Zoho Creator is Zoho’s low-code platform for building business apps: forms, a database, workflows written in Deluge, reports, mobile apps and customer portals. It is sold per user, in four published plans plus a custom Flex plan. Most pricing pages online stop at the per-user figure. The limits underneath it are what make an app run smoothly or hit a wall in its second month.
Every plan and limit below was checked on Zoho’s own Creator pricing page, its plan comparison and its help pages on 2 November 2026. We do not quote prices, because they vary by country and change; use the official page for current figures. We build on Creator, so read this with that in mind.
The short answer
- Free gives you one app and 5,000 records, enough to learn the platform or run a very small tool.
- Standard is for a single app for a team: one app, 25,000 records per user and 100 external calls per user per day.
- Professional is where most business apps land: unlimited apps, 100,000 records per user and 250 external calls per user per day. Zoho’s trial uses this plan by default.
- Enterprise adds headroom (250,000 records and 500 external calls per user per day) and includes SAML single sign-on and a custom domain, which are add-ons on the lower plans.
- Flex is a custom plan: you choose features and limits and Zoho prices them.
Zoho Creator plans at a glance
| Limit | Free | Standard | Professional | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | 1 | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Records | 5,000 | 25,000 per user | 100,000 per user | 250,000 per user |
| Storage | 250 MB | 1 GB per user | 3 GB per user | 5 GB per user |
| Deluge execution statements | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 50,000 |
| External calls, incl. webhooks | None | 100 per user per day | 250 per user per day | 500 per user per day |
| Cloud function calls | None | 50 per user per day, up to 5,000 | 100 per user per day, up to 10,000 | 200 per user per day, up to 20,000 |
| Custom schedules | None | 90 per user per month | 300 per user per month | 600 per user per month |
| Data sources and custom connectors | None | 5 and 5 | 15 and 10 | 30 and 20 |
| AI calls per month | None | 200 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Developer environments and audit trail | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SAML SSO and custom domain | No | Add-on | Add-on | Included |
Paid plans can be billed monthly or yearly. Zoho’s support plans and portal users are priced separately, as explained below.
Who counts as a user
Creator is licensed per person inside your organisation. Zoho’s FAQ defines an end user as an individual who has access to a Zoho Creator workspace, which can be anyone in the organisation, and you add users by buying licences. Its help page puts the sizing question simply: count how many unique people in your organisation will use the apps you build.
Two consequences are easy to miss:
- Occasional internal users still need a licence. A supervisor who approves one request a week counts the same as a full-time operator. If many people only submit a form, consider whether a portal or a public form fits better.
- Several limits grow with your licence count. Records, storage, external calls, cloud function calls and schedules are all quoted per user, so a 20-user Professional account has a much larger pool than a 3-user one.
The limits that decide the plan
Features rarely force an upgrade. Limits do. These are the four we check first when sizing an app.
Records and storage
Every form entry is a record. An app that logs each production job, each inspection or each delivery creates thousands of records a month, and line items in subforms add more. Estimate a year of records, add the history you will import, and compare it with the plan’s per-user allowance multiplied by your user count. On a downgrade, Zoho says you keep your data but cannot add new records once you exceed the lower plan’s limit.
External calls and cloud functions
Each time Deluge calls another system, for example with invokeurl or a webhook, it uses an external call from a daily allowance. An app that syncs every new order to an accounting system, checks stock elsewhere and sends a WhatsApp message can use three calls per order. Multiply by your busiest day, not your average. Cloud function calls have their own daily allowance, with a cap per account on each plan.
Deluge statements
Each script run has a statement limit: 10,000 on Standard, 20,000 on Professional and 50,000 on Enterprise. A loop over a large report can hit it. Most apps never do, but if you plan bulk updates or heavy calculations, design them to run in batches or as scheduled jobs.
Apps
Standard allows one app. Many businesses start with one and then want a second for, say, maintenance or purchase requests. If you can already see a second app coming, Professional avoids moving plans later.
A sizing example
Take a hypothetical manufacturer with 20 staff who will use a Creator app for job tracking and quality checks, linked to its accounting system.
| Question | Estimate | What it points to |
|---|---|---|
| How many apps? | Two: jobs and quality, then maintenance next year | Professional or above |
| Records in year one | About 60,000 including subform rows | Fits Standard (500,000 for 20 users), so not the deciding factor |
| External calls on a busy day | 300 orders x 3 calls = 900 | Standard allows 2,000 for 20 users; Professional allows 5,000 |
| Single sign-on | Required by IT | Add-on on Professional, included on Enterprise |
In this example, the second app decides Professional, and single sign-on decides whether to add SSO to Professional or move to Enterprise. Price both on the official page. The numbers are illustrative; run the same table with your own volumes.
Portal users: people outside your company
Customers, dealers, suppliers and contractors do not need internal licences. Creator’s customer portal lets them sign up and use the parts of your app you allow. Paid plans include up to three portal users free, and more are bought as an add-on in tiers from 250 to 100,000 portal users, with larger volumes quoted. The number of portal permission sets per app also rises with the plan: 10 on Standard, 50 on Professional and 250 on Enterprise.
This is often the biggest difference between Creator and other platforms. A dealer portal for 500 distributors is a portal add-on, not 500 user licences. Our comparisons of Creator vs Power Apps and Creator vs Quickbase show how the alternatives charge for external users.
Add-ons and support plans
Beyond portal users, the comparison page lists these add-ons and related products:
- SAML single sign-on and a custom domain on Standard and Professional (both included on Enterprise), and rebranded mobile apps.
- Zoho Flow tasks for no-code integrations, sold in packs from 10,000 to 5,000,000 tasks, and Zoho Analytics rows for reporting, from 0.25 million to 10 million rows. Our Zoho Flow vs Deluge guide explains when each is worth paying for.
- Support plans. Classic support is free on paid editions, with a first response within 10 hours and live chat and phone on weekdays. Premium and Enterprise support cost extra, priced as a share of the licence fee, with faster responses (3 hours and 1 hour). Enterprise support needs at least 50 users on an annual subscription.
Trial, Free plan and changing plans
Zoho offers a 15-day trial with no credit card. By default the trial is of the Professional plan, and when it ends your account moves to the Free plan rather than being deleted. You can upgrade at any point to keep paid features.
Zoho’s help says you will not lose data if you downgrade, but you cannot add data beyond the lower plan’s limits and you lose access to features only available in higher editions. Test that before you downgrade an app that uses developer environments, single sign-on or portals.
Creator inside Zoho One
Zoho One, the bundle of Zoho apps, includes Zoho Creator. Its FAQ lists Creator limits per employee: 250,000 records, 5 GB of storage and 500 emails a day, with further caps on schedules, external calls and API use. If you already pay for Zoho One, check those limits before buying a separate Creator subscription; for many apps you will not need one. Our Zoho One implementation checklist covers how Zoho One is licensed.
AI and MCP
The plan comparison includes AI calls per month (200 on Standard, 1,000 on Professional and Enterprise) and limits on custom and ready-made AI models. Separately, Zoho says Creator apps on paid plans can now be connected to AI assistants such as Claude through Zoho MCP, so an assistant can query app data and create or update records with the permissions you set. Zoho states that Zoho MCP is currently available at no additional cost, though the AI tool itself needs its own paid subscription. Our Zoho MCP guide explains the setup and which actions to allow.
How to choose a plan
- Count unique internal users, and separately the external people who could use a portal.
- Estimate a year of records, including subform rows and imported history.
- Count external calls on your busiest day, per integration.
- List must-haves that are plan-gated: a second app, single sign-on, custom domain, more permission sets.
- Check whether Zoho One already covers you.
- Use the 15-day trial to build one real workflow and watch its usage.
If you want help scoping the app before choosing a plan, our Zoho Creator development page explains how we work, and our project calculator gives a first estimate of the build.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Does Zoho Creator have a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan allows one app and 5,000 records, with 250 MB of storage. Zoho's 15-day trial uses the Professional plan by default, and when it ends the account moves to the Free plan.
Is Zoho Creator priced per user?
Yes. Paid plans are licensed per user, billed monthly or yearly, and Zoho defines a user as an individual who has access to your Creator workspace. People outside your company, such as customers or dealers, can use a customer portal instead, which is priced as a separate add-on.
What is the record limit in Zoho Creator?
Zoho's plan comparison lists 5,000 records on Free, then 25,000 records per user on Standard, 100,000 per user on Professional and 250,000 per user on Enterprise. Storage is 250 MB on Free and 1, 3 or 5 GB per user on the paid plans.
How many portal users does Zoho Creator include?
Paid plans include up to three portal users free. More are bought as an add-on in tiers from 250 to 100,000 portal users, with larger volumes quoted by Zoho.
What is the Zoho Creator Flex plan?
Flex is a custom plan. Zoho says you pick the features and limits you need and it prices them accordingly. It is arranged by contacting Zoho rather than bought online.
Is Zoho Creator included in Zoho One?
Yes. Zoho One includes Zoho Creator, with limits stated per employee in the Zoho One FAQ, including 250,000 records, 5 GB of storage and 500 emails a day.
