Folk vs Zendesk: Ultimate CRM Breakdown in 2025

by | Mar 7, 2025

Winner
folk
4.5
  • Masseges and Sequences
  • Custom Dashboards
  • Team Collaboration
  • Pipeline Management
  • Easy Integration
  • Free trial available
  • Paid Plan Starts at $20
Runner Up
Zendesk
3.0
  • Organization Management
  • Reporting Tools
  • Customer Management
  • Messaging & Live Chat
  • AI and Automation
  • Custom reporting
  • Paid Plan Starts at $19
Folk vs Zendesk

Picking the right CRM can feel like a huge headache, right?

You need something that keeps track of customers and helps your business grow.

But where do you even start?

That’s why we’re breaking down Folk vs Zendesk. 

Overview

We’ve spent countless hours diving into both Zendesk and Folk, testing their features, and analyzing user feedback.

This hands-on approach allows us to provide a real-world, practical comparison, moving beyond just surface-level specs.

Folk CRM
4.5out of 5

It excels at managing 10,000 contacts and building relationships. It has powerful automation.

Pricing:ย It has a free trial. The premium plan starts at $20/month.

Key Features:

  • Sales pipelines
  • Advanced reports
  • Android app
Zendesk
3out of 5

Ready to see if Zendesk is your perfect match? Check out our in-depth Zendesk review!

Pricing: It has a free trial. The premium plan starts at $19/month.

Key Features:

  • Omnichannel support
  • AI-powered bots
  • Advanced analytics

What is Folk?

Folk is a modern CRM. It’s built for teams.

It helps you manage contacts.

It’s easy to use. It’s all about collaboration.

Also, explore our favorite Folk alternatives…

Folk CRM homepage

Our Take

Folk CRM

It excels at managing 10,000 contacts and building relationships. It has powerful automation that some businesses need.

Key Benefits

  • Manage 10,000 contacts.
  • Connect five email accounts.
  • No warranty mentioned.

Pricing

All the plans will be billed annually.

  • Standard: $20/member/month.
  • Premium: $40/member/month.
Folk Pricing

Pros

  • User-friendly interface.
  • Excellent contact management.
  • Effective sales pipeline visualization.
  • Seamless email integration.
  • Powerful automation features.

Cons

  • Limited reporting capabilities.
  • The mobile app could be improved.
  • Integrations with some tools might be limited.
  • Customer support can be slow at times.

What is Zendesk?

Okay, so Zendesk. Think customer support.

It helps businesses manage customer issues.

Tickets, chats, all that stuff.

It’s the teams that need to keep customers happy.

Also, explore our favorite Zendesk alternatives

What is Zendesk

Our Take

Zendesk

Join over 100,000 businesses. Switch to Zendesk and see an average 25% increase in customer satisfaction, just like our users in 2025. Start your free trial today.

Key Benefits

Zendesk helps you make customers happy and helps your team work better.

  • Makes Customers Happier: Businesses using Zendesk see customers get 25% happier. That’s a big deal!
  • All Talks in One Spot: Handle all messages from one place. No more jumping around.
  • Smart Help: It does easy tasks for you. This lets your team fix harder problems.
  • Self-Help Guides: You can make a help page. Customers can find answers themselves. This reduces questions by 15%.
  • AI Smart Tools: It uses smart computer help. This means quicker and better answers for customers.

Pricing

All the plans will be billed annually.

  • Support Team: $19/month.
  • Suite Team: $55/month.
  • Suite Professional: $115/month.
  • Suite Enterprise: Talk to Sales.
Zendesk Pricing

Pros

  • Easy setup, quick start.
  • Strong ticket management tools.
  • Good for large support teams.
  • Many app integrations are available.
  • Reliable customer service platform.

Cons

  • Can get pricey quickly.
  • Reporting can feel complex.
  • Some features need upgrades.
  • Initial setup requires learning.

Feature Comparison

This comparison evaluates Folk, a specialized platform for contact management and building real relationships.

Zendesk, the industry leader in customer service software and ticketing systems.

This analysis will clarify which solution is the better investment for front-end sales nurturing versus comprehensive post-sale support requests and customer conversations.

1. Core Platform Focus and Goal

  • Folk: The primary goal is contact management and helping users build genuine connections and nurture real relationships across different use cases. It is designed as a lightweight, flexible folk crm tool to track sales pipeline progress and close winning deals.
  • Zendesk: The focus is entirely on customer service software and support. It aims to streamline support requests via its comprehensive ticketing system and ensure high customer satisfaction by empowering support agents.

2. Primary Feature Set

  • Folk: Features are centered on relationship management: organize contacts, tracking phone calls, and enabling personalized email automation. It includes basic crm features for sales but relies on other tools for service.
  • Zendesk: Features are focused on service: ticketing systems, knowledge base creation, live chat, and robust reporting and analytics zendesk tools for support agents. It offers zendesk sell for sales, but support is the core strength.

3. Contact Management and Sourcing

  • Folk: Excels at helping users organize contacts effectively using a sheet-like interface and a chrome extension to add contacts rapidly. It focuses on keeping communication history for the same person.
  • Zendesk: Contact management is optimized for service history. It tracks all support requests and customer conversations related to a contact, making it easy for support agents to access necessary data.

4. Sales Pipeline Management

  • Folk: Provides a simple visual sales pipeline to help users close winning deals and track deals using set reminders and communication history. It is ideal for personalized sales cycles.
  • Zendesk: The dedicated zendesk sell platform provides pipeline visibility. However, its sales focus is typically secondary to its main customer service software offerings in the zendesk suite.

5. Automation and Workflow

  • Folk: Offers simple email automation and tools to set reminders. Automation is minimal and generally focuses on personal or small-team efficiency.
  • Zendesk: Provides powerful workflow automation for support requests and ticket routing. It ensures that the right support agents receive tickets quickly, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

6. Support Channels and Tools

  • Folk: Not a customer support tool; it relies entirely on other tools for help desk or live chat functionality. It focuses on proactive sales email automation.
  • Zendesk: Is the definition of a multi-channel support tool, managing email, chat, social media, and phone calls all through one ticketing system. The zendesk support suite is comprehensive.

7. Customization and Ecosystem

  • Folk: Highly flexible for individual users, allowing easy custom fields and views. It relies on its chrome extension and third party integrations.
  • Zendesk: Highly customizable for enterprise support operations. The zendesk marketplace offers hundreds of integrations, making the zendesk suite adaptable to various complex business needs.

8. Enterprise Readiness and Security

  • Folk: Best suited for individual users and small teams; lacks the security and scalability features required by large enterprises for support.
  • Zendesk: Designed for enterprise use, offering advanced features like multilingual support and robust security zendesk protocols and data handling processes, making it reliable for large organizations managing sensitive customer conversations.

9. Target Audience and Pricing

  • Folk: Targets individuals and small businesses who prioritize networking and relationship nurturing, offering an affordable crm tool for build genuine connections.
  • Zendesk: Targets businesses of all sizes, but excels in mid-to-large companies that prioritize structured customer service software and efficient sales team support. Pricing is structured around the number of support agents required.

What to Look For in a CRM Tool?

  • Specific Business Needs: Don’t get swayed by flashy features. Really dig deep. What are your exact challenges? 
  • Scalability: Can the CRM grow with you? Think beyond your current size. Will it handle increased data, more users, and expanding workflows?ย Does it provide support tickets?
  • Integration Capabilities: Does the CRM play well with your existing tools? Check for integrations with your email, calendar, marketing automation, and other crucial software. 
  • Customer Support: How responsive and helpful is their support team? Issues will arise. Quick, reliable support can minimize downtime and frustration. 
  • Training Resources: Does the provider offer comprehensive training? Easy onboarding is crucial for user adoption. 
  • Data Security: Ensure the CRM has robust security measures to protect your customer data. Check for features like data encryption, access controls, and compliance certifications. Your customers’ trust depends on it.

Final Verdict

So, which one wins? It really depends on your needs.

For big teams needing lots of features, Zendesk is powerful, Zendesk’s customer support software is good.

But if you want something easy and friendly, Folk is great customer relationship management tool.

We think Folk is a solid choice for most small businesses.

It’s simple, looks good, and helps you connect with customers better.

We’ve tried both, and we know what works.

Trust us, we’ve done the hard work, so you can pick the best CRM for you.

More of Folk

Hereโ€™s a brief comparison of Folk with these software solutions:

  • Folk vs GoHighLevel: Folk emphasizes collaborative contact organization and ease of use, while GoHighLevel is a comprehensive sales and marketing platform with robust automation and lead generation.
  • Folk vs Pipedrive: Folk focuses on user-friendly contact management and customization, whereas Pipedrive excels in visual sales pipeline management for sales-focused teams.
  • Folk vs Keap: Folk offers a simple, collaborative interface for contact management, while Keap provides powerful sales and marketing automation with extensive customization.
  • Folk vs ActiveCampaign: Folk provides a user-friendly, collaborative contact management system, while ActiveCampaign boasts robust marketing automation, segmentation, and detailed analytics.
  • Folk vs Clickfunnels: Folk is a contact management CRM, while ClickFunnels is a sales funnel builder designed for creating landing pages and automating sales processes.
  • Folk vs Instantly: Folk focuses on contact management and enrichment; Instantly specializes in automated cold email campaigns and high-volume outbound sales outreach.
  • Folk vs ClickUp: Folk is a specialized contact relationship management tool, while ClickUp is an all-in-one workspace that combines project management, task tracking, and CRM features.
  • Folk vs Monday: Folk offers a simple, collaborative contact system, while Monday CRM provides highly customizable visual workflows and robust team collaboration.
  • Folk vs Capsule: Folk is a modern, customizable CRM for managing contacts; Capsule CRM is a simplified contact manager primarily focused on tracking sales opportunities.
  • Folk vs Insightly: Folk is a straightforward collaborative contact management solution; Insightly provides a more robust CRM with advanced sales pipeline and project management features.
  • Folk vs Freshsales CRM: Folk focuses on intuitive relationship management and visual pipelines; Freshsales offers a comprehensive CRM with advanced automation and in-depth reporting for sales.
  • Folk vs Salesforce: Folk provides a user-friendly CRM for simple relationship management, while Salesforce is a highly customizable, scalable, and complex enterprise-level CRM with extensive features.
  • Folk vs Zendesk: Folk prioritizes simple, collaborative contact management for smaller teams, while Zendesk is a comprehensive customer service platform focused on ticketing and support.

More of Zendesk

Hereโ€™s a brief comparison of Zendesk with these software solutions:

  • Zendesk vs Pipedrive: Zendesk excels in comprehensive customer service and support, while Pipedrive is a sales-centric CRM with visual pipeline management.
  • Zendesk vs Gohighlevel: GoHighLevel helps marketing groups and small business owners. It’s a full sales tool. It helps your own business grow. Zendesk is mostly a customer help tool. It helps your support team handle customer questions.
  • Zendesk vs Keap: Zendesk specializes in robust customer support and ticketing; Keap offers extensive sales and marketing automation for small businesses.
  • Zendesk vs ActiveCampaign: Zendesk is a dedicated customer support platform with ticketing; ActiveCampaign specializes in email marketing automation, lead nurturing, and CRM integration.
  • Zendesk vs HubSpot: Zendesk provides strong customer service and support ticketing, whereas HubSpot is a comprehensive suite that encompasses sales, marketing, and service hub features.
  • Zendesk vs Clickfunnels: Zendesk is a customer service solution with ticketing and live chat; ClickFunnels is a sales funnel builder for creating landing pages and automating sales.
  • Zendesk vs Folk: Zendesk offers powerful customer support for diverse interactions; Folk emphasizes collaborative contact organization and streamlined relationship management.
  • Zendesk vs Instantly: Zendesk focuses on customer support and ticket management; Instantly specializes in automated cold email campaigns and lead generation.
  • Zendesk vs ClickUp: Zendesk is a customer support system, while ClickUp is a versatile work management platform that can function as a CRM, project management tool, and task tracker.
  • Zendesk vs Monday CRM: Zendesk is a customer service platform with ticketing; Monday CRM is a highly visual and customizable workflow management tool with CRM capabilities.
  • Zendesk vs Capsule CRM: Zendesk provides robust customer support and ticketing; Capsule CRM is a simplified contact management and sales tracking system.
  • Zendesk vs Insightly: Zendesk focuses on customer support and service tickets; Insightly is a more comprehensive CRM with strong sales pipeline and project management features.
  • Zendesk vs Freshsales: Zendesk emphasizes strong customer support solutions, while Freshsales CRM is designed for sales automation, deal tracking, and lead management.
  • Zendesk vs Salesforce: Zendesk offers a specialized customer service platform; Salesforce is an extensive enterprise-level CRM with broad sales, marketing, and service clouds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Zendesk better than Folk for large enterprises?

Yes, Zendesk is generally better for large enterprises. It offers robust scalability, extensive integrations, and complex features designed for high-volume operations. Its deep customization and comprehensive reporting suit the needs of large teams with complex workflows.

Which is easier to use, Zendesk or Folk?

Folk is generally easier to use. Its interface is designed for simplicity and intuitiveness, making it user-friendly even for those new to CRM. Zendesk, while powerful, has a steeper learning curve due to its extensive feature set.

Does Zendesk integrate with Salesforce?

Yes, Zendesk offers integrations with Salesforce, among many other business applications. This allows for seamless data flow and streamlined workflows between different platforms, making it a powerful tool for businesses using multiple systems.

Is Folk suitable for lead management?

Folk offers streamlined lead management tools suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. It prioritizes quick contact organization and basic pipeline management, focusing on simplicity over complex sales funnels found in platforms like Zendesk Sell.

Which platform offers better customer experience tools?

Zendesk provides comprehensive customer experience tools for managing diverse customer interactions across multiple channels. Folk focuses on personalized interactions, aiming for a more human touch, making it better for building relationships with smaller groups.