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Bigin by Zoho CRM vs Salesforce Essentials comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Bigin by Zoho CRM
Ranking in CRM
27th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Salesforce Essentials
Ranking in CRM
25th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Bigin by Zoho CRM is 0.6%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Salesforce Essentials0.6%
Bigin by Zoho CRM0.6%
Other98.8%
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

Vivek_Kumar@ - PeerSpot reviewer
Zoho Developer at KG CRM Solutions LLP - Zoho Authorized Partner
Has supported lead and deal tracking for small businesses but lacks deeper customization options
The pipeline management has helped to streamline the sales processes in that I can develop the business pattern where we can send automated emails and automated calls at different stages. For example, when a lead enters a system, we can automatically generate welcome emails. Once any modification in the lead is done, such as when it's qualified, we can send them qualified emails or acknowledgment emails based on the business pipeline. This user-friendly interface has helped my customers adapt quicker to Bigin by Zoho CRM as, after customization or completion of the project, I will make a Loom video to train the clients through the sessions, and through the Loom videos and SOPs, they can adapt easily to Bigin by Zoho CRM. They can also adapt to all the applications.
SB
Growth Adviser at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Creates efficient integrations and boosts operational efficiency through comprehensive dashboards
I have experience with products such as Acronis and Huntress, though Salesforce Essentials serves a different purpose. I have had experience with Huntress for the last few months as we are an MSSP and offer Huntress to our clients. I have used Odoo and HubSpot recently, though not extensively. The main differences between Salesforce Essentials and HubSpot or Odoo is the market presence. It is comparable to the Windows versus Linux situation because both have a huge presence. They have deeper pockets so they can spend money on collecting insights and developing features. Integration and good partnerships with major companies make Salesforce Essentials better than the others.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The pipeline management has helped to streamline the sales processes in that I can develop the business pattern where we can send automated emails and automated calls at different stages."
"I rate Bigin by Zoho CRM nine out of ten."
"With Bigin by Zoho CRM, we spent about a week for setup and within 15 days it was operational, requiring less than a month total for implementation."
"We can add users and products to the workflows."
"The CRM system has SAP Sales, SAP Service, and SAP Billing, with everything integrated into an on-premise SAP CRM system. Salesforce Essentials replaced this on-premise system, bringing all functionalities onto the cloud platform."
"Salesforce makes tracking every product and customer activity easy, enabling managers to monitor their products, such as key products and their peak performance."
"The most important feature is how Salesforce Essentials brings together information from multiple channels. The nature of our complex custom product data has been challenging due to our manufacturing nature. Salesforce also allowed business processes like finance, credit lines, customer complaints, and quality issues to integrate seamlessly. I haven’t used the mobile app functionality, because we haven't fully utilized because of our preferance of more personal interactions over using mobile apps."
"Their reporting and analytics features have a very significant impact on my company's operational efficiency."
"The solution helps to track the performance of salespersons before closing deals."
"Salesforce provides the best they have with the current version. Most of the features we need are already there, and it's very easy to use."
"Salesforce Essentials is a reliable and powerful application."
"The combination of product and service are exceptional."
 

Cons

"Their commercial model based on slabs is not easily comprehensible. The sales representatives should be better equipped to explain the slab structure in a simpler manner."
"The user interface is too modular and fragmented, posing challenges. The UI could be much better by the year 2025."
"Bigin by Zoho CRM is a very limited application; we cannot customize it as we want."
"Zoho CRM needs to incorporate HRM."
"The solution's UI is not user-friendly."
"The primary area for improvement in Salesforce Essentials is its pricing. There are other competitors, like Zoho CRM, that offer similar features at a lower cost."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"The cost of running Salesforce Essentials is significant. The licenses are expensive, and the operational costs are considerable, including the necessity to maintain a team of approximately 15 people to run the system."
"Salesforce should encourage new users by offering smaller license packages, such as packages for three or two users."
"I have seen Salesforce evaluate a lot of AI and analytics into that. But as an end user, I don’t have that much input."
"Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables. This is not very user-friendly for mobile."
"Integrating Salesforce with SAP, considering our business relies heavily on SAP for ERP, has been quite challenging due to the intricate product configurations. Unlike standard products like computers with a few options, our products have hundreds of configurable options, making the integration complex. If such integration were possible, it would have been easier to understand the unique nature of our industry and the limited number of customers who buy steel products, unlike consumer electronics."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The tool is moderately priced."
"The pricing is on the higher side, especially with additional costs for professional services like consultants."
"It's a perpetual license, and the subscription can be expensive."
"We chose quarterly payments."
"I rate Salesforce Essentials' pricing an eight out of ten."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"Salesforce Essentials is quite expensive, almost 10 out of 10. I don't have the exact cost, but we found it to be very expensive based on our budget constraints."
"The pricing is a bit on the expensive side."
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909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
29%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
5%
Construction Company
24%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Bigin by Zoho CRM?
With AI becoming prevalent, Bigin by Zoho CRM needs AI updates, which I heard they are working on. Additionally, their commercial model based on slabs is not easily comprehensible. The sales repres...
What is your primary use case for Bigin by Zoho CRM?
In my previous organization, we used Bigin by Zoho CRM for vendor onboarding, payments, and everything. In the present organization, we are only doing the billing. Since we are a very small organiz...
What advice do you have for others considering Bigin by Zoho CRM?
We are currently working on integrating Bigin by Zoho CRM with other applications, particularly an HR HRIS system, though this is planned for 2026 end. Bigin by Zoho CRM saves considerable time com...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Essentials?
Salesforce Essentials is very expensive, but it delivers exceptional value. It is a good platform to have if you can afford it because it has numerous add-ons and modules. Anything that Salesforce ...
What needs improvement with Salesforce Essentials?
The mobile access can be improved in several ways. Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables. This is not v...
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Essentials?
I have experience with Salesforce Essentials' Tableau and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, but not extensively. I was more focused on their CRM platform, specifically the core CRM and sales basics. My e...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Bigin by Zoho CRM vs. Salesforce Essentials and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.