SHSelfHostIndex

CiviCRM vs SuiteCRM

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 SU SuiteCRM Award-winning open-source CRM application
FeatureCiviCRMSuiteCRM
CategoryCRM & Business AppsCRM & Business Apps
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 762★ 5,637
First released20052013
ReplacesSalesforce, BlackbaudSalesforce, HubSpot

Why pick each one

Choose CiviCRM if…

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

Choose SuiteCRM if…

  • Feature-complete CRM
  • Free and open source
  • Mature
SuiteCRM details

Frequently asked questions

Is CiviCRM or SuiteCRM better?

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

Are CiviCRM and SuiteCRM free and open-source?

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

Can I run CiviCRM and SuiteCRM with Docker?

CiviCRM: check the project docs for container support. SuiteCRM: yes.

Related comparisons