Twenty
Twenty 2.52 lets apps run their own account-connection flows and adds inbox sharing.
Comparison · CRM
Act vs Thryv
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Act and Thryv — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Act vs Thryv: 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 Thryv?
Thryv's feed is a marketing blog; the product news hides between the SEO posts.
Thryv publishes several posts a week and nearly all of them are search-optimized guides aimed at small-business owners: local search, AI search, HVAC SEO, holiday slogans. Genuine product announcements surface roughly once a week and are easy to miss in the stream. The most recent is Projected ROI, which estimates what a business's marketing leads could be worth.
Act vs Thryv: 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.
Thryv
6.3CRM
Thryv's feed is a marketing blog; the product news hides between the SEO posts.
◆ Current state
Thryv publishes several posts a week and nearly all of them are search-optimized guides aimed at small-business owners: local search, AI search, HVAC SEO, holiday slogans. Genuine product announcements surface roughly once a week and are easy to miss in the stream. The most recent is Projected ROI, which estimates what a business's marketing leads could be worth.
◆ Where it's heading
The company is positioning around AI search as the thing small businesses need help being found in, and the product work follows the same line: AI lead scoring, projected ROI, and the done-for-you Boosts services. Thryv is selling interpretation of marketing data rather than more places to publish it. The content cadence is a demand-generation engine and says more about the sales motion than the roadmap.
◆ Prediction
Expect more AI-branded analytics layered onto lead data the platform already holds -- scoring, attribution, value estimates -- announced in this same blog stream. The entries show no movement on pricing or packaging.
Alternatives to Act and Thryv
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 Thryv.
Twenty
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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.
GroupOffice
GroupOffice patches its current 26.0 line and the older 25.0 line on the same afternoon.
Close CRM
Close takes Chloe Chat out of beta for every customer, a month after OIDC SSO.
Recent activity from Act and Thryv
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2mo agoThryvAI Search Optimization for Local Business: 5 Ways to Get Found in AI Search
- 2mo agoThryvAI Marketing Tools for Small Businesses: What’s Worth It in 2026
- 2mo agoThryv25 Labor Day Marketing Slogans and Ideas for Small Businesses
- 2mo agoThryvWhat Is Local Search? A Guide for Small Businesses
- 2mo agoThryvThryv’s Projected ROI Helps Show What Your Marketing Investment Could Be Worth
- 2mo agoThryvSEO for HVAC Contractors: How to Show Up Before Your Competitors
- 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 Thryv?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Act and Thryv are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Act better than Thryv?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Act and Thryv are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). 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 Thryv?
Top Thryv alternatives in CRM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Thryv alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/thryv for the full list with editorial commentary on each.