CRM · head to head
Bigin vs Drift
Bigin
CRM
Zoho pipeline CRM for small businesses, priced well below Zoho CRM itself
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Bigin has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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.; Drift product is being sunset by Salesloft with successor service (1mind) recommended
- They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Drift covers Live chat.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Bigin and Drift actually diverge.
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 Bigin
- Multiple pipelines
- Teampipes
- Built-in telephony
- Email integration
- Workflow automation
- Mobile apps
- Zoho ecosystem
- Free onboarding
Only in Drift
- Live chat
- AI chatbots
- Meeting scheduling
- Email sequences
- Visitor intelligence
- Conversation routing
- Mobile app
- Analytics dashboard
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 Drift
- 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 Drift
- 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 Drift
- 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 Drift
Drift
- Lead qualificationnot Bigin
- Meeting bookingnot Bigin
- Customer supportnot Bigin
- Account-based marketingnot Bigin
- Sales accelerationnot 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.
Drift
- Product is being sunset by Salesloft with successor service (1mind) recommended
- Mandatory bundling within Salesloft increases cost
- No free tier available
- Customer support and knowledge base have been deprioritized
- Limited to enterprise B2B pipeline generation focus
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
Drift
$2500/monthNo published plan breakdown. See the Drift review.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Bigin or Drift better?
- Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Drift at $2500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Bigin or Drift?
- Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $2500/month for Drift.
- Does Bigin or Drift run on more platforms?
- Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Drift runs on Web.
- Can I use Bigin for free?
- Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Drift starts at $2500/month.
- 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 Drift is typically brought in for.
- What can Bigin do that Drift cannot?
- Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Drift covers Live chat, AI chatbots, Meeting scheduling, Email sequences.
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.
Drift: What is the current status of Drift in 2026?
On March 6, 2026, Clari and Salesloft announced the gradual sunset of Drift's conversational marketing solution, with 1mind named as its exclusive AI successor. Drift remains available but its future is limited.
SourceBigin: 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.
Drift: How much does Drift cost?
Drift pricing starts around $2,500/month ($30,000/year) for Premium chat-only capabilities, with Enterprise plans exceeding $80,000/year. Drift is bundled within Salesloft and billed annually only.
SourceBigin: 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.
Drift: What features come with Drift Premium?
Premium plans include live chat widget, custom chatbot flows, meeting scheduling with calendar integration, basic playbooks, email sequences, and standard integrations.
SourceBigin: 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.
Drift: Does Drift offer a free plan?
No, Drift no longer publicly advertises a free plan as of 2026. All plans require annual billing through Salesloft.
SourceRelated pages
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