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Proposals · head to head

17hats vs Bigin

17hats logo

17hats

Proposals

Small business client workflow with quotes, contracts, invoices and automated follow up sequences

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

Zoho pipeline CRM for small businesses, priced well below Zoho CRM itself

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bigin has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 17hats the interface is visibly older than newer competitors, which matters because the client facing documents are part of how a small business presents itself.; Bigin the plan limits are the product boundary, not a soft guideline: three pipelines on Express and thirty automations will constrain any business with more than a couple of distinct sale types, and the only fix is to pay up a tier.
  • They diverge on capability: 17hats covers Quotes and contracts, Bigin covers Multiple pipelines.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 17hats and Bigin actually diverge.

Attributes where 17hats and Bigin differ
Attribute17hatsBigin
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS
CategoryProposalsCRM

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 17hats

  • Quotes and contracts
  • Invoicing and payments
  • Lead capture forms
  • Questionnaires
  • Bookkeeping basics
  • Calendar and time tracking

Only in Bigin

  • Multiple pipelines
  • Teampipes
  • Built-in telephony
  • Email integration
  • Mobile apps
  • Zoho ecosystem
  • Free onboarding

Both cover

  • Workflow automation

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

17hats

  • A photographer or event professional running the same booking sequence dozens of times a yearnot Bigin
  • Automating deposit invoices and reminders so that chasing payment stops being a weekly tasknot Bigin
  • Capturing enquiries through a public form that starts a quote and contract workflow without manual entrynot Bigin
  • A sole trader who wants client records, contracts and basic bookkeeping in one place rather than threenot Bigin

Bigin

  • A five-person sales team wants a real CRM for under 50 US dollars a month total and will never use the territory management or forecasting depth in Zoho CRM.not 17hats
  • A business already running Zoho Books or Zoho Mail wants a CRM in the same account with native links rather than a bridged third-party tool.not 17hats
  • A services firm wants to run client onboarding and delivery as pipelines alongside sales, which is what Teampipes exists for, without buying a separate project tool.not 17hats
  • A buyer evaluating Zoho CRM Standard should price Bigin first, because for straightforward pipeline selling it is roughly a third of the cost on the same platform.not 17hats

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

17hats

  • The interface is visibly older than newer competitors, which matters because the client facing documents are part of how a small business presents itself.
  • The workflow builder takes real time to learn and configure, so the automation benefit arrives weeks after purchase rather than on the first day.
  • A consultancy where no two engagements are alike gets little from the workflow engine, which is most of what the price pays for.
  • It is built around a single operator, so a business adding staff or subcontractors runs into structural limits rather than a higher tier.
  • Payments run through third party gateways, so card processing fees apply in addition to the subscription and should be included when comparing cost per booking.

Bigin

  • The plan limits are the product boundary, not a soft guideline: three pipelines on Express and thirty automations will constrain any business with more than a couple of distinct sale types, and the only fix is to pay up a tier.
  • Outgrowing Bigin means migrating to Zoho CRM, a different product with different objects and configuration, so the cheap start becomes a project later rather than a plan upgrade.
  • The free plan is one user with 500 records and no automation, which makes it a trial rather than a usable free tier of the kind Zoho CRM competitors offer.
  • Reporting and analytics are basic compared with Zoho CRM, with no serious forecasting, territory management or custom module building, so sales operations functions have nothing to work with.
  • Zoho runs two overlapping CRMs and has an obvious incentive to keep Bigin limited, so features that would make it a genuine competitor to Zoho CRM are unlikely to arrive however much customers ask.

Pricing, plan by plan

17hats

On request
  • 17hats$undefined/year
    • Quotes, contracts and electronic signature
    • Invoicing and online payment
    • Workflow automation sequences

Bigin

Free
  • FreeFree
    • One user only
    • 500 records
    • One pipeline
  • Express$7/month
    • Three pipelines
    • 50,000 records
    • 30 workflow automations
  • Premier$12/month
    • Five pipelines
    • 100,000 records
    • 50 workflow automations
  • Bigin 360$18/month
    • Fifteen pipelines
    • One million records
    • 100 workflow automations

Which should you pick?

Choose 17hats if

  • You need quotes and contracts.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want invoicing and payments.
17hats review

Choose Bigin if

  • You need multiple pipelines.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS.
  • You also want teampipes.
Bigin review

Questions people ask

Is 17hats or Bigin better?
Neither clearly leads. 17hats starts at On request and Bigin at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 17hats or Bigin?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for 17hats and Free for Bigin.
Does 17hats or Bigin run on more platforms?
17hats runs on Web, iOS, Android. Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. 17hats starts at On request.
What is 17hats best used for?
17hats is most often used for a photographer or event professional running the same booking sequence dozens of times a year, automating deposit invoices and reminders so that chasing payment stops being a weekly task, capturing enquiries through a public form that starts a quote and contract workflow without manual entry, a sole trader who wants client records, contracts and basic bookkeeping in one place rather than three. Of those, a photographer or event professional running the same booking sequence dozens of times a year and automating deposit invoices and reminders so that chasing payment stops being a weekly task are not what Bigin is typically brought in for.
What can 17hats do that Bigin cannot?
17hats covers Quotes and contracts, Invoicing and payments, Lead capture forms, Questionnaires. Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Both handle Workflow automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

17hats: What is the main reason to choose it?

The workflow engine. If your bookings follow the same sequence every time, that sequence can be automated once and reused.

Bigin: Is Bigin the same as Zoho CRM?

No. It is a separate, cheaper product on its own domain with its own pricing, aimed at small businesses, and it is deliberately capped so it does not compete with Zoho CRM.

17hats: Is it worth it for bespoke consulting work?

Rarely. Without repeatable engagements the automation, which is the main value, has nothing to automate.

Bigin: How much cheaper is it?

Express is 7 US dollars per user per month annually against Zoho CRM Standard at a higher rate, and the gap widens against the upper Zoho CRM tiers.

17hats: Does it handle bookkeeping?

At sole trader level. It is not a replacement for accounting software once complexity grows.

Bigin: What happens when I outgrow the pipeline limits?

You move up a Bigin tier to five or fifteen pipelines, and beyond that you migrate to Zoho CRM, which is a data and configuration migration rather than a switch.

17hats: Can I add team members?

It is designed for a single operator, and multi person use is awkward rather than supported properly.

Bigin: Is the free plan usable?

Only for one person with a very small contact list. It is one user, 500 records, one pipeline and no automation.

17hats: How long before it saves time?

Not immediately. Budget for a configuration period before the workflow automation starts paying back.

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