Act! vs Mailshake: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Act! and Mailshake 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.
Mailshake
6.5/10
Mailshake is a cold email and sales engagement platform with sequences, warmup, a unified inbox, a phone dialer and CRM sync, aimed at small outbound sales teams.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.4/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Analytics | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 4/10 | 5/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $30/user/mo Act! Premium Cloud | $29/user/mo Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $300/mo Act! Premium Cloud | $290/mo Starter |
| Features | ||
| Contact Management | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Lead Management | ||
| Reporting & Analytics | ||
| Sales Automation | ||
| Built-in Calling | Not listed | |
| Collaboration | Not listed | |
| Customer Support Management | Not listed | |
| Marketing Automation | Not listed | |
| Mobile Access | Not listed | |
| Opportunity Management | Not listed | |
Act! vs Mailshake cost by team size
Mailshake costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Act! | Mailshake |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $30/moAct! Premium Cloud | $29/moStarter |
| 5 users | $150/moAct! Premium Cloud | $145/moStarter |
| 10 users | $300/moAct! Premium Cloud | $290/moStarter |
| 25 users | $750/moAct! Premium Cloud | $725/moStarter |
| 50 users | $1,500/moAct! Premium Cloud | $1,450/moStarter |
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 Customization score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for mid-market (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (6/10 vs 4/10)
Why choose Mailshake
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: $290/mo vs $300/mo
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for startups (7/10 vs 5/10)
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.
Mailshake
Pros
- Every plan includes unlimited email warmup, verification and contact uploads.
- One reviewer reported going from signup to a first campaign in under an hour.
- Support is rated highly: Capterra users give 4.5 for customer service, and a Prospeo summary cites a G2 average of 4.7.
- The Sales Engagement tier includes a dialer with unlimited free North American minutes.
- The integrations page lists many native CRM connections, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Copper and Freshsales.
Cons
- There is no free trial, and reviewers describe a strict refund policy.
- Invoices and cancellation confirmations are not emailed automatically.
- Reviewers say connected mailboxes can disconnect and stall sequences.
- LinkedIn steps are capped (Prospeo reports 10 messages per day), and Data Finder accuracy is described as weak.
- Per-user pricing becomes costly for teams larger than about five reps.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Mailshake scores higher on our CRM criteria: 6.5/10 against 5.4/10 for Act!. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 5/10 for Act! and 8/10 for Mailshake.
Mailshake costs less for 10 users: about $290/mo on its Starter plan, against about $300/mo on its Act! Premium Cloud plan for Act!, billed monthly.
No, neither Act! nor Mailshake lists a free plan.
Act! is the better fit for marketing teams: we rate it 6/10 for them, against 4/10 for Mailshake.
