Salesforce Marketing Cloud vs. Zoho CRM

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Marketing Cloud is an AI-powered, cloud-based digital marketing platform within the Salesforce Customer 360 ecosystem. Marketers can segment their audience, deliver personalized messages, track campaign performance, engage leads and accounts, and optimize strategies based on real-time insights.
$1,250
per month per installation
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
Salesforce Marketing CloudZoho CRM
Editions & Modules
Account Engagement
$1,250
per month
Engagement
$1,250
per month
Intelligence
$3,000
per month
Loyalty Management
$20,000
per month
Personalization
$100,000
per year
Data Cloud for Marketing
$108,000
per year
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
Salesforce Marketing CloudZoho CRM
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee$14 /user/month
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Salesforce Marketing CloudZoho CRM
Considered Both Products
Salesforce Marketing Cloud

No answer on this topic

Zoho CRM
Chose Zoho CRM
I loved Daylite and hated to leave it as it was great but it didn't have a cloud-based solution and that was paramount to me at the time. I tried about 7 different CRMs and found that most of them had some really great features but each one seemed to be lacking some integration …
Chose Zoho CRM
Same tools at a better price-point. What it may lack in "UI-panache" it makes up for with customization and flexibility. We are a smaller company, and with Zoho CRM have been able to achieve our desired workflows and results through the educated building of workflows and custom …
Chose Zoho CRM
[I think] Zoho is awful compared to all of the competition. I used it because we inherited it from clients as well as our internal systems. Shortly after I joined we got rid of Zoho and switched to a much better platform and we were able to grow our business exponentially. I do …
Features
Salesforce Marketing CloudZoho CRM
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.9
167 Ratings
4% above category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
WYSIWYG email editor8.1118 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic content7.8149 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content7.8108 Ratings00 Ratings
Landing pages7.7117 Ratings00 Ratings
A/B testing8.2147 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile optimization7.4107 Ratings00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting8.3128 Ratings00 Ratings
List management8.0125 Ratings00 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences8.191 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
8.0
121 Ratings
3% above category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation8.0107 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading7.8108 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management7.9113 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks8.299 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.9
111 Ratings
6% above category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
Calendaring8.1100 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing7.694 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.5
85 Ratings
1% above category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns7.980 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration7.236 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
8.0
121 Ratings
9% above category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
Dashboards8.0115 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports8.1120 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports7.797 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.7
121 Ratings
3% above category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
API7.487 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals7.986 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability7.3108 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com8.5110 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM8.313 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM7.510 Ratings00 Ratings
Third-party software integrations7.121 Ratings00 Ratings
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.1
288 Ratings
4% above category average
Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings8.4279 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings8.1266 Ratings
Territory management00 Ratings8.2196 Ratings
Opportunity management00 Ratings8.4253 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings8.1248 Ratings
Contract management00 Ratings8.2203 Ratings
Quote & order management00 Ratings7.9203 Ratings
Interaction tracking00 Ratings7.8249 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings7.8192 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
7.9
221 Ratings
3% above category average
Case management00 Ratings8.0213 Ratings
Call center management00 Ratings7.4172 Ratings
Help desk management00 Ratings8.2189 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.1
266 Ratings
5% above category average
Lead management00 Ratings8.2261 Ratings
Email marketing00 Ratings8.1219 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.2
263 Ratings
7% above category average
Task management00 Ratings8.3248 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings8.0180 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings8.2242 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.1
258 Ratings
6% above category average
Forecasting00 Ratings8.0216 Ratings
Pipeline visualization00 Ratings8.0235 Ratings
Customizable reports00 Ratings8.3249 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
7.9
277 Ratings
3% above category average
Custom fields00 Ratings8.3275 Ratings
Custom objects00 Ratings7.9222 Ratings
Scripting environment00 Ratings7.5178 Ratings
API for custom integration00 Ratings8.0203 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
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
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
7.9
165 Ratings
6% above category average
Social data00 Ratings7.9164 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
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.2
210 Ratings
10% above category average
Marketing automation00 Ratings8.4207 Ratings
Compensation management00 Ratings8.0138 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.2
230 Ratings
9% above category average
Mobile access00 Ratings8.2230 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Salesforce Marketing CloudZoho CRM
Small Businesses
Vbout
Vbout
Score 10.0 out of 10
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.1 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.1 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Salesforce Marketing CloudZoho CRM
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(324 ratings)
8.3
(312 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.3
(114 ratings)
7.6
(42 ratings)
Usability
4.1
(35 ratings)
8.0
(172 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(11 ratings)
8.9
(7 ratings)
Performance
9.6
(9 ratings)
8.4
(8 ratings)
Support Rating
6.9
(36 ratings)
6.5
(69 ratings)
In-Person Training
5.0
(4 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
8.1
(7 ratings)
5.8
(8 ratings)
Implementation Rating
3.0
(17 ratings)
5.4
(16 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
5.1
(114 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
5.0
(1 ratings)
9.5
(21 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.0
(2 ratings)
7.1
(5 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.7
(34 ratings)
6.3
(6 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(7 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(3 ratings)
8.1
(13 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.0
(3 ratings)
8.2
(13 ratings)
User Testimonials
Salesforce Marketing CloudZoho CRM
Likelihood to Recommend
Salesforce
I rated this a seven because I love Salesforce, and it is excellent on the sales side. However, the marketing side has some pros and cons. It is terrific for keeping track of lead, customer, and dealer information, but it is not easy to automate workflows, integrate other software, or create well-designed emails. It is also straightforward to generate reports, which is very helpful in keeping track of lead progression to better market those leads and turn them into customers.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Pros
Salesforce
  • Filter relevant content so you can priorize those that are more relevant and resolve it first
  • Measure the traffic in the different social networks, as well as the response rate, average response time and other relevant metrics
  • Configure automation rules to order the work of those who must interact with the customer
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
Salesforce
  • The email builder does not offer any way to catch/check bugs across different email service providers
  • Creating SQL is not as easy as drag-and-drop; a lot of technical knowledge is required
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud is sold as a marketing tool, but to be honest, you need a LOT of technical IT support to run the tool
  • Einstein metrics are across the board; if you have multiple audiences in one instance of Salesforce Marketing Cloud you can't segment the data.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Salesforce
As of right now we have not seen any other program that integrates as seamlessly into our Salesforce platform. We have barely scratched the surface of all the features and use cases. It would be irresponsible to make a move to another platform in the near future. We have not come up against any limitations that would prompt a need to switch
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Usability
Salesforce
You won't find another solution that has as many features as Salesforce Marketing Cloud Interaction Studio. We all know Salesforce, we all know how big they are and it's not for nothing... Their tools do most of the things you want, need and even imagine. Using it is complicated, but the usability is infinite.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Salesforce
Upgrades and timing of the upgrades were communicated well and planned during off hours for our work. If we did have a campaign scheduled during that time, it would kick-off after the system was back active. There were a few unplanned system down times, but it was a rare occurrence and those times were also short in duration.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Performance
Salesforce
Though the make up of MA apps is not built this way today, it would be nice to see them become more real-time. The integration between Salesforce and Pardot is not a true real-time integration. If I modify something in Salesforce, those changes are not automatically reflected in Pardot immediately. There is a delay of about 15 minutes before the systems sync. This delay, although not long, is less than ideal We would love the systems to be integrated real time such that changes are propagated from one system to the other immediately.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Support Rating
Salesforce
They are really responsive and more than not solve the problem or give you insight to how you can manage the solution yourself. I do find however sometimes a long delay on the more complex issues when they need to loop in other departments. but overall a good experience with support
Read full review
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.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Salesforce
The trainers at the Pardot user conference (Elevate and Connections) were very knowledgeable and presented the material well. Again, the content was targeted to more of a new user audience, and was not really relevant for folks who had been using the product for 2+ years.
Read full review
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
Read full review
Online Training
Salesforce
Pardot's online training touches on all topics briefly and vaguely without much indepth exploration into how a final outcome could look, such as Nurturing Campaigns, Email templates, landing page templates, etc... The only true way to uncover Pardot's full capabilities is to have Front End design and coding experience. Without this key skill set, I would not recommend Pardot to another business.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Salesforce
From an IT perspective, once you set up the Javascript beacon and start collecting data there is a waiting game. During this time you can start labeling your site actions which can be labor intensive for a single person, but you don't really have the final end-users on the platform yet. We did a lot of training so users were experienced, but it wasn't until they had their first tasks to accomplish that they started using the system and had questions. I'd recommend setting up some immediate goals for an end-user to start segmenting for the purpose of displaying message campaigns so you can jump start end-user action.
Read full review
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
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Salesforce
I think that all of the marketing platforms I have evaluated and used in the past serve different markets and purposes. Salesforce Marketing Cloud was more palatable to our team because of our existing tech stack where we had Salesforce CRM already deployed and in use. Compared to Marketo and Hubspot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a bit dated in terms of the UI/UX and the overall experience but still meets the needs of our organization. Mailchimp, however, isn't even playing in the same arena and is meant for small organizations and companies that don't have a need for a full fledged offering that SFMC brings to the table.
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
Salesforce
was not involved with this part but i have not heard about clompaints
Read full review
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
Read full review
Scalability
Salesforce
Prior to this, we had no solution and literally were doing things on paper in a world where technology is outpacing paper. Having this process optimized has made it easier for the sales and marketing people to change information. From the training perspective, it has allowed us to see holes in where we could create additional support training, so the ROI here has been a lot more than just the optimization of a process.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Professional Services
Salesforce
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.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Salesforce
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to more efficiently reach out to a higher number of prospects.
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to nimbly communicate important messages in a timely fashion to facilitate conversion.
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to track who is opening our messages so that we can stop sending to those not interested and focus on the most engaged audiences.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Screenshots

Screenshot of Pardot Analytics - Pardot's reporting and analytics can be used to perform true revenue impact analysis and closed-loop reporting.Screenshot of Pardot Email Analytics - The reach and impact of  email marketing efforts are displayed in real-time with advanced reporting and analytics by device, and email client.Screenshot of Pardot Forms and Landing Pages - Pardot's form and landing page builders are used to turn online traffic to leads with targeted offers and content marketing.Screenshot of Pardot Email Marketing - Lead nurturing flows are defined via an interface that enables definition of the simplest or most complex segmented and targeted campaigns.

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.