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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Plain

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Plain logo

Plain

Customer Support

AI support infrastructure built for B2B teams

From
$35/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.; Plain foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Plain actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Plain differ
AttributeBiginPlain
Starting priceFree$35/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthTiered pricing per seat with credit system
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb, API
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
  • Mobile apps
  • Zoho ecosystem
  • Free onboarding

Only in Plain

  • Multi-channel consolidation
  • AI agents
  • Sidekick assistant
  • Insights engine
  • Linear and Jira integration
  • Help Center and Knowledge Base
  • API-first extensibility

Both cover

  • Workflow automation

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 Plain
  • 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 Plain
  • 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 Plain
  • 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 Plain

Plain

  • Consolidating support from multiple channels into one inboxnot Bigin
  • Automating support workflows with AI agentsnot Bigin
  • Extracting insights and trends from customer conversationsnot Bigin
  • Building custom support solutions with API accessnot Bigin
  • Implementing AI-assisted customer support at scalenot 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.

Plain

  • Foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams
  • Pricing increases significantly from Foundation to Horizon ($35 to $299 per month)
  • No published pricing for Frontier (custom) plan
  • Additional seat costs ($99 per seat) add up for larger teams
  • Credit-based system requires monitoring usage to avoid overages

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

Plain

$35/month
  • Foundation$35/month
    • 2,000 credits per month
    • Slack and email channels
    • Ari AI agent
  • Horizon$299/month
    • 15,000 credits per month
    • All Foundation features
    • Microsoft Teams integration
  • Frontier$null/custom
    • Custom credit allowance
    • All Horizon features
    • Discord channels

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 Plain if

  • You need multi-channel consolidation.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want ai agents.
Plain review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Plain better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Plain at $35/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Plain?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $35/month for Plain.
Does Bigin or Plain run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Plain runs on Web, API.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Plain starts at $35/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 Plain is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Plain cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation, AI agents, Sidekick assistant, Insights engine. Both handle Workflow 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.

Plain: What is included in the Foundation plan?

The Foundation plan ($35/month per seat) includes 2,000 credits per month, support for Slack and email, Ari AI agent, Linear and Jira integrations, and Help Center access. Up to 5 seats are included.

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.

Plain: Can I use Plain with Microsoft Teams?

Yes, Microsoft Teams integration is available on the Horizon plan ($299/month) and higher.

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.

Plain: Is there a free trial for Plain?

Yes, Plain offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required. You can also get 50% discount through their startup program.

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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