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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Zoho Desk vs Zoho CRM

Zoho Desk 4.7★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Tie
Zoho CRM 4.4★ · Free + IAP 60

Zoho Desk is the better choice for customer support teams needing a dedicated helpdesk solution, despite its mobile app's feature limitations and reliability issues, while Zoho CRM is suitable for sales teams focused on lead and customer management, but also suffers from mobile app instability.

Full reviews: Zoho Desk · Zoho CRM

Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM both offer robust web platforms, but their mobile apps are frequently criticized for missing key features, inconsistent performance, and notification issues. Desk excels at customer alignment and ticket management, while CRM is praised for its customization and lead organization, though both struggle with mobile app stability and feature parity.

Head to head

Features tieR2R4R5R7
Zoho Desk Zoho Desk users appreciate its core helpdesk functionalities, such as ticket management and team alignment R2. However, many reviews highlight a significant lack of features compared to the web version, including contracts, support plans, agent collisions, drag-and-drop for images, knowledge base access, and task management outside of tickets R4R5R9R27. Customization options are also seen as lacking R7.
Zoho CRM Zoho CRM is praised for its extensive features, customization capabilities, and ability to organize leads and customer information R77. Users value the map view for contacts R66. However, the mobile app is criticized for missing key functionalities like sorting by tags, adding tags during contact creation, custom modules, import/export features, and reports R66. Some find the separation of Leads and Contacts/Accounts confusing .
Ease of Use & UI tieR1R3R12R23
Zoho Desk Zoho Desk is generally considered easy to use for its core functions . However, a significant number of users find the UI outdated and in need of a revamp, describing it as looking like an app from 2010 R1R3. Some report issues with layout cutting off text, inconsistent layouts across Zoho apps, and difficulty finding tickets R23. Accessibility is also a concern for visually impaired users R12.
Zoho CRM Zoho CRM is often described as easy to learn and use . However, some users find it difficult to set up, with one user struggling to add a new account for over an hour . There are complaints about the updated app being less user-friendly for searching leads and issues with the order of displayed information . The phone number formatting is also cited as a horrible user experience .
Reliability & Performance tieR6R14R15R18
Zoho Desk Zoho Desk users report numerous reliability issues. The app is frequently described as glitchy, unreliable, and prone to crashing R6R14R18. Specific problems include cache refresh issues, records being unavailable in searches, notifications not being delivered in real-time or stopping entirely, changes not saving, and the timer not working correctly R6R15R18. Some users also experience errors fetching portals or inability to log in .
Zoho CRM Zoho CRM also faces significant reliability problems. Many users report the app crashing right after opening or frequently shutting down . It is often described as running slow and having glitches . Users experience issues with notes being lost due to rapid app refreshes , appointments not updating , and dashboards not loading data . Some report general errors when navigating the app .
Price/Value edge: Zoho CRMR1R26R29R77
Zoho Desk Zoho Desk is seen as a good value, with users noting it's cheaper than competitors and offers more features R26. However, some basic features are locked behind a paywall, requiring an enterprise edition R29. One user mentions paying $50 a month for an app with an outdated UI R1.
Zoho CRM Zoho CRM is highly valued for its affordability and features, with users surprised by what's available for free R77. It's considered enterprise-grade but small business priced . The platform is seen as a very good value for the subscription investment compared to others .
Support tieR10R22R41R48
Zoho Desk Zoho Desk users report mixed experiences with support. While some find support responsive, they often describe it as unhelpful R10. Others report horrible customer service, difficulty getting assistance to access accounts, and long response times R22R41. One user notes phone support is non-existent R48.
Zoho CRM Zoho CRM users frequently complain about poor or horrible support R100. One user mentions a fix from Zoho Cares that involves numerous steps for a basic issue, indicating a lack of user-centric design .
Pick Zoho Desk if

you need a dedicated helpdesk solution for customer support, prioritize ticket management and team alignment, and are willing to tolerate mobile app limitations and occasional bugs R2R26.

Pick Zoho CRM if

you need a highly customizable CRM to manage leads, contacts, and sales processes, appreciate a strong web platform, and are comfortable with a mobile app that may have performance issues and missing features R77.

Evidence note: Both apps have a high number of negative reviews specifically targeting the mobile app's performance, missing features, and reliability, which contrasts with their higher lifetime ratings that likely reflect the more robust web versions. The free-vs-paid asymmetry is less pronounced as both offer free tiers and IAP, and negative feedback often comes from users paying for the service.

Frequently asked

Are Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM mobile apps reliable?
No, both Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM mobile apps are frequently reported as unreliable, with users experiencing crashes, freezing, slow performance, and issues with data synchronization and notifications (R6, R14, R39, R59 for Desk; , , , for CRM).
Do the mobile apps have all the features of the web versions?
No, users consistently report that both Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM mobile apps lack many key features available in their respective web versions, making them less functional for comprehensive work (R4, R9, R27 for Desk; R66, , , for CRM).
Is customer support good for Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM?
Customer support for both Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM is generally criticized by users, with reports of unhelpful responses, long wait times, and non-existent phone support (R10, R22, R41 for Desk; R100, for CRM).

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] Zoho Desk 5/5 · US Desk to the rescue: Desk keeps my team deeply aligned with our customers needs. Without it we would be missing key details needed to keep our customers serviced an happy.
  2. [R4] Zoho Desk 1/5 · US Good but needs same as web: Missing a lot of key features from the web app. This includes contracts, support plans, agent collisions. These need added
  3. [R5] Zoho Desk 4/5 · US Needs Drag & Drop and Inline Support: The app is well designed and supports high-quality production; however, there are several missing features that would significantly enhance overall productivity. Specifically, the app lacks drag-and-drop functionality for inserting images and other data into emails, as well as the ability to drag and drop images inline within emails during composing. These are
  4. [R7] Zoho Desk 1/5 · US Seriously lacks customization options: Something as basic as what appears on your homepage when you open the app is missing. Please put some more thought into the customer use cases, and adjust the app so that the customer more quickly gets to the information that they need.
  5. [R1] Zoho Desk 1/5 · US Update app to Liquid Glass: Update the app to Liquid Glass or make it look more modern. Looks like an app from 2010. Paying $50 a month for it to look like this is crazy
  6. [R3] Zoho Desk 3/5 · US UI is poor: UI needs a total revamp
  7. [R12] Zoho Desk 3/5 · US Not accessible: This app has so much potential. However, all of the controls that are required to manage tickets are on labeled/in accessible. As a Tier II support person who happens to be visually impaired, I am unable to use this app and must rely on the desktop/web browser experience for now.
  8. [R23] Zoho Desk 4/5 · US Decent: Decent app but sometimes hard to find tickets and notification sometimes led nowhere.
  9. [R6] Zoho Desk 3/5 · US Unreliable: The iPhone app, just like the desktop version, is glitchy and unreliable. The cache refresh always has issues making recent records unavailable in searches sometimes for hours. Notifications are rarely delivered in real time, and push notifications sometimes just stop without the settings being turned off on the phone. When making changes to the properties of a ticket and saving, almos
  10. [R14] Zoho Desk 5/5 · US Zoho Desk App: The app works for us but has some bugs such as crashing sometime when you attempt to reply
  11. [R15] Zoho Desk 3/5 · US It’s come a long way...and is almost there.: The Zoho development team has brought nearly all of the most needed features to the mobile app, and it is truly an effective way to manage tickets in the field at this point...with one painful exception, the timer does not work at all. If the screen is locked, or if you switch apps, it either pauses (which depending on how long you’re away from it can re
  12. [R18] Zoho Desk 3/5 · US Needs work: App crashes sometimes when attempting to refresh data. I never get any notifications even though I have them enabled. Only get sound and badges and no actual notifications.
  13. [R26] Zoho Desk 5/5 · US Love Zoho: I own a number of businesses and just migrated to Zoho desk to make things easier and more affordable. Not a problem nearly two weeks in almost and cheaper than the competition and offers just a tad more. I also love that there is a chat function, knowledge base, and I can easily communicate with my remote people from their desks. Zoho has made the migration to fully remote really
  14. [R29] Zoho Desk 4/5 · US Decent ticketing program: Too many things basic features behind a Paywall that requires an enterprise edition for half the features I’d never use
  15. [R77] Zoho CRM 5/5 · US Crazy good, how are these features free?: Really, there’s nothing like it especially for the price. Zoho CRM is highly recommended along with their suite of products.
  16. [R10] Zoho Desk 2/5 · US Well made but lacks key features: Overall great experience but lacks key notification adjustments. For instance, there is no ability to schedule when the app should notify of new tickets and there is no ability to specify who is notified of unassigned tickets. Support is responsive but extremely unhelpful.
  17. [R22] Zoho Desk 1/5 · US Customer Service is Bad: Honestly the ticket program is good but being in IT and changing phones or going through different computers getting back into your account is near impossible. You can’t get in without being signed in your account. When I ask for assistance to get a code or access you don’t hear back for several days if not over a week and with silly responses like “You have back up code
  18. [R41] Zoho Desk 1/5 · US Horrible customer service.: I called customer Service with a problem. They were completely unable to help me.
  19. [R48] Zoho Desk 5/5 · US Moved from Zendesk to Zoho One.: Great platform. Wish they had better phone support which is no non existent.
  20. [R39] Zoho Desk 2/5 · US Push notifications have stopped working: For the past week or two, the push notifications for the app are not working. I’ve tried toggling them off and back on, reinstalling the app, restarting my phone, re-syncing the app and checking the notify settings on the web client but nothing has worked. It’s extremely inconvenient to not be receiving push notifications when tickets are submitted, to the
  21. [R59] Zoho Desk 1/5 · US App Doesn’t Work: The app doesn’t work half of the time. It freezes and does not update.
  22. [R9] Zoho Desk 3/5 · US Half-baked, usually not worth your time: The Zoho Desk app is about 50% or less of the desktop/web version. That is nearly crippling for any work outside of the most basic interactions with tickets. No Products, no Accounts/Contacts, no real settings for the system itself (only the app). It is frequently out of sync with the web version in terms of what Accounts/Contacts or ticket settings/views a
  23. [R27] Zoho Desk 3/5 · GB Knowledge base?: It’s a shame this can’t be viewed, articles added and edited from the app.
  24. [R66] Zoho CRM 3/5 · US Could be a 4 or 5 star app: I love the ability to customize on the web app. I like the ease of use. I love the ability to see a map of my contacts in the iPhone app. I would give this app 4 or 5 stars if these features were added: (1) The ability to sort by TAG in the iPhone app (2) The ability to sort by TAG on the web app. (3) The ability to add TAGS in the contact creation page (4) A desktop a
  25. [R100] Zoho CRM 1/5 · US Ari Ojeda: Horrible support

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store