Act! CRM vs Zendesk Sell: Complete Comparison 2026

An in-depth comparison of features, pricing, and user experience to help you make the right choice.

Act! CRM

7.0(380 reviews)

Legacy CRM with 35+ years of history offering desktop and cloud options for small business contact management.

7.8(4,230 reviews)

Sales CRM with native Zendesk Support integration, built-in calling, and a mobile-first design built for field reps who close deals on the road.

Aspect	Act! CRM	Zendesk Sell
Best For	Small businesses needing reliable contact management for 2-10 users	Companies already using Zendesk Support that want sales and service teams sharing unified customer profiles
Pricing Model	Free Trial	Subscription
Starting Price	$30/mo	$19/mo
Deployment	cloud, on premise	cloud
Platforms	WEB, WINDOWS, IOS, ANDROID	WEB, IOS, ANDROID
Rating	7.0/10	7.8/10

Native power dialer with call recording, transcription, and analytics eliminates the need for separate calling tools
Mobile app built from the ground up for field sales with geolocation, offline editing, and voice-to-text note logging
Zendesk Support integration creates a shared customer profile showing support tickets directly on sales contact records
SMS texting from contact records with replies appearing in the activity timeline alongside calls and emails
Setup takes 3-5 days for a 25-person team with minimal configuration and no developer involvement required
Zendesk Explore pulls sales and support data into unified dashboards that show full customer lifecycle metrics
Call analytics track per-rep metrics including daily call volume, connection rates by time of day, and outcome tracking
Offline mode allows full record editing and activity logging without connectivity, syncing when signal returns
Smart lists let managers save filtered views like stalled deals or high-value prospects for recurring weekly reviews
Push notifications alert field reps in real-time when leads open emails, visit pricing pages, or submit forms
Contact enrichment pulls company data automatically using 1,000-10,000 monthly credits depending on plan tier

Reporting requires Zendesk Explore which sits in a separate interface with its own learning curve for custom reports
Email template builder is basic with no drag-and-drop HTML designer or detailed engagement analytics like scroll depth
Standalone without Zendesk Support, it lacks the ecosystem advantage that differentiates it from Pipedrive or Freshsales
Custom objects are not supported so teams with specialized data models hit customization limits quickly
Third-party integrations outside the Zendesk ecosystem are thinner than HubSpot or Salesforce marketplace options
Calling minutes are charged separately on some plans and high-volume outbound teams burn through voice credits fast
Learning resources and community content are significantly less developed than HubSpot Academy or Salesforce Trailhead
Workflow automation handles basics but caps out for complex multi-step approval processes or advanced branching logic

Product	Pricing Model	Starting Price
Act! CRM	free trial	$30/mo
Zendesk Sell	subscription	$19/mo

Choose Act! CRM if...

Small businesses needing reliable contact management for 2-10 users

Choose Zendesk Sell if...

Companies already using Zendesk Support that want sales and service teams sharing unified customer profiles

Explore more alternatives or read in-depth reviews to make your decision.