Totango vs ChurnZero 

For Customer Success and post-sales professionals, managing accounts without a dedicated Customer Success Platform often means dealing with challenges like:

• Scattered data across multiple tools
  
  
• Relying on spreadsheets and manual tracking
  
  
• Missed renewal and expansion opportunities
  
  
• Limited visibility into customer health
  
  
• Difficulty showing impact to leadership
  
  

To solve these problems, many teams turn to platforms like Totango and ChurnZero. And now, more modern options like Velaris bring AI, automation, and simpler setup into the picture.

Let’s compare Totango and ChurnZero, while also showing how Velaris stacks up as an alternative.

Comparing Totango vs ChurnZero vs Velaris

*Exact pricing varies by vendor and contract structure.

Platform overviews

Totango

Totango is built around a modular structure, offering different products that teams can combine based on their needs. It’s known for its customer journey mapping and templates that help standardize workflows. While flexible, Totango can feel fragmented at times and may require significant setup to get the most out of it. It’s often a fit for mid-market or enterprise teams that have the resources to configure and maintain the system.

ChurnZero

ChurnZero is a Customer Success platform designed to help teams manage the customer journey end-to-end. It includes features like customer health scoring, playbooks, in-app messaging, and journey mapping. While powerful, ChurnZero can take time to configure and may require ongoing admin effort to fully leverage its automation capabilities. It’s often chosen by mid-market companies looking to strengthen their digital Customer Success programs.

Velaris

Velaris takes an AI-first approach, combining predictive insights, automation, and 70+ integrations into a single platform. It’s designed to give teams real-time visibility into customer health while reducing manual workload. Compared to Totango and ChurnZero, Velaris is built for mid-market and enterprise teams that want advanced capabilities without the burden of heavy admin, balancing usability with power.

Feature comparison

Data consolidation and visibility

• Totango: Offers modular tools for journey mapping and segmentation, but data can feel spread out across modules. Integrations are available but may require effort to configure.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Integrates with CRMs and product data sources to provide customer insights. Offers journey mapping, though configuration can be time-intensive.
  
  
• Velaris: Centralizes data from all your systems into a single view. Designed for real-time visibility with AI features such as account summaries, Slack summaries and meeting analysis, making it easier for teams to see the full customer picture. Supports 70+ integrations and deep customization.

Customer health and analytics

• Totango: Provides customer health scoring and reporting, but customization can take time. Analytics are solid once configured.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Strong health scoring features and customizable analytics. Flexible but may require ongoing admin support to fine-tune.
  
  
• Velaris: Includes AI-driven health scores and predictive analytics out of the box. Designed to reduce manual setup while helping teams identify risks and opportunities early. One advantage of Velaris is that it can analyze both quantitative and qualitative data. By analyzing customer comms in tickets, emails and messages, Velaris can report on recurring themes and patterns in them.

Digital Customer Success and automation

• Totango: Offers playbooks and journey-based automation. Good for structuring repeatable workflows, though it may require manual fine-tuning.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Known for its digital CS capabilities, including playbooks, in-app messaging, and automated journeys. Effective, though setup and management can be complex.
  
  
• Velaris: Uses a visual automation builder and AI tools to automate routine tasks, and personalize outreach at scale. Built to reduce manual admin work while scaling CS impact.

Project and task management

• Totango: Basic task management tied to its modular tools, with limited flexibility for broader project needs.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Offers task tracking and account planning tools.
  
  
• Velaris: Provides built-in project and task management with collaborative dashboards, helping teams coordinate renewals, onboarding, and success plans in one place.
  

Other considerations

Ease of use

• Totango: Offers templates to simplify setup, but its modular design can feel fragmented. Some learning curve is expected.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Offers many features but can feel clunky to navigate. Setup and management often require admin resources, which can slow down adoption.
  
  
• Velaris: Prioritizes simplicity with intuitive dashboards and automation. Designed to reduce admin overhead and get teams up and running quickly.
  

Scalability

• Totango: Scales with additional modules, though this can create complexity as you grow.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Scales for mid-market companies but managing the platform can become cumbersome as processes expand.
  
  
• Velaris: Scales with mid-market and enterprise teams by combining AI, automation, and integrations, without requiring heavy customization.
  

Integrations

• Totango: Provides integrations with major CRMs and tools, but setup can be manual and require ongoing maintenance.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Integrates with major CRMs and customer data systems, though syncing and configuration can require technical expertise.
  
  
• Velaris: Offers 70+ integrations with real-time sync, aiming to make setup easier and reduce silos.
  

Support

• Totango: Provides documentation and customer support, though users sometimes note delays for complex issues.
  
  
• ChurnZero: Provides robust support for enterprise customers, but smaller teams often report receiving less hands-on attention.
  
  
• Velaris: Emphasizes a hands-on approach with personalized onboarding and responsive support. Dedicated CSM and Slack channel offered to all customers.

AI Innovation

• Both Totango and ChurnZero have rolled out AI products by means of acquisition. However, these products are not part of their core Customer Success offering and need to be purchased separately.
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• Velaris is an AI-first platform that has built AI into the foundations of their core offering. For Customer Success teams, this translates into AI that feels seamless, actionable, and accessible without needing to buy extra products or manage disconnected tools.

To see how Velaris’ AI can help your workflows, book a demo here.

Choosing the right platform

Who should pick Totango
Totango is best for teams that want flexibility and are comfortable managing a modular system. If you have the resources to configure workflows and maintain multiple product suites, Totango can provide strong journey management and automation options.

Who should pick ChurnZero
ChurnZero works for mid-market companies that want detailed journey mapping and strong digital CS capabilities. However, it can feel clunky to use and requires dedicated effort to manage effectively. High-touch support is typically reserved for enterprise customers, so smaller teams may find themselves with less guidance.

Who should consider Velaris
Velaris is designed for mid-market and enterprise teams that want deep visibility, AI-driven insights, and automation without the clunkiness or heavy admin burden. With 70+ integrations and hands-on support, it helps Customer Success teams scale efficiently while staying easy to use. You can dive deeper into Velaris’ functionality by booking a personalized demo here.

Conclusion

Totango, ChurnZero, and Velaris each bring different strengths to the table. Totango offers modular flexibility, ChurnZero emphasizes digital CS capabilities, and Velaris provides an AI-driven alternative designed for visibility and efficiency.

The right choice depends on your team’s goals, data structure, and the resources you have to manage a platform. What works for one organization may not be the best fit for another.

If you’re looking for an AI-driven platform that balances power with ease of use, book a demo with Velaris.