Overview

Bigin by Zoho CRM is a customer relationship management platform for small businesses and MSMEs, especially teams with 1 to 20 employees. It is a good fit when a small team wants sales work organized around pipelines rather than a sprawling CRM. Its strongest case is the combination of pipeline management, automation, and integrations; the free edition is too constrained for a growing team.

Key features

Sales pipelines and automation

Visual sales pipelines give teams a clear structure for tracking sales activity. Workflow automation can reduce repetitive work, but the free edition allows just one pipeline and three automations, making it better for an individual or a small trial than a shared sales operation. Paid editions increase pipeline, record, automation, and custom-field limits, so the right tier depends on how many workflows and teams need to work in parallel.

Email, messaging, and integrations

Email sync and email marketing support sales follow-up, while WhatsApp integration lets users send messages, receive replies, and track conversation history. Connections to Zoho Books, QuickBooks, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Shopify, Mailchimp, and Zapier give Bigin useful links to common business tools. That breadth is a practical strength for small businesses trying to connect sales activity with existing services.

AI and administration

Zia-powered features include writing assistance, summaries, reply suggestions, and churn analysis. Premier and Bigin 360 include monthly AI credits, but the number of credits and other limits vary by edition. Paid plans also add user management with profiles and roles, alongside multiple team pipelines, which makes them more suitable than Free for teams sharing customer work.

Apps, privacy, and support

Bigin has apps for iOS, iPadOS, Android, and macOS, with mobile apps for iOS and Android. Zoho says its infrastructure is certified for ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC 2, and HIPAA; it also says customer data is not sold or used for advertising and can be exported at any time. Support is available by phone, email, and live chat 24 hours a day, five days a week. Paid plans include onboarding, webinars, admin training, data-import assistance, and support.

Pricing

Bigin is freemium, with monthly and annual paid billing; annual pricing saves up to 35%. The 15-day free trial requires no credit card, and users can cancel anytime. Bigin also offers free onboarding and a 100% money-back guarantee.

Plan	Price and limits	Best for
Free	Free for one user; one pipeline, 500 records, and three automations.	An individual assessing a basic pipeline, not a team that needs shared capacity.
Express	$84.00 per user per year, or $7.00 per user/month, billed annually. Includes three team pipelines, 50,000 records, 30 automations, and 10 custom fields per module.	A small team that needs multiple pipelines and a substantial step up from the free caps.
Premier	$144.00 per user per year, or $12.00 per user/month, billed annually. Includes five team pipelines, 100,000 records, 50 automations, 25 custom fields per module, and 1,000 AI credits per month.	Teams needing more workflow and field capacity, plus a defined monthly AI allowance.
Bigin 360	$216.00 per user per year, or $18.00 per user/month, billed annually. Includes 15 team pipelines, 1,000,000 records, 100 automation rules, 5 GB file storage, and 3,000 AI credits per month.	Businesses with heavier pipeline and record needs, or that need the highest included AI-credit allowance.

Express is the lowest-cost paid route to team pipelines, but it does not include the AI credits specified for Premier and Bigin 360. The free edition's single-user cap is a sharp boundary: even a second user requires a paid plan.

Platforms

Bigin supports iOS, iPadOS, Android, and macOS. Its mobile apps are available for iOS and Android.

Who it's for

Bigin suits small businesses and MSMEs that want visual sales tracking, email and messaging connections, and automation without starting with a more expansive CRM. Free works for an individual with modest record volume; teams should compare paid tiers against their pipeline, automation, and record needs. Businesses that need more than the Free plan's single user, one pipeline, 500 records, and three automations should budget for a paid edition.

Pros and cons

Pros: The visual pipeline and automation combine sales tracking with repeatable workflows.
Pros: WhatsApp, email, and a broad set of business integrations help connect sales conversations and existing tools.
Pros: Paid tiers scale from three to 15 team pipelines, with record and automation limits rising substantially.
Pros: The no-card 15-day trial, cancellation flexibility, onboarding, and money-back guarantee reduce the commitment involved in evaluating it.
Cons: Free is limited to one user, one pipeline, 500 records, and three automations, so it is not a durable team plan.
Cons: AI credits are included only in Premier and Bigin 360, leaving Express without the stated monthly AI allowance.
Cons: The listed annual per-user prices require an annual commitment, even though monthly billing is also offered.

Alternatives

Bitrix24 CRM is worth considering if a free CRM for one or two users with 5 GB of storage is the priority; its platform list also includes web, Windows, Linux, and self-hosting.
Zoho CRM may suit readers who want a free plan for three users rather than Bigin's single-user allowance.
Freshsales offers a free plan for up to three users, making it an alternative for a small team looking to begin without a paid seat.
SuiteCRM is an option for readers who prefer an open-source CRM that can be self-hosted or deployed on their own cloud provider.
The Agency CRM is another CRM option with a free plan.
Capsule CRM offers a free plan for two users, with one pipeline and 250 contacts.
KudosCRM offers a free plan for up to three users and 1,000 contacts.
Salesforce Sales Cloud is another option with a free plan.
For category-level browsing, see CRM Software, Professional Services CRM Software, and Sales Force Automation Software.

Verdict

Bigin is a strong choice for small businesses that want sales pipelines, automation, and connected email and messaging in a CRM sized for a lean team. Its paid tiers add meaningful room for multiple users and pipelines, and its integrations and AI features broaden its usefulness. Look elsewhere if you need a genuinely usable free team plan: Bigin's free offer is capped at one user, one pipeline, 500 records, and three automations.

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