Practical limits of the Zoho CRM free version.

I am really impressed with Zoho offering a free edition of Zoho as it allows people to try at no risk.  That’s quite unique in the CRM space.  So, as with most “free-mium” offers, there are features taken out.  As I work with clients on this, I will compile a list of limits that might matter right away.  Here is the complete chart for complete reference.  During the trial, all features are available for 14 days after the initial sign up.

  • You can only have up to 3 users.
  • You cannot add any custom fields to a module.  So if you want a field called "ID/Status" to the contact module, you cannot add it.
  • You can only have one layout.
  • Anyone can delete records, but only the Zoho administrator can empty the recycle bin.
  • You cannot add any custom modules (aka entities, tables or custom objects).
  • You can only have two profiles (aka security profiles).
  • You can only have two roles (how contacts are shared among the users).
  • The tag feature is not available.
  • The Deluge scripting language cannot be used to write custom functions.
  • Data conversion from programs like Act! or salesforce wouldn't be available.
  • The Outlook integration features are not available.