Krayin vs Monica
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Monica
Personal CRM to remember the people you know
| Feature | Krayin | Monica |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 97 · Excellent | 66 · Good |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,938 | ★ 25,354 |
| First released | 2020 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Salesforce, HubSpot | Salesforce, HubSpot |
What are Krayin and Monica?
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
Monica
Monica is a personal CRM that helps you record and remember details about friends, family, and personal contacts. It targets individuals who want to nurture personal relationships. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Tracks personal relationships
- Reminders for important dates
- Notes, gifts and activities
- Contact journaling
Krayin vs Monica: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Krayin versus AGPL-3.0 for Monica. Monica is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Krayin. Monica is the more established project (first released 2017), while Krayin arrived in 2020.
Why pick each one
Choose Krayin if…
- Lightweight CRM
- Laravel-based and extensible
- Open source
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Fewer features than big CRMs
Choose Monica if…
- Unique personal CRM focus
- Helps maintain relationships
- Open source
Watch out for
- Not for business sales
- Development pace varies
Frequently asked questions
Is Krayin or Monica better?
Neither is universally better. Monica has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Krayin and Monica free and open-source?
Yes. Krayin is licensed under MIT and Monica under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Krayin and Monica with Docker?
Krayin: yes. Monica: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Krayin or Monica?
Monica has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Krayin. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.