Freshsales vs. Act!: Comparing Best CRM Solutions 2026

Overview: Freshsales and Act! as CRM Category solutions.

Freshsales and Act! both cater to CRM needs but differ in features and user focus. Freshsales is well-suited for large enterprises and offers extensive integration and scalability, focusing on enhancing sales and customer relationships. Act! is more agile, fitting smaller businesses with strong contact management and communication features, appealing to industries like financial services and real estate.

Freshsales: Freshsales is AI-powered sales CRM software designed to build sales pipelines and close deals effortlessly. It's free for up to 3 users.

Act!: Act! offers integrated CRM and marketing automation to enhance lead conversion and customer engagement. Users can market efficiently and build lasting customer relationships.

Top use cases: Freshsales vs Act!

Use cases tied to Freshsales and Act! from verified data sources. Click any use case for supporting evidences.

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Top Capabilities: Freshsales vs Act!

Lengths: relative topic prominence (square-root scale) · Labels: comparison split. Click any item for supporting evidences.

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Deployed Industries: Freshsales vs Act!

Lengths: relative industry prominence (square-root scale) · Labels: comparison split. Click any item for supporting evidences.

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Deployed Market Segments: Freshsales vs Act!

Share of peer evidence by company size for Freshsales and Act!. Each product segments add up to 100%. Click any segment for supporting evidence.

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Key Capabilities Supported Freshsales excels in engagement and workflow management, perfect for tracking and monitoring communications and enhancing lead management. → Act! focuses on contact list and document management, supporting engaging and following up with contacts efficiently. →
Business Goals Freshsales is designed to boost sales and revenue while improving customer relationships, ideal for businesses prioritizing growth. → Act! aims to help acquire new customers and enhance relationships, also supporting market expansion efforts. →
Core Features Freshsales offers AI-powered analytics, custom reports, and seamless integration, catering to users needing detailed data insights and automation. → For Act!, its standout features include strong export/import capabilities and compliance, targeting those who value privacy and seamless data management. →
Vendor Support Freshsales provides 24/7 support with options across phone, email, and chat, ensuring comprehensive help is available when needed. → Act! offers robust 24/7 support too but with a leaner spread across channels focused more on deeper email and chat engagement. →
Segments and Industries Freshsales finds favor with large enterprises in sectors like IT and marketing, standing out for comprehensive software solutions. → Act! suits small to medium enterprises, particularly in financial services and real estate, preferring a tight focus on contact management. →
Operational Alignment Freshsales integrates smoothly into large-scale operations with complex needs, primarily using email and phone channels. → Act! fits smaller scale operations well, with a strong alignment for businesses leveraging social media and traditional contact channels. →
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Freshsales and Act!: Best activities based on customer satisfaction

Most deployed common Activities for Freshsales and Act!

What benefits does Freshsales and Act! offer for Engagement Management?
Freshsales and Act are both CRM tools that help users manage customer engagement. Freshsales excels at providing lead scoring and email tracking features, allowing users to quickly identify and follow up with interested leads. Act focuses on ease of use, enabling users to easily track customer interactions and schedule follow-ups. Freshsales offers advanced web engagement features but may be expensive for basic use. Act lacks advanced features but is known for its user-friendliness.
"...We had to engage support a lot during setup with buggy imports and general instability...." Peer review by General Manager in Sales
"...From targeted lists and unique triggers for automated responses, Act! has been a powerhouse for driving our customer engagement...." Peer review
How efficiently Does Freshsales and Act! manage your Contact List Management?
Freshsales and Act both allow users to manage contact lists and track customer interactions. Freshsales focuses on lead management and integrates with various communication tools, while Act emphasizes contact organization and scheduling. Freshsales' lead scoring and bulk emailing features are absent in Act. Freshsales has limitations in customer service responsiveness.
"...- Contact centralisation - Record of contact interaction - Lead scoring and nurturing - Sales status follow-ups...." Peer review by Administrator
"...The program had quite a few functions that were useful, and it was nice to have multiple items in one piece of software (ex. contact lists, calendar, email, etc)..." Peer review by Samantha, IP Strategies of Raymond James
What solutions does Freshsales and Act! provide for Communication Management?
Freshsales and Act both enable users to track and manage communications with clients, including emails and phone calls. Freshsales offers features like bulk email sending and personalized email tracking, while Act provides options for saving emails in client profiles and sending appointment reminders. Act's limitations include issues with tracking sales pipelines and mobile integration, while Freshsales lacks features like Facebook messaging and SMS reminders.
"...Also i like the feature of email tracking to see when its been read by prospective lead or client...." Peer review by Amit S, Vice President
"...The benefits of this salesforce is that we also use Microsoft for email and this integration helps me track my emails...." Peer review by Shannon E, Key Account Manager, Computer Software

Freshsales in Action: Unique Activities

How does Freshsales facilitate Workflow Management?
Freshsales helps manage sales workflows automatically. The software makes it easy to create and use workflows. While Freshsales helps businesses automate many tasks, some advanced features may require third-party tools.
"...The UI is simple and the workflow is something you can get used to in under 5 minutes...." Peer review by Verified Reviewer, Marketing and Advertising
How efficiently Does Freshsales manage your Lead Management?
Freshsales provides a simple yet powerful way to manage leads and deals. It helps organize and track leads, schedule correspondence, and manage the sales process. It offers limited capabilities for managing renewals and upsells.
"...I've been using Freshsales for a year and we use the Freshsales for prospecting, qualifying, e-mail campaigns and organize our leads...." Peer review by Maysa Rodrigues, Customer Success Manager, Loupen

Act! in Action: Unique Activities

What makes Act! ideal for Sales Document Management?
The system assists in managing sales documents, such as quotes, contracts, and invoices. It allows for easy tracking of customer information and business activities. It has limited customization for quotes, which necessitates the use of additional products.
"...I also use it to integrate with QuoteWerks. which I use for creating all of my quote...." Peer review by User
How does Act! facilitate Lead Tracking?
ACT! is a robust tool for tracking sales opportunities. It allows users to record prospect information, manage calendars, and track lead sources and status changes. While ACT! provides many helpful features, it can sometimes require extra steps to track opportunities.
"...Keeping track of leads and customer information...." Peer review by Bill A, Small Business Owner, Consumer Services

News

Latest Freshsales news

Freshworks appoints Ryan Manning as Chief Product and Technology Officer

Freshworks has appointed Ryan Manning as Chief Product and Technology Officer. Manning will unify product and technology strategies across Freshworks' AI, IT, and customer experience products. He replaces Srinivasan Raghavan and will report to CEO Dennis Woodside. Manning was previously Chief Product Officer at BMC Helix and has held leadership roles at ServiceNow.

06/08/2026 - source

Latest Act! news

Act! Named a 2026 CRMmys Finalist for Best CRM for Small Business

Act! has been named a finalist in the 2026 CRMmys Awards for Best CRM for Small Business. This recognition highlights Act!'s commitment to providing CRM solutions tailored for small and midsized businesses, evaluated by an independent practitioner panel. The award reflects Act!'s performance against current standards and its longstanding focus on empowering SMBs.

22/06/2026 - source