Softwr

CRM · head to head

Bigin vs Zoho Desk

Bigin logo

Bigin

CRM

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Desk logo

Zoho Desk

Customer Support

Context-aware help desk software

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Zoho Desk free plan caps at three user licenses; paid plans (Express, Standard, Professional, Enterprise) are billed annually to get the listed rate, with monthly billing costing more, and light user seats are priced separately from full agent seats
  • They diverge on capability: Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Zoho Desk covers Ticket management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bigin and Zoho Desk actually diverge.

Attributes where Bigin and Zoho Desk differ
AttributeBiginZoho Desk
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOSWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCRMCustomer Support
FoundedUnknown1996

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Zoho Desk

  • Ticket management
  • Multi-channel support
  • AI assistant
  • Automation
  • Knowledge base
  • Reporting
  • Zoho CRM
  • Slack

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 Zoho Desk
  • 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 Zoho Desk
  • 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 Zoho Desk
  • 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 Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk

  • Multi-channel supportnot Bigin
  • IT help desknot Bigin
  • Customer servicenot 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.

Zoho Desk

  • Free plan caps at three user licenses; paid plans (Express, Standard, Professional, Enterprise) are billed annually to get the listed rate, with monthly billing costing more, and light user seats are priced separately from full agent seats

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

Zoho Desk

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 agents
    • Email ticketing
    • Help center
  • Standard$14/month
    • Social channels
    • Workflow automation
    • Customer happiness ratings
  • Professional$23/month
    • Multi-department
    • Round-robin assignment
    • Custom fields
  • Enterprise$40/month
    • AI Zia
    • Multi-brand help center
    • Advanced analytics

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 Zoho Desk if

  • You need ticket management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want multi-channel support.
Zoho Desk review

Questions people ask

Is Bigin or Zoho Desk better?
Neither clearly leads. Bigin starts at Free and Zoho Desk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bigin or Zoho Desk?
Bigin starts at Free and Zoho Desk at Free.
Does Bigin or Zoho Desk run on more platforms?
Bigin runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, watchOS. Zoho Desk runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Bigin for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Zoho Desk is typically brought in for.
What can Bigin do that Zoho Desk cannot?
Bigin covers Multiple pipelines, Teampipes, Built-in telephony, Email integration. Zoho Desk covers Ticket management, Multi-channel support, AI assistant, 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.

Zoho Desk: What is the starting price and trial period?

Zoho Desk offers a free forever plan with 3 user licenses, plus paid tiers starting from ₹420 per user per month when billed annually. A 15-day free trial is available without requiring a credit card.

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.

Zoho Desk: Are there lock-ins or hidden costs?

No lock-ins and no hidden costs. Once your 15-day free trial ends, your plan automatically downgrades to the free plan.

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.

Zoho Desk: What payment methods are accepted?

Zoho Desk accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and PayPal. Bank transfer or check transfer is accepted for yearly subscriptions.

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.

Zoho Desk: Are there discounts for annual commitments?

Yes, Zoho Desk offers discounts on upfront annual commitments, with savings up to 34% off monthly rates.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Bigin

More on Zoho Desk

Keep looking

Other head to heads