CiviCRM vs Dolibarr
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Dolibarr
Open-source ERP and CRM for small businesses
| Feature | CiviCRM | Dolibarr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 77 · Good | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 779 | ★ 7,652 |
| First released | 2005 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Salesforce, Blackbaud | SAP, Salesforce |
What are CiviCRM and Dolibarr?
CiviCRM
CiviCRM is an open-source constituent relationship management system designed for nonprofits and civic-sector organizations. It manages donors, members, events, and campaigns.
- Donor and member management
- Event registration
- Email campaigns
- Integrates with WordPress and Drupal
Dolibarr
Dolibarr is an open-source ERP and CRM suite for small and medium businesses, covering invoicing, inventory, and contacts. It targets small companies wanting an easy all-in-one tool. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Combined ERP and CRM
- Invoicing and inventory
- Module-based activation
- Easy installation
CiviCRM vs Dolibarr: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for CiviCRM versus GPL-3.0 for Dolibarr. Dolibarr is the more established project (first released 2003), while CiviCRM arrived in 2005. Dolibarr has the considerably larger community, at 7,652 GitHub stars versus 779. Dolibarr lists first-class Docker deployment; CiviCRM does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Dolibarr if…
- Easy for small businesses
- Modular features
- Mature project
Watch out for
- Interface looks dated
- Less polished than Odoo
Frequently asked questions
Is CiviCRM or Dolibarr better?
Neither is universally better. Dolibarr has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are CiviCRM and Dolibarr free and open-source?
Yes. CiviCRM is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Dolibarr under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CiviCRM and Dolibarr with Docker?
CiviCRM: check the project docs for container support. Dolibarr: yes.