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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Groove

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Groove logo

Groove

Customer Support

Simple, powerful support for growing businesses

From
$12/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.; Groove billed per ticket at $1 rather than per agent, so support cost scales with how many customers get in touch
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Groove covers Shared inbox.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Groove actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Groove differ
AttributeBiginGroove
Starting priceFree$12/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCRMCustomer Support
FoundedUnknown2011

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 Groove

  • Shared inbox
  • Knowledge base
  • Live chat
  • Automation rules
  • Reporting
  • Collision detection
  • Slack
  • Salesforce

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 Groove
  • 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 Groove
  • 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 Groove
  • 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 Groove

Groove

  • Shared inbox and help desk ticketing for small support teamsnot Bigin
  • Handling email, chat and messaging support in one queuenot 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.

Groove

  • Billed per ticket at $1 rather than per agent, so support cost scales with how many customers get in touch
  • A minimum of 250 tickets a month applies, which is a $3,000 annual commitment before any usage
  • A quiet month still pays the 250 ticket floor
  • No mailbox limit is published

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

Groove

$12/month
  • Standard$12/month
    • 1 mailbox
    • Knowledge base
    • Live chat
  • Plus$20/month
    • 5 mailboxes
    • Full reporting
    • Rules
  • Pro$35/month
    • 25 mailboxes
    • Salesforce
    • Enterprise SSO

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 Groove if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want knowledge base.
Groove review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Groove better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Groove at $12/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Groove?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $12/month for Groove.
Does Bigin or Groove run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Groove runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Groove starts at $12/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 Groove is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Groove cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Groove covers Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Live chat, Automation rules.

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.

Groove: How is Helply priced?

Helply uses per-ticket pricing at 1 dollar per ticket. This single price covers all features including resolutions, drafts, churn alerts, upsell flags, feature requests, and documentation.

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.

Groove: Do I need to pay per team member for Helply?

No, Helply charges per ticket, not per seat. You can bring your entire team, AEs, PMs, and integrations without additional per-person charges.

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.

Groove: What's included in Helply's per-ticket price?

The per-ticket price of 1 dollar includes resolutions, drafts, churn alerts, upsell flags, feature requests, documentation, and all AI capabilities with no separate add-on charges.

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.

Groove: Is there a free trial for Helply?

Helply offers a free 12-minute demo walkthrough. Enterprise plans are also available for larger organizations.

Source
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