Zoho Creator Reviews

Regarding the usual use cases for Zoho Creator that I work with, I'm currently in Kenya and Zoho doesn't have a payroll system for our country, so we develop the payroll system or the payroll application in Zoho Creator. The other common use case involves manufacturing systems, and I have completed three of them. Zoho didn't have an out-of-the-box solution to cater for manufacturers and those in construction, so we developed custom solutions in the manufacturing and construction industry for our clients.

In one of their latest updates, there is a feature of being able to pull rows from a subform, which was something we were facing a challenge with, but it has been quite helpful since they enabled it.

The dynamic form builder of Zoho Creator helps capture essential data efficiently because clients vary from industry to industry, and the type of inputs they require usually varies. With the dynamic field that Zoho Form Builder provides, we are able to cater to those needs across various industries.

The AI feature in Zoho Creator is interesting, and while I haven't worked with it enough, from the few demos I've seen during Zoho events, I believe it's the future; therefore, focusing on AI capabilities could be an improvement.

I have been working with Zoho Creator for about three years now.

The initial setup and deployment is usually straightforward, and I actually love how easy it is to deploy their system, which is usually instant with no challenges.

In terms of stability and reliability, Zoho Creator is reliable, although we have experienced some downtime, mostly due to internet issues, such as when the main provider in Kenya faced lags. Zoho usually notifies us of scheduled maintenance in advance, so while we have had some downtime, it's not a significant issue.

The scalability of Zoho Creator is excellent, and adding additional users is straightforward. We have a client for whom we developed a payroll system, and though we initially thought it was just for the internal staff, we later realized they wanted to add casual laborers. Accommodating them was easy once we figured out the license issue, and it didn't affect performance.

I communicate with the technical support and customer service of Zoho Creator regularly. In-app support is satisfactory, but my major challenge is usually via email because they take long to reply. Chat is usually fast, but when they suggest reverting to email, I often feel I have to figure it out on my own.

Based on my experience with the technical support, I would rate them a 7.5. If they can improve their response time via email, I'd give them a 9, so I think an 8 is fair.

My usual process of the initial setup and deployment of Zoho Creator begins with a client requirements meeting to gather the requirements. We then develop a blueprint process highlighting what we need to do, which includes the workflows we'll configure, blueprints to add into the system, the different functions, and the kind of data pushed from one module to another.

The client goes through the blueprint, signs it, and then we begin the implementation process by developing modules and fields, integrating those modules by adding lookup fields, creating workflows, writing functions, conducting testing, doing a demo for the client, implementing any changes they recommend, doing training, and finally deploying the system to a live environment.

The integration capabilities of Zoho Creator are primarily done with the CRM and Zoho Books for cases such as payroll systems, where integration with finance provides a holistic view. For Zoho CRM, after nurturing all customers, you can push them to your bespoke system in Zoho Creator, making integration seamless within the Zoho ecosystem with no flaws.

Regarding Zoho Creator's Deluge scripting language, I find it simple to understand. Before I got into Zoho, I had never interacted with it, but after completing two or three tutorials, I understood it because the documentation is quite clear and easy to understand with comprehensive examples.

I've utilized Zoho Creator's analytics tools, specifically in terms of dashboards. When developing an application, management is usually interested in the dashboards, which have been able to cater to their requirements.

Concerning Zoho Creator's security features, they are perfect, although the out-of-the-box options are somewhat limiting, so I usually go with functions to define the roles and access levels with a simple script.

The pricing and licensing of Zoho Creator varies from country to country. In Kenya, the lowest plan is about 700 shillings, which is roughly five to seven dollars. The highest tier is around 2,000 Kenyan shillings or roughly $20, which is manageable for enterprise customers or SMEs, especially since they handle the hosting.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Zoho Creator a 9.

Our organization has multiple stores in mall shopping complexes, with a total of 26 stores in India. All of the billing systems operate under the Zoho Creator application which I created for them, with one separate application for each store, making it very helpful and cost-effective because we are under a Zoho One subscription plan that allows us to create unlimited solutions and applications within Zoho Creator.

Our organization has been able to streamline operations across multiple stores in mall shopping complexes, with a total of 26 stores in India. The billing system operates under the Zoho Creator application which I created for them, with one separate application for each store, making it very helpful and cost-effective because we are under a Zoho One subscription plan that allows us to create unlimited solutions and applications within Zoho Creator.

I find that working with the open APIs of Zoho Creator is very easy compared to other platforms, allowing for easy data pushing and passing from one party to third-party applications, with provisions to create such APIs within Zoho Creator, enabling us to customize and tailor the applications according to our business needs.

We have utilized Zoho Creator's dynamic form builder, specifically the AI assistant named Zia, which is a form building tool that provides predefined templates. If we want to create tailored forms according to our business needs, we can speak to the AI agent, which will create the form for us.

The dynamic form builder helps capture essential data efficiently because of its real-time syncing capability with Zoho's suite of applications, such as Zoho CRM and Zoho Books, allowing data to be automatically captured based on user input during form creation and submission, with the real-time sync being very fast and efficient.

The integration capability of Zoho Creator enhances our organization's cross-platform functionality because it is purely custom built and uses Deluge as a programming language, allowing us to customize the application in any way we want and integrate it with any third-party applications if the third-party APIs are available.

Deluge, being the scripting language in Zoho, is an object-oriented programming language that is easy to learn compared to other languages, allowing beginners to perform many actions with a simple syntax, such as automatically generating associated code when typing.

I want to see improvements in Zoho Creator focusing on AI capabilities because there currently seems to be very little AI usage in Zoho compared to the advancements in other software.

I have been working with Zoho for the last two years and have one year of hands-on experience with Zoho Creator.

The scalability of Zoho Creator is very important to me because it allows me to customize applications according to our business needs in any way I want.

My experience with technical support has been very good. I would rate technical support as a nine on a scale of 1 to 10.

Positive

I have seen a return on investment with Zoho Creator because we eliminated a point of sale software that was charging us 5 lakhs per year across all 26 malls, replacing it with a custom-built POS software in Zoho Creator, which handles all reporting, dashboarding, billing systems, and printer settings.

The initial setup and deployment of Zoho Creator have not presented any challenges as long as you know how to write scripts properly in Deluge, which is case-sensitive. If you script proficiently, it runs smoothly; I haven't faced any challenges and have had good support from Zoho.

I have seen a return on investment with Zoho Creator because we eliminated a point of sale software that was charging us 5 lakhs per year across all 26 malls, replacing it with a custom-built POS software in Zoho Creator, which handles all reporting, dashboarding, billing systems, and printer settings.

Currently, I am working with version five of Zoho Creator, but both version five and version seven are available, and it varies according to the user's plan.

I have utilized Creator's analytic tools, which are similar to Power BI, as a Zoho Analytics tool used for reporting and dashboarding, including ledgers and other data visualizations.

With the help of Zoho Analytics, I can easily create customized dashboards for admins, including graphs, pie charts, bar graphs, and Kanban views, fetching reports in the formats we need, provided the data is clean and organized.

Zoho Creator's security features, including role-based access controls, are very important to me because it is a cloud-based platform with well-integrated security and no issues with data integrity.

Zoho has its own cloud provider for deployment, and there are no issues with it since Zoho manages it.

In terms of pricing, I suggest not purchasing Zoho Creator as a separate application but opting for a Zoho One plan, which includes around 45 to 55 applications in the Zoho suite, instead of only the Creator for about 800 or 700 rupees under the enterprise plan.

I would rate Zoho Creator as a nine out of 10.

I have created multiple custom applications in Zoho Creator, with a standout being an inventory management system, and recently, I was working on a company internal ERP that was created inside Zoho Creator, which was a Kiosk management system, so that was an ERP kind of system created inside Zoho Creator.

In Zoho Creator, I find the ability to work with CSS and put some HTML in pages to create custom reports to be the most valuable and useful features, along with the publish feature and the portal feature, which are really good. I would say it is great as long as you are only working within Zoho Creator.

I have used Zoho Creator's dynamic form builder, which is really good and consists of a form builder that has a lot more fields than any other Zoho applications, allowing us to put some custom CSS there using notes and documents fields.

Zoho Creator helps capture essential data efficiently as it has more fields, such as AI fields, and allows placing URLs inside our image field, which is really good because if we only have a URL for an image on the internet, we can just put it there and Zoho Creator will pick it up. We can also hide and show fields based on user selection or detection of which permissions they have.

I find Deluge scripting language in Zoho Creator to be very easy and impactful for application customization options and workflow automation, as even a person with no coding experience can easily learn it. However, it has limitations such as functions that do not execute for more than five minutes and does not support data more than 5 MB.

I have utilized Zoho Creator's analytics tools, which are really good for managing many things. While I am talking about Zoho Analytics, where you have to build DB relationships, I feel there are data redundancy issues. However, you can do some custom things inside Zoho Creator as well based on using Deluge, so I would say its analytics is good but not as good as Zoho Analytics.

Regarding the security features of Zoho Creator, I find it really good with its permission structure based on roles and permissions, allowing us to design our own permission structures on top of what we have at the backend using hide, show, and disable fields with custom Deluge functions that exist only inside Zoho Creator.

I think there are a lot of areas in Zoho Creator that could be improved or enhanced. When writing HTML and CSS inside the pages, I have to use HTML for adding data and CSS for designing, but we have to use Deluge instead of JavaScript, which does not have the same events, so we cannot create a single line field and pick events based on that when writing HTML and CSS in the pages.

I would appreciate improvements in the ability to publish pages in Zoho Creator because if there is a widget inside a page, they will not let it publish. We can only publish HTML snippets, so if they could allow the widgets to be published as well, then that would be a lot better since there is a feature in Zoho Creator called widgets, which is used in most Zoho applications to add custom codes.

I am concerned that Zoho Creator does not have good integration capabilities, as it has a lot of API limits. While it is easy to design anything staying inside Zoho Creator with one application or multiple applications, it becomes a headache when going outside, since Zoho Creator lacks good widget API documentation and does not allow hitting an API outside of Zoho Creator.

In terms of stability and reliability, I feel it is good as long as you stay inside Zoho Creator, but it gets messier as soon as you involve other Zoho applications. Reliability follows the same trend, and it is reliable mostly when working on Zoho Creator.

I would rate the scalability of Zoho Creator around three in terms of some features, as most things are good with Zoho CRM.

I do not often communicate with Zoho Creator's technical support and customer service, as I do not think I have ever contacted Zoho Creator support.

I have not used a different solution for the same use cases before Zoho Creator. Rather, the two applications that I started with are Zoho CRM and Zoho Creator, performing functionalities on them from the start.

My experience with the initial setup of Zoho Creator involves designing forms and reports for the database, wanting to show users pages with custom HTML and CSS and Deluge. However, it sometimes takes time to design the whole database, especially with subform handling and relationships, which are not really good, and they need to enhance their API capabilities similar to Zoho CRM.

I am not really aware of the pricing and licensing of Zoho Creator, as we mostly use Zoho One, which includes the full package and most of the items of Zoho. Overall, I would rate Zoho Creator an 8.5 based on everything I just described, where 10 would be the best product and one would be the worst. Additionally, I would assign a rating of eight to Zoho Creator based on my overall experience.

We predominantly use Zoho Books and Zoho Creator. We are both customers as well as implementation partners. We implement Zoho solutions and build customized solutions for particular companies using Zoho Creator.

Zoho Creator provides a quick turnaround in terms of project closures, which is the most important benefit. Its drag-and-drop interface enhances app development. Integrations and schedulers are also used. Zoho applications are cloud-based, which makes updates automatic since it's a SaaS-based application. In terms of stability, we have had no issues. It is satisfactory and has value for money, especially if things are properly strategized to save time.

Sometimes, codes that are working fine can suddenly throw errors without any specific reason. This requires reaching out to support for resolution. In terms of scalability, there are certain limitations if the data volume is large due to execution limits.

We have been using it for six to seven years.

There are certain limitations if the data volume is large due to execution limits. In terms of scalability, we have had some hiccups.

For support, I would rate it as eight or nine.

Positive

Pricing is a little on the higher side for the Indian market, especially for mid-sized and small-sized companies with 30 to 40 users. Thus, it becomes a little price-sensitive.

We have only tried AI features on other platforms, not in Zoho Creator.

Please do not include my name in any reviews. I am running short of time, and for other products, I can only give reviews for Zoho Books and Creator since we use these extensively.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

We create custom applications in Zoho Creator for our use cases such as CRM and ERP. In Zoho Creator, we perform customization and automation including form creation, Deluge scripting, coding, and integration work.

In Zoho Creator, we can create applications from scratch and implement full automation, which is what I find best about it. According to requirements, we can create dashboards and use Zoho Analytics. We can create all functionalities in Zoho Creator.

Zoho Creator is an easy and useful tool that anyone can use. It's a low-code platform that requires minimal code. It also features a fully drag-and-drop section.

Improvement could come from the ability to implement and create custom dashboards or subforms in Zoho Creator.

We have around five years of experience with Zoho Creator. We have 3.5 years of experience in our company, and subsequently, I have been working as a freelancer.

For customer support, Zoho One provides enterprise support and standard support. Users can get support according to the plan they purchase.

Positive

The standard plan costs around 800 per month for the Zoho One application, and Zoho provides around 56 applications in the Zoho platform.

I would recommend it to other people. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Zoho Creator a nine.

I use Zoho Creator to build business applications. I have developed applications for all sorts of industries based on their requirements. Industries such as manufacturing, printing, medical, logistics, e-commerce, and gun manufacturing. I have built a number of applications based on a variety of industries.

The most important thing is Zoho Creator's functionality. Other cloud platforms cannot provide its functionality. Zoho Creator allows users to input scripts. It offers full customization. Likewise, the data and the flow are good.

When working on an application or solution, the main part is the functionality instead of the look and feel. You could customize the look and feel, but the normal public uses a higher user interface, a rich extra interface. Zoho Creator does not support that because the solution is used for its functionality based on your core businesses and core values, but they will launch that, and it is already available in CRM. Today, they are extending their feature set.

Though the pricing level is low compared to other products in the market, I suggest they allow portal users to pay for the solution based on their requirements. It is cheap, about $1.1, but it would be better to lower the number for those who just maintain the data instead of using Excel sheets because that will be much easier. Some don't have the budget for features like that cloud. This is a feature they have already provided free of cost for one user, but if someone wants ten or five users, a lower price would be better.

I have been using Zoho Creator since 2017. I have used versions 3 to 6.

I rate the stability a seven out of ten. Stability is not an issue.

Scalability is very easy. You can increase or decrease the number of users at any time. It is all very clear. My company has 150 users.

The initial setup is very easy and can be done by one person. You don't need a coding background. You can learn the coding and the syntax within two hours. You can either write a code, or you can write a workflow. You can choose your approach based on your situation.

The price is low compared to other solutions. Zoho Creator started at 800 rupees, about $10 per month. It costs $20 or $22 at most. The highest plan for Zoho costs the same as the initial plan for other platforms.

I have experience with other products such as Salesforce and SAP, but they are not affordable solutions.

If you are only paying for Zoho Creator, you will get four other applications, including a finance application. You can run an entire business within the cost of a single platform with one login, platform, and window. It could be finance, event management, marketing, an e-commerce app, inventories, etc. 

Zoho Creator is the best compared to any other platform. I would never suggest other solutions like Salesforce or SAP because the cost and the development are not affordable for everyone. They are only for enterprises. Even enterprise companies must consider that because development and deployment are also critical.

I rate Zoho Creator a ten out of ten.

We use Zoho Creator at our hotel for guest relations. Guests can request services and maintenance or order food and beverages through a simple workflow, so I don't have to start from scratch. 

Zoho Creator is a low-code platform that is easy to use and manage other resources. It stands out because of its modular platform approach. It offers an ERP system with the flexibility to create various applications like service applications, customer portals, and more. It's particularly useful if you already have an ERP system and want to extend its functionality with applications for customer portals, e-commerce, or internal processes such as HR approvals and inventory management. The platform simplifies workflow creation. 

The solution has limitations on development. It will not be suitable if you have 4000-5000 users. 

The tool's deployment is not complex. 

Zoho Creator's pricing is fine. It's subscription-based. 

I rate the overall product a five out of ten. 

We use the tool to calculate amortization.

The integration capabilities in Zoho Creator are quite good and support our existing workload. It provides open and proprietary APIs, making interfacing with other applications easier.

Zoho Creator falls short on data management, so we must connect it to other databases to handle larger datasets. However, it may still be sufficient for smaller databases.

Better templates and examples for support teams or programming could be improved. Learning the Zoho Creator language, known as "Deluge," can be challenging for native programmers, so having clear examples and training materials would benefit users.

I have been using the product for seven years. 

I rate the tool's stability an eight out of ten. 

I rate the solution's scalability a seven out of ten. If we have more data, we need to get a new database. My company has four users. We plan to increase the number of applications. Additionally, we can promote our existing applications to other companies, expanding our user base. For instance, we already have 40 users using one of our applications in another company.

Getting support for the tool is difficult. 

I have used Visual Studio before. Zoho Creator is better than the Windows platform for C# development. 

The tool's deployment is straightforward. The platform's initial setup is quick and typically completed in less than two hours. However, deploying an application can take weeks, as it involves processes such as debugging, customization, and testing before it's ready for use. It's not a ready-made application like Zoho Analytics. It involves creating a new application. 

The tool's deployment was done in-house. 

The tool's licensing costs are annual. You need to pay more if you need a bigger database. 

Zoho Creator is a simple software; I rate it an eight out of ten. 

I use Zoho Creator for multiple use cases. Primarily, in the manufacturing industry, I maintain an inventory management system. 

Another use case involves Zoho People, where I manage employee records within the HRMS application. I also create forms that bridge Zoho CRM and Zoho Creator, enabling seamless product management.

In a specific instance, I developed an application using Zoho Creator to maintain my products. This application, hosted on Zoho Creator, is managed by my product management team. They don't directly access my CRM system. They maintain their own product management system, connected to the inventory module which, in turn, interfaces with Zoho CRM. This ensures that the sales and operations teams receive up-to-date product information.

I've also implemented other features while utilizing Zoho Creator. For instance, I've created various forms, such as opportunities and inquiries forms, which are present on our website. These forms enable us to gather requirements from different prospects, even when their product preferences are uncertain.

To illustrate, I designed a form within Zoho Creator and integrated it into our website. This form facilitates quotation requests. Customers can select products from a dropdown and specify expected prices and quantities. This allows them to calculate estimated prices. Once submitted, both my sales manager and marketing team receive notifications and PDF copies.

It's quite effective. By using these forms, we've streamlined the initial contact with potential clients. Our sales team gains insight into customer expectations and pricing preferences before engaging with them.

This proactive approach ensures that our sales team is well-prepared when reaching out to prospects. It leads to a win-win situation, benefiting both our team and the potential client. This alignment guarantees that no one falls behind, fostering effective communication and understanding.

Inside the inventory and the internal connections with the Zoom application are the most valuable features. Occasionally, we encounter situations where the workflow or API faces limitations due to allocated API credits for Zoho applications. However, while using Zoho Creator, we can establish alternative interfaces to connect with Zoho applications. This enables us to run desired automation and workflows without exhausting the API limits.

I'm currently collaborating with the Zoho Creator team to address some areas for enhancement. Specifically, there are certain lags behind with formula fields and data alignment when connecting with Zoho Analytics. Let say a use case related to currency fields. For example, I utilize Zoho Creator to maintain exchange rates for deals. However, Zoho Creator provides me with certain values, and upon validation through analytics, disparities become apparent. For instance, if the exchange rate is 0.46 and multiplied by a higher quantity, say 2000, the impact on the final order value is substantial.

So, the values aren't accurately fetching in Zoho Analytics, which poses a challenge for me currently.

I've been using Zoho Creator for a few years as a creator. I am using the most recent version.

There are some issues in the stability. I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. I am looking for improvements in the data structure and data types.

I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. So some room for improvement as well for scalability.

There are over eight end users in my company using this solution. However, I collaborate with multiple organizations. For instance, I manage Zoho One App portals for six different organizations. Each organization has distinct requirements.

The initial setup and implementation are straightforward, especially if someone is familiar with handling this application.

The duration of deployment varies based on the specific system and process. For instance, if I'm implementing an inventory and product management system for my product management team, it takes approximately two and a half months.

Currently, my efforts are distributed across different platforms as I work on various tasks and aim to achieve new goals. I'm diversifying my work to implement and achieve different objectives. So,this is a distributed timeline.

This approach results in an estimated timeframe of around one and a half to two months for implementing and onboarding people on that application. Additionally, I allocate time for thorough training and onboarding of individuals.

When considering other options, the pricing is competitive and fair.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. I recommend seeking more support and guidance, particularly for specific use cases. Having a clear use case can facilitate the implementation of solutions within Zoho Creator to meet customer needs effectively.

I develop apps for other companies. So my use cases, I provide development, implementation, and support of our Creator apps along with the training to develop new creator apps for companies. I train the in-house employees so that they can create using Zoho Creator for their own operational needs.

It started off as a low-code platform. Right now, it is truly a no-code platform. You can have applications without writing even a single line of code, especially for people who don't have coding experience or coding knowledge. At the same time, it is equally powerful for someone who has good coding knowledge and still uses Zoho Creator and uses all of the available features to create a very, very complex system, which includes coding as well.

I would say that we are looking for a single portal for customers across all Zoho apps. That is something that is on the roadmap. We do that because we listen to notifications and roadmaps, including the newsletters that come our way. So right now, every single product has its own customer portal. We are looking for a single portal across all Zoho apps.

Zoho Creator has a lot of reporting capabilities. I would look to drill deep into it to ensure that those reporting capabilities are intuitive for neither a programmer nor an analyst. Because right now, what's happening, the integration with Zoho Analytics gives a very extensive base for the reports, but in Analytics, only an analyst prepares reports. So I would look into something in that area because Creator, as an application, collects data, and the data is only useful as far as the graph tools or the pivot table goes. As a non-programer can use the low-code knowledge of Creator to build an app, there should be no hassle in the method to generate reports and dashboards that gives meaning to the data.

I have been using Zoho Creator for more than twelve years. I am using Zoho Creator 6.0. My company has a partnership with Zoho.

Zoho Creator is like an open slate, so it is, like, you are the one creating the application. Other than that, it's a very stable product that is like a blank canvas.

It is a very, very scalable tool. I have built applications for five people. Just by increasing the user count, it has gone up to, like, three hundred people who are now using the same application. The roles and permissions make it very scalable. When you build a complex application, its scalability defines how complex the application is going to be, which suits a seasoned programmer, whereas, for a non-programmer, it would be more of a use and be done with kind of a thing. They can go for the no-code variation. I wouldn't call it a version. It's a variation. It's the same product that both developers are using.

I am a developer, and I have come across client requirements that will challenge the capabilities of the platform. So, we think through the brainstorming, we think through it, we come up with a solution, and we implement it. During the course of implementation, there might be situations where the core team has to step in because I don't have the permissions as a developer, but they do.

The support team is very good and very supportive. They ensure that they understand the requirements and use cases and not just the one-liners that we are trying to put forth. They try to get the overall picture and thereafter arrive at a solution rather than giving a one-point response to what we have asked.

The solution is deployed on Zoho's own private cloud.

The initial setup of the solution is very easy.

Anyone can start using the solution with less than 15 to 30 dollars a month per user. It is worth the money. For any product to prove itself, a user has to come back to it day in and day out and start using it repeatedly for at least a period of three to six months. Only then the value emerges.

Regarding maintenance, they have a free version as well as a paid version. There are a couple of slabs available. There are basic, standard, premium, and enterprise versions. Basically, the differentiator would be the number of user licenses and the number of APIs, workflows, and integrations.

Before suggesting, I would like to know the requirements, and if found to be feasible compared to other products in the market, I would definitely recommend Zoho Creator.

I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten.