Alternatives / Salesforce
Looking for an open source Salesforce alternative? We compared 12 open source CRMs and business suites by license, self-hosting, customization, AI features, and pricing. They range from modern customizable CRMs to full ERP suites and developer toolkits.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Twenty | Closest modern open-source CRM | AGPL-3.0 + commercial files |
| Odoo | ERP with CRM | LGPL-3.0 (Community) |
| ERPNext | Full open-source ERP | GPL-3.0 |
| Krayin CRM | Laravel CRM for sales teams | MIT |
| EspoCRM | Mature, proven CRM | AGPL-3.0 |
| Frappe CRM | Avoiding per-seat pricing | AGPL-3.0 |
| CRM (trycompai) | AI agents that fill the CRM | MIT |
| Macro Docs | CRM with email, chat, and docs | AGPL-3.0 |
| Relaticle | AI agents and MCP tools | AGPL-3.0 |
| Erxes | Marketing, sales, and support | AGPL-3.0 + EE |
| Ever Gauzy | ERP, CRM, HR, and projects | AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition) |
| Atomic CRM | Building a custom CRM | MIT |
We looked for open-source tools that overlap with Salesforce's core: managing leads, contacts, accounts, and deals with customizable data and workflows. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. Salesforce is a broad enterprise platform, so we separate focused CRMs from ERP suites and flag open-core and commercially restricted licenses. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Salesforce spans sales, service, marketing, analytics, and a large app ecosystem. Open-source CRMs cover core sales workflows well, but advanced forecasting, AppExchange-style integrations, and enterprise support are thinner. Larger organizations often pair a CRM with ERP modules or integration work.
Twenty, CRM, Relaticle, Krayin, Frappe CRM, EspoCRM, and Macro are CRMs. Odoo, ERPNext, Erxes, and Ever Gauzy are broader business suites where CRM is one module among accounting, inventory, or HR. Atomic CRM is a developer toolkit for building your own CRM rather than a ready-made product.
Twenty is the closest modern alternative, with fully customizable data models, no-code workflows, an API-first design, and an MCP server, positioned for teams migrating from proprietary CRMs. EspoCRM is a mature option with a long track record, and Odoo and ERPNext suit organizations that want CRM inside a full ERP.
Twenty is mostly AGPL-3.0, but some files are under a commercial license. Odoo Community is LGPL-3.0, while Enterprise is proprietary. Erxes is AGPL-3.0 outside its enterprise directory and forbids offering it as a competing SaaS. ERPNext is GPL-3.0, Frappe CRM, EspoCRM, Relaticle, and Macro are AGPL-3.0, and CRM, Krayin, and Atomic CRM are MIT. Ever Gauzy's Community Edition is AGPL-3.0, with commercial editions available.
All twelve projects were updated within weeks of this update. Relaticle is young, so check its maturity before relying on it.
Salesforce is a proprietary enterprise CRM sold per user across tiered editions, with add-ons and customization that can become costly and complex, and customer data stored in Salesforce's cloud. Open-source alternatives let you self-host customer data, customize data models without per-seat fees, avoid vendor lock-in, and connect AI agents through APIs and MCP, at the cost of running the system and fewer enterprise integrations.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRM (trycompai) | AI CRM | MIT | Yes | Automatic record creation |
| Macro Docs | Collaborative CRM | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Teams with email and docs |
| Odoo | ERP suite | LGPL-3.0 (Community) | Yes | Integrated business apps |
| Twenty | CRM | AGPL-3.0 + commercial files | Yes | Technical teams |
| ERPNext | ERP suite | GPL-3.0 | Yes | Comprehensive business management |
| Krayin CRM | CRM | MIT | Yes | B2B and real estate |
| Ever Gauzy | Business platform | AGPL-3.0 (Community) | Yes | ERP, CRM, HR, and projects |
| Frappe CRM | CRM | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | No per-user fees |
| Erxes | Growth platform | AGPL-3.0 + EE | Yes | Marketing, sales, and support |
| EspoCRM | CRM | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Mature CRM |
| Atomic CRM | CRM toolkit | MIT | Yes | Developers |
| Relaticle | AI CRM | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Data control and MCP |
Want the closest modern open-source CRM
Twenty offers customizable data models, no-code workflows, role-based permissions, an API-first design, and an MCP server, with a paid cloud option.
Want CRM inside a full ERP
Odoo combines CRM with accounting, inventory, eCommerce, HR, and manufacturing, but only its Community edition is open source.
Want a fully open-source ERP with CRM
ERPNext covers accounting, inventory, HR, CRM, manufacturing, and projects under GPL-3.0.
Want a proven, mature CRM
EspoCRM offers contacts, accounts, opportunities, pipelines, and workflows with self-hosted or cloud deployment and a long track record.
Want AI agents to fill and enrich your CRM
CRM reads team inboxes to create contacts and companies, enriches them, and builds agents from plain-language descriptions.
Want a CRM that external AI agents can use
Relaticle has a built-in AI assistant, 37 MCP tools, a REST API, and custom fields, with no per-seat pricing.
Want to avoid per-seat pricing with simple tooling
Frappe CRM has no per-user fees and integrates with ERPNext.
Want to build a custom CRM
Atomic CRM is a React, TypeScript, and Supabase toolkit with contacts, deals, tasks, and a Kanban board.