Zoho is broader. Ancor is built for agency work.
For an Indian agency, Zoho Projects with Zoho Books is the honest price comparison: low cost, strong GST compliance, a huge ecosystem. The question is whether a general project tool and an accounting app, joined by a one-way sync, can see what an agency actually sells.
Last reviewed: 7 October 2026
How does Ancor compare with Zoho Projects?
Zoho Projects is low-cost general project management with Gantt charts, timesheets, budgets and deep automation, and Zoho Books is India's go-to SMB accounting with GST filing and e-invoicing. They connect through a one-way sync. Ancor is built for 10 to 100 person agencies: deliverable allowances and burn-down on retainers, priced change requests with a signature record, no-login client approvals pinned to a version, live margin, and GST invoices in the same system. Choose Zoho for breadth, statutory accounting and price; choose Ancor for agency judgement on scope, margin and clients.
A general toolkit, or one built for client work.
Low-cost generalist stack
Fits any SMB already on Zoho, from construction to IT services. Strongest on Gantt, automation, statutory GST compliance and price. Not agency-specific: no deliverable burn-down, scope-change tracking or proofing.
Agency operating system
For marketing, creative and digital agencies of 10 to 100 people. Retainer scopes by deliverable, client approvals with no login, live margin with a warning below target, and GST invoices raised from the work.
Line by line, from their own published pages.
| Capability | Zoho Projects + Books | Ancor |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Projects per user (about $4 to $14) plus Books per organisation (Rs 0 to 7,999) plus extra users | Flat price per team: Rs 9,999 up to 10 people, Rs 14,999 up to 20, Rs 19,999 up to 30 |
| Rough monthly cost, 25 people | about Rs 24,000 | Rs 19,999 (Atelier) |
| Gantt, dependencies, critical path | Yes | No; Kanban, lanes and a schedule view |
| Timesheets | Yes; approval on higher tiers | Yes, with reminders, weekly submit, approve and lock on every plan, and late-logging detection |
| Retainer allowance by deliverable, burn-down | Not found; retainer invoices in Books | Yes, with rollover and overage drafts |
| Scope change tracking | Not found | Priced change requests with a signature record |
| Client approvals and proofing | Client users as an add-on; proofing not found | No-login portal, pinned comments on images, version-pinned approvals |
| GST invoices | Yes, with GSTR filing, IRN e-invoicing and e-way bills | Yes, CGST and SGST or IGST by place of supply, from hours or milestones, with a UPI QR; no filing or IRN |
| Tally | One-way migration into Books | Export of invoices, credit notes and payments as TallyPrime XML or CSV |
| Live project margin from cost rates | Budgets and profitability reports | Yes, with an honest state when cost rates are missing |
| Data in India | Zoho has Indian data centres | Hosted in Mumbai, including the AI |
Zoho details from zoho.com and help.zoho.com, checked October 2026. Zoho Projects prices are USD list; the 25-person estimate assumes Projects Enterprise and Books Professional with 20 extra users. Plans change, so check their site.
Two apps joined by a sync is where agency margin leaks.
Zoho's own documentation describes the Projects to Books link as one-way: projects, tasks, users and approved billable time logs flow to Books; customers are imported by hand first; an invoice run takes up to 100 tasks. That is fine for billing hours. It does not tell you that a social retainer delivered 26 posts against an allowance of 20, or that the client approved version two and is now asking for changes on version three. In Ancor those facts live on the same project as the hours and the invoice.
Be honest about fit. Sometimes it is them.
- You need statutory accounting in the same vendor. GSTR filing, IRN e-invoicing and e-way bills are Zoho Books strengths. Ancor does not do them.
- Gantt-heavy planning. If dependencies and critical path drive your projects, Zoho Projects has them and Ancor does not.
- The whole company runs on Zoho. CRM, Desk, People and Books together are hard to beat on price.
- Lowest licence cost is the deciding factor. On its Premium tier, or for a very small team on the free plans, Zoho costs less.
Switching from Zoho Projects. The questions worth asking first.
Is Ancor a good Zoho Projects alternative for agencies?
Yes, for marketing, creative and digital agencies of 10 to 100 people that want retainer allowances, client approvals, live margin and GST invoices in one system built for agency work. If you need a Gantt chart with dependencies, deep no-code automation or full statutory accounting, Zoho Projects with Zoho Books is the stronger stack.
Which is cheaper for a 25-person agency, Zoho or Ancor?
At 25 people they are close, and Ancor is slightly cheaper. Zoho Projects Enterprise at about $9 per user plus Zoho Books Professional with 20 extra users comes to roughly Rs 24,000 a month; Ancor Atelier is Rs 19,999 a month for up to 30 people. On Zoho Projects Premium at about $4 per user, Zoho is cheaper. Above 30 people Ancor is a Custom plan. The bigger difference is what you get: Ancor is built for agency work, Zoho is general-purpose.
Does Ancor replace Zoho Books?
No. Ancor raises GST invoices, credit notes, retainer and recurring invoices and chases payment, and exports them to TallyPrime, but it is not a ledger and does not file returns or generate IRN e-invoices. Many agencies keep Zoho Books or Tally for accounting and run delivery, retainers and client approvals in Ancor. Ancor can read open invoices and payments from Zoho Books, and import an ageing file from either.
Does Zoho Projects have client approvals or proofing?
Zoho Projects offers client users who can follow progress and give feedback, sold as an add-on on paid plans. We did not find proofing or annotation in its public material. Ancor's portal needs no client login, pins comments to images and ties every approval to a version.
Can I move from Zoho Projects to Ancor?
Yes. Export your projects and tasks to CSV or Excel and import them into Ancor, and import your deliverable tracker into retainer scopes. A 14-day trial with no card lets you run one live client alongside Zoho first.