Frappe HR vs Shelf Asset Management
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?
Frappe HR
Complete HRMS solution with over 13 different modules right from
VS
Shelf Asset Management
Open-source asset and equipment tracking
| Feature | Frappe HR | Shelf Asset Management |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,535 | ★ 2,766 |
| First released | 2026 | 2023 |
| Replaces | — | Asset Panda, Sortly |
Why pick each one
Choose Frappe HR if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8.5k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Choose Shelf Asset Management if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Frappe HR or Shelf Asset Management better?
Neither is universally better. Frappe HR has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Frappe HR and Shelf Asset Management free and open-source?
Yes. Frappe HR is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Shelf Asset Management under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Frappe HR and Shelf Asset Management with Docker?
Frappe HR: yes. Shelf Asset Management: yes.