Tool Comparisons

    Act! vs ContactOut: CRM Platform vs Data Enrichment Tool Comparison

    Compare Act! (CRM platform) and ContactOut (data enrichment tool) side by side. See pricing, features, and integrations to decide which one, or both, your stack needs.

    Side-by-side panels: Act! vs ContactOut (CRM Platform, Data Enrichment Tool)
    September 2, 2026Updated September 4, 20266 min read
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    The short answer

    Act! is a CRM platform for customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking, priced from $30/mo. ContactOut is a data enrichment tool for B2B lead data and contact enrichment, with a free entry tier. Teams organizing contacts and forecasting revenue fit Act!, while teams finding accurate contact data fit ContactOut. Many teams use both.

    Key takeaways

    • Act! Advantage Standard starts at $30/mo and includes Basic Email Marketing with 2,500 sends per month.
    • ContactOut offers a free plan with 5 emails, 5 phones and 5 exports per day, plus paid Email ($49/mo) and Email + Phone ($99/mo) tiers.
    • ContactOut's Team/API plan includes a bulk license covering 700M+ profiles.
    • Act! offers 5 pricing tiers compared to ContactOut's 4 tiers.
    • Both Act! and ContactOut integrate with Outlook, but Act! also connects with Slack, Shopify, QuickBooks Online and Xero, while ContactOut connects with Salesforce, HubSpot, Greenhouse and Zapier.

    Reviewed and updated September 4, 2026

    Act! vs ContactOut: CRM Platform vs Data Enrichment Tool Comparison

    Act! is a CRM platform; ContactOut is a data enrichment tool. Whether you need one, the other, or both depends on which part of the workflow you are buying for: customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking on one side, B2B lead data and contact enrichment on the other. This guide lays out what each vendor publishes.

    The Quick Answer

    Act! is a CRM platform for customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking; ContactOut is a data enrichment tool for B2B lead data and contact enrichment. By each vendor's own wording, Act! lists full-featured crm and mobile app and email marketing, and ContactOut lists one user per company limit on free, email and email + phone plans and browser extension for linkedin.

    ContactOut offers a lower entry point at $0/mo compared to Act! at $30/mo.

    If your priority is organizing contacts, tracking deals, and forecasting revenue, Act! is the one built for it; for finding accurate contact data for target accounts, that is ContactOut. Many teams run one of each.

    Understanding the Core Difference

    Act! is Act! is a CRM and marketing automation platform for small and midsize businesses that unites sales, marketing and customer management in one platform. It is sold as Act! Advantage cloud plans and an Act! Premium Desktop on-premises edition.

    ContactOut is Email and phone finder with a LinkedIn-focused browser extension, AI-powered email campaigns, and a 700M+ profile bulk license on the Team plan.

    The two platforms take different approaches to solving the same core challenge.

    Pricing Comparison

    Pricing ladder: Pricing Comparison (Act, ContactOut, Act Advantage Standard, Free)

    $30/moAct! entry plan

    Act! Advantage Standard

    FreeContactOut entry plan

    Free

    Entry pricing for Act! and ContactOut, as published on each vendor's own pricing page.

    Act! Pricing (as of September 2026)

    PlanPriceEmails
    Act! Advantage Standard$30/moBasic Email Marketing (includes 2,500 sends/mo)
    Act! Advantage Professional$45/moEmail Marketing Plus (includes 25,000 sends/mo)
    Act! Advantage Ultimate$60/moMarketing Automation (includes 50,000 sends/mo)
    Act! Premium Desktop$40/mo-
    Enterprise EngagementContact Sales-

    Source: Act! Pricing

    ContactOut Pricing (as of September 2026)

    PlanPriceContactsEmails
    FreeFree5 emails, 5 phones and 5 exports per day5 emails / day
    Email$49/mo300 exports / monthUnlimited emails
    Email + Phone$99/mo600 exports / monthUnlimited emails and unlimited phones
    Team / APIContact SalesBulk license, 700M+ profilesContact us

    Source: ContactOut Pricing

    Pricing Analysis

    ContactOut offers the lower entry point ($0/mo vs $30/mo). Teams watching their budget will appreciate the savings, especially when starting out.

    Act! offers 5 pricing tiers compared to ContactOut's 4, giving you more granularity as you scale.

    ContactOut includes a free tier, which is helpful for evaluating the platform without upfront cost.

    Features Breakdown

    Act! lists
    • Full-featured CRM and mobile app
    • Email marketing
    • Interactive quotes and payments
    • Online appointment scheduling
    • Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
    • Reports and interactive dashboards
    • and 4 more listed below
    ContactOut lists
    • One user per company limit on Free, Email and Email + Phone plans
    • Browser extension for LinkedIn
    • Email campaigns
    • AI email writer
    • Data enrichment
    • List builder
    • and 3 more listed below
    What Act! and ContactOut each list on their own pages. The split is by exact wording, so a capability both offer can appear on both sides under different names.

    Act! Key Features

    • Full-featured CRM and mobile app
    • Email marketing
    • Interactive quotes and payments
    • Online appointment scheduling
    • Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
    • Reports and interactive dashboards
    • Marketing automation
    • Lead scoring
    • Project management
    • Accounting integration

    ContactOut Key Features

    • One user per company limit on Free, Email and Email + Phone plans
    • Browser extension for LinkedIn
    • Email campaigns
    • AI email writer
    • Data enrichment
    • List builder
    • Search portal
    • Bulk license (700M+ profiles on Team)
    • CSV export

    The two lists below are a diff of each vendor's own feature list by exact wording, so a capability both tools offer can appear on either side under a different name.

    Listed only by Act!

    • Full-featured CRM and mobile app
    • Email marketing
    • Interactive quotes and payments
    • Online appointment scheduling
    • Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
    • Reports and interactive dashboards
    • Marketing automation
    • Lead scoring
    • Project management
    • Accounting integration

    Listed only by ContactOut

    • One user per company limit on Free, Email and Email + Phone plans
    • Browser extension for LinkedIn
    • Email campaigns
    • AI email writer
    • Data enrichment
    • List builder
    • Search portal
    • Bulk license (700M+ profiles on Team)
    • CSV export

    Integration Ecosystem

    Integration flow: Integration Ecosystem (Act, ContactOut, Outlook, Salesforce)

    Act! Integrations

    Act! connects with: Outlook, Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Shopify, Volusion, Facebook, Freshdesk, Zendesk, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero.

    ContactOut Integrations

    ContactOut connects with: Salesforce, HubSpot, Greenhouse, Lever, Bullhorn, Zapier, Gmail, Outlook.

    Shared Integrations

    Both tools integrate with: Outlook.

    Integrations listed only by Act!: Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Shopify, Volusion, Facebook, Freshdesk, Zendesk, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero.

    Integrations listed only by ContactOut: Salesforce, HubSpot, Greenhouse, Lever, Bullhorn, Zapier, Gmail.

    Use Case Recommendations

    Best Fit for Act!

    • Budget-conscious teams looking for an affordable CRM platform
    • Teams that need a wide feature set (10 capabilities listed)
    • Organizations with complex tech stacks needing broad integration support (16 integrations)
    • Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support

    Best Fit for ContactOut

    • Budget-conscious teams looking for an affordable data enrichment tool
    • Teams that want to start free and scale up as needs grow
    • Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support

    Feature Comparison Summary

    FeatureAct!ContactOut
    Starting Price$30/moFree
    Top Tier PriceContact SalesContact Sales
    Total Features Listed109
    Integrations168
    FoundedN/A2015

    Getting Started Checklist

    Step sequence: Getting Started Checklist (Define customer relationship, Estimate expected contacts, List integrations, Sign up)

    1. Define your customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking and B2B lead data and contact enrichment requirements and monthly budget
    2. Estimate your expected contacts and deals and data credits or contact lookups to find the right tier
    3. List the integrations your team currently relies on
    4. Sign up for free trials or demos of both platforms
    5. Run a small test with each tool before making a commitment
    6. Evaluate the onboarding experience and support quality

    Final Thoughts

    Act! serves the customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking side of an outbound stack and ContactOut the B2B lead data and contact enrichment side. ContactOut offers a more accessible entry point, while Act! starts at $30/mo. Your decision should weigh pricing against the specific features that matter most for your workflow.

    Start with a trial of each to see which platform fits your team's daily process. The best tool is the one your team actually uses consistently.

    Pricing and features verified as of September 2026. Visit Act! and ContactOut for current information.

    Questions

    Frequently asked questions.

    Frequently asked questions
    What's the main difference between Act! and ContactOut?
    Act! is a CRM platform built for customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking, while ContactOut is a data enrichment tool focused on B2B lead data and contact enrichment. Act! centers on organizing contacts, tracking deals, and forecasting revenue, whereas ContactOut centers on finding accurate contact data for target accounts.
    Which is cheaper, Act! or ContactOut?
    ContactOut has the lower entry point with a free plan, compared to Act!'s starting price of $30/mo for the Advantage Standard tier. ContactOut's paid tiers run $49/mo for the Email plan and $99/mo for the Email + Phone plan.
    Do Act! and ContactOut integrate with the same tools?
    They share only one listed integration, Outlook. Act! also integrates with Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, Shopify, Freshdesk, Zendesk, QuickBooks Online and others, while ContactOut integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Greenhouse, Lever, Bullhorn, Zapier and Gmail.
    Can I use Act! and ContactOut together?
    Yes, the article notes that many teams run one of each since they serve different parts of the workflow. Act! handles CRM and pipeline tracking, while ContactOut handles finding and enriching contact data, so they can complement rather than replace each other.
    What features does ContactOut offer that Act! doesn't list?
    ContactOut lists a browser extension for LinkedIn, AI email writer, data enrichment, list builder, search portal, a bulk license covering 700M+ profiles on the Team plan, and CSV export. Act! does not list these features on its own pages, based on the exact wording comparison.
    Act!ContactOutCRM PlatformData Enrichment ToolComparisoncrmdata-enrichment
    Byline

    About the author.

    Tim Carden

    Tim Carden is CMO / CTO at RevenueFlow, which builds and operates outbound revenue engines for B2B companies. Studied at McGill University.

    Tim Carden · CMO / CTO

    Connect on LinkedIn →
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