Zoho CRM vs Bigin: which one fits, and what Zoho says moves when you upgrade

Disclosure: Skyfall Labs is an official Zoho Partner. This is a cross-post of our guide; the original, with sources, is at https://www.skyfallhq.net/resources/zoho-crm-vs-bigin-which-fits Short answer: Zoho positions Bigin as a pipeline-centric CRM built and priced for small businesses and Zoho CRM as the product for growing businesses and enterprises, and its help documents a built-in upgrade path from Bigin to Zoho CRM that moves most data but not add-ons. Skyfall Labs is an official Zoho Partner and has a commercial interest in Zoho projects; product facts are limited to the cited pages, and our advice is labelled as advice. How Zoho describes the two products Bigin is described on Zoho's comparison page as a pipeline-centric CRM solution built and priced for the needs of small businesses, and recommended for beginners moving off spreadsheets. Zoho CRM is described there as being for growing businesses and enterprises alike. The page says small businesses that eventual

Nov 13, 2026

Zoho CRM vs Bigin: which one fits, and what Zoho says moves when you upgrade

Disclosure: Skyfall Labs is an official Zoho Partner. This is a cross-post of our guide; the original, with sources, is at https://www.skyfallhq.net/resources/zoho-crm-vs-bigin-which-fits

Short answer: Zoho positions Bigin as a pipeline-centric CRM built and priced for small businesses and Zoho CRM as the product for growing businesses and enterprises, and its help documents a built-in upgrade path from Bigin to Zoho CRM that moves most data but not add-ons. Skyfall Labs is an official Zoho Partner and has a commercial interest in Zoho projects; product facts are limited to the cited pages, and our advice is labelled as advice.

How Zoho describes the two products

Bigin is described on Zoho's comparison page as a pipeline-centric CRM solution built and priced for the needs of small businesses, and recommended for beginners moving off spreadsheets.
Zoho CRM is described there as being for growing businesses and enterprises alike.
The page says small businesses that eventually outgrow Bigin can move to Zoho CRM and keep their data.
Zoho's comparison says many advanced Zoho CRM features, such as lead scoring, approval processes and custom modules, appear only in Zoho CRM's higher tiers, while Bigin's tiers have fewer automation, customization and analytics features.
Zoho lists Bigin Free as covering 1 user and Zoho CRM Free as covering 3 users.

Source: Bigin: Bigin and Zoho CRM comparison

Running both together

Zoho says Bigin is included in Zoho One and can be used alongside Zoho CRM.
Zoho's integration page lists a two-way sync of Contacts and Companies with Contacts and Accounts, Pipelines and Products with Deals and Products, plus Activities and Notes.
It says the integration is available in Bigin's Express, Premier and 360 editions and is set up by users with the Administrator profile and CEO role in both apps.
Limits Zoho lists: deleted records do not sync, only one CRM list view can be chosen per module, reminders in activities do not sync, and Contacts and Companies must be synced first.

Source: Bigin: Bigin and Zoho CRM comparison, Zoho Help: Integrating Bigin with Zoho CRM

What Zoho says migrates when you upgrade

Zoho's upgrade steps: an administrator picks Upgrade to Zoho CRM under Subscription in Bigin, chooses a Zoho CRM edition, pays, then runs the migration.
Migrated: users, companies, contacts, team pipelines, sub-pipelines, stages, tasks, events, notes, attachments, associated products and photos, plus custom fields in Contacts, Companies, Pipelines and Products.
Not migrated: add-ons, including phone numbers bought in Bigin; and the Associated Products subform if you move to the Standard edition, which does not support subforms.
Team Pipelines become Layouts in the Deals module, and sub-pipelines become Pipelines in Zoho CRM.
Users beyond the first land in the Inactive users tab until you upgrade the Zoho CRM license to activate them.
Your Bigin subscription is not cancelled automatically and no data is deleted from Bigin; cancelling is a separate step.

Source: Zoho Help: Upgrade to Zoho CRM from Bigin

Edition limits that can cut data on the way in

Zoho says Professional supports 1 layout, so only 1 of 5 Team Pipelines would migrate.
Zoho says Standard supports 5 pipelines, 10 custom fields and 20 tags per module, and that excess items are not migrated: its examples are 6 sub-pipelines yielding 5 and 25 custom fields yielding 10.
These limits mean the edition you choose at upgrade changes what arrives, so compare your Bigin setup against the edition before paying.

Source: Zoho Help: Upgrade to Zoho CRM from Bigin

A way to decide (practical advice)

This section is advice from experience, not vendor documentation.

Stay on Bigin while one simple pipeline does the job and nobody is asking for approvals, scoring or custom modules.
Consider Zoho CRM when you are working around Bigin with spreadsheets, or when several teams need different processes, reports or permissions.
Before upgrading, list your Bigin pipelines, custom fields and tags and check them against the target edition's limits above.
Plan the rebuild of automation and reporting in Zoho CRM instead of assuming it carries over; the page we read lists data, not workflows.

Outgrown Bigin, or unsure you have?

Skyfall Labs helps teams choose between Bigin and Zoho CRM, plan the upgrade against edition limits and rebuild the processes around the moved data. Because we are a Zoho Partner, treat our view with the interest we have disclosed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Bigin and Zoho CRM?

Per Zoho, Bigin is a pipeline-centric CRM built and priced for small businesses, while Zoho CRM is for growing businesses and enterprises and has more advanced automation, customization and analytics in its higher tiers.

Can I upgrade from Bigin to Zoho CRM and keep my data?

Yes. Per Zoho, an administrator chooses Upgrade to Zoho CRM, picks an edition and migrates; users, contacts, companies, pipelines, tasks, events, notes, attachments and custom fields move across.

What does not move when I upgrade from Bigin?

Per Zoho, add-ons such as phone numbers bought in Bigin do not migrate, and the Associated Products subform does not carry over to the Standard edition.

Does upgrading cancel my Bigin subscription?

No. Per Zoho, the Bigin subscription is not cancelled automatically and no Bigin data is deleted; you cancel separately.

Can I use Bigin and Zoho CRM together?

Yes. Per Zoho, Bigin can be used with Zoho CRM and a two-way sync covers contacts, companies, pipelines and deals, activities and notes, with listed limits such as deletions not syncing.

Will all my Bigin pipelines fit in Zoho CRM Standard or Professional?

Not necessarily. Per Zoho, Standard supports 5 pipelines and 10 custom fields per module and Professional supports 1 layout, so extra items are not migrated.