CRM · head to head
Bigin vs Freshdesk
Bigin
CRM
Zoho pipeline CRM for small businesses, priced well below Zoho CRM itself
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
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.; Freshdesk growth tier lacks multilingual helpdesk and custom reporting dashboards
- They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Freshdesk covers Ticketing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Bigin and Freshdesk actually diverge.
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
- Zoho ecosystem
- Free onboarding
Only in Freshdesk
- Ticketing
- Automation
- Self-service
- Team collaboration
- Multi-channel support
- SLA management
- Reporting
- Slack
Both cover
- Mobile apps
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 Freshdesk
- 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 Freshdesk
- 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 Freshdesk
- 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 Freshdesk
Freshdesk
- Help desk and ticketing systemnot Bigin
- Customer support portal and knowledge basenot Bigin
- Multi-channel support coordinationnot Bigin
- AI-assisted support agent interactionnot 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.
Freshdesk
- Growth tier lacks multilingual helpdesk and custom reporting dashboards
- Skill-based routing available only on Enterprise tier
- Freddy AI Copilot requires separate £29/agent/month add-on on Pro and Enterprise plans
- AI agent sessions charged beyond initial 500 sessions: £49 per additional 100 sessions
- Day passes for non-agents vary by tier: £2 (Growth), £7 (Pro), £12 (Enterprise)
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
Freshdesk
Free- Growth$19/month per agent
- Basic ticketing, shared inbox, customer portal
- Freddy AI Agent (500 sessions included)
- Billed annually, 20% discount vs. monthly
- Pro$55/month per agent
- Multilingual support, custom dashboards
- Intelligent routing, multiple SLA policies
- Billed annually, 20% discount vs. monthly
- Enterprise$89/month per agent
- Skill-based routing, audit logs, IP whitelisting
- Freddy AI Insights
- Billed annually, 20% discount vs. monthly
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.
Choose Freshdesk if
- You need ticketing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want automation.
Questions people ask
- Is Bigin or Freshdesk better?
- Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Freshdesk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Bigin or Freshdesk?
- Bigin starts at Free and Freshdesk at Free.
- Does Bigin or Freshdesk run on more platforms?
- Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Freshdesk runs on Web.
- 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 Freshdesk is typically brought in for.
- What can Bigin do that Freshdesk cannot?
- Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Freshdesk covers Ticketing, Automation, Self-service, Team collaboration. Both handle Mobile apps.
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.
Freshdesk: What is Freshdesk's Growth plan pricing?
The Growth plan costs $19 per agent per month when billed annually and includes basic ticketing, shared inbox, customer portal, and 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions.
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.
Freshdesk: Does Freshdesk offer a free trial?
Freshdesk offers a 14-day free trial with full Enterprise plan access, allowing customers to test all features before committing.
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.
Freshdesk: What is the difference between Freshdesk plans?
Growth ($19/agent) provides basics; Pro ($55/agent) adds multilingual support and advanced routing; Enterprise ($89/agent) includes skill-based routing and audit logs. All prices are annual billing rates.
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.
Freshdesk: What are Freshdesk's add-on costs?
Optional add-ons include Freddy AI Copilot at $29/agent/month, additional AI Agent sessions at $49 per 100 sessions, and day passes at $2-$12 per pass.
SourceRelated pages
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