The cloud Sync2 alternative: ContactZapp vs Sync2 for Microsoft Outlook

Sync2 comes from the era when contacts lived inside a local PST file on a single Windows desktop. It installs on your PC, hooks into classic Outlook (Outlook 2002 to 2019) and only syncs while your computer is awake. If you switch to a Mac, upgrade to the new Outlook for Windows or edit a contact on your phone while travelling, a desktop add-in cannot keep up.

ContactZapp connects directly to your Google, Microsoft, Apple iCloud and CardDAV accounts in the cloud. Once you connect your accounts in the browser, sync runs on schedule whether your laptop is open or in your bag.

• Works with New Outlook and Mac: Because ContactZapp syncs with your Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com account in the cloud, your contacts appear in New Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, classic Outlook, web and mobile.
• All 4 ecosystems in 1 tool: Connect Google, Microsoft, Apple iCloud and any CardDAV server in one place — no need for separate Sync2 and Sync2 Cloud licenses.
• No per-workstation licensing: Log in from any browser on any computer. You are never tied to a single Windows machine.

When you link an old Outlook address book with Gmail or iCloud, anyone saved in both accounts turns into a duplicate. In 4Team's product line, duplicate cleanup ("Duplicate Remover") and PST backups ("Safe PST Backup") are separate Windows utilities.

ContactZapp builds cross-account duplicate detection and merging into the core workflow. It finds the same person within one account and across accounts by name, email, phone and address.

• Side-by-side manual merge or Auto-Merge: Review suggested matches side by side before merging, or turn on Auto-Merge when you want high-confidence matches handled after every sync.
• Every phone, email and address is kept: Merging two contacts keeps every phone number, email and address. For single values like company, job title or photo, the newest value wins — or you can pick a primary account.
• Prefers the fuller version: ContactZapp keeps "John Doe Jr" over "J. Doe", a phone number with its country code over one without and an address with the postcode over one without.

Letting a sync tool touch thousands of contacts is nerve-wracking if you cannot easily undo a mistake. If a desktop sync profile is misconfigured, unwanted edits or deletions can spread before you notice.

ContactZapp starts every new user on manual sync with Auto-Merge off, takes an automatic backup before writing a single change and records every change for 12 months.

• Backup before the first write: We back up each connected account before the first change, at no extra cost, and let you save up to 5 downloadable vCard backups per account.
• Roll back 1 contact, 1 sync run or everything: Made a mistake or unhappy with a merge? Roll back a single contact, an entire sync run or your whole account at any time within 12 months.
• Read-only mode for reference accounts: Switch any connected account to read-only if you want ContactZapp to read its contacts without ever writing changes back to it.