managed security and full control of updates.
- Enterprise Engagement Not stated Quoted by the vendor. Private hosting and custom deployment, a dedicated project manager, custom scoping and enhanced security and compliance.
Salesforce
- Starter Suite $25 All-in-one CRM for small business, per user/month.
- Pro Suite Not stated A more customizable edition above Starter Suite.
- Enterprise Not stated Agentforce AI add-ons available from $125 per user/month.
- Unlimited Not stated The top edition, with Agentforce AI add-ons available.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Act!
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Salesforce
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Act! https://www.act.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-12
Salesforce https://www.salesforce.com · checked against the official source on 2026-08-19
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.