Bigin by Zoho CRM vs Freshsales
We give Bigin by Zoho CRM and Freshsales the same GPA: 3.4 out of 4.0. Bigin by Zoho CRM grades higher on the free plan. Freshsales grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bigin by Zoho CRM
Pipeline-based CRM from Zoho for small businesses
Freshsales
Sales CRM with built-in phone, email, chat and Freddy AI
How we grade them
| 3.4GPABigin by Zoho CRMVery good | 3.4GPAFreshsalesVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AExpress is $7 a user a month billed yearly, or $9 monthly, when paid CRMs here start at about $23 in the middle. It has 3 team pipelines, 50,000 records, 30 automations and mass email. Even the top edition, Bigin 360, is only $18. | AGrowth is $9 a user a month on yearly billing, or $11 monthly, when paid CRMs here start at about $23 in the middle. And it comes with kanban pipelines, built-in phone, email and chat, and basic workflows. Pro is a big step up at $39. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree for good, but for a single user: 1 pipeline, 500 records and 3 automations. You do get the built-in phone, a booking page, web forms and the phone apps. Fine for a one-person shop, tight the day you hire. | CThe pricing page lists no free plan. The trial is a good one, 21 days with full access and no card. But if you don't pick a paid plan when it ends, the account is suspended. |
| Features | BPipelines for any process, workflows, calls made and recorded inside the app, email and WhatsApp Business, web forms, booking pages and payment links. Good basics. But even the top edition stops at 15 pipelines, 100 automation rules and 50 custom fields a module, and AI starts on Premier. | AKanban pipelines, phone, email and chat inside the CRM, Freddy AI for scoring and deal insights, workflows, sales sequences, territories, forecasting and custom modules. Deep. But scoring, sequences and territories start on Pro, and forecasting on Enterprise. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is our ceiling. It's built as a first CRM for people coming off spreadsheets, and there's one-click migration to Zoho CRM if you outgrow it. | B4.5 from about 520 App Store ratings, just under our line for an A. Calls, email and chat are built in, so that's three fewer tools to wire up, and the App Store listing says the phone app works offline. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. It connects to Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp Business, Google Workspace, Teams, Zoom, Mailchimp and QuickBooks, and there's an API. Email and WhatsApp integration start on Express. | AWeb, iPhone, iPad and Android. It connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook, Zoom, Teams, Slack and Freshdesk, and there's an API. No desktop app. |
| Best for | a first CRM for a small business | small sales teams wanting calls inside the CRM |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bigin by Zoho CRM and Freshsales. How we grade
Where they differ
- Bigin by Zoho CRM starts at $7 per user / month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly). Freshsales starts at $9 per user / month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly).
- Bigin by Zoho CRM has a free plan. Freshsales does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Bigin by Zoho CRM lists a macOS app.
- Bigin by Zoho CRM also covers booking links, forms and reports.
- Freshsales also covers kanban boards.
At a glance
| Bigin by Zoho CRM | Freshsales | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $7 per user / month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly) | $9 per user / month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free edition for a single user: 1 pipeline, 500 records, 3 automations, built-in phone, a standard dashboard, 1 booking page, web forms and the mobile apps. | None |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial, no credit card required; the account moves to the Free plan afterwards | 21-day free trial with full access, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Zoho Corporation | Freshworks Inc. |
| Price read from | bigin.com | freshworks.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Bigin by Zoho CRM
- Small businesses moving from spreadsheets to a first CRM
- Solo users who can work within a free single-user plan
- Teams already using Zoho Books, Zoho Desk or other Zoho apps
Freshsales
- Small sales teams that want calling, email and chat inside the CRM
- Teams already using Freshdesk or other Freshworks products
- Buyers looking for a low per-user entry price
Worth knowing
Bigin by Zoho CRM
- The Free edition allows only 1 user, a single pipeline and 500 records.
- Records are capped by edition: 50,000 on Express, 100,000 on Premier and 1 million on Bigin 360, with add-ons for more.
- AI tools such as the writing assistant and record summaries start at Premier and draw on a monthly credit allowance.
- Custom fields are limited to 10 per module on Express, 25 on Premier and 50 on Bigin 360.
Freshsales
- The pricing page lists no free plan; after the 21-day trial an account without a paid plan is suspended.
- Contact scoring, sales sequences and territory management need Pro at $39 per user / month billed annually.
- Monthly billing costs more: Growth is $11 instead of $9 per user, and Pro $47 instead of $39.
- Branded documents ($19 per user / month) and Freddy AI Agent ($49 per 100 sessions) are paid add-ons on every plan.
Key features
Bigin by Zoho CRM
- Team pipelines
- Any customer-facing process, not only sales, can run as a pipeline with customizable stages. Paid editions allow 3 to 15 team pipelines, and connected pipelines follow a customer from one team's pipeline to the next.
- Workflow automation
- Workflows trigger actions instantly or on a schedule. The Free edition allows 3 automations, Express 30, Premier 50 and Bigin 360 100, with stage transition rules from Premier.
- Built-in phone, email and WhatsApp
- Calls can be made, received and recorded inside Bigin. Express adds integration with Gmail, Outlook and Zoho Mail, mass email with insights, and WhatsApp Business.
- Forms, booking pages and payment links
- Web forms feed contacts and pipelines, booking pages let clients schedule meetings, and payment links collect money through gateways such as Stripe and PayPal.
- AI assistants
- From Premier, AI drafts emails, suggests replies, summarizes records and flags cross-sell and churn signals, drawing on 1,000 credits a month, or 3,000 on Bigin 360.
- Mobile and Mac apps
- Apps for iOS, iPadOS, Android and macOS manage customer records away from the desk, and a business card scanner fills in new contacts.
Freshsales
- Kanban deal pipeline
- Contacts, accounts and deals are organized in kanban views with drag-and-drop cards, and each contact has a 360-degree view for context before a conversation.
- Built-in phone, email and chat
- Chat, email and phone are part of every plan, starting with Growth, so conversations happen and are tracked inside the CRM.
- Freddy AI
- Freddy scores contacts, surfaces deal insights and risk signals, resolves duplicate contacts and helps draft prospecting emails. Contact scoring and deal insights start at Pro.
- Workflows and sales sequences
- Basic workflows automate repetitive tasks from the Growth plan. Sales sequences for multi-step outreach are added on Pro.
- Territories, forecasting and permissions
- Pro adds territory management. Enterprise adds forecasting insights, field-level permissions, custom modules, a sandbox and audit logs.
- Mobile apps with offline use
- The iPhone, iPad and Android apps handle contacts, accounts, deals, calls and email, and the App Store listing says the app can also be used offline.
Plans
Bigin by Zoho CRM
Free$0
Single user: 1 pipeline, 500 records, 3 automations, built-in phone, standard dashboard, 1 booking page and web forms.
Express$7
per user / month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly)
3 team pipelines, 50,000 records, 30 automations, email and WhatsApp Business integration, mass email and 10 custom fields per module.
Premier$12
per user / month, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly)
5 team pipelines, 100,000 records, 50 advanced automations, multiple currencies and AI tools with 1,000 AI credits a month.
Bigin 360$18
per user / month, billed yearly ($21 billed monthly)
15 team pipelines, 1 million records, 100 automation rules, 100 booking pages, 1,000 mass emails a day and 3,000 AI credits a month.
Freshsales
Growth$9
per user / month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly)
For startups and small businesses: kanban view, contact lifecycle stages, built-in chat, email and phone, email templates and basic workflows.
Pro$39
per user / month, billed annually ($47 billed monthly)
Adds contact scoring, deal insights, custom sales activities, territory management and sales sequences.
Enterprise$59
per user / month, billed annually ($71 billed monthly)
Adds forecasting insights, field-level permissions, custom modules, a sandbox and audit logs.
Ways to pay less
Bigin by Zoho CRM
- Annual discount
Save up to 35% with yearly billing
Bigin's pricing page advertises savings of up to 35% for yearly billing. In US dollars Express is $7 per user a month billed yearly against $9 monthly, and Premier $12 against $15.
Freshsales
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page's billing toggle advertises a 20% saving on annual plans. Growth is $9 per user a month billed annually against $11 billed monthly.
