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CRM · head to head

Apptivo vs Bigin

Apptivo logo

Apptivo

CRM

A bundle of around fifty business apps sold on one per-user subscription

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: Apptivo the tiers gate the number of apps rather than only the depth, so a business that buys Lite at 15 US dollars because of the CRM and later needs an app in the 46-app Premium set faces a 67 per cent per-seat increase to unlock it.; 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: Apptivo covers CRM core, Bigin covers Multiple pipelines.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Apptivo and Bigin actually diverge.

Attributes where Apptivo and Bigin differ
AttributeApptivoBigin
Starting priceOn requestFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS

Identical on both: pricing model (Per user per month), user rating (Not yet rated), category (CRM).

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 Apptivo

  • CRM core
  • Invoicing and estimates
  • Project management
  • Field service
  • Help desk
  • Procurement and inventory
  • Custom apps and fields
  • Email and calendar sync

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.

Apptivo

  • A ten-person consultancy that wants CRM, project timesheets and invoicing on one subscription instead of stitching three tools togethernot Bigin
  • A distributor needing quotes, purchase orders and stock levels against the same customer record without an integration projectnot Bigin
  • A service business replacing a spreadsheet-driven help desk that also wants the ticket history visible on the sales contactnot Bigin
  • A business already paying separately for CRM, invoicing and project tools that wants to cut vendor count and consolidate billingnot 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 Apptivo
  • 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 Apptivo
  • 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 Apptivo
  • 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 Apptivo

Where each one falls short

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

Apptivo

  • The tiers gate the number of apps rather than only the depth, so a business that buys Lite at 15 US dollars because of the CRM and later needs an app in the 46-app Premium set faces a 67 per cent per-seat increase to unlock it.
  • Workflow automation is capped at 25 rules on both Lite and Premium, which is low for any business automating more than a basic sales process, and lifting it means jumping to Ultimate at 40 US dollars.
  • Each app is shallower than the dedicated product it replaces, so teams that outgrow one module end up buying a specialist tool anyway and lose the single-record advantage that justified the suite.
  • There is no free tier, only a 30-day trial, so evaluating the breadth properly against real data requires paying or rushing the trial window.
  • The interface is dense and inconsistent between apps because they were built over many years, which lengthens onboarding and produces persistent user complaints in teams that are not technically confident.

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

Apptivo

On request
  • Lite$15/month
    • 18 apps
    • 100 custom fields per app
    • 25 workflows
  • Premium$25/month
    • 46 apps
    • 250 custom fields per app
    • 25 workflows
  • Ultimate$40/month
    • All apps
    • 350 custom fields per app
    • 150 workflows
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • 500 custom fields per app
    • 300 workflows
    • 100 custom dashboards

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 Apptivo if

  • You need crm core.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want invoicing and estimates.
Apptivo 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 Apptivo or Bigin better?
Neither clearly leads. Apptivo 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, Apptivo or Bigin?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Apptivo and Free for Bigin.
Does Apptivo or Bigin run on more platforms?
Apptivo 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. Apptivo starts at On request.
What is Apptivo best used for?
Apptivo is most often used for a ten-person consultancy that wants crm, project timesheets and invoicing on one subscription instead of stitching three tools together, a distributor needing quotes, purchase orders and stock levels against the same customer record without an integration project, a service business replacing a spreadsheet-driven help desk that also wants the ticket history visible on the sales contact, a business already paying separately for crm, invoicing and project tools that wants to cut vendor count and consolidate billing. Of those, a ten-person consultancy that wants crm, project timesheets and invoicing on one subscription instead of stitching three tools together and a distributor needing quotes, purchase orders and stock levels against the same customer record without an integration project are not what Bigin is typically brought in for.
What can Apptivo do that Bigin cannot?
Apptivo covers CRM core, Invoicing and estimates, Project management, Field service. Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Both handle Workflow automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Apptivo: Does Apptivo have a free plan?

No. There is a 30-day free trial; the cheapest ongoing plan is Lite at 15 US dollars per user per month billed annually.

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.

Apptivo: What is the real difference between Lite and Premium?

Mostly app count and dashboards: Lite opens 18 apps, Premium opens 46 with custom dashboards. Check which specific app you need before choosing on price.

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.

Apptivo: Is monthly billing more expensive?

Yes, by roughly a third. Lite is 15 annually versus 20 monthly, Premium 25 versus 30, Ultimate 40 versus 50.

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.

Apptivo: Are all fifty apps really included?

Only on the top tiers. The lower tiers include a subset, and the app list per tier is the thing to verify before buying.

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.

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