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CRM · head to head

Bigin vs SupportBee

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
SupportBee logo

SupportBee

Customer Support

Simple email ticketing for small teams

From
$13/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.; SupportBee email-only ticketing, no live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, SupportBee covers Shared inbox.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and SupportBee actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and SupportBee differ
AttributeBiginSupportBee
Starting priceFree$13/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb, Mobile Browser
CategoryCRMCustomer Support
FoundedUnknown2010

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 SupportBee

  • Shared inbox
  • Email ticketing
  • Snippets
  • Customer portal
  • Knowledge base
  • Reports
  • Slack
  • Trello

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 SupportBee
  • 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 SupportBee
  • 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 SupportBee
  • 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 SupportBee

SupportBee

  • Email supportnot Bigin
  • Ticket managementnot Bigin
  • Team collaborationnot 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.

SupportBee

  • Email-only ticketing, no live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features
  • Basic reporting and analytics, lacking advanced dashboards and customizable metrics
  • No SLA management capabilities
  • Limited workflow customization compared to enterprise platforms
  • No dedicated mobile app (web interface only)
  • Confusing navigation and UI issues reported by some users
  • Cannot select and snooze multiple emails at once
  • Occasional performance delays

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

SupportBee

$13/month
  • Startup$13/month
    • Unlimited tickets and inboxes
    • Team inbox with ticket assignment
    • Knowledge base integration (KBee)
  • Enterprise$17/month
    • All Startup features
    • Advanced integrations
    • Custom roles and permissions

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 SupportBee if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You work on Web, Mobile Browser.
  • You also want email ticketing.
SupportBee review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or SupportBee better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and SupportBee at $13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or SupportBee?
Bigin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bigin and $13/month for SupportBee.
Does Bigin or SupportBee run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. SupportBee runs on Web, Mobile Browser.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Yes. Bigin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SupportBee starts at $13/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 SupportBee is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that SupportBee cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. SupportBee covers Shared inbox, Email ticketing, Snippets, Customer portal.

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.

SupportBee: How much does SupportBee cost?

SupportBee offers Startup plan at $13/user/month and Enterprise at $17/user/month, both with unlimited tickets and inboxes. No per-ticket charges. A 14-day free trial is available with no credit card required.

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.

SupportBee: Does SupportBee offer live chat or phone support?

No. SupportBee focuses on email ticketing and does not include native live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features. It is designed for email-based customer support.

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.

SupportBee: What platforms can SupportBee run on?

SupportBee is a web-based platform accessible on desktop and mobile browsers. It does not offer a dedicated desktop or mobile app, but the web interface is responsive and works on phones. Integration with email clients is available.

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.

SupportBee: Does SupportBee integrate with Slack?

Yes. SupportBee integrates with Slack to send real-time notifications for new tickets, replies, assignments, and internal comments. Teams can configure which events trigger alerts and organize notifications into dedicated channels.

Source
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