Best offer on record: Zoho CRM Free Edition (free forever, 3 users). 12 verified findings, checked 2026-10-22.
Offers
Zoho CRM Free Edition (free forever, 3 users) high confidence
Forever free Zoho CRM. Limits: up to 3 users; 5,000 API calls/day; up to 10 custom email templates; free data export up to 10 times; spreadsheet import free. Includes contact management, follow-up reminders, workflow automation, tasks/meetings/call tracking, standard reports, mobile app. Excluded: mass email, forecasting, CPQ, custom portals, reporting hierarchy, sandbox, field-level encryption, AI agents (paid tiers only). No billing/credit-card for the free plan. No region limit stated.
Eligibility
Anyone; up to 3 users; no .edu, no startup cap, no credit card; appears available in all Zoho-supported regions.
How to claim
Go to zoho.com/crm/pricing.html, click 'Start Free' / create account on the Free edition; no payment method entered.
Expiry
Free forever; no renewal. Limits (3 users, 5,000 API calls/day, 10 email templates, 10 exports) are the permanent caps.
Gotchas
No storage cap or automation-count cap is published; data export capped at 10 times total; API quota 5,000 calls/day is lower than Standard paid (15,000/day) — API workloads will hit the ceiling; paid-tier features are hard-gated; local taxes added to any later paid upgrade.
Zoho for Startups — Zoho Wallet Credits program (startup program) high confidence
Early-stage startups get Zoho Wallet Credits to trial Zoho's 55+ app SaaS suite (any Zoho app/suite incl. Zoho One, Workplace Stage 1, People Plus; also upgrades, add-ons, monthly renewals; Workplace/Mail excluded from Stage-2 credits). Two stages: base credit after validation + extra credit if the startup hosts its domain with Zoho within 15 days. Credits valid 360 days, then balance resets to 0, no extensions; one-time benefit; not transferable, not refundable. Amounts in $ are not published on the page (left blank as fetched today).
Eligibility
Must fit Startup India definition; registered with a collaborating ecosystem enabler (incubator/accelerator/coworking space) OR DPIIT/Startup India recognition; must be new/free Zoho user with no paid-subscription history; MSMEs excluded; one claim only. Limited to startups in ~24 countries (India, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, UAE, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana-listed neighbors, etc.).
How to claim
1) Create Zoho account with the org's primary admin email. 2) Register at the Zoho founders-registration page, selecting your associated startup hub. 3) Validation takes 5-7 business days. 4) Credits land in Zoho Wallet; follow the confirmation email to enable domain hosting for Stage-2 credits within 15 days.
Expiry
Credits expire 360 days from deposit, no extension; program is one-time per startup.
Gotchas
Credit values are undisclosed on the public page (verify at registration); strictly gated on enabler/DPIIT association — no open application; deleting the account zeroes the balance; weekdays-only classic email support and free English consultation only; training via paid Zoho Partners; no US in the country list as fetched today (confirm current list on the page).
Free trial of all paid editions via 'START FREE TRIAL' CTAs on the pricing page; 'flexible free trial' signup; no trial duration in days and no credit-card statement appears anywhere on zoho.com/crm/pricing.html as fetched today. Trial signups for free editions elsewhere in Zoho use email only (no billing).
Eligibility
Anyone signing up; new accounts; no .edu requirement; credit card not required for trial sign-up on Zoho product pages (email/password only).
How to claim
On zoho.com/crm/pricing.html click 'Start free trial' for the chosen paid edition and complete email sign-up; downgrade/choice of plan available during signup.
Expiry
Trial window not stated on the CRM page (sibling Zoho products state 14-day Books/Cliq trials and 15-day Desk/Creator trials); at trial end you are charged only if you convert to paid.
Gotchas
Trial-vs-free: after the trial you must actively subscribe (paid) — unlike Desk/Creator, Zoho CRM has no public auto-downgrade-to-Free path stated on the pricing page; free edition remains available separately; duration unverified on official page today (medium confidence).
Zoho Desk Free Edition (3 users, free forever) high confidence
Zoho Desk Free: 3 user licenses, easy email ticketing out of the box, 'Free Forever' (₹2,600 crossed out in INR locale). No numeric caps on tickets/storage stated on the page. 15-day free trial of any paid plan (Standard/Professional/Enterprise), sign-up explicitly 'without ever providing a credit card'; when a paid plan's trial ends, the account auto-downgrades to the Free plan.
Eligibility
Anyone; 3 users; no .edu, no credit card, no region limit stated.
How to claim
Sign up at desk.zoho.com / zoho.com/desk/pricing.html Free edition; or start a 15-day paid-plan trial without a card.
Expiry
Free forever. Paid-plan trial: 15 days then automatic downgrade to Free (data retained, no charge).
Gotchas
No light-user seats, no automation/AI/multi-department/SLA features in Free; Standard starts at 5 users; annual billing saves up to 34% vs monthly if you upgrade.
Zoho Creator Free Edition (1 app, free forever) high confidence
Zoho Creator Free: one custom app for low-code app building; basic app-building needs supported; standing free tier per FAQ. Granular caps (users, storage, API-call/cloud-function counts) are not on the pricing page — they live in the linked full feature-comparison. 15-day fully-featured trial of Standard/Professional/Enterprise, 'No credit card' listed as a trial condition; default signup lands in the Professional trial; after 15 days the account moves to the Free plan.
Eligibility
Anyone; individuals/small teams; no .edu, no credit card; region not limited on the page.
How to claim
Sign up at creator.zoho.com / zoho.com/creator/pricing.html; choose Free (or start the 15-day trial without a card).
Expiry
Free forever; trial auto-downgrades to Free at day 15.
Gotchas
Free is single-app only; user/storage/API limits undisclosed on the pricing page — check the feature-comparison link before relying on Free for API workloads; yearly billing >30% cheaper if you upgrade.
Zoho Analytics Free Plan (2 users, 10K rows, free forever) high confidence
Zoho Analytics Free: 2 users, 10K rows, 5 workspaces, unlimited reports and dashboards; 'No credit card required' listed among sign-up conditions; FAQ confirms the Free Plan continues 'always' without upgrading. Not included: Streaming Datasets, Email Import, Live Connect, Data Snapshots, Ask Zia AI Agent, Auto ML, Code Studio, premium connectors, data alerts, Zoho Flow integration, access logs, backup/restore.
Eligibility
Anyone; 2 users; no .edu, no credit card; region not limited on the page.
How to claim
Sign up at zoho.com/analytics/pricing.html 'GET STARTED NOW' (routes to Free plan signup, no trial needed).
Expiry
Free forever; no renewal; row cap (10K) is the binding constraint, not time.
Gotchas
Trial-vs-free: no trial conversion trap — it is a standing tier; 10K-row limit rules out most production BI; per-plan prices/rows for paid tiers unchanged (check page for current pricing).
Zoho Projects Free Plan (5 users, 3 projects, 5 GB, free forever) high confidence
Zoho Projects Free: up to 5 users, 3 projects, 5 GB storage, 50 workflow actions/executions per month; includes subtasks, Whiteboard, iOS/Android apps, Google & Office 365 integration, Zoho MCP Server access. 'We do not ask for your credit card information when you sign up.' 15-day free trial of Premium/Enterprise/Ultimate, no credit card.
Eligibility
Anyone; 5 users / 3 projects; no .edu, no credit card; region not limited on the page.
How to claim
Sign up at zoho.com/projects/pricing.html Free plan; or start a 15-day paid-plan trial without a card.
Expiry
Free forever (no expiration stated); trial ends at 15 days and converts only if you purchase.
Gotchas
50 workflow executions/month is tight for automation-heavy teams; project cap of 3 blocks small agencies; MCP Server access is a genuinely useful free developer perk.
Zoho Writer Free (free word processor, no credit card) high confidence
Zoho Writer is a free word processor: 'unrestricted access to all its features as soon as you sign up'; no credit card mentioned. Document automation: unlimited template creation for free; generating documents consumes credits — a free monthly automation-credit allotment is included, with paid add-on credits for extra volume. Also free: grammar checker, plagiarism checker, document translation tool, online PDF editor. Exact storage quota not stated on the landing page (pricing page /writer/pricing.html is the source of record).
Eligibility
Anyone; no .edu, no credit card; region not limited on the page.
How to claim
Sign up via writer.zoho.com 'Start writing now' (/writer/signup.html) or the free demo link.
Expiry
Free with no stated expiration; automation free-credit allotment renews monthly; template creation unlimited.
Gotchas
Trial-vs-free: core writing is free (not a trial); but bulk document generation is credit-metered — free monthly credits can run out; storage cap not disclosed on the page fetched today (check /writer/pricing.html).
Zoho Books Free Plan (1 user + 1 accountant, $50K revenue cap) high confidence
Zoho Books Free: $0/org/month, indefinitely provided your revenue for the financial year does not exceed 50K USD. 1 user + 1 accountant; up to 1,000 invoices/year and 1,000 expenses/year; 5 scheduled reports; 100K-record async report exports; 50 receipt autoscans/month. No credit card ('we don't store your credit card information'). 14-day free trial of paid tiers (Standard-Elite/Ultimate), no credit card mentioned as required. Email support Mon-Fri 9am-7pm.
Eligibility
Startups/small businesses worldwide; hard cap: revenue under 50K USD for the financial year or the Free plan no longer applies; no .edu needed.
How to claim
Sign up at zoho.com/books/pricing.html Free plan (company name, email, phone, password — no card).
Expiry
Free indefinitely while revenue stays under 50K USD per financial year; the cap is annual, so it effectively renews every fiscal year based on revenue.
Gotchas
Revenue cap is the gotcha: cross 50K USD and you must move to paid; 1-user + 1-accountant is very restrictive for teams; add-ons unsupported except document autoscans; 14-day (not 15-day) paid trial.
Zoho Cliq Free Plan (10K searchable messages, 60-min meetings, 100 GB, free forever) high confidence
Zoho Cliq Free: permanent Free tier for any team size (no user cap stated on the page); 10,000 searchable messages; 100-participant groups/channels (no external channels); meetings up to 100 participants, 60 min max; audio/video messages and screen recordings capped at 5 min; 100 GB org-level file storage; 24-hour delete window. Excluded: call recording, team channels, roles/permissions, custom domain/email, DLP, eDiscovery, branded meetings, live events. 14-day trial of Standard/Professional/Enterprise, 'Start free trial' buttons; unsubscribing at trial end downgrades to Free with data retained.
Eligibility
Anyone; all team sizes; no .edu, no credit card.
How to claim
Sign up at zoho.com/cliq/pricing.html 'Try Now' on the Free tier; no trial conversion for the free tier itself.
Expiry
Free forever; 14-day paid trial expires unless you purchase.
Gotchas
Trial-vs-free: the Free tier is a real standing plan, not a trial; 10K searchable-message cap and no external channels matter for customer-facing use; Professional/Enterprise require minimum 10 users.
Zoho Mail 'Free Forever' plan (5 users, 5 GB/user) high confidence
Zoho Mail Free Forever: up to 5 users on one custom domain ('from the 6th user all users enter a paid plan'); 5 GB mail storage per user; IMAP/POP/Active Sync NOT included; mobile app included; bundles free editions of Mail, Calendar, ToDo, Cliq (free: 5-min A/V messages, 10K searchable messages, 100-participant channels, 60-min meetings, 100 GB org storage) and eWidget & Developer Space. No credit card. Footnote: '*Available only in select data centers.' 15-day trial of Mail Premium, no credit card.
Eligibility
Anyone; 5 users/custom domain; no .edu, no credit card; availability limited to select Zoho data centers (not a single-region lock, e.g., India-only).
How to claim
Sign up at zoho.com/mail/pricing.html Free plan (email/password only).
Expiry
Free forever; 15-day Mail Premium trial expires at day 15 unless purchased.
Gotchas
No IMAP/POP/ActiveSync is the big one — desktop mail clients won't work on Free; 'select data centers' footnote means some regions can't claim it; 6th user forces everyone to paid; mixed paid/free yearly plans only allowed on yearly billing.
Zoho University (free courses & certification exams, open to all — not a .edu license) low confidence
Zoho's free e-learning program: courses and certification exams for Zoho products, open to anyone (no .edu email required) with most content free; some certification exams historically carry a fee. Treat as free learning, not a free software license.
Eligibility
Open to all (students and professionals); no .edu requirement; no funding caps.
How to claim
Register at Zoho University (zoho.com/university redirects to zohouniversity.com); enroll in courses; take exams where free.
Expiry
n/a (not a time-boxed offer).
Gotchas
The zohouniversity.com site was unreadable today due to a TLS certificate mismatch, so the current free/fees split for exams could not be verified on the official page today; confirm fees per exam before relying on 'free'.
No offers found to be sunset on the pages read today. (1) No public student/.edu education-license program found: https://www.zoho.com/education/, /students/, /academic/ all 404, and the CRM pricing page carries no student offer — Zoho's education angle today is Zoho University (free courses/exams, open to all, not a .edu license), whose site (zohouniversity.com) was unreadable today due to a TLS cert mismatch, so its current details are unverified. (2) Zoho for Startups is active but region-gated (incl. India, UK, US-adjacent list; no US on the list as fetched today) and enabler-gated; credit amounts are not published on the page. (3) Verification caveat: WebSearch budget was exhausted mid-task, so 2025-2026 change checks relied on today's official pages only; the CRM paid-trial duration is not stated on zoho.com/crm/pricing.html (sibling Zoho pages confirm 14-15 day, no-CC trial pattern).