Podio vs. Zoho CRM

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Podio
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Podio is a cloud-based platform for organizing team communication, business processes, and reporting in project management workspaces; also it may be used as a light CRM platform. It enables workflow automation and integrations. It includes a free version and paid packages with additional features.
$14
per month per user
Zoho CRM
Score 8.6 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 User/Per Month
Pricing
PodioZoho CRM
Editions & Modules
Plus
$14
per month per user
Premium
$24
per month per user
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
PodioZoho CRM
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee$14 /user/month
Additional DetailsA discount is available for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PodioZoho CRM
Considered Both Products
Podio
Chose Podio
These options weren't available when we picked Podio. Podio cannot compete with these options because Podio chooses not to actively develop, communicate with their customers or build system stability. Any serious customer should consider these as showstoppers when looking at …
Chose Podio
[Citrix] Podio has smart features for project management. There are many functions that are missing in Clarizen One, so [Citrix] Podio keeps better functionalities than it. It is a reliable and straightforward tool with a smart interface.
Chose Podio
As everyone knows Asana is a well-known project management solution but because of its ranking Asana and its functionalities are coming down and coming up with some complaints. So, I decided to choose Citrix Podio because it works well and provides effective services.
Chose Podio
I only listed Slack because it is similar in that you can coordinate with external and internal teams. You can share files and chat with other individuals. Slack is severely lacking compared to Podio though. Podio has the capabilities to track tasks, finances, projects, …
Chose Podio
Basecamp is as the product ironically states, much more basic. While basecamp allows for form generation and tracking of projects and forms through workflows, basecamp leaves a lot to be desired in the way of customization, historical tracking and workflows.
Chose Podio
Podio is a custom solution, where Mavenlink was a less robust, less feature-rich solution. We simply outgrew Mavenlink and don't have any regrets. Mavenlink did its job during the time we used it. In order for us to successfully grow with our business, we needed a custom-built …
Chose Podio
We actually use Airtable for some (different) databases, but have found the flexibility of Podio and integration with Globiflow to be superior for many of our needs.
Chose Podio
Podio is decent for task management. We selected Podio to learn about the product and how to work with the product going forward. It feels like more of a project management tool than a CRM. The limited reporting and contact management features leave much to be desired. There …
Chose Podio
We were trying to find a cost-effective solution (we're a small company) that would allow us to store all our client contacts and notes and help save our team time. Podio's globiflow feature does this really well. Other options we looked at didn't have these features or gave …
Chose Podio
We really hadn't used other project management software before Podio. We relied heavily on Outlook and Excel for communication and organization. Podio allows for more visibility across employee task lists and projects and helps us collaborate better.
Chose Podio
We felt that Podio was more customizable than Wrike and met more of our needs as a company since it was able to go even deeper into managing projects by automating workflows with the webforms.
Chose Podio
We actually use both Podio and Salesforce. Podio is used for more internal communication and projects. I work for an event planning company and we use Salesforce for more external conversations and budgeting/invoices.
Chose Podio
We now use Slack which is similar in functionality. We still don't use it much.
Chose Podio
Asana, Basecamp and Trello are great for simple task management. Podio has more features than each of the other software and is a more comprehensive solution.
Chose Podio
Podio's easy app customization is the strongest asset of this software. It is user friendly; thus reducing training time for all employees.
Chose Podio
Basecamp definitely is simpler but it's also far more restrictive. I felt like Basecamp wanted to force me to work a certain way and it also isn't as robust as Podio in that you can't build custom apps for it. Custom apps have been a life saver for me as I can structure them …
Chose Podio
Way more flexible – Podio allows more use cases and is extremely responsive on customers demand.
Chose Podio
It is cheaper, faster and more flexible than anything else out there.
Chose Podio
Unlike Trello, Podio allowed us to establish a structure for the data, to be used by all team members, and establishing a clear workflow. (Podio can mimic the Trello “card” look, and integrates with it).
Basecamp seemed too rigid, or complex to modify. It's a solid tool, but not …
Chose Podio
Podio isn't built for the enterprise market and is more flexible to adjust to the needs of our customers. The time to market is short, the app-builder is very easy to use and it can be used for multiple disciplines within a company or cross-company. Last but not least, it is a …
Chose Podio
We looked at Basecamp, Cage, Trello, LayerVault, TeamBox, TeamworkPM, Strikebase, and 10000ft, all of which are great at something, but Podio was the most flexible for our needs.
Zoho CRM
Chose Zoho CRM
After thoroughly evaluating leading CRM solutions, including Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics, we selected Zoho CRM for its exceptional value, versatility, and customer-centric approach. Zoho CRM stands out us in term of comprehensive feature support, Integration and …
Chose Zoho CRM
We required a full-featured corporate working tool, and Hubspot wasn't the most excellent alternative. We were guaranteed that Zoho CRM may fill up the holes in our earlier framework. Furthermore, Zoho is fantastically cost-effective for indeed the most minor endeavors, giving …
Chose Zoho CRM
An affordable, comprehensive suite of tools suitable for small to enterprise-sized businesses.
Chose Zoho CRM
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.
Chose Zoho CRM
Overall top quality and great features! Fantastic!
Chose Zoho CRM
I love campaigns, very user friendly. Synching with Zoho CRM is easy and it's a nice feature to not have to update 2 programs, when we update a contact record in Zoho CRM, it's nice to know that that contact info is also updated in campaigns. We never have to worry about emails …
Chose Zoho CRM
We used to use Hubspot before Zoho. I think Hubspot is a great tool and contains a lot of very nice features, but Zoho stacks up quite well against it as it offers most of the same features at a significantly reduced price. We could also migrate our data from Hubspot to Zoho …
Chose Zoho CRM
Salesforce CRM would have been my go-to if I had the budget for it. Zoho CRM goes 90% of the way for a much decent price.
Chose Zoho CRM
Sugar was great when we first got started. Zoho CRM allowed us to take things to the next level and get the support that we needed along with that transition. Zoho CRM's customization was mush easier to setup and use without having to rely on developers to create custom code …
Chose Zoho CRM
We have only looked into other CRMs but Zoho is our first one. I think we chose it because of price not necessarily because it was better than any of the other options. It was our first CRM system so we didn't have anything to base it off of.
Chose Zoho CRM
It is decent against what is offered in the market, it follows certain philosophy of CRM which may not be a perfect fit for everyone.
There are not so many guides and new updates push for differentiation.
Formatting and bugs appearances are often an issue.
Chose Zoho CRM
Overall Zoho CRM is great. It might not be the best CRM but if you compare the price difference, i think Zoho CRM does wonders. I ll not line it up in the same position with Salesforce and Hubspot but it is full full-capacity CRM. If they add AI capabilities and add more …
Chose Zoho CRM
Hubspot and NetSuite are much better solutions in my mind, I've used both and enjoyed both.
Chose Zoho CRM
While Zoho CRM was not as feature rich as Salesforce.com, it was definitely more affordable. We looked at upgrading our current CRM, Goldmine CRM, but it was too limited and the upgrade offered was not cloud based. We were already a Zoho customer, using Zoho Projects, and …
Chose Zoho CRM
HUbSpot Is not Effective . Even though it has all Option its not user Friendly to Create Report and filter the leads like that so i switch to Zoho
Chose Zoho CRM
For our organizations requirements, Zoho CRM fits for it and pricing to less than other products and it also has all suite plan where accounts team and marketing team use.
Chose Zoho CRM
All in one stack with Zoho One has helped us to make the decision to choose CRM
Chose Zoho CRM
I am using both at the same time, due to lack of performance on Zoho CRM marketing toolset (lack of different unsubscribe pages, forms, language support for users) we needed to find another alternative.
Chose Zoho CRM
We selected ZOHO over the above - specifically salesforce - initially because of the price. Secondly, we do not have the technical expertise and budget to do a lot of customization at this time. So, we needed a product that had a good user interface, and that was flexible and …
Chose Zoho CRM
Zoho is cheaper and simpler but not that efficient as compare to HubSpot CRM. I think HubSpot has 100 more features than Zoho.
Email deliverability is also better on HubSpot in my experience. I think but it does the job though. It all depends on what you want to do.
Chose Zoho CRM
Zoho has an all-in-one solution called Zoho One which combines most of the solutions a company of our size requires. Thanks to this, we were able to consolidate our solutions into a single ecosystem while saving money. Zoho also has sales and marketing automation features that …
Chose Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM provide the end to eend solution for the end users as well as the zoho users. It provide the solution for the developer, management and billing as well invoice for the clients
Features
PodioZoho CRM
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Podio
5.2
Ratings
38% below category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
Task Management3.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling1.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation1.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration3.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology2.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management1.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management1.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Podio
6.7
Ratings
12% below category average
Zoho CRM
-
Ratings
Quotes/estimates1.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Invoicing8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with accounting software8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.5
Ratings
10% above category average
Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Territory management00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Opportunity management00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Contract management00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Quote & order management00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Interaction tracking00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.3
Ratings
10% above category average
Case management00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Call center management00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Help desk management00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.5
Ratings
11% above category average
Lead management00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Email marketing00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.4
Ratings
10% above category average
Task management00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.4
Ratings
10% above category average
Forecasting00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Pipeline visualization00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Customizable reports00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.3
Ratings
10% above category average
Custom fields00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Custom objects00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Scripting environment00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
API for custom integration00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.4
Ratings
1% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Social CRM
Comparison of Social CRM features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.3
Ratings
12% above category average
Social data00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Social engagement00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Integrations with 3rd-party Software
Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.6
Ratings
16% above category average
Marketing automation00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Compensation management00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
Podio
-
Ratings
Zoho CRM
8.6
Ratings
16% above category average
Mobile access00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PodioZoho CRM
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PodioZoho CRM
Likelihood to Recommend
2.7
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(0 ratings)
7.8
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.2
(0 ratings)
6.1
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
5.6
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.0
(0 ratings)
5.6
(0 ratings)
Configurability
7.0
(0 ratings)
5.1
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(0 ratings)
7.2
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
5.7
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(0 ratings)
7.7
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.0
(0 ratings)
7.8
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PodioZoho CRM
Likelihood to Recommend
Some people seemed to be confused by too many options. Customizing your work in a digital workspace needs means rethinking your possibilities by knowing your toolset well. In the beginning, I was a little bit frustrated, because I didn't see all these options and there was a lack of best practise. Studying the large Podio App Store solutions helped me to understand. If you do not have the time it's the best moment for getting in contact with one of the Podio partners.
Read full review
This is very useful and handy software for initial use and sometimes later on. Its low price and rich features make it one of the most suitable software for small and midsize organizations. Customer management and tracking make your daily tasks easier.
Read full review
Pros
  • Podio's apps are the most customizable tools I have seen anywhere, and I have tested and evaluated a large number of work management solutions. The abstract nature of their apps makes them ideal for very specific, niche cases as well as common, general purpose uses. The solution is elegant: an app is simply a collection of app items, with characteristics and perhaps links to other apps & their app items, all of which can be defined by your needs. Anyone who enjoys making "lists" of "things" should love this.
  • Custom reporting is a dream in Podio. I can take any characteristics or fields in any of my app items, compare or filter them with other apps' items, run calculations on them and figure totals by month, team member or almost anything else you can imagine. The possibilities really seem limited only by your imagination.
  • Podio has a lot of features, but another strength to factor in is third-party support. There are a lot of outside companies that offer additional features like detailed workflows, synchronizations between other cloud-based apps, and possibly even graphs in the near future.
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  • Zoho CRM has so much space to capture lots of information.
  • Zoho CRM can be customized for your organization's needs.
  • Zoho CRM is great for running reports to help make business decisions.
  • We love all the different dashboards we can create.
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Cons
  • Not sure if this has been implemented but having drop-down menus that change depending on your previous selection - AND/OR functionality would be great.
  • Some ability to reskin Podio.
  • Archiving of old projects / content of apps without manually moving contents.
Read full review
  • 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
Podio customer service is great. The cloud and mobile service is fast (almost instant, continuous syncing). With a solid user base, and backed by Citrix, this is a serious business solution. They're also constantly working on improving and making it more powerful. I anticipate it only getting better
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We are generally very satisfied with the zoho crm. Some extras are just added to improve productivity but overall Zoho CRM is highly recommended over many competitors. You can start with a few clicks to configure your needs. As you become an expert, you will be able to activate and configure the modules and integrations that you require. I know we still have a lot to discover so we're sticking with Zoho CRM, we're not interested in new options at the moment
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Usability
It is usable, for sure. Requires a bit of thinking to be really useful.
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Compared to our previous CRM, Zoho is a breeze. I can look up customers and reports with no issue. There are times when it may be difficult to find something, but I assume that is because I am not in Zoho every day like the sales team is. It does everything we need very simply, so I would definitely recommend it to others.
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Reliability and Availability
Never experienced an off-time. Minor Bugs often solved within hours after reporting.
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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
It works all the time and if I have a question, support get back to me ASAP
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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
Podio support was always responsive and very quick to provide answers and assistance during the history of using this product, their support team has always been top notch. There have been several cases where calling podio support a feature was not available and they provided either workaround solutions or added the features straight into their roadmap.
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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
No answers on this topic
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
No answers on this topic
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
Could of got more help sooner and mapped out structure after the 1st month. Future planning
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This should have been a project run by IT and implemented by IT but instead was implemented by Sales team and managed by them. Since this was the case our implementation has had many issues. Starting at the company required me to dig in and correct a lot of stuff within the initial set up.
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Alternatives Considered
As everyone knows Asana is a well-known project management solution but because of its ranking Asana and its functionalities are coming down and coming up with some complaints. So, I decided to choose Citrix Podio because it works well and provides effective services.
Read full review
We required a full-featured corporate working tool, and Hubspot wasn't the most excellent alternative. We were guaranteed that Zoho CRM may fill up the holes in our earlier framework. Furthermore, Zoho is fantastically cost-effective for indeed the most minor endeavors, giving everything they need. All things considered, Zoho CRM has upgraded our client intelligent and assisted our operations.
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Scalability
As you business grows, so does Podio. There seems to be no limit to the workspace and apps you can create on the platform
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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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Return on Investment
  • Podio has made our internal communications more fluid and timely.
  • It's much easier to search and find things (previous developments, notes, updates) in Podio than in the traditional combination of email, document storage, etc.
  • The Podio platform fosters a clearer understanding of all the work, projects and updates we are juggling at any one time.
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  • It is very cost-effective. It has all the features we need at a significantly lower cost than the alternatives.
  • It is also very customizable; we created our own set of objects, etc., based on our workflows.
  • It is easy to integrate into your systems.
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ScreenShots

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.