Best for
Best for small teams moving off spreadsheets who want a pipeline-first CRM at a low per-user price, with a free plan to start on.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
CRM Comparison
Bigin by Zoho CRM vs. folk
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for agencies, startups and venture teams that win work through relationships and want enrichment and follow-ups handled inside the CRM.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Bigin by Zoho CRM | folk |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value Free tier; Express from US$9 / user / month Billed yearly the rates fall to 7 US dollars for Express, 12 for Premier and 18 for Bigin 360 per user per month, saving up to 35 percent. The Free plan is a single user. No forced contracts, with a money-back guarantee within 30 days on monthly plans and 45 days on annual. | From $24 / member / month Standard billed annually; $30 per member billed monthly. Premium is $48 billed annually or $60 monthly, Enterprise $80 billed annually or $100 monthly. Prices in US dollars, per member. |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial with all premium features, no credit card required |
| API | Yes, APIs on every plan including Free | Yes, API access from the Premium plan, documented at developer.folk.app |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Contacts and companies | Yes, a 360-degree contact record holding every conversation and follow-up, with record limits from 500 on Free to 1 million on Bigin 360 | Yes, contacts and companies in customisable groups, with one-click enrichment for missing emails and phone numbers and a folkX Chrome extension that imports leads from LinkedIn |
| Deal pipeline | Yes, customisable team pipelines for different operations and departments: 1 on Free, 3 on Express, 5 on Premier and 15 on Bigin 360 | Yes, shared pipelines across the sales cycle with roles and permissions; custom objects and deals from the Premium plan |
| Email and calendar | Yes, email, phone calls, WhatsApp and social messages against the customer record, with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 integration; mass email from Express upward | Yes, Gmail and Outlook email and calendar sync plus WhatsApp sync; email sequences from the Premium plan |
| Workflow automation | Yes, workflow automation that triggers email sequences, schedules actions and assigns tasks: 3 automations on Free, 30 on Express, 50 advanced on Premier and 100 on Bigin 360 | Yes, a workflow assistant that triggers personalised email campaigns on defined triggers, alongside follow-up, recap and research assistants |
| Reporting and forecasting | Yes, smart analytics dashboards covering sales metrics, customer tracking and campaign performance | Yes, sales dashboards, with dashboards and full interaction history from the Premium plan |
| Integrations and API | Yes, APIs on every plan including Free, with QuickBooks, Zoho Books, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Shopify, PayPal and social ad platform integrations plus 2,000 or more apps through Zapier | Yes, API access from the Premium plan, with developer documentation; connects to Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp, Feedly and Zapier |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Onboarding | Not stated | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Guided onboarding |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries QuickBooks, Zoho Books, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Shopify, PayPal, Zapier | Gmail, Outlook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Zapier, Feedly |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Bigin by Zoho CRM Free tier; Express from US$9 / user / month folk From $24 / member / month
- Free trial Bigin by Zoho CRM 15-day free trial, no credit card required folk 14-day free trial with all premium features, no credit card required
- Company size Bigin by Zoho CRM Freelancers, Small and mid-sized folk Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- API Bigin by Zoho CRM Yes, APIs on every plan including Free folk Yes, API access from the Premium plan, documented at developer.folk.app
- Contacts and companies Bigin by Zoho CRM Yes, a 360-degree contact record holding every conversation and follow-up, with record limits from 500 on Free to 1 million on Bigin 360 folk Yes, contacts and companies in customisable groups, with one-click enrichment for missing emails and phone numbers and a folkX Chrome extension that imports leads from LinkedIn
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Bigin by Zoho CRM
Strengths
- Perpetually free single-user plan with pipeline, contacts, built-in phone and API access
- Paid plans start at 7 US dollars per user per month billed yearly
- Zia AI for email drafting, summaries, cross-sell and churn analysis at no extra subscription
- No forced contracts, with a 30 or 45 day money-back guarantee
Limitations
- Plans meter pipelines, records and automations, so growth runs into capacity limits
- Aimed at businesses of roughly 1 to 20 people rather than larger sales organisations
- Much of the integration value assumes the wider Zoho estate
folk
Strengths
- One-click enrichment and a LinkedIn import extension cut manual data entry
- Four AI assistants cover follow-up timing, recaps, company research and email workflows
- Gmail, Outlook, calendar and WhatsApp sync keep conversations on the contact record
Limitations
- No free plan, only a 14-day trial
- Custom objects, email sequences, dashboards and API access all start on the Premium plan
- Enrichment, AI fields and messages are metered by monthly credits per member
Plans
Pricing
Bigin by Zoho CRM
- Free US$0 Single user. One pipeline, 500 records, basic contact management, 3 automations, built-in phone and APIs. No credit card required.
- Express US$9 Per user per month, or 7 US dollars billed yearly. Adds 3 team pipelines, 50,000 records, 30 automations, email and WhatsApp integration, mass emails and 10 custom fields per module.
- Premier US$15 Per user per month, or 12 US dollars billed yearly. Adds 5 team pipelines, 100,000 records, 50 advanced automations, advanced field types, 25 custom fields, data enrichment and 1,000 AI credits per month.
- Bigin 360 US$21 Per user per month, or 18 US dollars billed yearly. Adds 15 team pipelines, 1 million records, 100 automations, 5 GB file storage, 50 custom fields, 1,000 mass emails per day and 3,000 AI credits per month.
folk
- Standard $24 / member / month Billed annually; $30 billed monthly. Pipeline management, email campaigns, contact enrichment, AI assistants, the LinkedIn extension and email, calendar and WhatsApp sync. 500 enrichment credits, 2,000 AI field credits and 2,000 messages per member.
- Premium $48 / member / month Billed annually; $60 billed monthly. Adds custom objects and deals, email sequences, workspace roles, dashboards, API access and full interaction history. 1,000 enrichment credits, 5,000 AI field credits and 5,000 messages per member.
- Enterprise $80 / member / month Billed annually; $100 billed monthly. Adds custom credit limits, security controls, group-level permissions, a dedicated account manager, 1:1 onboarding, custom integrations and priority support.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Bigin by Zoho CRM
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
folk
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Bigin by Zoho CRM https://www.bigin.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-11
folk https://folk.app · checked against the official source on 2026-09-05
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.