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Cybersecurity · head to head

BigID vs Frappe

BigID logo

BigID

Cybersecurity

Data discovery and classification across cloud, on-premise and unstructured stores

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Frappe logo

Frappe

Developer Tools

The Python web framework behind ERPNext, sold as managed hosting through Frappe Cloud

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Frappe has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BigID pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.; Frappe the framework is strongly opinionated: its own ORM, templating and job queue mean general Python and Django experience transfers only partly, and onboarding a new developer takes weeks rather than days.
  • They diverge on capability: BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Frappe covers DocType modelling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigID and Frappe actually diverge.

Attributes where BigID and Frappe differ
AttributeBigIDFrappe
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer month by site or server
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, API, Self-hostedWeb, Linux, Docker
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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 BigID

  • Structured and unstructured scanning
  • Identity correlation
  • Data security posture management
  • Access intelligence
  • Privacy request support
  • Retention and minimisation
  • AI data controls
  • Policy and remediation workflow

Only in Frappe

  • DocType modelling
  • Role and field permissions
  • Built-in REST API
  • Background jobs
  • Bench CLI
  • Frappe Cloud hosting
  • App marketplace
  • Multi-tenancy

What people use each for

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

BigID

  • A bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migrationnot Frappe
  • A privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s recordsnot Frappe
  • A security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker doesnot Frappe
  • A company building retrieval augmented AI that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a modelnot Frappe

Frappe

  • A team building an internal business application that needs permissions, audit trail and an API on day one rather than in month threenot BigID
  • An ERPNext user who wants managed hosting, automatic updates and offsite backups without hiring a systems administratornot BigID
  • An Indian or emerging-market business that wants to pay for application hosting in local currency at local price pointsnot BigID
  • A consultancy shipping custom vertical apps to clients on a shared framework with per-client site isolationnot BigID

Where each one falls short

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

BigID

  • Pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.
  • Scanning large unstructured estates is slow and computationally expensive, so most organisations sample rather than scan everything, which reintroduces uncertainty into the very question they bought the tool to settle.
  • Classification accuracy on messy unstructured content requires tuning, and out of the box false positives on things like reference numbers create a large triage backlog that a small governance team cannot clear.
  • It discovers and reports but does not remediate, so realising value requires a separate process and often separate tooling to actually delete, restrict or move the data it flags.
  • It is built for large enterprises and both the price and the administrative overhead are disproportionate below a few thousand employees, where a lighter DSPM tool covers the security use case for far less.

Frappe

  • The framework is strongly opinionated: its own ORM, templating and job queue mean general Python and Django experience transfers only partly, and onboarding a new developer takes weeks rather than days.
  • The developer pool is small and heavily concentrated in India, so hiring Frappe experience elsewhere is slow and expensive relative to mainstream stacks.
  • Documentation is uneven in depth and lags behind releases in places, so real answers often come from reading the source or the community forum.
  • Major version upgrades of the framework have historically broken custom apps that reach past the DocType layer, so bespoke code carries a recurring maintenance cost at each upgrade.
  • Frappe Cloud recommends against its cheapest Hetzner-backed option for mission-critical production, so the headline $5 entry price is not the price of a production-grade deployment.

Pricing, plan by plan

BigID

On request
  • BigID Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by number of data sources and data volume
    • Discovery and classification core
    • Optional DSPM, access intelligence and AI security modules licensed separately

Frappe

Free
  • Framework, self-hostedFree
    • MIT licensed, no licence fee
    • Install with bench on your own Linux servers
    • You carry updates, backups and security patching
  • Frappe Cloud Sites$5/month
    • Also listed at ₹410 per month
    • Shared servers with 150+ installable apps
    • Automatic updates and offsite backups
  • Frappe Cloud Servers$40/month
    • Also listed at ₹3,600 per month
    • Dedicated or shared virtual machines
    • Unlimited sites on your server

Which should you pick?

Choose BigID if

  • You need structured and unstructured scanning.
  • You work on Web, API, Self-hosted.
  • You also want identity correlation.
BigID review

Choose Frappe if

  • You need doctype modelling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want role and field permissions.
Frappe review

Questions people ask

Is BigID or Frappe better?
Neither clearly leads. BigID starts at On request and Frappe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BigID or Frappe?
Frappe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for BigID and Free for Frappe.
Does BigID or Frappe run on more platforms?
BigID runs on Web, API, Self-hosted. Frappe runs on Web, Linux, Docker.
Can I use Frappe for free?
Yes. Frappe has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BigID starts at On request.
What is BigID best used for?
BigID is most often used for a bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migration, a privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s records, a security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker does, a company building retrieval augmented ai that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a model. Of those, a bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migration and a privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s records are not what Frappe is typically brought in for.
What can BigID do that Frappe cannot?
BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Identity correlation, Data security posture management, Access intelligence. Frappe covers DocType modelling, Role and field permissions, Built-in REST API, Background jobs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BigID: What does BigID cost?

It is quoted by data source count and volume. Reported contracts run from roughly 15,000 to 175,000 US dollars a year, and add-on modules such as AI security posture are licensed on top.

Frappe: Is Frappe the same as ERPNext?

No. Frappe is the framework; ERPNext is the ERP application written on it. You can run Frappe without ERPNext to build your own applications.

BigID: Does it handle unstructured data?

Yes, and that is its main advantage. It classifies data in files and shares and correlates findings back to individuals, not just to data types.

Frappe: What licence is the framework under?

MIT, which is permissive and imposes no obligation to publish your changes, unlike the AGPL used by several open source ERP rivals.

BigID: Will it delete the data it finds?

Not by itself in most deployments. It identifies and routes findings; deletion and remediation happen through your own processes or connected systems.

Frappe: Can I pay in rupees?

Yes. Frappe Cloud publishes the same plans in Indian rupees, ₹410 a month for sites and ₹3,600 for servers, rather than converting a dollar price at checkout.

BigID: Is it a privacy tool or a security tool?

Both are sold from the same discovery core. Buyers increasingly come from security wanting data security posture management rather than from legal wanting privacy.

Frappe: Do I have to use Frappe Cloud?

No, self-hosting with bench or Docker is fully supported and free. Frappe Cloud is a convenience purchase, and it funds the open source work.

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