Zoho One is Zoho’s all-in-one suite. The FAQ describes it as “the all-in-one suite of Zoho applications” with “one account, one support number, and access to pretty much every app we make”.[4] It is licensed on two models. All Employee Pricing is a lower price that requires a licence for every employee in the organization. Flexible User Pricing lets the customer license any number of users.[2] The choice between them is the main Zoho One licensing decision. The all-employee model carries the only audit clause in the Zoho terms reviewed for this article. Its count is the headcount reported to a government authority, not the users who log in.[1]
Editions
Zoho One currently has two plans:
| Plan | Content | Pricing models |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | A subset of apps for companies starting digitalization: Zoho Directory, Bigin, Sites, Campaigns, Mail, Cliq, Projects, WorkDrive, Writer, Show, Sheet, PDF editor, Notebook, Meeting, Desk and People, with Books, Recruit and SalesIQ in some regional lists[2] | Per user |
| Standard | More than 50 applications, including web, mobile and installed versions, browser extensions and extras[3] | All Employee Pricing or Flexible User Pricing |
The pricing page says that moving from Standard to Essentials, or from Essentials to Standard, applies to all users. A customer cannot hold some users on each plan: “you’ll have to downgrade all the users associated with your organization”.[3] Catalog proof: Essentials and Standard changes apply to all users.
Zoho One offers “Enterprise Level” features. “We do not go by plan mapping in each service, but assure enterprise level feature availability.”[4] Zoho CRM’s Ultimate Edition is not included but “can be availed as an add-on”.[4] Updates to current applications are included. New applications are added to the suite at Zoho’s discretion, and the FAQ advises buying “based on what we have now and not what we might have in the future”.[4] Catalog proof: Zoho One includes enterprise-level features, not CRM Ultimate.
What Zoho One does not include
The FAQ gives a partial list of exclusions: Zoho Workerly, Catalyst, Classes, ERP, RouteIQ, ZeptoMail, FSM, Shifts and CommunitySpaces; “Applications from our ManageEngine, Site24x7, Qntrl, and TrainerCentral brands”; paid Marketplace extensions; and domain registration.[4] Agency editions of apps such as Social and Recruit are also excluded.[4] An organization that runs ManageEngine Endpoint Central and Zoho One therefore holds two separate entitlements; see ManageEngine licensing. Catalog proof: Zoho One excludes ManageEngine, Site24x7 and Marketplace extensions.
Metrics
- Zoho One employee license. The Terms of Use offer Zoho One “at a special pricing on a condition that you obtain license for all the employees in your organization”.[1] The pricing page footnote reads: “Your business will have to commit to purchase Zoho One licenses for ALL employees on payroll.”[3]
- Zoho One flexible user license. “You can buy only the number of user licenses you need; you do not have to purchase licenses for all employees.”[2]
- Per-employee-license allowance. Many app limits are expressed per employee licence. Examples follow under Counting.[4][5]
The general Terms of Service still apply. A licence may be reassigned to a new user but “shared or used by more than one individual” is not allowed.[7]
Counting / floors
All Employee Pricing
The Terms of Use set three counting duties:
- Report “the exact number of employees in your organization at the time of subscribing to Zoho One based on the latest statement filed with an appropriate Government authority that discloses the total number of employees in your organization”.[1]
- “Purchase additional license for every new employee joining the organization during the subscription period.”[1]
- On request, “certify in writing that you have obtained licenses for all the employees in your organization”.[1]
The count therefore follows the headcount reported to a government authority, not the Zoho directory. Employees who never log in are still counted. For employees “who don’t use a computer or mobile phone”, the FAQ tells customers to contact Zoho Sales “to figure out the most suitable licensing approach”.[2] If Zoho sees that not all employees are licensed, “we will notify you to either purchase remaining licenses or switch to Flexible User Pricing”, and Zoho reserves the right to take “further action, including termination of service”.[2] Catalog proof: All Employee Pricing requires a licence for every employee; Unlicensed employees: buy, switch to Flexible, or face termination.
Audit
“Zoho reserves the right to audit the latest statement filed with an appropriate Government authority that discloses the total number of employees in your organization.” Zoho or an independent firm runs the audit at the customer’s facilities, during business hours, “by providing at least fifteen (15) days prior written notice”. The customer must promptly correct any material non-conformance.[1] The audit tests headcount, not system usage. The evidence to keep is the filing used at subscription and the licence additions made for each new joiner. Catalog proof: Zoho One certification and audit with 15 days notice.
Flexible User Pricing and scope
Flexible User Pricing has no headcount test. “There is no minimum amount of licenses for either plan”, and even a one-person business can use the All-Employee plan.[2] The FAQ uses Flexible User Pricing for partial-organization cases. A franchisee “can use the Flexible User Pricing option”. An independently run division of one registered entity can license Zoho One for that division alone on Flexible User Pricing.[2] A Flexible customer may also license Zoho One for some employees and “license additional Zoho apps separately” for others.[2] Catalog proof: Zoho One has no minimum licence count; Divisions and franchises use Flexible User Pricing.
Changing quantities
Org Owners and Org Admins change quantities on the Manage Subscription page. The page has a Manage Employees path for All Employee Pricing and a Manage Users path for Flexible User Pricing. The new quantity must be “greater than or equal to the number of active users in the organization”, and departed users should be deactivated before licences are reduced.[6] Offline purchases are changed through Zoho Sales.[6] Catalog proof: Licence count cannot fall below active users.
Usage allowances
The Terms of Use require usage “within the usage limits prescribed by Zoho”. Zoho “may restrict an activity if you reach the usage limit”.[1] The FAQ and Plan Details give the limits, many of them per employee licence:
| Application | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Zoho Analytics | 5 million rows per org and 100k per employee[4] |
| Zoho Campaigns | 5,000 contacts per employee[4] |
| Zoho Creator | 250,000 records and 5 GB storage per employee, among other limits[4] |
| Zoho CRM | Storage of 1 GB per organization plus 1 GB per employee[4] |
| Zoho Flow | 50 flows per org; 3,000 tasks per org per month plus 1,000 per employee[4] |
| Zoho SalesIQ | 5,000 tracked visitors per employee per month or 200,000, whichever is lower[4] |
| Zoho Connect | 5 external users per employee license[5] |
Catalog proof: Zoho One app limits scale per employee licence; Zoho Connect allows 5 external users per employee licence.
Virtualization & partitioning
Zoho One is hosted by Zoho, so there is no host or processor counting. Zoho One data is stored “in Zoho-owned servers in the United States, Europe, or Asia” depending on the customer’s location.[4] Zoho Payroll is part of Zoho One only in India, Canada, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the USA.[4]
Cloud / BYOL
Customers cannot bring existing Zoho application licences into Zoho One. Customers moving from separate Zoho apps “automatically receive a prorated price” and consolidated billing, but only if they first start a Zoho One trial, add their current applications and then upgrade.[2] Zoho Mail can run inside Zoho One or as a standalone or bundled application, but “It is not possible to do both on the same domain”.[4] A multinational must “pay in the currency for the country in which you create your account”.[2] Catalog proof: Zoho Mail cannot run in Zoho One and standalone on one domain; One currency per Zoho One account.
Programs
- All Employee Pricing and Flexible User Pricing, each billed monthly or yearly. “Our best price is available as an annual subscription, but we offer monthly subscriptions as well.”[2]
- Discounts. The FAQ states that Zoho One has no non-profit or education discount, and the price is the same whether bought directly or through partners.[2]
- Support add-ons. Enterprise and Premium support are available as add-ons.[2]
- Signed agreements. If a customer’s legal department must sign, Zoho Sales sends an agreement, and access is enabled once it is signed.[2] Some apps, such as Campaigns, Sites and Mail, require extra application-specific agreements.[2]
Out of scope
This article does not record Zoho One prices, which are shown per region and currency. It does not cover Zoho Marketplace extension licences or Backstage event add-ons, beyond noting that Zoho One includes Backstage’s Free plan with one complimentary Premium event add-on.[2]