Zoho

Zoho Books starts at $16.50/mo (Standard) for the Standard plan (billed annually), which includes 3 (Standard) users and unlimited invoicing. The Premium plan is $33/mo (Professional), and the Elite plan is $319/mo (Ultimate). A free plan is also available for businesses with annual revenue under the qualifying threshold.

Yes. Zoho Books offers a free tier for businesses with annual revenue below the AUD qualifying limit. The free plan covers core accounting, invoicing, and bank reconciliation. Once your revenue exceeds the threshold, you move onto a paid plan. It is one of the only accounting platforms that provides a genuinely free option for qualifying Australian businesses.

User inclusions increase by plan: the Standard plan includes 3 (Standard), Premium includes five, and Elite includes ten. This makes Zoho Books strong value for small teams compared to competitors that charge per seat or cap users at one on entry plans.

Zoho Books does not include payroll in the base subscription. Payroll is available as a separate Zoho Payroll add-on (Add-on (Zoho Payroll)). STP Phase 2 and superannuation are handled through that add-on rather than natively within Zoho Books itself.

Zoho Books supports GST tracking and BAS preparation for Australian businesses. STP Phase 2 is available via integration. The software is suitable for Australian compliance, though it is a global platform and some users find that Xero or MYOB offer a more localised experience.

Zoho Books' paid plans are considerably more affordable than Xero's equivalent tiers, and the free plan has no parallel in Xero's offering. The trade-off is a smaller Australian accountant and bookkeeper network, fewer direct ATO integrations, and a payroll module that requires a separate subscription. For cost-sensitive businesses that are comfortable managing compliance through an accountant, Zoho Books offers strong value.

Yes. Zoho Books is part of the broader Zoho ecosystem and integrates natively with Zoho CRM, Zoho Inventory, Zoho Expense, and Zoho Payroll, among others. For businesses already using Zoho products, this tight integration reduces duplication of data entry and makes the suite more attractive as a whole.

Zoho CRM starts at $22/user/mo on the Standard plan, billed annually. There is no monthly base fee and no onboarding fee. Zoho prices in AUD for Australian customers, which removes the exchange-rate uncertainty that affects most other CRMs in this comparison.

Yes. Zoho CRM's free tier is Yes (3 users, 5,000 contacts) and includes core contact, lead, and deal management, along with basic workflow automation and mobile access. It is one of the most functional free CRM plans available and has no time limit.

Yes. Zoho CRM publishes prices in AUD for Australian customers, which is a practical advantage over competitors such as Pipedrive (EUR), Copper (USD), or Freshsales (USD). Your monthly bill will not fluctuate with the exchange rate, making budget planning straightforward.

Zoho offers more than 40 business apps including Zoho Books (accounting), Zoho Campaigns (email marketing), Zoho Desk (customer support), Zoho Projects (project management), and Zoho People (HR). These apps integrate natively with Zoho CRM, making it practical to run a significant portion of your business stack within one vendor. Teams already using other Zoho products will find CRM adoption particularly smooth.

Zoho CRM includes Zia AI, which provides lead and deal scoring, anomaly detection in your sales data, predictive forecasting, email sentiment analysis, and a conversational assistant. Zia features are available from the Professional plan and above. The AI capability is competitive with similarly priced tools and more accessible than Salesforce's Einstein, which requires higher spend to unlock.

Yes. Workflow automation is included on paid plans. The Standard plan provides basic rule-based automation for routine tasks such as sending follow-up emails, updating field values, and assigning records. More advanced automation, including multi-condition workflows and blueprint process management, is available from the Professional tier.

Zoho CRM and HubSpot both offer free plans, but they differ in focus. HubSpot's free plan allows up to 2 users and has a larger integration ecosystem. Zoho CRM's free plan caps at three users but sits within a much broader suite of business software. For Australian businesses that want AUD pricing and a single vendor for multiple tools, Zoho CRM offers stronger value. HubSpot is the better choice if marketing automation and a large third-party app ecosystem are the priority.

Yes. Zoho Inventory offers a free plan that covers 1 user. The free tier supports up to 50 orders per month and includes core features such as item tracking, purchase orders, and basic reporting. It is a genuine starting point for very small businesses, not a trial with an expiry date.

Paid plans start at Free / $43/mo (Standard) on the Standard plan, which includes 1 (Free), 2 (Standard/Pro/Premium), 7 (Enterprise) users. Pricing is in AUD for Australian customers. Higher tiers unlock more orders per month, more users, and additional warehouse locations.

Yes, but multi-warehouse is only available from the Professional plan upward. The free and Standard plans are single-location only. Extra warehouse locations are charged at $15.58/mo per location each on plans that support them.

Zoho Inventory integrates natively with Zoho Books. The connection with QuickBooks is also available but is more limited. There is no native Xero or MYOB integration, which is a significant consideration for Australian businesses that use either of those platforms.

No. Zoho Inventory does not include manufacturing or BOM features. It is designed for product resellers and multi-channel sellers rather than businesses that make their own goods. If you need BOM or production tracking, consider Katana, Fishbowl, or Cin7 Core.

Zoho Inventory connects to Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and WooCommerce. This is one of the broadest multi-channel sync sets in the comparison and is a key strength for businesses selling across several online marketplaces simultaneously.

Yes. The strongest use case for Zoho Inventory is businesses already using Zoho Books as their accounting software. The native integration provides seamless two-way sync of invoices, stock valuations, and purchase orders. Businesses on Xero or MYOB will find the accounting integration less capable and should compare alternatives accordingly.