Frappe CRM vs SuiteCRM
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Frappe CRM | SuiteCRM |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Vue | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,585 | ★ 5,764 |
| First released | 2023 | 2013 |
| Replaces | HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive | Salesforce, HubSpot |
What are Frappe CRM and SuiteCRM?
Frappe CRM
Frappe CRM is a clean, modern, and open-source customer relationship management tool built on the Frappe framework. It manages leads, deals, and customer communication.
- Lead and deal pipelines
- Built-in call and email
- Kanban deal views
- Custom fields and automations
SuiteCRM
SuiteCRM is a fully featured, open-source CRM with sales, marketing, and service modules, forked from SugarCRM. It targets businesses wanting a mature, free CRM. It is deployed via Docker or a LAMP stack.
- Sales, marketing and service modules
- Workflow automation
- Customizable modules
- Reporting engine
Frappe CRM vs SuiteCRM: key differences
Frappe CRM is written in Vue, while SuiteCRM is built with PHP. Frappe CRM is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for SuiteCRM. SuiteCRM is the more established project (first released 2013), while Frappe CRM arrived in 2023.
Why pick each one
Choose Frappe CRM if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Vue
Choose SuiteCRM if…
- Feature-complete CRM
- Free and open source
- Mature
Watch out for
- Interface feels dated
- Setup can be heavy
Frequently asked questions
Is Frappe CRM or SuiteCRM better?
Neither is universally better. SuiteCRM has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Frappe CRM and SuiteCRM free and open-source?
Yes. Frappe CRM is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SuiteCRM under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Frappe CRM and SuiteCRM with Docker?
Frappe CRM: yes. SuiteCRM: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Frappe CRM or SuiteCRM?
Frappe CRM has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for SuiteCRM. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.