ERPNext 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.
| Feature | ERPNext | Fat Free CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,502 | ★ 3,632 |
| First released | 2010 | 2008 |
| Replaces | SAP, NetSuite, Salesforce | Salesforce |
What are ERPNext and Fat Free CRM?
ERPNext
ERPNext is a comprehensive open-source ERP covering accounting, inventory, manufacturing, HR, CRM, and more. It targets small and mid-sized businesses wanting an all-in-one system. It is deployed via Docker or the Frappe bench tool.
- Full ERP modules in one suite
- Accounting and inventory
- Manufacturing and HR
- Built on the Frappe framework
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
ERPNext vs Fat Free CRM: key differences
ERPNext is written in Python, while Fat Free CRM is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for ERPNext versus MIT for Fat Free CRM. Fat Free CRM is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for ERPNext. Fat Free CRM is the more established project (first released 2008), while ERPNext arrived in 2010. ERPNext has the considerably larger community, at 39,502 GitHub stars versus 3,632.
Why pick each one
Choose ERPNext if…
- Very comprehensive
- Active community
- Fully open source
Watch out for
- Complex to deploy and learn
- Resource heavy
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
Frequently asked questions
Is ERPNext or Fat Free CRM better?
Neither is universally better. ERPNext has the larger community, while Fat Free CRM is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ERPNext and Fat Free CRM free and open-source?
Yes. ERPNext is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Fat Free CRM under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ERPNext and Fat Free CRM with Docker?
ERPNext: yes. Fat Free CRM: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ERPNext or Fat Free CRM?
Fat Free CRM has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for ERPNext. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.