Monica vs OpenCRX
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
VS
OpenCRX
Enterprise-class CRM and customer management
| Feature | Monica | OpenCRX |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 66 · Good | 34 · At risk |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 25,354 | ★ 88 |
| First released | 2017 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Salesforce, HubSpot | Salesforce, Siebel |
What are Monica and OpenCRX?
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
OpenCRX
openCRX is an enterprise-class open-source CRM solution. It supports sales force automation, marketing, customer service, and account management for organizations.
- Sales force automation
- Marketing and campaigns
- Customer service module
- Enterprise-grade architecture
Monica vs OpenCRX: key differences
Monica is written in PHP, while OpenCRX is built with Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Monica versus BSD-3-Clause for OpenCRX. Monica is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for OpenCRX. OpenCRX is the more established project (first released 2004), while Monica arrived in 2017. Monica has the considerably larger community, at 25,354 GitHub stars versus 88. Monica lists first-class Docker deployment; OpenCRX does not.
Why pick each one
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 Monica or OpenCRX better?
Monica is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenCRX if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Monica and OpenCRX free and open-source?
Yes. Monica is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OpenCRX under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Monica and OpenCRX with Docker?
Monica: yes. OpenCRX: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Monica or OpenCRX?
Monica has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for OpenCRX. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.