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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Ontraport

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ontraport logo

Ontraport

CRM

All-in-one CRM and marketing automation

From
$24/month
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.; Ontraport no plan name, monthly price, contact band, user count or email send limit is published on the pricing page
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Ontraport covers Contact management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Ontraport actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Ontraport differ
AttributeBiginOntraport
Starting priceFree$24/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb
FoundedUnknown2009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (CRM).

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 Ontraport

  • Contact management
  • Sales pipeline
  • Email marketing
  • Marketing automation
  • Automation
  • Reporting
  • Landing pages
  • Zapier

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 Ontraport
  • 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 Ontraport
  • 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 Ontraport
  • 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 Ontraport

Ontraport

  • CRM with marketing automation and campaign buildingnot Bigin
  • Managing contacts, pages and email sequences in one platformnot 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.

Ontraport

  • No plan name, monthly price, contact band, user count or email send limit is published on the pricing page
  • Reaching a figure requires a trial signup or a sales conversation
  • The two months free saving requires annual billing

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

Ontraport

$24/month
  • Plus$24/month
    • Contact management
    • Email marketing
  • Pro$79/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • Automation
    • CRM
  • Pro+$149/month
    • Everything in Pro
    • Advanced features
    • API access

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 Ontraport if

  • You need contact management.
  • You also want sales pipeline.
Ontraport review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Ontraport better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Ontraport at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Ontraport?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $24/month for Ontraport.
Does Bigin or Ontraport run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Ontraport runs on Web.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ontraport starts at $24/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 Ontraport is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Ontraport cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Ontraport covers Contact management, Sales pipeline, Email marketing, 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.

Ontraport: How much does Ontraport cost?

Ontraport does not publish specific pricing online. The company offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, and users must contact sales or start a trial to learn pricing details.

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.

Ontraport: What payment options does Ontraport offer?

Ontraport offers flexible subscription options with monthly or annual billing available. Annual subscriptions include two months free compared to monthly rates.

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.

Ontraport: Are there long-term contracts required?

Ontraport emphasizes month-to-month commitment availability with no long-term contracts required. Users can upgrade or downgrade plans as needed.

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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