Act! vs CiviCRM: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Act! and CiviCRM to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Act!
5.4/10
Act! is a long-running CRM with contact management, sales pipelines and built-in marketing automation, sold to small and midsize businesses in cloud and Windows desktop editions.
CiviCRM
6.6/10
Open-source CRM built for nonprofits and advocacy groups, covering contacts, donations, memberships, events, email marketing and case management.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.4/10 | 6.6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Analytics | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Ease of Use | 5/10 | 3/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Scalability | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $30/user/mo Act! Premium Cloud | $15/mo Spark Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $300/mo Act! Premium Cloud | Free Self-hosted (open source) |
| Features | ||
| Contact Management | ||
| Customer Support Management | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Marketing Automation | ||
| Reporting & Analytics | ||
| Collaboration | Not listed | |
| Lead Management | Not listed | |
| Mobile Access | Not listed | |
| Opportunity Management | Not listed | |
| Sales Automation | Not listed | |
Act! vs CiviCRM cost by team size
CiviCRM costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Act! | CiviCRM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $30/moAct! Premium Cloud | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) |
| 5 users | $150/moAct! Premium Cloud | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) |
| 10 users | $300/moAct! Premium Cloud | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) |
| 25 users | $750/moAct! Premium Cloud | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) |
| 50 users | $1,500/moAct! Premium Cloud | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Act!
- Higher Support score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (5/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for sales teams (7/10 vs 2/10)
- Better fit for small business (8/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose CiviCRM
- Has a free plan (Act! does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $300/mo
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Scalability score (7/10 vs 4/10)
Pros & Cons
Act!
Pros
- Contact management is detailed and copes with large contact databases and big imports.
- A desktop and hybrid deployment allows offline work, which most cloud-only CRMs do not offer.
- Basic marketing automation is included in Premium, with drip campaigns, lead scoring and web visitor tracking.
- Fields and sales processes are highly customisable.
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android are included at no extra cost for Premium Cloud subscribers.
Cons
- Reviewers describe the interface as dated and dense, comparable to older Windows software.
- Pipeline and profit reporting is a recurring complaint, and the date-based pipeline can hide open deals.
- Users report freezing and slowness, especially with remote databases.
- There is no native Mac desktop app.
- Enhanced support and several capabilities cost extra on top of the per-user fee.
CiviCRM
Pros
- The core software is free and open source under the AGPL, so there are no licence fees whatever the number of users or contacts.
- Donations, memberships, events, CiviMail email and case management all come in one nonprofit-focused system.
- It runs inside WordPress, Drupal and Joomla, so data is shared between the website and the CRM.
- Every Spark hosted plan allows unlimited users, starting at $15 per month.
- A large extension ecosystem and an active community make it highly customisable.
Cons
- Reviewers consistently describe the interface as dated and clunky.
- Self-hosted setup and customisation usually need a developer, which adds hidden costs.
- The open-source project offers no dedicated vendor customer service. Help comes from community forums or paid partners.
- Spark plans cap contacts at 5,000 to 10,000 and limit integrations and customisation.
- It has no sales pipeline or opportunity tooling for commercial sales teams.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
CiviCRM scores higher on our CRM criteria: 6.6/10 against 5.4/10 for Act!. The largest gap is in Cost: 6/10 for Act! and 9/10 for CiviCRM.
CiviCRM costs less for 10 users: free on its Self-hosted (open source) plan, against about $300/mo on its Act! Premium Cloud plan for Act!, billed monthly.
CiviCRM has a free plan; Act! does not list one.
Act! is the better fit for sales teams: we rate it 7/10 for them, against 2/10 for CiviCRM.
