Dolibarr vs metasfresh
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Dolibarr
Open-source ERP and CRM for small businesses
VS
metasfresh
Open-source ERP for small and midsize companies
| Feature | Dolibarr | metasfresh |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 68 · Good |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,652 | ★ 2,431 |
| First released | 2003 | 2015 |
| Replaces | SAP, Salesforce | SAP, NetSuite |
What are Dolibarr and metasfresh?
Dolibarr
Dolibarr is an open-source ERP and CRM suite for small and medium businesses, covering invoicing, inventory, and contacts. It targets small companies wanting an easy all-in-one tool. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Combined ERP and CRM
- Invoicing and inventory
- Module-based activation
- Easy installation
metasfresh
metasfresh is an open-source ERP system for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides sales, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and accounting functions.
- Full ERP feature set
- Responsive web UI
- Frequent releases
- Sales and procurement workflows
Dolibarr vs metasfresh: key differences
Dolibarr is written in PHP, while metasfresh is built with Java. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Dolibarr versus GPL-2.0 for metasfresh. Dolibarr is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for metasfresh. Dolibarr is the more established project (first released 2003), while metasfresh arrived in 2015. Dolibarr has the considerably larger community, at 7,652 GitHub stars versus 2,431.
Why pick each one
Choose Dolibarr if…
- Easy for small businesses
- Modular features
- Mature project
Watch out for
- Interface looks dated
- Less polished than Odoo
Choose metasfresh if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is Dolibarr or metasfresh better?
Dolibarr is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider metasfresh if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Dolibarr and metasfresh free and open-source?
Yes. Dolibarr is licensed under GPL-3.0 and metasfresh under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dolibarr and metasfresh with Docker?
Dolibarr: yes. metasfresh: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dolibarr or metasfresh?
Dolibarr has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for metasfresh. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.