CiviCRM vs Twenty
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | CiviCRM | Twenty |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 77 · Good | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 779 | ★ 57,389 |
| First released | 2005 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Salesforce, Blackbaud | Salesforce, HubSpot |
What are CiviCRM and Twenty?
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
Twenty
Twenty is a modern, open-source CRM designed as a flexible alternative to Salesforce with a clean, customizable interface. It targets startups and teams wanting an open CRM. It is deployed via Docker.
- Modern customizable CRM
- Flexible data model
- Keyboard-driven UI
- API and webhooks
CiviCRM vs Twenty: key differences
CiviCRM is written in PHP, while Twenty is built with TypeScript. CiviCRM is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Twenty. CiviCRM is the more established project (first released 2005), while Twenty arrived in 2023. Twenty has the considerably larger community, at 57,389 GitHub stars versus 779. Twenty lists first-class Docker deployment; CiviCRM does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Twenty if…
- Clean modern interface
- Customizable objects
- Active development
Watch out for
- Young project
- Some features still maturing
Frequently asked questions
Is CiviCRM or Twenty better?
Neither is universally better. Twenty has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are CiviCRM and Twenty free and open-source?
Yes. CiviCRM is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Twenty under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CiviCRM and Twenty with Docker?
CiviCRM: check the project docs for container support. Twenty: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, CiviCRM or Twenty?
CiviCRM has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Twenty. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.