Twenty
Twenty 2.52 lets apps run their own account-connection flows and adds inbox sharing.
Comparison · CRM
Act vs Corteza
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Act and Corteza — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Act vs Corteza: 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 Corteza?
Corteza 2026.9.0 goes final after a week of single-fix candidates.
Corteza shipped 2026.9.0 on October 19, closing a run of release candidates that each fixed one edge: MySQL 8 cast checks in rc.4, deny rules in permission reports in rc.5 and MySQL-compatible reminder timestamps in rc.6. The release entry only links to the 2026.9 changelog. Before this, the feed was a slow patch train on the 2024.9 line, ending at 2024.9.10 in late August.
Act vs Corteza: 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.
Corteza
5.0CRM
Corteza 2026.9.0 goes final after a week of single-fix candidates.
◆ Current state
Corteza shipped 2026.9.0 on October 19, closing a run of release candidates that each fixed one edge: MySQL 8 cast checks in rc.4, deny rules in permission reports in rc.5 and MySQL-compatible reminder timestamps in rc.6. The release entry only links to the 2026.9 changelog. Before this, the feed was a slow patch train on the 2024.9 line, ending at 2024.9.10 in late August.
◆ Where it's heading
The jump from 2024.9 to 2026.9 opens a new major line after two years on the old one. Two of the final three fixes targeted MySQL, which suggests the release was validated across database backends. What the new line adds for users still isn't visible in the feed.
◆ Prediction
Expect 2026.9.x patch releases to follow the same pattern as 2024.9, with occasional fixes over months. Whether 2024.9 keeps receiving patches is unclear from the entries.
Alternatives to Act and Corteza
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 Corteza.
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.
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 Corteza
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 10d agoCortezaCorteza 2026.9.0 released, opening a new major line
- 13d agoCortezaCorteza 2026.9 rc.6 fixes MySQL reminder timestamps
- 14d agoCortezaCorteza 2026.9 rc.5 fixes deny rules in permission reports
- 15d agoCortezaCorteza 2026.9 rc.4 fixes MySQL 8 cast checks
- 2mo agoCortezaCorteza 2024.9.10 cuts workflow session memory use
- 2mo agoCortezaRC4: skip workflow scope snapshots for uninspected steps
- 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 Corteza?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. 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 Corteza?
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 Corteza?
Top Corteza alternatives in CRM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Corteza alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/corteza for the full list with editorial commentary on each.