Twenty
Twenty 2.52 lets apps run their own account-connection flows and adds inbox sharing.
Comparison · CRM
Act vs GroupOffice
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Act and GroupOffice — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:crm
Act vs GroupOffice: at a glance
What is Act?
Act! pivots from CRM-only to payment processor while modernizing its Cloud UX.
Act! is in the middle of a methodical Cloud modernization, rebuilding list views, navigation, and notifications to match the consistency users expect from modern CRMs. Alongside that polish work, Act! has just shipped Act! Payments via Propelr — turning the CRM into a place where credit card transactions close, not just leads. The product is still recognizably a small-business CRM, but its surface area is widening.
What is GroupOffice?
GroupOffice patches its current 26.0 line and the older 25.0 line on the same afternoon.
GroupOffice releases 26.0.x builds about weekly and lately faster: 26.0.52 through 26.0.56 landed between October 12 and October 26. On October 26 the 25.0 line also got a patch, 25.0.114, less than half an hour before 26.0.56. Every note is the same install boilerplate, so the changelog shows cadence but not content.
Act vs GroupOffice: editorial side-by-side
Act
6.3CRM
Act! pivots from CRM-only to payment processor while modernizing its Cloud UX.
◆ Current state
Act! is in the middle of a methodical Cloud modernization, rebuilding list views, navigation, and notifications to match the consistency users expect from modern CRMs. Alongside that polish work, Act! has just shipped Act! Payments via Propelr — turning the CRM into a place where credit card transactions close, not just leads. The product is still recognizably a small-business CRM, but its surface area is widening.
◆ Where it's heading
The release cadence shows two parallel tracks: weekly UX rationalization (notification center, list parity, faster task editing) and category expansion through embedded financial services. Act! is following the same playbook HubSpot and Pipedrive have run — keep the legacy users happy with quality-of-life work while quietly bolting on revenue-bearing features that compete with Stripe-adjacent SMB tools. Payments is the most directional move in years.
◆ Prediction
Expect deeper payments integration next — recurring billing tied to opportunities, dunning workflows from the contact record, and likely a payments-driven pricing tier that monetizes transaction volume rather than seats.
GroupOffice
5.0CRM
GroupOffice patches its current 26.0 line and the older 25.0 line on the same afternoon.
◆ Current state
GroupOffice releases 26.0.x builds about weekly and lately faster: 26.0.52 through 26.0.56 landed between October 12 and October 26. On October 26 the 25.0 line also got a patch, 25.0.114, less than half an hour before 26.0.56. Every note is the same install boilerplate, so the changelog shows cadence but not content.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a mature groupware suite maintaining its current major line while 25.0 and 6.8 stay supported. Paired builds across branches suggest fixes are backported rather than left to the current line, but nothing in the entries points to new capability or a change in direction.
◆ Prediction
Expect more 26.0.x builds within days and occasional 25.0 or 6.8 patches alongside them. The entries give no basis for a feature forecast.
Alternatives to Act and GroupOffice
Other CRM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Act or GroupOffice.
Twenty
Twenty 2.53 lets apps lock field permission actions, a day after role-aware relation pickers.
IntegCRM
IntegCRM keeps building out invoicing, bookings, forms and email for service businesses.
Folk
folk ships a French interface weeks after moving its data storage to Europe.
Close CRM
Close takes Chloe Chat out of beta for every customer, a month after OIDC SSO.
Corteza
Corteza 2026.9.0 goes final after a week of single-fix candidates.
See all Act alternatives → · See all GroupOffice alternatives →
Recent activity from Act and GroupOffice
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3d agoGroupOfficeGroupOffice 26.0.56 maintenance build
- 3d agoGroupOfficeGroupOffice 25.0.114 previous-line maintenance build
- 9d agoGroupOfficeGroupOffice 26.0.55 maintenance build
- 14d agoGroupOfficeGroupOffice 26.0.54 maintenance build
- 16d agoGroupOfficeGroupOffice 26.0.53 maintenance build
- 17d agoGroupOfficev26.0.52
- 6mo agoActAccept Payments with Act! Advantage ⚡
- 6mo agoActAccept Payments with Act! Advantage
- 6mo agoActNotification Center and List Experience Enhancements
- 6mo agoActNotification Center and List Experience Enhancements Date of Release 02/27/26 This update enhances usability across Act!
- 6mo agoActNotification Center and Added Email Campaign Support
- 6mo agoActNotification Center and Email Campaign Support
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Act and GroupOffice?
Both compete on the same themes — crm — within CRM. Act is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Act better than GroupOffice?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Act is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other CRM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Act?
Top Act alternatives in CRM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Act alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/act for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to GroupOffice?
Top GroupOffice alternatives in CRM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "GroupOffice alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/groupoffice for the full list with editorial commentary on each.