Brevo
Zoho CRM
| Feature | Brevo | Zoho CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $25/mo | Free / from $14/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | small-businesses, startups, ecommerce, developers-needing-transactional-email | small-businesses, zoho-users, sales-teams, growing-companies |
| Founded | 2012 | 2005 |
| Email Campaigns | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sms Marketing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Whatsapp Campaigns | ✓ | ✗ |
| Marketing Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Crm | ✓ | ✗ |
| Transactional Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Landing Pages | ✓ | ✗ |
| Lead Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflow Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Predictions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multichannel | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Customization | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Brevo Pros
- Generous free plan with 300 emails per day
- Multi-channel: email, SMS, WhatsApp, push in one tool
- Built-in CRM included in all plans
- Transactional email/SMS API for developers
✗ Brevo Cons
- Email editor less polished than Mailchimp
- Automation features less advanced than ActiveCampaign
- Customer support can be slow on free plan
✓ Zoho CRM Pros
- Affordable
- Zoho ecosystem
- AI assistant Zia
- Highly customizable
✗ Zoho CRM Cons
- Interface cluttered
- Learning curve
- Support varies by plan
The Verdict
Brevo is built for small businesses and startups, with a focus on email-campaigns and sms-marketing. Zoho CRM targets small businesses and zoho users and leads with lead-management and workflow-automation.
On pricing, Zoho CRM is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $14/mo compared to $25/mo for Brevo. That $11/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Brevo offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Zoho CRM takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for small businesses — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.