SHSelfHostIndex

CiviCRM vs Frappe CRM

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?
CI CiviCRM CRM for nonprofits, NGOs, and advocacy groups VS Frappe CRM Simple, modern open-source CRM
FeatureCiviCRMFrappe CRM
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectUnder-an-hour setup
Health score77 · Good88 · Excellent
CategoryCRM & Business AppsCRM & Business Apps
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPVue
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, source
GitHub stars★ 779★ 3,585
First released20052023
ReplacesSalesforce, BlackbaudHubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive

What are CiviCRM and Frappe CRM?

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

Frappe CRM

Frappe CRM is a clean, modern, and open-source customer relationship management tool built on the Frappe framework. It manages leads, deals, and customer communication.

  • Lead and deal pipelines
  • Built-in call and email
  • Kanban deal views
  • Custom fields and automations

CiviCRM vs Frappe CRM: key differences

CiviCRM is written in PHP, while Frappe CRM is built with Vue. CiviCRM is the more established project (first released 2005), while Frappe CRM arrived in 2023. Frappe CRM has the considerably larger community, at 3,585 GitHub stars versus 779. Frappe CRM lists first-class Docker deployment; CiviCRM does not.

Why pick each one

Choose CiviCRM if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • Written in PHP
CiviCRM details

Choose Frappe CRM if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Vue
Frappe CRM details

Frequently asked questions

Is CiviCRM or Frappe CRM better?

Neither is universally better. Frappe CRM has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are CiviCRM and Frappe CRM free and open-source?

Yes. CiviCRM is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Frappe CRM under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run CiviCRM and Frappe CRM with Docker?

CiviCRM: check the project docs for container support. Frappe CRM: yes.

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