Tool Comparisons

    Act! vs Vanillasoft: CRM Platform vs Sales Engagement Platform Comparison

    Compare Act! (CRM platform) and Vanillasoft (sales engagement platform) side by side. See pricing, features, and integrations to decide which one, or both, your stack needs.

    September 4, 20266 min read
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    The short answer

    Compare Act! (CRM platform) and Vanillasoft (sales engagement platform) 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 Vanillasoft: CRM Platform vs Sales Engagement Platform Comparison

    Act! (CRM platform) and Vanillasoft (sales engagement platform) sit next to each other in many outbound stacks. They are not substitutes for each other on every job, so this comparison covers pricing, features, and integrations for each and points out where the two meet.

    The Quick Answer

    Act! is a CRM platform for customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking; Vanillasoft is a sales engagement platform for multi-channel sales outreach and engagement tracking. By each vendor's own wording, Act! lists full-featured crm and mobile app and email marketing, and Vanillasoft lists queue-based routing that serves the next-best record to each rep and progressive dialer with automatic dialing of the next contact.

    Act! publishes an entry price of $30/mo; Vanillasoft uses custom pricing, so the two cannot be compared on list price.

    If your priority is organizing contacts, tracking deals, and forecasting revenue, Act! is the one built for it; for coordinating outreach across email, phone, and social channels, that is Vanillasoft. 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.

    Vanillasoft is All-in-one sales engagement platform with queue-based lead routing, real-time lead management, auto-dialer and multi-channel automation for email, SMS and calling.

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

    Pricing Comparison

    $30/moAct! entry plan

    Act! Advantage Standard

    Contact SalesVanillasoft entry plan

    Core

    Entry pricing for Act! and Vanillasoft, 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

    Vanillasoft Pricing (as of September 2026)

    PlanPriceContacts
    CoreContact SalesIncludes your team's first 5 seats
    AdvantageContact SalesIncludes your team's first 5 seats
    EnterpriseContact SalesIncludes your team's first 5 seats
    FundraisingContact SalesIncludes your team's first 5 seats

    Source: Vanillasoft Pricing

    Pricing Analysis

    One or both platforms use custom or contact-based pricing for some tiers. Reach out to their sales teams for exact quotes based on your usage needs.

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

    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
    Vanillasoft lists
    • Queue-based routing that serves the next-best record to each rep
    • Progressive dialer with automatic dialing of the next contact
    • Enterprise grade VoIP with preview or progressive dialing
    • Sales automation for email, SMS, call recording and transcription
    • Speed to lead and personal lead management
    • SmartCaller Trust and SmartCaller ID
    • and 4 more listed below
    What Act! and Vanillasoft 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

    Vanillasoft Key Features

    • Queue-based routing that serves the next-best record to each rep
    • Progressive dialer with automatic dialing of the next contact
    • Enterprise grade VoIP with preview or progressive dialing
    • Sales automation for email, SMS, call recording and transcription
    • Speed to lead and personal lead management
    • SmartCaller Trust and SmartCaller ID
    • Online appointment scheduler
    • Reporting and dashboards
    • API access and custom tables
    • Single sign-on and IP restrictions

    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 Vanillasoft

    • Queue-based routing that serves the next-best record to each rep
    • Progressive dialer with automatic dialing of the next contact
    • Enterprise grade VoIP with preview or progressive dialing
    • Sales automation for email, SMS, call recording and transcription
    • Speed to lead and personal lead management
    • SmartCaller Trust and SmartCaller ID
    • Online appointment scheduler
    • Reporting and dashboards
    • API access and custom tables
    • Single sign-on and IP restrictions

    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.

    Vanillasoft Integrations

    Vanillasoft connects with: Salesforce, DocuSign, Vidyard, Gong, Chorus, Google Meet.

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

    Integrations listed only by Vanillasoft: Salesforce, DocuSign, Vidyard, Gong, Chorus, Google Meet.

    Use Case Recommendations

    Best Fit for Act!

    • Budget-conscious teams looking for an affordable CRM platform
    • Organizations with complex tech stacks needing broad integration support (16 integrations)
    • Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support

    Best Fit for Vanillasoft

    • Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support
    • SDR teams running multi-channel outreach sequences
    • Sales managers tracking team engagement metrics
    • Revenue teams coordinating email, phone, and social touches

    Feature Comparison Summary

    FeatureAct!Vanillasoft
    Starting Price$30/moContact Sales
    Top Tier PriceContact SalesContact Sales
    Total Features Listed1010
    Integrations166
    FoundedN/A2005

    Getting Started Checklist

    1. Define your customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking and multi-channel sales outreach and engagement tracking requirements and monthly budget
    2. Estimate your expected contacts and deals and sequences and engagement actions 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 Vanillasoft the multi-channel sales outreach and engagement tracking side. Act! publishes an entry price of $30/mo, while Vanillasoft uses custom pricing for its plans, so compare on features and on the quote you receive. 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 Vanillasoft for current information.

    Act!VanillasoftCRM PlatformSales Engagement PlatformComparisoncrmsales-engagement
    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

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