Bitrix24 CRM review
Bitrix24 is an all-in-one CRM platform that lets you generate leads, set up a helpdesk, manage projects, build websites, and much more. In our Bitrix24 review, we cover everything this platform is capable of, and help you decide whether it’s the best CRM software for your business.
Bitrix24 review: Snapshot
Bitrix24 is extremely capable CRM software that goes far beyond lead generation. It includes tools for project management, customer support, internal communications, and even website building. Despite offering such a wide range of features, Bitrix24 is incredibly affordable, and offers a flat monthly price for an unlimited number of users.
The downside to Bitrix24 is that it’s much harder to learn and use than comparable—but more expensive—CRM platforms like Zendesk and Freshworks. A social-media-like interface encourages collaboration, but it also means that tasks and updates can easily be missed.
Accordingly, Bitrix24 is best suited for medium-sized companies that are willing to invest a lot of time in learning how the software works and training employees in how to use it.
Score: 4/5
Read on for the full review.
Bitrix24’s competitors
| Bitrix24 | Zendesk | Freshworks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Pros | Extremely wide range of features - Very affordable | Simple reporting features - Huge range of integrations | Very easy to use - Tons of automation features |
| Cons | Complicated user interface - Steep learning curve | Limited enterprise tools - Expensive | Reporting tools are hard to use - Expensive |
| Verdict | Bitrix24 offers an incredibly wide range of features at a price that’s hard to beat. However, it’s not very user friendly. | Zendesk offers capable, easy-to-use helpdesk and sales software. But its top-tier plans can be very expensive. | Freshworks is one of the most user-friendly CRM platforms we’ve tested, but automation features can be pricey for small businesses. |
| View deals | Visit site | Visit site | Visit site |
Bitrix24: Key features
Bitrix24 splits its feature set into five categories: communications, tasks and projects, CRM, contact center, and websites.
Bitrix24 serves as a hub for all of your company’s internal communications, similar to Slack or Microsoft Teams. It supports chat and video conferencing, with options for recording videos to share within a team or across your whole business. The platform also has a social-media-like news feed where you can see updates about projects and leads. Individual employees can also post questions or updates, and others can like and comment on them.
Bitrix24 also offers tools for assigning tasks, time tracking, and managing projects. Employees can set up Gantt charts and Kanban boards to manage their work, and administrators can create reports to see what projects employees are spending their time on. The software also lets you automate recurring tasks, and offers dozens of templates for doing so.
This CRM software offers unlimited contacts with all plans. You can build a pipeline for new leads, and track everything from sales to customer support interactions for every contact. Bitrix24 has automation tools to streamline the process of checking in with customers by email, SMS, or social media. Plus, you can send quotes from Bitrix24 and integrate them with accounting software like Quickbooks and Xero.
Bitrix24: Key features and highlights
Bitrix24 enables you to set up a helpdesk for your customers with email ticketing, live chat, and phone support. The chat functionality is compatible with Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Apple Business Chat.
However, this is one area where Bitrix24 is somewhat short on features. It doesn’t offer chatbots and it’s difficult to route incoming support requests to a whole team rather than to an individual agent.
The service also offers an integrated website builder with more than 100 templates. The builder enables you to create everything from simple landing pages to online storefronts, and it automatically integrates with Bitrix24’s CRM lead capture features. The support for online stores is especially impressive, since it includes SKU-based inventory management and pipelines for order fulfillment.
Bitrix24: What’s new?
Bitrix24 has made a few important upgrades since we last reviewed it. For one thing, the software now offers an Instagram integration. It not only enables you to message with followers right from Bitrix24, but also allows customers to shop your company’s products from inside the Instagram app.
It has also added a built-in office suite, so you can now create documents, spreadsheets, and slideshows within the platform and share them using the internal chat.
Lastly, Bitrix24 has increased the number of participants you can have in a single video chat to 48. That’s a big plus for medium-sized businesses that want to coordinate meetings with multiple teams.
Bitrix24: Pricing
Bitrix24 offers four plans: Free, Basic, Standard, and Professional. Plans are priced for your entire team rather than per user, which makes this platform much more affordable than competing CRM software. You can pay monthly, but Bitrix24 offers a 20% discount if you pay annually or a 31% discount if you purchase a two-year subscription.
| Plan type/feature | Free | Basic | Standard | Professional | Zendesk - Suite Team | Freshdesk - Growth Omnichannel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per month | Free | $49 | $99 | $199 | $59 per user | $35 per user |
| Cost per year | Free | $39 | $79 | $159 | $588 per user | $348 per user |
| Number of users | Unlimited | 5 | 50 | Unlimited | Unlimited (price is per user) | Unlimited (price is per user) |
| Internal communication | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workflow automations | X | Limited | Limited | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Chatbots | X | X | X | X | ✓ | ✓ |
Testing Bitrix24
We tried out Bitrix24 to see how easy the software is to use, and how its many features can work together to help your business.
How easy is it to use Bitrix24?
The first thing we noticed about Bitrix24 is that there’s a lot more going on when you open up the software than in most CRM platforms. The left-hand menu has 25 different options to choose from, making it hard to know where to start. At the same time, an activity feed flashes updates from around your company across your screen, and a series of widgets calculate different metrics about your workforce in real-time.
All of this felt fairly overwhelming. We were able to tamp down the level of stimulation a little bit by customizing which menu items are shown and which are hidden, but there’s no way to limit what comes through your activity feed. Each individual page also has sub-menus and sidebars to navigate, making it hard to get your bearings within the software.
Even as we got used to Bitrix24’s interface, we found numerous instances where it didn’t feel seamless to use the platform. The default when sharing updates is to share them with all employees at your company, which leads to a lot of congestion in the feed. The always-streaming nature of the activity feed also makes it easy to miss key updates.
In addition, we didn’t like that the internal chat is only available as a sidebar rather than a full-page module. You can’t have messages open at the same time as your email or projects, which leads to a lot of navigating back and forth within the platform. We frequently found ourselves wishing that the whole platform could be split into multiple panels, but there’s very little you can do to customize Bitrix24’s layout.
Does Bitrix24 offer training?
Since Bitrix24 was difficult to get started with, we took a closer look at the training materials that come with the software. The good news is that Bitrix24 has a huge number of resources for mastering its platform.
We found hundreds of video tutorials on the company’s YouTube channel, plus online training courses for administrators. Bitrix24 also offers weekly webinars that cover different aspects of the platform and offer detailed use cases.
If you need more help, you can get in touch with Bitrix24’s support team by live chat. Chat support is only available with a paid plan, and it’s only available during weekday business hours (Monday–Friday 8AM–6PM Eastern).
Alternatives to Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is an all-in-one platform that includes internal communication software, helpdesk tools, contact management and lead generation features, and project management tools. There are relatively few competitors that have a single software platform that’s quite as comprehensive.
That said, Zendesk offers distinct helpdesk and lead generation software packages that, when used in tandem, are comparable to Bitrix24. Zendesk is significantly more expensive than Bitrix24, since all plans are charged on a per-user basis. The sales software also limits you to a maximum of two pipelines, whereas Bitrix24 enables you to create an unlimited number of pipelines with a Professional subscription.
The advantage to Zendesk is that it’s much easier to use than Bitrix24. In addition, the helpdesk software offers advanced features like AI-powered chatbots and support analytics. This means Zendesk can be a good option for businesses that mainly want to set up a support center and have a big budget to put behind it.
Freshworks is another Bitrix24 alternative that, like Zendesk, offers separate support center and sales platforms. Its helpdesk software, Freshdesk, is incredibly easy to use and offers extremely advanced reporting tools. The sales software, Freshsales, lets you use chatbots to drive leads, offers automated workflows, and forecasts your business’s revenue based on leads in your pipelines.
Freshworks is more powerful than Bitrix24 and much more user-friendly, but also more limited in scope and more costly. It’s best for businesses that want to dive deep into reporting to iteratively improve support and sales.
| Bitrix24 | Zendesk | Freshworks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatbots? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sales pipeline | Unlimited | 2 | Unlimited |
| Support | Live chat, Monday–Friday 8AM–6PM | 24-hour phone, email, and live chat | 24-hour chat and phone |
| Basic plan (helpdesk) | $49 a month (five users) | $59 per user a month | $35 per user a month |
Bitrix24: Final verdict
Bitrix24 is an all-in-one CRM platform that includes tools for lead generation and sales, internal communications, customer support, project management, and website building. While we wouldn’t say that Bitrix24 is best in class in any of these categories, the range of features is hard to beat.
This single platform encompasses what companies like Zendesk and Freshworks provide across multiple different software products. On top of that, Bitrix24 is very affordable. The platform charges a flat monthly fee for a certain number of users, rather than charging on a per-user basis like Zendesk and Freshworks do.
Plus, the Professional plan supports an unlimited number of users, which means that Bitrix24 can easily accommodate rapidly growing businesses.
The main issue we had with Bitrix24 wasn’t the lack of advanced features like chatbots and highly customizable reporting, although these are important. Rather, it’s how difficult the software is to figure out for new users. There are so many menus and options that it’s easy to become overwhelmed or lose track of key features. Bitrix24’s activity feed inundates users with a steady stream of new information while simultaneously making it easy to miss important updates.
Given the steep learning curve this platform entails, it’s best suited for medium-sized companies that are willing to fully commit to it. While the software itself might be cheap, it requires your company to invest in in-depth training for employees. Zendesk and Freshworks are both much more user friendly and let you get started right away, but these platforms come with much higher price tags.
Further reading on CRM software
To find more CRM software for sales and support, check out our guides to the best CRM for small business, the best CRM for real estate, and the best free CRM software. We also have guides to the best helpdesk software, the best online collaboration tools, and the best website builders.
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