Softwr

CRM · head to head

Bigin vs LiveAgent

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
LiveAgent logo

LiveAgent

Customer Support

All-in-one help desk software

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; LiveAgent social and messaging channels are separately priced add ons rather than plan features, at $19 to $39 a month each on top of the seat price
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, LiveAgent covers Ticketing system.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and LiveAgent actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and LiveAgent differ
AttributeBiginLiveAgent
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCRMCustomer Support
FoundedUnknown2004

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 LiveAgent

  • Ticketing system
  • Live chat
  • Call center
  • Social media
  • Knowledge base
  • Customer portal
  • WordPress
  • Shopify

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 LiveAgent
  • 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 LiveAgent
  • 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 LiveAgent
  • 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 LiveAgent

LiveAgent

  • Multichannel help desk covering email, chat, calls and social messagesnot Bigin
  • Ticketing and shared inbox for customer support teamsnot 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.

LiveAgent

  • Social and messaging channels are separately priced add ons rather than plan features, at $19 to $39 a month each on top of the seat price
  • The entry plan is limited to 3 email accounts, 2 live chat buttons and 3 contact forms
  • WhatsApp numbers are rationed by plan, at 5 on Large Business and 20 on Enterprise
  • The advertised prices require annual billing, and monthly billing raises the entry plan from $10 to $13 per agent
  • Every published price is a discounted rate against a higher regular price

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

LiveAgent

Free
  • Small Business$10/month
    • Ticketing
    • Live chat
    • Knowledge base
  • Medium Business$19/month
    • Everything in Small
    • Call center
    • IVR
  • Large Business$33/month
    • Everything in Medium
    • Social channels (Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber)
  • Enterprise$46/month
    • Everything in Large
    • Dedicated account manager
    • 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 LiveAgent if

  • You need ticketing system.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want live chat.
LiveAgent review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or LiveAgent better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and LiveAgent at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or LiveAgent?
Bigin starts at Free and LiveAgent at Free.
Does Bigin or LiveAgent run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. LiveAgent runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 LiveAgent is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that LiveAgent cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. LiveAgent covers Ticketing system, Live chat, Call center, Social media.

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.

LiveAgent: How much does LiveAgent cost?

LiveAgent charges per agent on annual billing: Small Business at $10/agent/month, Medium at $19/agent/month, Large at $33/agent/month, and Enterprise at $46/agent/month (regular rates are $15, $29, $49, and $69 respectively). Monthly billing costs 30% more.

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.

LiveAgent: Does LiveAgent offer a free trial?

Yes, LiveAgent provides a 30-day free trial with no credit card required, offering full access to all features including AI agents.

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.

LiveAgent: Are AI agents included in all LiveAgent plans?

Yes, all LiveAgent plans include free AI agents with features like chatbots, answer assistants, human handover, and autoresponders.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Bigin

More on LiveAgent

Keep looking

Other head to heads