Know when you have outgrown Bigin, and move up without losing history.
Bigin is built for small teams with a simple sales process, and many businesses stay on it for years. Others reach a point where the CRM starts working against them: leads mixed in with deals, no room for a second team, or a process that needs approvals Bigin cannot enforce. This guide covers the signs it is time to upgrade, what Zoho CRM adds, how the costs compare and how Zoho's own migration from Bigin to Zoho CRM works. It is part of our Zoho Bigin guide.
Upgrade when you need separate lead management, multiple teams with their own rules, enforced processes or deeper customization. Zoho moves your data with a built-in migration: start it from Bigin (Upgrade to Zoho CRM) or from Zoho CRM under Setup > Data Administration > Import > Bigin. Workflows, add-ons and phone numbers do not move and must be set up again.
| What you are experiencing | What Zoho CRM gives you |
|---|---|
| Unqualified leads clutter the pipeline | A separate Leads module with qualification and conversion to contacts, accounts and deals |
| Several teams or regions need their own rules | Roles, profiles, territories and team-specific layouts |
| Steps get skipped and approvals happen by email | Blueprint to enforce each stage and approval processes |
| You track data Bigin has no place for | Custom modules and many more custom fields |
| Forecasting is a spreadsheet exercise | Built-in forecasting by period, team and pipeline |
| Logic needs code or complex integrations | Custom functions in Deluge, webhooks and a full API |
One sign on its own rarely justifies a move. When two or three apply at once, the time your team spends working around Bigin usually costs more than the higher license.
Zoho CRM keeps new inquiries in a Leads module until they are qualified, then converts them into a contact, an account and a deal in one step. Your pipeline only holds real opportunities, which makes forecasts honest.
Blueprint defines the stages a record must pass through and what must be completed at each one, such as a discovery checklist before a proposal can be sent. Our guide to Zoho CRM Blueprint explains how it works.
Roles, profiles and territories control who sees and edits what, so sales, account management and support can share one CRM without stepping on each other.
Custom modules, layouts, advanced workflows and custom functions in Deluge let the CRM follow your process instead of the other way round. Zia, Zoho's AI assistant, adds predictions and suggestions on higher editions; see our Zoho Zia guide.
| Product | Entry paid plan (annual) | Mid plan (annual) | Higher plan (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bigin | $7 per user (Express) | $12 per user (Premier) | $18 per user (Bigin 360) |
| Zoho CRM | $14 per user (Standard) | $23 per user (Professional) | $40 per user (Enterprise) |
Prices are per user per month in US dollars on annual billing. Businesses that also need finance, support or marketing apps should price Zoho One, which includes Zoho CRM with the rest of the suite. Our Zoho CRM pricing guide breaks down each edition.
An upgrade is not the only answer. If only one sign applies, Bigin's add-ons or a higher Bigin plan may close the gap at a lower cost; Premier and Bigin 360 raise limits on pipelines, workflows, custom fields and records. At the other end, businesses that also need accounting, support or marketing apps can move straight to Zoho One, which includes Zoho CRM and the rest of the suite under one subscription. Choosing the right destination first avoids a second migration a year later.
Zoho provides a built-in migration, so there is no need to export and re-import files by hand. You can start it from either side:
From Bigin: open your profile, choose Upgrade to Zoho CRM under Subscription. If you already have a Zoho CRM account, you are taken to its Data Migration page.
From Zoho CRM: go to Setup > Data Administration > Import, choose Bigin, select the Bigin organization and click Migrate Now.
Sign in to Zoho CRM with the same user credentials you use for Bigin, which the migration requires.
Wait for the completion pop-up and email, then review the summary of records added and skipped by module.
Zoho's upgrade guide and CRM migration article show the current screens.
| Moves to Zoho CRM | Does not move |
|---|---|
| Accounts, Contacts and Deals | Workflows and automation rules |
| Calls, Events, Tasks and Notes | Add-ons purchased in Bigin |
| Attachments and Photos | Phone numbers purchased in Bigin |
| Users | Your Bigin subscription, which is not cancelled automatically |
Clean Bigin first: merge duplicates, close dead deals and archive contacts you will never use.
List every workflow, email template and add-on you rely on, because these must be rebuilt in CRM.
Decide how leads will work in CRM: which inquiries become leads and what qualifies them for conversion.
Buy the Zoho CRM edition and number of licenses you need, so users can be activated straight away.
Pick a cut-over day and tell the team to stop updating Bigin from that point.
The data migration itself runs in the background and finishes for most small accounts within a working session. The real work is around it: cleaning data beforehand and configuring CRM afterwards. A small team with a simple process can be working in Zoho CRM within a week. Teams that use the move to redesign their sales process, add Blueprint or connect other apps should plan two to four weeks.
For larger or more complex moves, our Zoho CRM data migration guide covers mapping, testing and cut-over in more depth.
Upgrade when two or more of these apply: you need separate lead management, several teams need their own rules, your process needs enforced steps or approvals, or you need custom modules and deeper automation. If none apply, Bigin is usually still the better fit.
Yes. Zoho provides a built-in migration. Start it from Bigin with Upgrade to Zoho CRM, or in Zoho CRM under Setup > Data Administration > Import > Bigin, signing in with the same credentials.
Workflows and automation, add-ons and phone numbers purchased in Bigin do not move. Your Bigin subscription is not cancelled automatically, and no data is deleted from Bigin.
No. The built-in migration uses fixed mapping. To map fields differently, export your Bigin data and import it into Zoho CRM through the Other CRM option.
Zoho CRM starts at $14 per user per month on annual billing, compared with $7 for Bigin Express. Teams that need finance, support or marketing apps as well should compare Zoho One.
No. Workflows are not part of the built-in migration. List the workflows you rely on before migrating and rebuild them in Zoho CRM, where you can also use features Bigin lacks, such as Blueprint.
The migration is quick; getting Zoho CRM configured around your process is what makes the upgrade pay off.