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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Dolibarr

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Dolibarr logo

Dolibarr

ERP

Modular open source ERP and CRM for very small businesses, installable on shared hosting

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Dolibarr the core is deliberately shallow, so a serious requirement such as advanced manufacturing, EDI or a specific payment gateway usually means buying a DoliStore module from a third-party author, and the quality and maintenance of those modules varies widely.
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Dolibarr covers Module toggles.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Dolibarr actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Dolibarr differ
AttributeBiginDolibarr
Pricing modelPer user per monthOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
CategoryCRMERP

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Bigin

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

Only in Dolibarr

  • Module toggles
  • Third-party management
  • Quotes to invoices
  • Stock and warehouses
  • Double-entry accounting
  • Projects and time
  • Point of sale
  • DoliStore

What people use each for

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

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 Dolibarr
  • 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 Dolibarr
  • 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 Dolibarr
  • 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 Dolibarr

Dolibarr

  • A two-person consultancy wants quotes, invoices and basic accounting self-hosted on an existing five euro a month shared hosting account with no server administration.not Bigin
  • A French or Spanish small business needs VAT handling and accounting exports that match local practice out of the box rather than after configuration.not Bigin
  • An association or nonprofit needs membership, subscription and donation tracking alongside ordinary invoicing without paying per member.not Bigin
  • A small distributor wants stock, purchase orders and sales orders in one system and is willing to buy a DoliStore module rather than commission bespoke development.not Bigin

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Dolibarr

  • The core is deliberately shallow, so a serious requirement such as advanced manufacturing, EDI or a specific payment gateway usually means buying a DoliStore module from a third-party author, and the quality and maintenance of those modules varies widely.
  • Accounting was designed around French practice, and the chart of accounts, VAT model and fiscal exports need real work to satisfy accountants in the United States, the UK or Australia.
  • The interface is functional rather than designed and shows its age against Odoo, which makes internal adoption harder when staff are comparing it to consumer-grade software.
  • Upgrades between major versions can break paid third-party modules, because module authors update on their own schedules and there is no guarantee your combination will work on version 24 the day it ships.
  • Support is community forums unless you buy a partner contract, and the documentation is a wiki of uneven quality with substantial parts written in French, so English-only teams hit dead ends.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Dolibarr

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full GPL source, all core modules
    • Unlimited users
    • You provide PHP and MySQL hosting
  • Partner cloud hosting$14/month
    • Managed hosting from DoliCloud or a certified partner
    • Backups, updates and support included
    • Typically 10 to 30 euros per user per month

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Dolibarr if

  • You need module toggles.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
  • You also want third-party management.
Dolibarr review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Dolibarr better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Dolibarr at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Dolibarr?
Bigin starts at Free and Dolibarr at Free.
Does Bigin or Dolibarr run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Dolibarr runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Bigin best used for?
Bigin is most often used for 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., 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., 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., 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.. Of those, 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. and 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. are not what Dolibarr is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Dolibarr cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Dolibarr covers Module toggles, Third-party management, Quotes to invoices, Stock and warehouses.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Dolibarr: Is Dolibarr genuinely free?

Yes. The full application is GPL with no user limit and no paid edition of the core. You pay only for hosting, optional DoliStore modules and optional partner support.

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.

Dolibarr: Can it run on shared hosting?

Yes, that is its main practical advantage. It needs only PHP and MySQL or MariaDB, so an ordinary cPanel account is enough.

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.

Dolibarr: How does it compare to Odoo?

Odoo is deeper and better presented but its useful modules are in the paid Enterprise edition and it needs a proper deployment. Dolibarr is thinner but free end to end and far easier to host.

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.

Dolibarr: Does it handle UK or US accounting?

Not comfortably out of the box. The accounting module reflects French conventions and needs configuration and often a local module to satisfy an accountant elsewhere.

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