Appian vs. Zoho CRM

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Appian
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Appian is a low-code development and business process management platform. It features drag-and-drop design for app building, automated work processes, unified data management, and cloud-based deployment.
$0
Zoho CRM
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Zoho CRM is a simple, very low-cost CRM option for the smaller end of the SMB segment. The product has several useful integrations with other products, including QuickBooks, and Google Apps and Google Docs. The product also has an integrated project management module.
$14
per month
Pricing
AppianZoho CRM
Editions & Modules
Appian Community Edition
$0
Application - Input-Only
$2
per month per user
Application - Infrequent
$9
per month per user
Application - Standard
$75
per month per user
Platform
Custom Quote Priced per user with unlimited apps.
minimum 100 users, no maximum
Unlimited
Custom Quote Priced per development with unlimited apps.
unlimited
Platform
Custom Quote Priced per user with unlimited apps.
Minimum 100, no maximum
Unlimited
Custom Quote Priced per development with unlimited apps.
Unlimited
Standard
$14.00
Per User/Per Month
Professional
$23.00
Per User/Per Month
Enterprise
$40.00
Per User/Per Month
Ultimate
$52.00
Per User/Per Month
Plus
$57.00
Per User/Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AppianZoho CRM
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee$14 /user/month
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AppianZoho CRM
Features
AppianZoho CRM
Low-Code Development
Comparison of Low-Code Development features of Product A and Product B
Appian
9.1
75 Ratings
8% above category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
Visual Modeling8.873 Ratings00 Ratings
Drag-and-drop Interfaces8.972 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform Security9.271 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform User Management8.872 Ratings00 Ratings
Reusability9.575 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform Scalability9.573 Ratings00 Ratings
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.2
288 Ratings
5% above category average
Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings8.4279 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings8.1266 Ratings
Territory management00 Ratings8.4196 Ratings
Opportunity management00 Ratings8.5253 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings8.3248 Ratings
Contract management00 Ratings8.4203 Ratings
Quote & order management00 Ratings7.9203 Ratings
Interaction tracking00 Ratings7.9249 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings8.0192 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.0
221 Ratings
5% above category average
Case management00 Ratings8.2213 Ratings
Call center management00 Ratings7.5172 Ratings
Help desk management00 Ratings8.3189 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.2
266 Ratings
6% above category average
Lead management00 Ratings8.3261 Ratings
Email marketing00 Ratings8.2219 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.2
263 Ratings
7% above category average
Task management00 Ratings8.4248 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings8.1180 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings8.3242 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.2
258 Ratings
7% above category average
Forecasting00 Ratings8.1216 Ratings
Pipeline visualization00 Ratings8.1235 Ratings
Customizable reports00 Ratings8.4249 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.0
277 Ratings
4% above category average
Custom fields00 Ratings8.2275 Ratings
Custom objects00 Ratings7.9222 Ratings
Scripting environment00 Ratings7.6178 Ratings
API for custom integration00 Ratings8.1203 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.2
266 Ratings
2% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.2231 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.1261 Ratings
Social CRM
Comparison of Social CRM features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
7.9
165 Ratings
6% above category average
Social data00 Ratings8.0164 Ratings
Social engagement00 Ratings7.9156 Ratings
Integrations with 3rd-party Software
Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.3
210 Ratings
11% above category average
Marketing automation00 Ratings8.5207 Ratings
Compensation management00 Ratings8.1138 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
Appian
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.4
230 Ratings
11% above category average
Mobile access00 Ratings8.4230 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AppianZoho CRM
Small Businesses
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quixy
Quixy
Score 9.9 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AppianZoho CRM
Likelihood to Recommend
9.4
(139 ratings)
8.4
(311 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(19 ratings)
7.6
(42 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(95 ratings)
7.9
(172 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(7 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(8 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(118 ratings)
6.4
(69 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
6.0
(2 ratings)
5.7
(8 ratings)
Implementation Rating
1.0
(5 ratings)
5.5
(16 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
5.1
(114 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(21 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.1
(5 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(6 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(7 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(13 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(13 ratings)
User Testimonials
AppianZoho CRM
Likelihood to Recommend
Appian
Appian works great for automating manual processes and integrating multiple systems through its toolset. It gives great flexibility for establishing rules for approvals, routings, escalations, and the like. Because of the low code toolset, it's very easy to deploy and make changes as needed as processes evolve and as the organization learns to utilize the system better. Minimal maintenance is required to support the applications build on the platform. Some of the automated testing integration with tools like Jenkins is limited so that may be an issue for some.
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Zoho
Interfacing with our target clients at the correct minute is crucial in today's society. Another valuable include is its capacity to coordinated with other programs. It helps me in keeping track of the every day work emails I send to my colleagues or get. Zoho CRM makes it straightforward to consequence or send out information agreeing to our needs. Zoho makes a difference keep in mind individuals by means of e-mail and pop-ups, which dispenses with the issue of overlooking follow-ups and reminders. This not as it were helps within the organization of this incredible instrument but moreover within the execution of data.
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Pros
Appian
  • Allows at a glance workflow documentation which assists in the need we have for information readiation.
  • Drag and drop interface for workflow development greatly speeds our apps time to market.
  • Using the advanced features of Appian, we are able to create working sites in a fraction of the time it would take to do so using "traditional" development.
Read full review
Zoho
  • Hooks into our website and can import data from forms.
  • Has great automation tools built in.
  • Reporting features are great.
  • Easy to learn, makes it easy for us to onboard new users onto it.
  • Fairly customizable. We have fine tuned it to work the way we need it to.
Read full review
Cons
Appian
  • Search issues when type ahead and database search are used in the same field.
  • Buttons implementation where user is require[d] to click on the button description - if clicks on the button outside that text - button will not work.
  • Problems with using certain off-the-shelf performance tools like WebLoad or Neoload. That is because of different dynamic variables being used internally in Appian - which these tools are unable to correlate. We are still investigating using other tools like Jmeter to overcome dynamic correlation problem for performance testing.
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Zoho
  • Need some way to switch a field type without losing the pre-existing data.
  • The settings controls should be broken out differently - I don't like that I can't keep some users from exporting all contact records (i.e., the entire Contacts module) because if the export function is turned off, the export function of Reports for those same modules is also blocked.
  • Frustrating that only 3 custom lookup fields are allowed per module in our license.
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Likelihood to Renew
Appian
We recently renewed our license with Appian. We are convinced that its flexibility, relative ease of use, the support they provide, there mobile advancements and their general willingness and desire to see us succeed all contributed to our reason to renew our agreement with Appian
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Zoho
i have already renewed my subscription twice. I am in the 3rd Year now. I have been using it for a while and have been recommending to my friends as well.. have attended ZOHOLICs the annual program of zoho and it gave me new insights of managing the crm solutoin.
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Usability
Appian
Appian is a low code environment, because of this, a very good visual interface is required. Appian is providing a feature-rich dashboard [that] we can use for building the dashboards and other interfaces. Appian also provides patches and releases to enhance these features. A developer can start off development just by going through a basic course from the Appian learning community.
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Zoho
The methodology of the 'out of the box' user interface is fairly easy to learn. In some cases however, the interface is not consistent throughout the software. Upgrades to the interface has certainly improved some of this--- but now we are seeing the same kinds of inconsistencies across Zoho apps, particularly those more recently added to their platform. This issue is not major in that everybody on staff seems able to learn how to work the programs--- it's just annoying and less than efficient when inconsistent user interfaces or inconsistent terms are used in the programs and/or the requisite documentation.
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Reliability and Availability
Appian
No answers on this topic
Zoho
In my many years using Zoho, I think there were only 1 or 2 days when there was something happening and I was not able to log in. Sure, it wasn't fun and we all panicked a bit, but right after that, all was well and work-life continued. Being cloud based, I'm never worried about losing my iPhone, iPad or Laptop as I know I can log in anywhere on any device and workflow won't stop.
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Performance
Appian
No answers on this topic
Zoho
I don't recall every having any issues with a page not loading due to it being a Zoho issue. Anytime I've had any issues with something being wonky, I clear cache and that has always solved the problem. Or a simply computer reboot and we're back, hard at work. Look, I don't expect any product to delivery 100%, 100% of the time but if I had any consistent ongoing issues, I would have left many years ago. I still keep my eyes open to what is new but after a quick evaluation, I know Zoho will long be my home.
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Support Rating
Appian
Appian is one of the leading low code business automation platforms that support RPA, decision rules, case management, workflow automation, and machine learning all in a single bundle. But it is also harder to implement and replace the traditional business process.
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Zoho
We did the training and that was a huge waste of money. The information provided was basic and the instructor was sloppy (he even forgot to turn off his mic when he used the restroom - no one should ever hear what we heard). I offered up a 9 because we were able to find what we needed on your website.
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In-Person Training
Appian
As analyst I participated in a developer boot camp. At times it was hard to keep up but most of the time it made sense. Trainer took the time to explain and slowed pace down to answer questions etc.
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Zoho
I attended a Zoho-Holics event in Austin, TX, several years ago, and it blew my mind. So many industries were represented using Zoho in so many different ways. It was unbelievable all that I learned from that experience, as there were features that I wasn't aware of that I immediately started using. Best of all, the trainers were patient and knowledgeable
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Online Training
Appian
Very boring; hard to get through quickly, but rather effective in demonstrating the use of the platform.
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Zoho
There is an endless supply of YouTube videos from Zoho and the many Zoho partners/consultants. Plus, Zoho has it's own library of training videos and webinars to learn from plus an entire community at the ready to answer any questions. While Zoho has been available for many years, there are constantly new training videos and webinars available for the novice and the experienced users.
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Implementation Rating
Appian
It was really seamless. SaaS in the true definition of the word. We logged on and started using the product. Very easy.
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Zoho
When you switch CRMs, you can automatically assume everything isn’t going to match up correctly. We had used Salesforce for 10+ years and had a ton of data and customizations. It was not a clean transfer, but we were able to sort it all out. The only issue that really bothered me was Zoho support. Even simple questions couldn’t be answered over chat, and we would have some team members try for hours to find the right answer
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Alternatives Considered
Appian
Appian has enormously transformed and keeps on updating the product every quarter to meet the latest needs of the world with new innovations & technologies being integrated within the platform. What gives more pleasure than a product that keeps on continuous[ly] improv[ing]?
Read full review
Zoho
Free user access was one reason to use it more than any other software. Also, for a mid-size organization, the Salesforce cost was a little higher, and Pipedrive was almost similar to Zoho. As we were already using Zoho, we found no urgency to switch.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Appian
No answers on this topic
Zoho
I think Zoho CRM is priced at a reasonable amount. Simply put, you get what you pay for and Zoho does not disappoint. My organization is comfortable with what we pay and pleased with continually renewing the software. The billing frequency is just right. There are no complaints on our end
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Scalability
Appian
No answers on this topic
Zoho
We're still in the early stages of scaling this across departments. We have high aspirations of doing this, but it takes time to migrate to the new system and to help people get acquainted of doing their work in a different way thru Zoho.
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Professional Services
Appian
No answers on this topic
Zoho
In addition to being a user of Zoho CRM, we are a reseller as well. Often, at times our Partners request for on-boarding the platform configuration for them. During such requirements, we have utilized the Professional services team directly from the Zoho CRM team. Our partner feedback was quite positive, throughout.
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Return on Investment
Appian
  • I believe it has negatively impacted our release dates. There may have been a misunderstanding as to the learning curve, even though it is "low code."
  • The look and feel of the applications created using Appian have uniformity and it's easier to have "reuse" between applications.
  • There is less developer control when it comes to features. I think this mainly has to do with the amount of plugins available. I would think there should be many more available plugins. But again, our use case is probably different than most others.
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Zoho
  • because we are new to the CRM world, we wanted a product that was reasonably priced, yet had the features we were looking for
  • we have found a much higher customer engagement rate and ROI
  • we used to "lose" customers in our makeshift process. Now, all customers are being attended to.
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ScreenShots

Appian Screenshots

Screenshot of Low-Code DevelopmentScreenshot of Business Process Management SuiteScreenshot of Dynamic Case ManagementScreenshot of Mobile App DevelopmentScreenshot of Appian RPA with Blue Prism

Zoho CRM Screenshots

Screenshot of Deals - Cash in on all opportunities. Close more deals. Great sales management is all about prioritizing, tracking, and monitoring the deals in your pipeline. Zoho CRM gives you everything you need to manage deals across territories and sales structures.Screenshot of Activities - Keep track of all the tasks, meetings, calls, events, or activity records. Neatly organize the numerous records along with the activities associated to them such as follow-up, pre sales and post sales activities, phone conversations etc.