Salesforce Sales Cloud vs Act!

Salesforce Sales Cloud9.0Visit Act!8.9Visit

Higher score Salesforce Sales Cloud #5 in Customer Relationship Management - Small Business Software 9.0/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Salesforce

vs

Act! #6 in Customer Relationship Management - Small Business Software 8.9/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Act!

• Salesforce Sales Cloud fits best

  Small teams that expect to grow into a broader CRM

• Act! fits best

  Growing SMBs seeking CRM and marketing tools

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Side by side

Feature	Salesforce Sales Cloud 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Act! 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.9
Ranking	#5 in Customer Relationship Management - Small Business Software	#6 in Customer Relationship Management - Small Business Software
Best for	Small teams that expect to grow into a broader CRM	Growing SMBs seeking CRM and marketing tools
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$25/user/mo (best)	$30/user/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	30 days	14 days
Free trial length	30 days · no card needed	14 days · no card needed
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Cloud, Self-hosted, Mobile
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Support	Phone, Community, Docs · 24/7	Email, Live chat, Phone, Tickets, Docs
Integrations	10 integrations	14 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features Salesforce Sales Cloud 0/4 · Act! 0/4
Workflow automation	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Email marketing	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Lead scoring	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Sales forecasting	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Sales pipelines	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Contact limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Free Suite covers core records, mobile access, and email integration. Pipeline management, forecasting, reports, and AI prioritization support sales work. Integrates with tools including Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and QuickBooks.	Combines visual sales pipelines with email campaigns and marketing automation. Integrates with Outlook, Google, accounting, ecommerce, and support tools. Offers web, mobile, cloud, and self-hosted deployment options.
Cons	Paid plans rise from $25 to $550 per user per month. Several paid tiers are billed annually rather than monthly. Its plan breadth may exceed the needs of teams seeking a simple CRM.	No free plan; annual plans start at $30 per user per month. Marketing automation and lead scoring require the Ultimate plan. The tiered feature set may be more than a CRM-only team needs.
Our verdict	Salesforce Sales Cloud brings lead, account, contact, and opportunity management together with pipeline tracking, forecasting, activity capture, reporting, and AI-assisted prioritization. It is aimed at sales teams across small businesses,… Read the review →	Act! brings contact management, sales opportunities, communications, and reporting together with email marketing tools. It is aimed at small businesses and relationship-focused teams, including independent professionals and growing… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Salesforce Sales Cloud — where it wins

  • Free Suite covers core records, mobile access, and email integration.
  • Pipeline management, forecasting, reports, and AI prioritization support sales work.
  • Integrates with tools including Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and QuickBooks.

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid plans rise from $25 to $550 per user per month.
  • Several paid tiers are billed annually rather than monthly.
  • Its plan breadth may exceed the needs of teams seeking a simple CRM.

• Act! — where it wins

  • Combines visual sales pipelines with email campaigns and marketing automation.
  • Integrates with Outlook, Google, accounting, ecommerce, and support tools.
  • Offers web, mobile, cloud, and self-hosted deployment options.

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; annual plans start at $30 per user per month.
  • Marketing automation and lead scoring require the Ultimate plan.
  • The tiered feature set may be more than a CRM-only team needs.

• Salesforce Sales Cloud9.0/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A broad sales CRM with a free entry point and paid plans that scale quickly in cost.

  Visit SalesforceFull verdict →
• Act!8.9/10 · 14-day trial

  A broad CRM and marketing toolkit, with annual paid plans starting at $30 per user monthly.

  Visit Act!Full verdict →