Salesforce vs Zoho: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Salesforce reported $41.5B of revenue in FY2026 and $7.5B of net income. Zoho reported ~$1.4B of revenue in FY2025 and ~$370.2M of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Salesforce
- Latest revenue
- $41.5B (FY2026)
- Net income
- $7.5B
- Net margin
- 18.0%
- Revenue growth
- +19.4% a year, FY2017–FY2026
Zoho
- Latest revenue
- ~$1.4B (FY2025)
- Net income
- ~$370.2M
- Net margin
- 25.9%
- Revenue growth
- +18.9% a year, FY2023–FY2025
Financial summary
Salesforce
Salesforce grew revenue from $8.4 billion in fiscal 2017 to $41.5 billion in fiscal 2026, helped by acquisitions such as MuleSoft, Tableau and Slack. After activist investors including Elliott and Starboard took stakes in early 2023, the company cut about 10% of staff, disbanded its board M&A committee and shifted to margins and capital returns. Fiscal 2026 brought $7.46 billion of GAAP net income, $14.4 billion of free cash flow and $14.3 billion returned to shareholders. In Q2 fiscal 2027 (ended July 31, 2026) revenue rose 11% to $11.345 billion, and full-year guidance was raised to $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion.
Zoho
Zoho files its accounts with India's Registrar of Companies. Revenue from operations rose from ~$1.01 billion (₹8,703.6 crore) in FY23 to ~$1.21 billion (₹10,456 crore) in FY24 and ~$1.43 billion (₹12,313 crore) in FY25 (fiscal years end 31 March). Net profit was ~$329 million (₹2,836 crore) in FY23, ~$383 million (₹3,299 crore) in FY24 and ~$370 million (₹3,191 crore) in FY25. The company does not publish quarterly results. Hurun's 2024 India 500 list valued Zoho at about $12 billion (₹1,03,760 crore), ranking it among India's most valuable unlisted companies; this is an outside estimate, not a transaction price.
Revenue and profit by year
Salesforce
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $41.5B | $7.5B | 18.0% | +9.6% | Source |
| FY2025 | $37.9B | $6.2B | 16.4% | +8.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $34.9B | $4.1B | 11.9% | +11.2% | Source |
| FY2023 | $31.4B | $208M | 0.7% | +18.3% | Source |
| FY2022 | $26.5B | $1.4B | 5.5% | +24.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $21.3B | $4.1B | 19.2% | +24.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $17.1B | $126M | 0.7% | +28.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | $13.3B | $1.1B | 8.4% | +26.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $10.5B | $360M | 3.4% | +25.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $8.4B | $323M | 3.8% | — | Source |
Zoho
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$1.4B | ~$370.2M | 25.9% | +17.8% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$1.2B | ~$382.7M | 31.6% | +20.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$1B | ~$329M | 32.6% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Salesforce
- Sales cloud subscriptions
- Service cloud subscriptions
- Platform and data subscriptions
- Marketing and commerce subscriptions
- Analytics and integration products
- Professional services
Zoho
- Zoho suite57
Cloud business applications including Zoho One, CRM, finance, Workplace, HR and support tools; ~$818 million (₹7,051 crore) in FY25.
- ManageEngine39
IT management and security software for IT departments; ~$564 million (₹4,863 crore) in FY25.
- Services3
Sale of services; ~$46.3 million (₹399 crore) in FY25.
Business model and strategy
Salesforce
How it makes money
Salesforce sells multi-year software subscriptions, mostly priced per user per month, plus consumption pricing for Data 360 and Agentforce. In fiscal 2026 (ended January 31, 2026), subscription and support revenue was $39.39 billion, about 95% of the $41.53 billion total; professional services added $2.14 billion.
Growth strategy
Salesforce is pushing three levers: Agentforce AI agents priced on consumption or flex credits, Data 360 (formerly Data Cloud) to unify customer data, and the Informatica acquisition, closed in November 2025, to add data management and governance. It also cross-sells Slack as the interface for agents and keeps buying back stock under a $50 billion authorization announced in February 2026.
Competitive advantage
Salesforce's advantage is switching cost. Large customers build years of custom objects, workflows, integrations and AppExchange apps on the platform and train administrators on it, so replacing it means re-implementing core sales and service processes. Owning Slack, MuleSoft, Tableau and Informatica also lets Salesforce sell data, integration and collaboration around the CRM record.
Zoho
How it makes money
Zoho sells software subscriptions and licences directly to businesses of all sizes. In FY25 the Zoho suite, which covers CRM, finance, collaboration, HR, support and the Zoho One bundle, brought in ~$818 million (₹7,051 crore), or 57% of revenue. ManageEngine, which sells IT service management, endpoint, identity and network monitoring tools to IT teams, brought in ~$564 million (₹4,863 crore) (39%).
Growth strategy
Zoho grows mainly through organic product development. It adds new applications to its suite, sells upgrades to Zoho One, expands ManageEngine's cloud offerings, and opens local data centres to meet data residency rules in markets such as the UAE. It also invests in hiring and training outside large cities, including offices in rural Tamil Nadu.
Competitive advantage
Zoho's main advantages are its ownership structure and its integrated product line. With no outside investors, management can fund long R&D projects from operating cash flow. Its applications share a common platform and identity layer, which lets Zoho sell them together through Zoho One at a lower combined price than a stack of separate vendors.
Questions about Salesforce vs Zoho
Which company has higher revenue — Salesforce, Inc. or Zoho?
Salesforce, Inc. reported $41.5B (FY2026), while Zoho reported ~$1.4B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Salesforce, Inc. is the larger business, with Zoho reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Salesforce, Inc. vs Zoho?
Salesforce, Inc. has a market capitalisation of $185.4B. A public market cap figure for Zoho was not available (it may be privately held).
Which is more financially efficient — Salesforce, Inc. or Zoho?
Salesforce, Inc. generates $498k / employee in revenue per employee, while Zoho generates $75k / employee. Salesforce, Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Salesforce, Inc. and Zoho make money?
Salesforce, Inc. and Zoho generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Salesforce, Inc.: Salesforce sells multi-year software subscriptions, mostly priced per user per month, plus consumption pricing for Data 360 and Agentforce. Zoho: Zoho sells software subscriptions and licences directly to businesses of all sizes.
Is Salesforce, Inc. bigger than Zoho?
By last reported revenue, Salesforce, Inc. ($41.5B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Zoho (~$1.4B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Salesforce vs Zoho overview