EspoCRM vs Krayin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | EspoCRM | Krayin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 97 · Excellent |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,382 | ★ 23,930 |
| First released | 2014 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Salesforce, HubSpot | Salesforce, HubSpot |
What are EspoCRM and Krayin?
EspoCRM
EspoCRM is a fast, lightweight, open-source CRM for managing contacts, leads, opportunities, and customer relationships. It targets small and mid-sized businesses wanting a responsive CRM. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Responsive single-page interface
- Customizable entities and layouts
- Workflow automation
- Email and calendar integration
Krayin
Krayin is a free and open-source CRM built on Laravel, offering lead management, contacts, and sales pipelines. It targets small businesses wanting a lightweight PHP CRM. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Lead and pipeline management
- Contact and activity tracking
- Built on Laravel
- Email integration
EspoCRM vs Krayin: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for EspoCRM versus MIT for Krayin. EspoCRM is the more established project (first released 2014), while Krayin arrived in 2020. Krayin has the considerably larger community, at 23,930 GitHub stars versus 3,382.
Why pick each one
Choose EspoCRM if…
- Fast and responsive
- Highly customizable
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Advanced extensions are paid
- Smaller ecosystem
Choose Krayin if…
- Lightweight CRM
- Laravel-based and extensible
- Open source
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Fewer features than big CRMs
Frequently asked questions
Is EspoCRM or Krayin better?
Neither is universally better. Krayin has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are EspoCRM and Krayin free and open-source?
Yes. EspoCRM is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Krayin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run EspoCRM and Krayin with Docker?
EspoCRM: yes. Krayin: yes.