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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Freshservice

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Freshservice logo

Freshservice

Customer Support

Modern IT service management

From
$19/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Freshservice change, problem and release management require the Pro plan at $99 per agent per month, so core ITIL processes sit two tiers up
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Freshservice covers Incident management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Freshservice actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Freshservice differ
AttributeBiginFreshservice
Starting priceFree$19/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCRMCustomer Support
FoundedUnknown2010

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 Freshservice

  • Incident management
  • Asset management
  • Change management
  • Knowledge base
  • Automation
  • Reporting
  • Slack
  • Microsoft Teams

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 Freshservice
  • 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 Freshservice
  • 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 Freshservice
  • 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 Freshservice

Freshservice

  • IT service management and internal help desk ticketingnot Bigin
  • Asset management and change control for IT teamsnot 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.

Freshservice

  • Change, problem and release management require the Pro plan at $99 per agent per month, so core ITIL processes sit two tiers up
  • Every plan includes only 100 ITAM asset units, with more sold separately regardless of tier
  • Orchestration transactions are metered monthly, from 1,000 on Starter to 20,000 on Enterprise, with extra packs at $250 per 1,000
  • The Freddy AI copilot is a $29 per agent per month add on on top of Pro or Enterprise
  • Sandbox and audit logs are Enterprise only, which carries no published price

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

Freshservice

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • Incident management
    • Knowledge base
    • Self-service portal
  • Growth$49/month
    • Asset management
    • Approval workflows
    • SLA management
  • Pro$95/month
    • Problem management
    • Change management
    • Release management
  • Enterprise$119/month
    • Freddy AI
    • Audit logs
    • Custom SSL

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 Freshservice if

  • You need incident management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want asset management.
Freshservice review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Freshservice better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Freshservice at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Freshservice?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $19/month for Freshservice.
Does Bigin or Freshservice run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Freshservice runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Freshservice starts at $19/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 Freshservice is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Freshservice cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Freshservice covers Incident management, Asset management, Change management, Knowledge base.

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.

Freshservice: How much does Freshservice cost?

Freshservice is priced per agent per month on annual billing: Starter at $19, Growth at $49 and Pro at $99. Enterprise is quoted by sales. Freshworks states annual billing is 20% cheaper than monthly.

Source
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.

Freshservice: Does Freshservice have a free trial?

Yes. Freshworks states you get free unrestricted access to all features available in Freshservice for 14 days after sign up, plus 3 free Day Passes for occasional agents.

Source
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.

Freshservice: Which Freshservice plan includes change management?

Problem management, change management, major incident management and release management all start on the Pro plan at $99 per agent per month. The Growth plan at $49 covers service catalog, SLA and on-call management.

Source
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.

Freshservice: How much does Freddy AI cost on Freshservice?

Freddy AI Copilot is an optional add-on at $29 per agent per month on the Pro plan. The Freddy AI Agent in its Classic form is included on the Enterprise plan.

Source
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