CiviCRM vs Corteza
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
CiviCRM
CRM for nonprofits, NGOs, and advocacy groups
VS
Corteza
Low-code platform with built-in CRM and case management
| Feature | CiviCRM | Corteza |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 762 | ★ 2,125 |
| First released | 2005 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Salesforce, Blackbaud | Salesforce, Microsoft Power Apps |
Why pick each one
Choose Corteza if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is CiviCRM or Corteza better?
Neither is universally better. Corteza has the larger community, while CiviCRM is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CiviCRM and Corteza free and open-source?
Yes. CiviCRM is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Corteza under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CiviCRM and Corteza with Docker?
CiviCRM: check the project docs for container support. Corteza: yes.