# Bigin by Zoho CRM: A Highly Capable, Cost-Effective Platform for SMBs > Source: > Published: 2026-08-03 15:29:39+00:00 ## Pros & Cons - - Affordable for small businesses - High-quality contact management tools - Robust automation features - Good range of integrations - - No kanban view for leads ## Bigin by Zoho CRM Specs | 24-Hour Support | | | Analytics | | | Custom Dashboards | | | Email Routing | | | Phone Support | | | Pipeline Management | | | REST API | | | User Forums | For small businesses new to [customer relationship management](/crm-software/130916/the-best-small-business-crm-software) (CRM), Bigin by Zoho CRM focuses on essential features and onboarding tools to help you get up and running quickly. An excellent free tier for single users, good integration support, a robust automation builder, and unusual (but welcome) voice-calling capabilities round out the experience. The recent addition of simple, yet effective AI features further bolsters Bigin’s utility. It earns our Editors' Choice award for SMB CRMs alongside [Freshsales](/cloud-services/91812/freshsales-crm), which has an equally compelling user interface and more advanced email management tools. ## Pricing: Highly Affordable Plans and a Free Tier Bigin offers a perpetually free plan that supports a single CRM user. This tier allows for just one sales pipeline but provides comprehensive management tools for contacts, products, and activities. It lets you create three automations with an unlimited number of instant tasks, but limits you to just 500 records. Available integrations include [Microsoft Teams](https://ca.pcmag.com/team-messaging/4717/microsoft-teams), Gmail, [Zapier](https://ca.pcmag.com/productivity/4620/zapier), Zoho PhoneBridge (for connecting cloud [VoIP](/internet-telephony-voip-products) setups), [Zoho Desk](https://ca.pcmag.com/help-desk/6304/zoho-desk), Zoho Forms, and [Zoho Projects](https://ca.pcmag.com/reviews/11018/zoho-projects). Some other CRMs, such as [HubSpot Smart CRM](https://ca.pcmag.com/crm-software/5257/hubspot-smart-crm), also offer free-forever plans, but it’s not common. Every plan includes VoIP functionality, but you must pay [per-minute rates](https://www.zoho.com/telephony/pricing.html) for inbound and outbound calls. The entry-level Express tier ($7 per user per month, billed annually) supports three pipelines, 30 automations, 50,000 records, bulk emailing tools, and a payment collection tool. You also get integrations with [Google Workspace](https://ca.pcmag.com/office-suites/962/google-workspace), [Microsoft 365](https://ca.pcmag.com/productivity-products/7519/microsoft-office-365-home-premium), [Mailchimp](https://ca.pcmag.com/marketing-automation-software/3727/mailchimp), [Zoom Workplace](https://ca.pcmag.com/video-conferencing-software/1111/zoom-workplace), more Zoho tools (including [Zoho CRM](https://ca.pcmag.com/lead-management/4343/zoho-crm)), and a variety of social media advertising platforms. Bigin's Premier level ($12 per user per month, billed annually) accommodates five pipelines, 25 custom fields per module, 100,000 records, and international currencies. It also supports up to 50 advanced automations that can schedule tasks. With this tier, Bigin now provides AI tools, including a cross-sell genie agent, a churn analyzer, an email reply assistant, a writing assistant, and record summarization capabilities. Each user gets 1,000 AI credits per month at this level. Finally, the Bigin 360 plan ($18 per user per month, billed annually) unlocks 15 pipelines, 50 custom fields per module, 100 advanced automations, 1,000 mass emails per day, and one million records. It also includes the [File Cabinet](https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/bigin/integration/articles/file-cabinet-topping) tool for organizing client files (comes with 5GB of storage). With this tier, the per-person AI credit limit increases to 3,000 per month. Users on all plans can purchase additional AI credits at a rate of $1 per 1,000 credits. All plans (including the free one) support MCP for connecting third-party AI tools. Bigin's prices are highly competitive compared with other CRM services. The company's full-scale Zoho CRM starts at $14 per user per month (billed annually). (It also has a free tier.) Freshsales, another CRM that mostly targets smaller businesses, starts at $9 per user per month (billed annually). On the high end of entry-level CRMs, [Salesforce Starter](https://ca.pcmag.com/crm-software/2875/salesforce-starter-suite) starts at $25 per user per month (billed annually). It offers more advanced features and an upgrade path to the full Salesforce platform, but it might not be worth the extra cost, depending on your business needs. ## Getting Started: Quick Setup With Team Invitation Limits You can log in to Bigin via its desktop (macOS) or mobile (Android and iOS) apps, as well as a web browser. Oddly, it doesn't offer a dedicated Windows app. Bigin's web interface takes you to the Pipelines (deals) section by default. The first time you log in, a pop-up directs you to invite your colleagues, create a form to collect information from prospective leads, or set up integrations. I’m surprised this list doesn’t include importing contacts, but I still appreciate how these options can help guide first-time CRM users. Bigin didn't immediately offer an onboarding session, though this might be because I was using an account I upgraded from a previous free trial. A customer service rep nonetheless informed me that I could still request an onboarding session via email or phone. You can add team members by entering their email addresses, names, roles (which control what they can see within the CRM), and profiles (which control the actions they can take). Roles and profiles are configurable in the Settings area. The default roles are Level One (view access to all records within the CRM) and Level Two (view access to all records not restricted to Level One). The default Profiles are Administrator (can customize all settings and manage all data and users) and Standard (can do everything except administration tasks). Bigin doesn't let you invite users in bulk, so you might find it frustrating if you need to onboard more than a few team members. ## Interface and Ease of Use: Minimalist and Beginner-Friendly Bigin’s interface has a minimalist look much like that of [Less Annoying CRM](/cloud-services/88109/less-annoying-crm). The primary color is a pleasant greenish-blue, and you can customize colors for pipeline stages and more. The main left-hand toolbar lets you access key sections, such as Analytics and Contacts, while the top toolbar includes links to create new records, view notifications, and access settings. I find the user experience highly approachable and don't think first-time CRM users will have any problems orienting themselves. Freshsales is similarly friendly to newcomers. ## Support: Flexible 24/5 Live Help and AI Assistance Bigin provides a 30-day guided onboarding process (including assistance with data transport), basic product training, and access to biweekly webinars. All plans also offer 24/5 customer support via email, live chat, and phone. This availability is pretty similar to offerings from most other CRMs, including Freshsales. Apptivo does slightly better with 24/7 live chat, but its phone support is also 24/5. Bigin’s AI-powered customer service bot was helpful with most of my basic questions. It also connected me to a human agent, who responded almost immediately and answered the rest of my questions within a few minutes. ## Importing Contacts: Simple Formatting and High Flexibility You can import contacts from a spreadsheet, as well as from HubSpot, [Insightly](/insightly/), Pipedrive, or Zoho CRM via API tools. If you import contacts from a spreadsheet, Bigin provides formatting instructions to ensure that your contacts upload correctly. Some other CRMs, such as [Pipedrive](https://ca.pcmag.com/lead-management/4749/pipedrive-crm), don't make things as clear. Two fields (address and state/province) I had in a sample spreadsheet didn’t map automatically because the Bign's default fields include only company mailing addresses. However, it was easy to create new fields for this data to accommodate contacts without companies. Bigin also gave me the option to add tags and trigger automations for contacts upon import. After you import them, contacts appear in a spreadsheet with three default fields: Contact Name, Company Name, and Contact Owner. It's simple to remove the Company Name field if you’re running a B2C business. You can also add fields for things, such as currency, custom text, and URLs. ## Leads: Unified Profiles With Built-In Calling Features Unlike other CRMs, Bigin by Zoho doesn’t separate leads and contacts. It has contacts (people you’re communicating with) and companies (organizations you’re attempting to work with) instead. You can add tags such as “Leads” and “Qualified Contacts” to make it easier to find people in different stages of your pipeline. The Companies and Contacts pages offer near-identical functionality, so I focus on the latter here. As mentioned, contacts appear in a spreadsheet by default. An alternative list view is available, but it doesn't look much different. You can't switch to a Kanban view, something that many other CRMs offer, including [Apptivo](/cloud-services/70085/apptivo-crm) and Freshsales. Contact profiles open in a new page rather than as an overlay like in Freshsales. The profiles show the contact’s basic information on the left and their history on the right. Tabs for activities, emails, notes, pipelines, and relevant files are also present. I enjoy having separate tabs for each area, as it reduces the need to scroll to find information. In the Activities tab, you can create and assign tasks for each contact, including reaching out via email, scheduling events such as [Zoom meetings](/video-conferencing-software/149167/zoom-one), and setting up calls for prospecting or other purposes. You can also send emails directly from a contact’s profile. If you’re on the Premier or Bigin 360 plans, you can open the Writing Assistant to view an assessment of your email’s reading level and overall quality. You can’t use the AI to generate new emails as in Freshsales or Zoho CRM, but you can generate replies in existing email threads. Bigin's calling features help it stand out from most other CRMs; you can place and receive phone calls without leaving the CRM or connecting to a third-party service. It automatically logs calls and maps records to the relevant contact profiles, saving you a lot of time. You can also route calls through interactive voice response (IVR) menus and purchase custom phone numbers for users within your organization. Just keep in mind that, as mentioned, you pay for every call you place and receive on a per-minute basis. You can send mass emails in the main contacts area by checking the boxes next to multiple contacts and clicking the Send Email button near the top of the page. Bigin doesn't provide prebuilt templates like more advanced CRMs, but you can quickly draft and schedule an email much as you would through Gmail. It's also easy to turn any email you create into a template. Bigin lets you send mass emails to all of your contacts or specify recipients in a company or pipeline. ## Deals: Comprehensive Pipelines, Products, and Activity Management Deal management happens in the Pipelines section. Here, a Kanban board shows where your current deals are in your sales pipeline. You can switch this to a list or table view, add new stages to the pipeline, or delete stages as necessary. Bigin also lets you create automations for each pipeline stage, such as a rule that automatically sends a thank-you email when a deal moves to the “Closed - Won” stage. Team pipelines let you organize every stage of the customer journey, with templates for customer support, sales, and more. You can move deals between these pipelines as necessary. For example, you might move a deal to the Customer Onboarding pipeline once you close a sale. This is similar to the pipeline functionality in most other CRMs. Clicking a button in the top-right corner opens a sidebar to enter a deal name, assign it to a company or contact, select the current stage, and enter the dollar value. You can select an expected closing date for a deal, add a description, and assign products. Next, Bigin takes you to a deal screen that resembles the contact profile. The left side shows the contact information for the person you assigned to the deal, the deal description, and other basic information. The right side shows a timeline-style history and tabs for Activities, Notes, and more. One standout feature here is the Collect Payment button. It lets you create custom payment links and receive money via [PayPal](https://ca.pcmag.com/mobile-payment-apps/5254/paypal) or Stripe once you connect your accounts. For example, if you close a deal for a coaching package during a call, you can send a link via Bigin and receive payment without using additional software. The process for adding products to Bigin is similar to adding deals: name your product, assign a product code, set the dollar value, and choose a product category. Your products will then appear in a table. The Activities area displays all activities relevant to your pipelines and contacts in a calendar that syncs with both Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. It's possible to show only specific types of tasks or tasks you are responsible for. Tabs for Calls, Events, and Tasks let you view these activities in list or table views so you can keep track of what happened the prior month and what's coming up. ## Automations: Code-Free Visual Builders for Rules and Triggers You access Bigin’s automation features in the Settings section. Two types are available: Workflows, which trigger based on record changes, and Stage Automations, which trigger when a deal moves to a new stage in its pipeline. I created a Workflow to notify me when a deal’s closing date changes and was pleased by how simple the process was, using an intuitive visual builder that required no code or technical expertise. Stage Automations use the same visual builder, keeping things simple. You can also set up Zoho Flow Actions that connect to external apps to perform tasks, such as automatically sending a Slack message to the appropriate team member when a contact appears in a specific pipeline. Zoho Flow Actions support most Zoho apps, as well as third-party apps such as MailChimp, OneDrive, and WooCommerce. However, only the first 100 monthly actions in Zoho Flow Actions are free; after that, you’ll pay $2 per thousand credits. ## Email Management: Centralized Inbox Management and Tracking Bigin’s inbox is also in the Settings section. This isn’t the most intuitive place for it, but email management itself is simple. If you use popular email tools, such as Gmail or Outlook, you can sync Bigin with your regular email inbox. This integration enables you to manage all of your emails in one place and assign them to specific contacts or team members. Go to the Organization Emails tab to connect official department email addresses. Other standout features include the ability to choose who can access certain types of emails, create templates for things such as thank-you emails, improve the deliverability of your emails, and see whether recipients open emails you send. This is similar to Freshsales’ email capacity, though I found Freshsales’ email systems more intuitive. Freshsales also offers better tools for sending bulk emails. ## Reporting and Analytics: Clear Dashboards for High-Level Reporting The Dashboards section shows analytics. The main page displays a bird’s-eye view of your business progress for the month: contacts created, tasks completed, pipelines won and lost, top companies, open pipelines, and revenue. You can add data points, such as sales target trackers, by clicking the Components button in the top right corner. Bigin also offers specialized dashboards for things like email analytics, pipelines, and tasks. This makes it easy to see different types of information without being overwhelming. The platform lets you create new dashboards, too. This functionality goes beyond what you get from other small-business CRMs, such as Less Annoying CRM, and matches what's available in Freshsales. ## Integrations: Essential Third-Party Tools and Zoho Ecosystem As mentioned, Bigin supports a generous range of integrations, which it calls Toppings. These include connections to most Zoho apps and numerous third-party tools, such as Microsoft 365, [QuickBooks](/accounting-tax-software/41899/intuit-quickbooks-online), and Zapier. Freshsales and Zoho CRM offer more options, but Bigin's target business should be able to get by just fine. Notably, some integrations use AI, such as the option to generate estimates and invoices via QuickBooks. A Shopify integration also now allows you to sync orders, customers, and products to create a dedicated sales pipeline within Bigin. These tools can help you manage every aspect of the customer journey without leaving the CRM. ## AI Tools: Promising Record Summaries and Writing Tools Bigin offers an AI writing assistant that evaluates the quality of your emails and a summarization tool to help you quickly understand detailed records. The latter's quality assessments of various lead profiles and deals were impressive in testing. The writing assistant, however, provided only rudimentary guidance, which I found to be largely unhelpful. The code-free product catalog builder lets you integrate product sales into your CRM pipelines, with the option to accept payments within Bigin. Service-based businesses, meanwhile, can use Bigin’s AI to generate a custom appointment-booking system, making it easy for your customers to schedule appointments and for your team to manage the schedule. The Cross-Sell Genie claims to use customer data and past interactions to identify cross-selling opportunities across pipelines. I didn’t have products or services to enter into the system, so I wasn't able to test how this works in practice. Bigin’s AI tools stand out compared with other small business CRMs, such as Less Annoying CRM, which don't have any AI features. Of course, pricier CRMs, such as Zoho CRM, offer even more robust tools, including an AI assistant that can generate all kinds of communications, including new email threads, rather than just replies. However, I find most AI-generated emails to be bland, so this isn't a huge advantage. ## Security and Privacy: Strong Data Policies and MFA Support Bigin operates under the same [privacy policy](https://www.zoho.com/privacy.html) as other Zoho tools, which states that Zoho collects the smallest amount of information possible to function and is compliant with numerous privacy regulations, including HIPAA. Notably, Zoho also states that “our biggest commitment is that we do not make a single dollar from advertising revenue—never have, never will—even from the free editions of our products. This means we avoid the fundamental conflict of interest between gathering customer information and fueling advertising revenue, and the unavoidable compromises in customer privacy that it brings.” You can protect individual accounts with [multi-factor authentication](/security/153947/the-best-authenticator-apps-for-2024), including through Zoho’s OneAuth app. It's also possible to enable Single-Sign-On through your primary Zoho account, which enables it for all Zoho apps. ## Final Thoughts # Bigin by Zoho CRM: A Highly Capable, Cost-Effective Platform for SMBs The approachable, flexible, and low-cost Bigin by Zoho CRM makes it an ideal solution for small businesses that need to organize contacts and leads, even if they're starting from scratch.