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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs HelpCrunch

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
HelpCrunch logo

HelpCrunch

Customer Support

Live chat, helpdesk, and AI chatbot platform for customer support

From
On request
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.; HelpCrunch pricing is not fully transparent since it depends on email volume and AI usage tiers.
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, HelpCrunch covers Live Chat Widget.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and HelpCrunch actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and HelpCrunch differ
AttributeBiginHelpCrunch
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSweb, ios, android
CategoryCRMCustomer Support

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 HelpCrunch

  • Live Chat Widget
  • Shared Team Inbox
  • AI Chatbot
  • Email Marketing Automation
  • Knowledge Base
  • Auto-resend by Email

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 HelpCrunch
  • 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 HelpCrunch
  • 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 HelpCrunch
  • 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 HelpCrunch

HelpCrunch

  • Real-time website customer supportnot Bigin
  • Consolidating support and marketing email in one toolnot Bigin
  • AI-automated first-line customer responsesnot Bigin
  • Small business helpdesk ticketingnot 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.

HelpCrunch

  • Pricing is not fully transparent since it depends on email volume and AI usage tiers.
  • AI conversation add-ons become expensive at high volume, up to $8,000/month for 100,000 conversations.
  • Exact plan prices for Basic, Pro, and Unlimited are not published directly on the pricing page.
  • Smaller teams may find the tiered add-on system harder to predict than flat per-seat pricing.

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

HelpCrunch

On request
  • Basic$undefined/month
    • Live chat
    • Shared inbox
    • Email volume tiers
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Everything in Basic
    • AI conversations included
    • AI data sources included
  • Unlimited$undefined/month
    • Everything in Pro
    • Highest email volume
    • Priority support

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 HelpCrunch if

  • You need live chat widget.
  • You work on web, ios, android.
  • You also want shared team inbox.
HelpCrunch review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or HelpCrunch better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and HelpCrunch at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or HelpCrunch?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and On request for HelpCrunch.
Does Bigin or HelpCrunch run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. HelpCrunch runs on web, ios, android.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. HelpCrunch starts at On request.
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 HelpCrunch is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that HelpCrunch cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. HelpCrunch covers Live Chat Widget, Shared Team Inbox, AI Chatbot, Email Marketing Automation.

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.

HelpCrunch: Is there a free trial for HelpCrunch?

Yes, HelpCrunch offers a free trial with no credit card required, and includes free migration from competing tools.

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.

HelpCrunch: How does HelpCrunch charge for AI features?

Pro and higher plans include a free monthly limit of AI conversations and AI data sources; additional usage is purchased in blocks, for example 100 extra conversations for $29/month.

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.

HelpCrunch: Does annual billing save money?

Yes, HelpCrunch offers a 20% discount on plans and AI add-ons when billed annually instead of monthly.

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.

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