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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Striven

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Striven logo

Striven

ERP

All-in-one business management for growing companies

From
$35/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.; Striven occasional performance issues with slow load times in some modules
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Striven covers CRM.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Striven actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Striven differ
AttributeBiginStriven
Starting priceFree$35/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb, Mobile, API
CategoryCRMERP
FoundedUnknown2008

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 Striven

  • CRM
  • Project management
  • Accounting
  • HR management
  • Inventory
  • QuickBooks
  • Outlook
  • Google Workspace

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 Striven
  • 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 Striven
  • 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 Striven
  • 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 Striven

Striven

  • Software consolidationnot Bigin
  • Business operationsnot Bigin
  • Project-based businessesnot 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.

Striven

  • Occasional performance issues with slow load times in some modules
  • Dated UI in places with clunky mobile app experience
  • Very limited customization options compared to enterprise ERP solutions
  • No Zapier or third-party app marketplace integration

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

Striven

$35/month
  • Standard$35/month
    • Accounting
    • CRM and sales
    • Project management
  • Enterprise$70/month
    • All Standard features
    • Advanced customization
    • 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 Striven if

  • You need crm.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, API.
  • You also want project management.
Striven review

Questions people ask

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

Striven: What is Striven's pricing model?

Striven uses user-based pricing: Standard plan at $35/user/month and Enterprise plan at $70/user/month. For accounts with fewer than 5 users, an additional $25 per user applies.

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.

Striven: Does Striven offer a free trial or free tier?

Yes, Striven offers a 7-day free test drive with no credit card required. However, there is no permanent free version or free tier for production use.

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.

Striven: What modules does Striven include?

Striven includes accounting, CRM and sales management, project management, task management, inventory, HR, OKRs, and workflow automation across all plans.

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.

Striven: Does Striven offer optional add-ons like customer portals?

Yes, Striven offers optional monthly portal plans: free tier for up to 100 customers/vendors/applications per month, $99/month for 500, and $499/month for unlimited access.

Source
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