SHSelfHostIndex

Django-CRM vs Fat Free 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?
DJ Django-CRM Open-source CRM with contact and pipeline tracking VS FA Fat Free CRM Ruby on Rails open-source customer relationship manager
FeatureDjango-CRMFat Free CRM
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score86 · Excellent86 · Excellent
CategoryCRM & Business AppsCRM & Business Apps
LicenseGPL-3.0MIT
LanguagePythonRuby
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,426★ 3,632
First released20162008
ReplacesSalesforce, Zoho CRMSalesforce

What are Django-CRM and Fat Free CRM?

Django-CRM

Django-CRM is a free, open-source customer relationship management application built with Django. It manages leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities with a straightforward web interface for small teams.

  • Lead and contact management
  • Opportunity pipeline
  • Account tracking
  • Django-based

Fat Free CRM

Fat Free CRM is an open-source, Ruby on Rails based customer relationship management platform. It offers group collaboration, campaign and lead management, contact lists, and an opportunity pipeline out of the box.

  • Lead and campaign management
  • Contact and account lists
  • Opportunity pipeline
  • Group collaboration

Django-CRM vs Fat Free CRM: key differences

Django-CRM is written in Python, while Fat Free CRM is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Django-CRM versus MIT for Fat Free CRM. Fat Free CRM is the more established project (first released 2008), while Django-CRM arrived in 2016.

Why pick each one

Choose Django-CRM if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Python

Watch out for

  • Basic reporting
  • Manual data entry
Django-CRM details

Choose Fat Free CRM if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Ruby

Watch out for

  • Dated interface
  • Slower development
Fat Free CRM details

Frequently asked questions

Is Django-CRM or Fat Free CRM better?

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

Are Django-CRM and Fat Free CRM free and open-source?

Yes. Django-CRM is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Fat Free CRM under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Django-CRM and Fat Free CRM with Docker?

Django-CRM: yes. Fat Free CRM: yes.

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