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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Lever

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lever logo

Lever

Recruitment

Talent acquisition suite built for collaboration

From
On request
Rated
-
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.; Lever customized pricing requires sales contact, no public pricing
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Lever covers Applicant Tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Lever actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Lever differ
AttributeBiginLever
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer user per monthquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb
CategoryCRMRecruitment
FoundedUnknown2012

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 Lever

  • Applicant Tracking
  • Candidate CRM
  • Sourcing
  • Interview Management
  • Analytics
  • Offer Management
  • LinkedIn
  • Indeed

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 Lever
  • 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 Lever
  • 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 Lever
  • 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 Lever

Lever

  • Applicant tracking from sourcing through offernot Bigin
  • Building and nurturing talent pipelines of passive candidatesnot Bigin
  • Automating interview scheduling, follow-ups and offer lettersnot Bigin
  • Reporting on hiring performance across sourcesnot Bigin
  • Screening at volume with AI ranking and recommendationsnot 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.

Lever

  • Customized pricing requires sales contact, no public pricing
  • Premium features like advanced CRM functionality require additional fees
  • Implementation requires some technical configuration

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

Lever

On request
  • LeverTRM$undefined/month
    • ATS
    • CRM
    • Sourcing
  • LeverTRM for Enterprise$undefined/month
    • All LeverTRM features
    • Advanced Security
    • Dedicated 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 Lever if

  • You need applicant tracking.
  • You also want candidate crm.
Lever review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Lever better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Lever at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Lever?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and On request for Lever.
Does Bigin or Lever run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Lever runs on Web.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lever 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 Lever is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Lever cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Lever covers Applicant Tracking, Candidate CRM, Sourcing, Interview Management.

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.

Lever: What is Lever used for?

Lever is modern recruiting software that centralizes recruiting into a single system for sourcing candidates, managing applications, scheduling interviews, collaborating with hiring managers, automating workflows, and measuring hiring performance.

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.

Lever: Does Lever include both ATS and CRM?

Yes. Lever integrates comprehensive Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) functionalities within a single offering called LeverTRM, with features like AI-powered screening and interview transcripts.

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.

Lever: What integrations does Lever support?

Lever integrates with 300+ tools including Slack for notifications, Zoom for interviews, calendar applications for scheduling, background check services, job boards, and leading HRIS platforms for talent management workflows.

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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