SoftwareGlimpse

ACT! vs folk

ACT! fits act! by swiftpage — long-standing smb crm for contacts, calendars, and sales follow-up; pricing primarily contact-sales; folk fits standard/premium fit collaborative smb relationship selling.

Independently recommendedLast updated Sep 24, 20268 evidence sources16 screenshotsHow we compare
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ACT! logo

ACT!

5.6/10

ACT! by Swiftpage SMB CRM; contact sales for current packaging (no invented list prices).

Best for

  • • ACT! by Swiftpage — long-standing SMB CRM for contacts, calendars, and sales follow-up; pricing primarily contact-sales
  • • Classic SMB CRM for managing contacts, activities, and sales follow-ups — especially familiar to established small businesses

No free plan

VS

Our verdict

Our verdict

No universal winner

There is no universal winner between ACT! and folk. Choose based on pipeline depth, automation, email and calling, reporting, and pricing trade-offs.

folk is better for

  • ✓ Ease of use
  • ✓ Pipeline management
  • ✓ Sales automation
  • ✓ Email capabilities

Choose ACT! if: ACT! by Swiftpage — long-standing SMB CRM for contacts, calendars, and sales follow-up; pricing primarily contact-sales

Choose folk if: Standard/Premium fit collaborative SMB relationship selling

See detailed comparison ↓
folk logo

folk

7.1/10

Simple relationship CRM for organizing contacts and collaborative outreach.

Best for

  • • Standard/Premium fit collaborative SMB relationship selling
  • • Relationship CRM + LinkedIn capture fits founders and small teams
  • • Pipelines, sequences, and AI assistants support sales workflows

Starting from $24.00/user/mo

Free plan available

Quick verdict

Start here — then dig into the evidence below.

Choose ACT! if…

  • ACT! by Swiftpage — long-standing SMB CRM for contacts, calendars, and sales follow-up; pricing primarily contact-sales
  • Classic SMB CRM for managing contacts, activities, and sales follow-ups — especially familiar to established small businesses

Choose folk if…

  • Standard/Premium fit collaborative SMB relationship selling
  • Relationship CRM + LinkedIn capture fits founders and small teams
  • Pipelines, sequences, and AI assistants support sales workflows
  • Simple relationship CRM positioning

Overall recommendation

There is no universal winner between ACT! and folk. Choose based on pipeline depth, automation, email and calling, reporting, and pricing trade-offs.

Key trade-off

folk's clearest edge is ease of use.

Winner by category

Only dimensions with researched evidence for this pair.

DimensionWinnerWhy
Ease of usefolk winsfolk leads on ease of use (6/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Salesfolk winsfolk leads on pipeline management (6/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Automationfolk winsfolk leads on sales automation (5/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Email capabilitiesfolk winsfolk leads on email capabilities (6/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Reportingfolk winsfolk leads on reporting (5/10 vs 6/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Customizationfolk winsfolk leads on customization (6/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Integrationsfolk winsfolk leads on integrations (5/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Administrationfolk winsfolk leads on administration (6/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Enterprise suitabilityfolk winsfolk leads on scalability (5/10 vs 6/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Valuefolk winsfolk leads on value for money (6/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.

Side-by-side feature matrix

Normalized availability from product research — empty rows are not shown.

Core CRM

FeatureACT!folk
Contact managementStrongStrong
Lead managementStrongStrong
Pipeline managementStrongStrong
Deal managementStrongModerate

Sales engagement

FeatureACT!folk
Email syncStrongStrong
Email trackingStrongNot evidenced
Email sequencesNot evidencedModerate
Workflow automationModerateStrong
Sales automationStrongStrong

Reporting

FeatureACT!folk
ReportingModerateModerate

Platform

FeatureACT!folk
IntegrationsStrongStrong
Custom fieldsStrongStrong
Custom pipelinesModerateStrong
Mobile appStrongStrong
AI assistanceNot evidencedStrong

Additional capabilities

FeatureACT!folk
Email campaignsNot evidencedStrong
Data enrichmentNot evidencedStrong
API accessNot evidencedModerate
Role permissionsNot evidencedModerate

Pricing comparison

Pricing evidence last checked Aug 16, 2026.

ACT! logo

ACT!

No free planFree trial available
  • ACT! (contact sales)Custom
folk logo

folk

From $24.00/user/mo

Free plan availableFree trial available
  • Free$0.00/user/mo
  • Standard$24.00/user/mo
  • Premium$48.00/user/mo
  • Enterprise$80.00/user/mo

Seat-count estimates

Labeled estimates from verified starting per-seat pricing — not invoices.

SeatsACT!folk
5—~$120.00/mo (Standard × 5)
10—~$240.00/mo (Standard × 10)
25—~$600.00/mo (Standard × 25)
50—~$1,200.00/mo (Standard × 50)

Estimate from verified starting per-seat pricing — actual total depends on plan, annual discounts, and add-ons.

Pricing notes use verified research when available for ACT! and folk. Confirm live vendor pricing before buying.

Open cost calculator →

Best for

Scenario picks from researched strengths — not a universal ranking.

  • → folk

    Best for ease of use

    folk leads on ease of use (6/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.

  • → folk

    Best for pipeline management

    folk leads on pipeline management (6/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.

  • → folk

    Best for sales automation

    folk leads on sales automation (5/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.

The differences that actually matter

Pair-specific analysis for ACT! vs folk — not generic category copy.

  • Pipeline management

    folk ahead

    On pipeline management, folk is ahead. ACT!: Trails folk on this criterion. folk: folk leads on pipeline management (6/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.. Feature evidence also diverges on Deal management (ACT!: Strong; folk: Moderate); Workflow automation (ACT!: Moderate; folk: Strong); Reporting (ACT!: Moderate; folk: Moderate).

  • Email capabilities

    folk ahead

    On email capabilities, folk is ahead. ACT!: Trails folk on this criterion. folk: folk leads on email capabilities (6/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing..

  • Sales automation

    folk ahead

    On sales automation, folk is ahead. ACT!: Trails folk on this criterion. folk: folk leads on sales automation (5/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing..

  • Reporting

    folk ahead

    On reporting, folk is ahead. ACT!: Trails folk on this criterion. folk: folk leads on reporting (5/10 vs 6/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing..

  • Value for money

    folk ahead

    On value for money, folk is ahead. ACT!: Trails folk on this criterion. folk: folk leads on value for money (6/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing..

Pros and cons

Product-specific for this pair — derived from researched outcomes and editorial notes.

ACT! logo

ACT!

Cons

  • Trails on ease of use
  • Trails on pipeline management
  • Trails on sales automation
folk logo

folk

Pros

  • Stronger on ease of use
  • Stronger on pipeline management
  • Stronger on sales automation
  • Stronger on email capabilities

Implementation & learning curve

Based on researched setup / ease criteria for this pair.

ACT!

  • Trails on ease of use relative to folk
  • Trails on administration relative to folk

folk

  • Stronger on ease of use: folk leads on ease of use (6/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
  • Stronger on administration: folk leads on administration (6/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.

Integrations

Overlaps and exclusives from product integration data when available.

ACT!: Strong. folk: Strong.

Who should not choose each product

Decision quality improves when we say who should walk away.

Don't choose ACT! if…

  • You need folk's stronger ease of use more than ACT!'s strengths
  • You need folk's stronger pipeline management more than ACT!'s strengths
  • You need folk's stronger sales automation more than ACT!'s strengths
  • Your primary fit looks closer to: Standard/Premium fit collaborative SMB relationship selling

Don't choose folk if…

  • Your primary fit looks closer to: ACT! by Swiftpage — long-standing SMB CRM for contacts, calendars, and sales follow-up; pricing primarily contact-sales
  • Your primary fit looks closer to: Classic SMB CRM for managing contacts, activities, and sales follow-ups — especially familiar to established small businesses

Alternatives worth considering

When neither product is the right fit.

  • AI-powered customer platform with free forever CRM, plus paid Smart CRM seats and Sales/Marketing/Service hubs for growing teams.

  • Pipeline-first sales CRM for visual deal management, activity-based selling, and growing sales teams.

  • Simple small-business CRM for contacts, sales pipelines, tasks, and lightweight automation without enterprise complexity.

  • Freshworks sales CRM for lead management and pipeline workflows.

Final verdict

Scenario-level close — not a repeat of the intro.

ACT! wins when…

ACT! by Swiftpage — long-standing SMB CRM for contacts, calendars, and sales follow-up; pricing primarily contact-sales

folk wins when…

Standard/Premium fit collaborative SMB relationship selling

  • Best for ease of usefolk
  • Best for pipeline managementfolk
  • Best for sales automationfolk

Which one should you choose?

Choose ACT! if:

  • ACT! by Swiftpage — long-standing SMB CRM for contacts, calendars, and sales follow-up; pricing primarily contact-sales
  • Classic SMB CRM for managing contacts, activities, and sales follow-ups — especially familiar to established small businesses

Choose folk if:

  • Standard/Premium fit collaborative SMB relationship selling
  • Relationship CRM + LinkedIn capture fits founders and small teams
  • Pipelines, sequences, and AI assistants support sales workflows
  • Simple relationship CRM positioning

Product screenshots

Real product UI from our media library — no placeholders.

folk

  • folk CRM hero marketing visual.
  • folk product demo visual.
  • Messages and outreach capabilities in folk.
  • folkX Chrome extension for LinkedIn capture.

FAQ

Is ACT! better than folk?
There is no universal winner between ACT! and folk. Choose based on pipeline depth, automation, email and calling, reporting, and pricing trade-offs.
Which is easier to use?
folk leads on ease of use (6/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Which CRM fits which team?
ACT!: ACT! by Swiftpage — long-standing SMB CRM for contacts, calendars, and sales follow-up; pricing primarily contact-sales folk: Standard/Premium fit collaborative SMB relationship selling
Which is stronger for sales automation?
folk leads on sales automation (5/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Does ACT! or folk have a free plan?
ACT!: No free plan. folk: Free plan available.
How does ACT! vs folk pricing compare?
folk starts from $24.00/user/mo. Confirm live vendor pricing before purchasing.
How did SoftwareGlimpse compare these products?
We map both products to the same category criteria, then evaluate trade-offs using verified product, pricing and feature evidence. Affiliate relationships never change outcomes.

Still deciding between ACT! and folk?

Use Find My CRM for a shortlist matched to your priorities, or build another side-by-side comparison.

  • Independent criterion outcomes
  • No invented scores or prices
  • Affiliate links never change winners

Some visit links may be affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Comparison outcomes are never based on commission.

Affiliate disclosure: some links may be affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Rankings and scores are never based on commission. Full disclosure

Methodology disclosure: scores and recommendations follow SoftwareGlimpse evaluation criteria (version 1.0.0). Affiliate relationships do not determine rankings.

How we recommend: product claims are tied to recorded research where available.

AI-assisted disclosure: drafts may be AI-assisted from approved facts and assessments. Humans approve publishable editorial judgments. AI does not invent live prices or claim hands-on testing.

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