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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Front

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Front logo

Front

Customer Support

Where teams collaborate on customer communication

From
$25/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.; Front starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Front covers Shared inbox.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Front actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Front differ
AttributeBiginFront
Starting priceFree$25/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSCloud-based SaaS
CategoryCRMCustomer Support
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Front

  • Shared inbox
  • Email collaboration
  • Omnichannel messaging
  • Analytics
  • Workflows
  • Integrations
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot

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 Front
  • 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 Front
  • 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 Front
  • 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 Front

Front

  • Omnichannel customer supportnot Bigin
  • AI-powered helpdesk automationnot Bigin
  • Team collaboration on support ticketsnot 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.

Front

  • Starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier
  • AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are included only in Enterprise tier ($105/seat/month); available as add-ons at higher cost in lower tiers
  • Starter tier limited to 10 automation rules; Professional tier allows 20; unlimited rules only in Enterprise
  • Advanced analytics excluded from Starter tier

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

Front

$25/month
  • Starter$25/month
    • Up to 10 seats
    • Shared inbox and ticketing
    • AI Topics and up to 10 automation rules
  • Professional$65/month
    • Up to 50 seats
    • Omnichannel support (email, SMS, social)
    • Macros and up to 20 automation rules
  • Enterprise$105/month
    • Unlimited seats
    • Smart rules and unlimited macros
    • Multi-language knowledge base

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 Front if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
  • You also want email collaboration.
Front review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Front better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Front at $25/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Front?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $25/month for Front.
Does Bigin or Front run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Front runs on Cloud-based SaaS.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Front starts at $25/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 Front is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Front cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Front covers Shared inbox, Email collaboration, Omnichannel messaging, Analytics.

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.

Front: How much does Front's Starter plan cost per seat?

Starter plan is $25 per seat per month for up to 10 seats, with 14-day free trial and no credit card required.

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.

Front: Does Enterprise include AI features?

Yes, Enterprise at $105 per seat per month includes AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT at no additional cost.

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.

Front: What is the seat limit for Professional?

Professional plan supports up to 50 seats at $65 per seat per month.

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.

Front: Are there additional AI add-ons available?

Yes, Autopilot starts at $0.05 per conversation; Copilot, Smart QA, and other AI features range from $10-$20 per seat per month on lower tiers.

Source
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