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  • Limitations
  • Features
  • Comparison
  • Reviews

Bigin: The ideal CRM for small businesses

Bigin is a CRM tailor-made for small businesses and start-ups. With features aimed at streamlining every aspect of your business and resolving even the tiniest of hiccups that can arise on a daily basis, Bigin will revolutionize the way you run your business.

Comprehensive contact modules, detailed pipeline views, built-in telephone and email systems, a versatile form builder, and plethora of other features await you! What more do you need? Well, you need just 30 minutes to set up your Bigin account. It's easy to set up and easier to use. Bigin is the ideal CRM for a small business with a small budget.

Bigin as a relationship tracking spreadsheet
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Major limitations of Act!

Frequent technical issues and instability

Users report that Act! can be prone to freezing, crashing, and slow performance, especially during database access or when loading reports. These disruptions can halt workflows and cost businesses time, with fixes sometimes requiring costly upgrades to newer versions for restored stability.

No built-in phone system

Act! doesn't feature its own phone functionality. Users can't make, receive, or record phone calls directly from the CRM, nor can they maintain an integrated call history or capture conversation notes within the system itself. This limits the ability to track and manage phone interactions alongside other customer communications.

Legacy interface and dated user experience

Many users find Act!'s user interface old-fashioned and unintuitive compared to modern CRM solutions. The terminology and menu structure can be confusing for new adopters, leading to a steeper learning curve and slower onboarding for new staff.

Complex and confusing licensing/cost structure

While advertised as affordable, Act!'s costs add up quickly with required annual payments, frequent upselling for critical support, and per-user pricing that can inflate rapidly as your team grows. Some features come as costly add-ons rather than being included in the base package, which can lead to surprise bills.

Difficult user offboarding and reassignment

Transferring notes, histories, and tasks from departing employees to new users can be messy and sometimes cause confusion due to how Act! handles record ownership and history.

Clunky and slow reporting/tools

Act!'s reporting system is described as slow to load, lacking clarity in terminology, and not always providing actionable business insights. Customized or advanced reports may be especially cumbersome to generate in practice.

Limited and sometimes unreliable customer support

Support is regularly cited as slow, difficult to access, and not always accurate in resolving complex issues. Users note long wait times, incomplete documentation, and fixes that reference outdated or missing options in the application itself.

hubspot bigin alert

Here's a list of features that Bigin offers for your business:

Multiple pipelines
  • Multiple pipelines
  • Workflow automation
  • Customizable dashboards
  • Built-in telephony
  • Integration with third-party apps
  • Enterprise-grade security
  • Mobile app for iOS & Android
 
SCAN HERE
Multiple pipeline Multiple pipeline
spreadsheets automation workflows in Bigin spreadsheets automation workflows in Bigin
custom dasboard
Built-in telephony in Bigin Built-in telephony call in Bigin
Grade security

Act! vs. Bigin

Fearures

Bigin
Express $ 7 /user/month billed annually
Monday
standard CRM$17/user/month billed annually
Bigin
Premier $ 12 /user/month billed annually
Monday
PRO CRM$28/user/month billed annually
Expand All

SALES

  • Contact and lead management
  • Contact and lead management
  • Contact and lead management
  • Contact and lead management
  • Contact and lead management

COMMUNICATION

  • Built-in telephony
  • Telephony marketplace
  • Built-in IVR system
  • Meeting integrations
  • Email integrations
  • Email templates
  • Email insights
  • WhatsApp integration
  • X integration

AUTOMATION

  • Workflow automation
  • Stage automation
  • Built-in
  • Status-based
  • Built-in
  • Status-based
  • Stage automation
  • Built-in
  • Status-based
  • Built-in
  • Status-based
  • Automation across apps via Zapier and Zoho Flow
  • Only Zapier
  • Only Zapier

STREAMLINING CUSTOMER-FACING OPERATIONS

  • Built-in pipelines dedicated to different operations
  • Case and ticket management through Email-in
  • Connected records
  • Built-in dashboards for detailed insights into your business

DATA AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

  • Versatile no-code form builder
  • Social media lead capture
  • Duplicate cleanup
  • Via Zapier only
  • Via Zapier only
  • Full-fledged file collection and management
  • Customizable user profiles and roles
  • Customization (Fields, tags, views, filters)
  • Stage transition rules
  • Multi-currency support
  • Sheet view

INTEGRATIONS

  • App marketplace
  • API credits
  • Developer Console

  • Features

  • Premier$12/user/month billed annually
    Bigin 360$18/user/month billed annually
  • Salesforce Starter Suite$25/user/month billed annually
    Salesforce Starter Suite$25/user/month billed annually

Features

  • SALES
  • Full-fledged pipeline management
  • Contact & Lead Management
  • Deal management
  • Activity management
  • Payment collection
  • Quote management
  • COMMUNICATION
  • Built-in telephony
  • Telephony marketplace
  • Built-in IVR system
  • Meeting integrations
  • Email integrations
  • Email templates
  • Email insights
  • WhatsApp integration
  • X integration
  • AUTOMATION
  • Workflow automation
  • Stage automation
  • Formula fields
  • Automation across apps via Zapier and Zoho Flow
  • STREAMLINING CUSTOMER-FACING OPERATIONS
  • Built-in pipelines dedicated to different operations
  • Case and ticket management through Email-in
  • Connected records (When a record reaches the desired stage in one team pipeline, you can create a record automatically in another team pipeline that captures the next set of business activities.)
  • Built-in dashboards for detailed insights into your business
  • DATA AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
  • Versatile no-code form builder
  • Social media lead capture
  • Duplicate cleanup
  • Full-fledged file collection and management
  • Customizable user profiles and roles
  • Customization (Fields, tags, views, filters)
  • Stage transition rules
  • Multi-currency support
  • Sheet view
  • INTEGRATIONS
  • App marketplace
  • API credits
  • Developer Console
Premier₹12/user/month billed annuallyAccess Bigin
₹18/user/month billed annuallyAccess Bigin
Salesforce Starter Suit$25/user/month billed annually
Salesforce premium Suit$25/user/month billed annually

All you need to take your business to the next level

Bigin is the right choice for your small business and is trusted by over 30,000 small businesses globally. We want to help you scale up your business and achieve consistent growth. And in the future, if your business needs more than what Bigin can offer, you can always switch to Zoho CRM or Zoho CRM Plus. We're here to help you at every milestone your business reaches.

ACT! CRM vs. Bigin

  • Features
  • Act! CRM US$ 30 /user/month/
    billed yearly
  • Bigin Free US$ 0 /user/month/
    billed yearly
  • Bigin Express US$ 7 /user/month/
    billed yearly
  • Bigin Premier US$ 12 /user/month/
    billed yearly
  • Features
  • Full-fledged Pipeline Management
  • Connected Records (When a record reaches the desired stage in one team pipeline, you can create a record automatically in another team pipeline that captures the next set of business activities.)
  • Contact &
    Deal management
  • Email Integration
  • Email Templates and Insights
  • Free Gmail add-on
  • Google Workspace & Microsoft 365 integration
  • Built-in Telephony
  • Telephony Marketplace
  • Free Invoicing
  • Built-in Forms
  • Workflow Automation
  • Activity Management (Calls, Events, Tasks)
  • Customization (Fields, Tags, Views, Filters)
  • Built-in Dashboards
  • Customizable User Profiles & Roles
  • Stage Transition Rules
  • Multi-currency
  • Developer tools
  • App Marketplace
  • Mobile apps (iOS, Android, iPadOS)
  • macOS app
  • Act! CRM US$30 /user/month/
    billed yearly
  • Bigin Free US$0 /user/month/
    billed yearly
  • 5000 credits/day/org
  • Bigin Express US$ 7 /user/month/
    billed yearly
  • (Additional 10 custom dashboards)
  • One to 50,000 credits + (No of user licenses * 250)
  • Bigin Premier US$ 12 /user/month/
    billed yearly
  • (Additional 10 custom dashboards)
  • One to 50,000 credits + (No of user licenses * 250)

All you need to take your business to the next level

Bigin is the right choice for your small business and is trusted by over 30,000+ small businesses globally. We want to help you scale up your business and achieve consistent growth. And in the future, if your business needs more than what Bigin can offer, you can always switch to Zoho CRM or Zoho CRM Plus. We're here to help you at every milestone your business reaches.

Bigin is trusted by 30,000+ small businesses globally

As a small business with a big vision, having access to accurate and relevant data about customers and prospects is critical! Bigin and their onboarding team assisted us on our journey. The one-on-one onboarding sessions, easy-to-use platform and mobile application have been well received by our team - although we are early into using Bigin we are already experiencing the benefits!

I was looking for a simple sales-oriented CRM and was going through and signing up for the top five. Each one had way more features than I needed and I wanted something that had an app, wouldn't drain my time learning how to use, and just did what I needed to do and didn't cost an arm and a leg per user. Then I came across Bigin—not sure how—but it was exactly what I was looking for. Only started with it about three weeks ago, but I'm a very happy camper.

The Bigin team at Zoho has brilliantly solved the software adoption dilemma faced by sales organizations today. Now, with the ability to customize pipeline views, stages, module names, and fields, the moment one of our salespeople starts using the app, it simply works, and they love using it. It requires virtually zero training. In today's environment, the importance of simplicity, focus, and ease of use cannot be overstated, and the team at Bigin has just delivered a world-class tool.

Love the new features. It helps make the entire CRM system more personal and germane to our workflow. The searches seem to be more pointed and concise. Bigin has the capabilities and customization for my growing business and no bloat to clutter my process. Overall, Bigin was the perfect option for what I needed.

Joel Gustafson,Chief Operating Officer, Car Trade Go Inc
Nachum Klingman, CEO, Book Like A Boss Ltd
Seth Campbell,President, Five Doors Inc
Derek Osborne,CEO,Osborne Real Estate and Business Brokerage
123 4
/ 4

Expert reviews and ratings

  • Rating Platform
  • Act!
    Premium cloud
  • Bigin
  • 3.7/5

  • 4.6/5

  • 3.9/5

  • 4.7/5

  • PCMag.com
  • 3/5 [Good]

  • 4.0/5

    [Excellent]

*The names and logos for Zoho are trademarks of Zoho Corp. All other trademarks, brand names, or product names belong to their respective holders. Comparison information as of 25.06.2023