Act! vs The Companies API: CRM Platform vs Data Enrichment Tool Comparison
Compare Act! (CRM platform) and The Companies API (data enrichment tool) side by side. See pricing, features, and integrations to decide which one, or both, your stack needs.
Compare Act! (CRM platform) and The Companies API (data enrichment tool) side by side. See pricing, features, and integrations to decide which one, or both, your stack needs.
Reviewed and updated September 4, 2026
Act! vs The Companies API: CRM Platform vs Data Enrichment Tool Comparison
Act! is a CRM platform; The Companies API 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; The Companies API 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 The Companies API lists domain to company profile enrichment and access to all 50m companies.
The Companies API 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 The Companies API. 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.
The Companies API is The Companies API is a company enrichment API that turns a domain name into a structured company profile with firmographics such as industry, employee count, founding year and revenue across 50 million companies. Plans are monthly credit allowances with a request-rate limit.
The two platforms take different approaches to solving the same core challenge.
Pricing Comparison
Act! Advantage Standard
Free
Act! Pricing (as of September 2026)
| Plan | Price | Emails |
|---|---|---|
| Act! Advantage Standard | $30/mo | Basic Email Marketing (includes 2,500 sends/mo) |
| Act! Advantage Professional | $45/mo | Email Marketing Plus (includes 25,000 sends/mo) |
| Act! Advantage Ultimate | $60/mo | Marketing Automation (includes 50,000 sends/mo) |
| Act! Premium Desktop | $40/mo | - |
| Enterprise Engagement | Contact Sales | - |
Source: Act! Pricing
The Companies API Pricing (as of September 2026)
| Plan | Price | Emails |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 500 credits |
| Startup | $95/mo | 50000 credits per month |
| Scaleup | $295/mo | 250000 credits per month |
| Enterprise | $595/mo | 500000 credits per month |
Source: The Companies API Pricing
Pricing Analysis
The Companies API 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 The Companies API's 4, giving you more granularity as you scale.
The Companies API includes a free tier, which is helpful for evaluating the platform without upfront cost.
Features Breakdown
- 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
- Domain to company profile enrichment
- Access to all 50M companies
- Firmographics: industry, employee count, founding year, revenue
- Company lists
- Additional credits at a per-1,000 rate
- Rate-limited API by plan
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
The Companies API Key Features
- Domain to company profile enrichment
- Access to all 50M companies
- Firmographics: industry, employee count, founding year, revenue
- Company lists
- Additional credits at a per-1,000 rate
- Rate-limited API by plan
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 The Companies API
- Domain to company profile enrichment
- Access to all 50M companies
- Firmographics: industry, employee count, founding year, revenue
- Company lists
- Additional credits at a per-1,000 rate
- Rate-limited API by plan
Integration Ecosystem
Act! Integrations
Act! connects with: Outlook, Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Shopify, Volusion, Facebook, Freshdesk, Zendesk, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero.
The Companies API Integrations
The Companies API connects with: .
Integrations listed only by Act!: Outlook, Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Shopify, Volusion, Facebook, Freshdesk, Zendesk, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero.
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 The Companies API
- Budget-conscious teams looking for an affordable data enrichment tool
- Teams that want to start free and scale up as needs grow
- Revenue operations teams building targeted prospect lists
- Marketing teams enriching CRM data for segmentation
Feature Comparison Summary
| Feature | Act! | The Companies API |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $30/mo | Free |
| Top Tier Price | Contact Sales | $595/mo |
| Total Features Listed | 10 | 6 |
| Integrations | 16 | 0 |
Getting Started Checklist
- Define your customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking and B2B lead data and contact enrichment requirements and monthly budget
- Estimate your expected contacts and deals and data credits or contact lookups to find the right tier
- List the integrations your team currently relies on
- Sign up for free trials or demos of both platforms
- Run a small test with each tool before making a commitment
- 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 The Companies API the B2B lead data and contact enrichment side. The Companies API 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 The Companies API for current information.
About the author.
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
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