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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Really Simple Systems

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
R

Really Simple Systems

CRM

Easy CRM for small businesses

From
$15/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.; Really Simple Systems the vendor's own pricing page as captured by the Internet Archive on 22 October 2019 listed four CRM tiers billed annually: Free at $0 for up to 2 users, Starter at $14 per user per month, Professional at $30 per user per month, and Enterprise at $46 per user per month (each roughly 7 to 10 percent higher if billed monthly); the Marketing add-on was $22 per month for up to 5,000 emails and Advanced Marketing scaled to 50,000 emails per month, though this capture is over five years old
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Really Simple Systems covers Contact management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Really Simple Systems actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Really Simple Systems differ
AttributeBiginReally Simple Systems
Starting priceFree$15/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
  • Workflow automation
  • Mobile apps
  • Zoho ecosystem
  • Free onboarding

Only in Really Simple Systems

  • Contact management
  • Sales pipeline
  • Task management
  • Reporting
  • Zapier
  • Google Workspace
  • GDPR
  • Cloud deployment

Both cover

  • Email integration

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 Really Simple Systems
  • 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 Really Simple Systems
  • 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 Really Simple Systems
  • 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 Really Simple Systems

Really Simple Systems

  • Sales managementnot Bigin
  • Contact 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.

Really Simple Systems

  • The vendor's own pricing page as captured by the Internet Archive on 22 October 2019 listed four CRM tiers billed annually: Free at $0 for up to 2 users, Starter at $14 per user per month, Professional at $30 per user per month, and Enterprise at $46 per user per month (each roughly 7 to 10 percent higher if billed monthly); the Marketing add-on was $22 per month for up to 5,000 emails and Advanced Marketing scaled to 50,000 emails per month, though this capture is over five years old

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

Really Simple Systems

$15/month
  • Essential$15/month
    • Contact management
    • Task tracking
  • Professional$25/month
    • Everything in Essential
    • Sales pipeline
    • Reporting
  • Professional Plus$35/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Advanced customization

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 Really Simple Systems if

  • You need contact management.
  • You also want sales pipeline.
Really Simple Systems review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Really Simple Systems better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Really Simple Systems at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Really Simple Systems?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $15/month for Really Simple Systems.
Does Bigin or Really Simple Systems run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Really Simple Systems runs on Web.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Really Simple Systems starts at $15/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 Really Simple Systems is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Really Simple Systems cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Workflow automation. Really Simple Systems covers Contact management, Sales pipeline, Task management, Reporting. Both handle Email integration.

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.

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.

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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