Open source CRM, honestly assessed
The short version: open source CRM is having a moment, and for a real reason — AI agents changed the requirements. When your CRM has an API an agent can call, ownership of the data and the interface suddenly matters. The field splits into full stacks you self-host (Twenty, SuiteCRM, Odoo, EspoCRM) and a new git-native strain (JSONCRM, Hermit CRM) where the CRM is plain files in a repository. We built one of them, so read this as a biased-but-honest map.
What "open source CRM" actually buys you
- No seats, no credits. Pricing that scales with your success is a SaaS invention; open source doesn't meter your own data.
- Data ownership. The pipeline lives on infrastructure you control — a server, a laptop, or a git host.
- Auditability. Real change history you can inspect, not a vendor's promise.
- Agent access without a meter. Every serious open source CRM exposes an API or MCP server your agents can use for free, unlimited.
One caveat: "open source" means an OSI license (AGPL, Apache, MIT…). Some vendors market source-available licenses (BSL, FSL, Elastic) as open source — they're not, and the difference matters if you embed, resell, or run a service on top. Check the LICENSE file before you commit.
The 2026 field
| JSONCRM | Hermit CRM | Twenty | SuiteCRM | Odoo CRM | EspoCRM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strain | Git-native files | Git-native files | Full web stack | Full web stack | Full business suite | Full web stack |
| Data lives in | JSON files in your git repo | Markdown in your git repo | Postgres (you run it) or their cloud | MySQL + files on your server | Postgres, full ERP | MySQL/MariaDB |
| Infrastructure | pip install |
pip install |
Docker + Postgres | PHP + MySQL server | Docker or installer + Postgres | PHP + MySQL server |
| AI agent story | First-party MCP server + CLI + agent skill; dry-run on every write | MCP server | API + MCP | REST API | REST API (+ paid AI modules) | REST API |
| Web UI | Local spreadsheet-style (serve) |
Local web app | Full hosted-grade app | Full classic app | Full suite app | Full classic app |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 (core) | AGPL-3.0 | LGPL-3.0 (Community) | AGPL-3.0 |
| Best for | Pipelines agents compute over; zero infra; git-first teams | Notes-driven solo pipelines | A real CRM app, self-hosted | Classic CRM needs, on-prem | CRM inside a whole ERP | Lightweight classic CRM |
Details as of Oct 2026 — verify before committing. We build JSONCRM, so we're the biased column; the deep comparisons below are fairer than this table.
Two strains, two philosophies
The full stacks give you what you'd expect from Salesforce minus the bill: dashboards, workflows, permissions, email integration — at the cost of running a server, a database, and upgrades forever. They're the right answer when "CRM" means a system of record a company logs into.
The git-native strain asks a different question: if the CRM's value is the state — who's in the pipeline, what stage, what score — why isn't that state just files? Plain files mean zero infrastructure, git gives you history and collaboration for free, and the structure gives agents something they can read and write without an ORM. The tradeoff is deliberate scope: no dashboards, no email server, no permission matrix. A pipeline, files, and tools.
How to choose
- "I want a real CRM app for a team, self-hosted" → Twenty (modern) or SuiteCRM/EspoCRM (classic); Odoo if you're buying a whole ERP anyway.
- "My pipeline is structured records and an agent should run it" → JSONCRM.
- "My pipeline is notes and conversations" → Hermit CRM.
- "I want to try one in the next five minutes" →
uvx jsoncrm stats. The git-native strain has a unfairly low activation energy.
Deep comparisons
Head-to-head, with the tradeoffs spelled out: vs Hermit CRM · vs Twenty · vs Attio (the funded AI-native SaaS) · vs Notion · vs Airtable · vs HubSpot · vs a spreadsheet.
Open source CRM — common questions
What is the best free open source CRM?
"Best" depends on what you're replacing. For a team wanting a self-hosted Salesforce alternative, Twenty is the modern pick; SuiteCRM and EspoCRM are battle-tested classics. For individuals and small teams whose pipeline is structured records — and who want AI agents operating it — JSONCRM runs on plain JSON files in git with zero infrastructure. Hermit CRM covers the notes-driven, prose-first version of the same idea.
Can I use an open source CRM commercially?
Yes. AGPL/Apache/MIT/LGPL all permit commercial use. The obligations differ: AGPL requires you to offer source (including modifications) to users interacting over a network, while permissive licenses like Apache-2.0 have no such requirement. Using a CRM internally with your own customer data triggers no AGPL obligations at all — your CRM records are your data, not the software.
Do open source CRMs work with AI agents like Claude?
Increasingly, yes — the newer ones ship MCP servers natively. JSONCRM exposes every CLI command as an MCP tool (21 tools) with dry-run support on every write; Hermit CRM ships its own MCP server; Twenty offers an API and MCP. For the older stacks, agents go through their REST APIs.
What's a "git-native" CRM?
A CRM where the system of record is plain files inside a git repository: every change is a diff, every state is a commit, collaboration happens through branches and pull requests. JSONCRM (JSON files) and Hermit CRM (Markdown) are the two current examples; both also ship MCP servers for agents.
Try the zero-infrastructure column.
uvx jsoncrm stats — five seconds, no server, no database, no account.