OpenCRX vs Fat Free CRM
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | OpenCRX | Fat Free CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 34 · At risk | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Java | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 88 | ★ 3,632 |
| First released | 2004 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Salesforce, Siebel | Salesforce |
What are OpenCRX and Fat Free CRM?
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
Fat Free CRM
Fat Free CRM is an open-source, Ruby on Rails based customer relationship management platform. It offers group collaboration, campaign and lead management, contact lists, and an opportunity pipeline out of the box.
- Lead and campaign management
- Contact and account lists
- Opportunity pipeline
- Group collaboration
OpenCRX vs Fat Free CRM: key differences
OpenCRX is written in Java, while Fat Free CRM is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for OpenCRX versus MIT for Fat Free CRM. Fat Free CRM is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for OpenCRX. OpenCRX is the more established project (first released 2004), while Fat Free CRM arrived in 2008. Fat Free CRM has the considerably larger community, at 3,632 GitHub stars versus 88. Fat Free CRM lists first-class Docker deployment; OpenCRX does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Fat Free CRM if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Ruby
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Slower development
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCRX or Fat Free CRM better?
Fat Free CRM 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 OpenCRX and Fat Free CRM free and open-source?
Yes. OpenCRX is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Fat Free CRM under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenCRX and Fat Free CRM with Docker?
OpenCRX: check the project docs for container support. Fat Free CRM: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OpenCRX or Fat Free CRM?
Fat Free CRM has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for OpenCRX. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.