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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Klaus

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Klaus logo

Klaus

Customer Support

AI-powered quality management for support teams

From
$50/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.; Klaus no longer available as standalone product after Zendesk acquisition
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Klaus covers AI-powered QA.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Klaus actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Klaus differ
AttributeBiginKlaus
Starting priceFree$50/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb
CategoryCRMCustomer Support
FoundedUnknown2017

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 Klaus

  • AI-powered QA
  • Conversation reviews
  • Scorecards
  • Coaching
  • Performance analytics
  • Calibration
  • Zendesk
  • Intercom

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 Klaus
  • 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 Klaus
  • 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 Klaus
  • 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 Klaus

Klaus

  • Quality assurancenot Bigin
  • Agent coachingnot Bigin
  • Performance trackingnot 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.

Klaus

  • No longer available as standalone product after Zendesk acquisition
  • Requires separate Zendesk subscription (not included in base plan)
  • Cannot be used with non-Zendesk help desk systems

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

Klaus

$50/month
  • Workforce Engagement Bundle$50/month
    • Includes Zendesk QA (formerly Klaus)
    • Requires base Zendesk Support or Suite plan
    • 100% conversation review with AI

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 Klaus if

  • You need ai-powered qa.
  • You also want conversation reviews.
Klaus review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Klaus better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Klaus at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Klaus?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $50/month for Klaus.
Does Bigin or Klaus run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Klaus runs on Web.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Klaus starts at $50/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 Klaus is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Klaus cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Klaus covers AI-powered QA, Conversation reviews, Scorecards, Coaching.

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.

Klaus: Is Klaus still available as a standalone product?

No. Klaus was acquired by Zendesk in February 2024 and is now integrated into Zendesk as Zendesk QA, requiring a paid Zendesk plan as the base.

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.

Klaus: What QA features does Klaus provide?

Klaus automatically reviews 100% of customer interactions using AI, provides immediate performance insights, reduces QA time by 80%, and improves CSAT scores through targeted coaching.

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.

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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