Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms are indispensable.

They help you organize customer information, track vital business activities, and conduct analytics so that you can improve marketing, sales, product development, and more.

However, mainstream CRMs come with some major problems.

They’re expensive. They’re relatively static. They may not even have what you need.

An open source CRM could be the right solution.

But what are the best open source CRMs currently available?

And how do you host them?

The Power of Open Source CRMs

Open source CRMs offer many advantages, including:

•       Transparency. Some developers love working with open source platforms because of their transparency. Because the code is open source, you’ll have full access to it, so you can understand everything there is to know about it and customize it to your liking.
•       Flexibility. Most open source CRMs are also very flexible, allowing developers to customize them with new features, modifications to existing features, and even user interface tweaks if desired. Some mainstream CRMs allow some wiggle room for customization, but nothing beats an open source platform.
•       Security. There are some vulnerabilities associated with open source platforms, but there are security advantages to enjoy as well. Because the code is open, would-be cybercriminals have free access to it, but that also means a full community of people is constantly monitoring for potential vulnerabilities so they can be quickly patched out.
•       Collaboration. Developers also love the collaborative communities that surround open source platforms. You won’t be working in isolation; you’ll likely be seeking help from other developers in the community at some point.
•       Independence. Some businesses choose to rely on open source CRMs for the sake of maintaining their independence. Instead of totally relying on an external vendor, you can customize your own solution and host it yourself.
•       Lower costs. Open source CRMs are associated with some extra work, but they’re also far less expensive to start and maintain. Open source isn’t necessarily free, but it tends to be far less expensive than comparable mainstream options.

Of course, if you don’t have robust coding skills, customizing an open source CRM may not be the best option for you.

How We Rank Open Source CRMs

In the next section, we’ll be listing some of our favorite open source CRMs for your consideration.

But how did we distill this list down to the best?

We primarily focused on:

•       Features. While there’s practically unlimited room for customization in most open source CRMs, every custom feature represents a significant effort. That’s why we prioritized open source CRM platforms that come with useful, practical, easily accessible features from the start. We’re looking for things that every CRM should have, including customer data management, automation features, communication tracking, and reporting and analytics.
•       Ease of use. User interfaces and accessibility matter. If your CRM platform is not intuitive, if it’s clunky, or if it’s appalling to your users, it’s going to cost you time and cause you more headaches than it’s worth.
•       Ease of customization. We also need to consider ease of customization. You shouldn’t have to be a grandmaster developer with 20 years of experience to handle some basic CRM customizations. Platforms with ample documentation and intuitive designs rank higher on our list.
•       Support and community. One of the greatest strengths of open source software is that it’s typically associated with a thriving community of developers willing to share information and collaborate. However, not all open source software communities are equal; some are much more supportive than others.
•       Pricing. Nearly all open source CRM platforms are inexpensive, especially when compared to their proprietary counterparts, but we did think about pricing as a secondary factor.

Top Open Source CRMs to Consider

The best open source CRMs to consider, as of 2024, are:

1.   SuiteCRM. First, and arguably best, we have SuiteCRM. This open source CRM platform started as a mere fork of SugarCRM’s open source variation, but it now enjoys a robust following – and tons of impressive built-in tools. It’s incredibly easy to customize, with practically every feature you can imagine, though admittedly, some integration support is lacking. This platform is also popular in part because of how flexible it is, since it works with Windows, OS/X, Ubuntu, Android, and iOS operating systems. So far, updates have been competent and frequent.
2.   Odoo. Odoo isn’t just a CRM, though its CRM is a huge selling point. This open source project also includes solutions for finance, sales, HR, and more, modeling enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. It can automate and help almost any area of business. Odoo offers total modularity and scalability with plenty of customization options. However, official support is limited, integrations can be tricky, and if you want those customizations – you’ll need to pay for them.
3.   Vtiger. There’s also Vtiger, which currently boasts more than 4.5 million downloads. There are thousands of passionate developers in the Vtiger community to help you with whatever challenges you’re facing and regular updates so you can continue using it confidently. Vtiger has abundant features, it’s easy to configure, and it has a built-in Gmail integration as well. However, some people don’t like Vtiger’s default navigation and its current mobile app has some issues to iron out.
4.   YetiForce. If you’re a relatively new developer who’s somewhat intimidated at the prospect of customizing your own CRM, stay away from YetiForce. But if you have lots of experience and you want something powerful, it might be for you. There’s a lack of strong documentation for this open source CRM and updates aren’t particularly fast. However, it has some of the most impressive functionality of options on this list and plenty of useful widgets and integrations. On top of that, YetiForce is beautiful and usable, so if you can get over the initial learning curve, it’s a strong option.
5.   EspoCRM. EspoCRM offers plenty of help for new and inexperienced developers, providing highly detailed documentation and a very intuitive setup – as well as an active, helpful community. There’s even documentation to help you with self-hosting if you need it. Features are abundant and useful, with a gorgeous interface as well. However, EspoCRM isn’t especially easy to customize, even with the documentation, so if you’re trying to build something crazy, it’s not the best option. Also, there’s no mobile app.
6.   OroCRM. OroCRM is another open source CRM that’s based on the Symfony2 PHP framework for web development. With it, you’ll have access to all the default features you would expect, including customer data management, automation, and reporting and analytics. There’s even an anti-spyware module to keep your company’s data safe. Developers love OroCRM because of how adaptable it is and because of how easy it is to use. However, there is a bit of a learning curve here – and certain features are less than stellar.
7.   CiviCRM. If you’re looking for something inexpensive, CiviCRM might be the right option for you. It was originally designed for managing constituents and donors for fundraising efforts, but it can easily be modified to serve other niche functions. It’s free to download, it offers built-in reporting and analytics, and it can be directly added into popular CMS systems. However, the user interface leaves something to be desired – and customer support options are limited.

How to Host Your Open Source CRM

Let’s say you’ve chosen your open source CRM platform.

How do you go about hosting it yourself?

Select a hosting provider

The first step of the process is to choose a hosting provider. There are many options available, so pay close attention to the following when making your choice:

•       Compatibility. First, you need to ensure your hosting provider is compatible with your open source CRM platform of choice. Modern developers strive for wide compatibility, so this is unlikely to be an issue, but it’s still something you need to pay attention to.
•       Capacity. Different hosting providers and different service levels provide for different traffic volume capacity. Speculate about how much traffic your CRM platform is going to handle, and account for breathing room so you can scale efficiently in the future if necessary.
•       Security. Security is paramount for businesses of all sizes, so pay close attention to security features associated with your hosting provider.
•       Pricing. And of course, you’ll need to think about price. You shouldn’t sacrifice important elements for the sake of saving a few bucks, but if you’re torn between hosting providers who seem mostly identical, price is a useful tiebreaker.

Install the CRM software

Once you’ve chosen your hosting provider, you can install your CRM software. This may be relatively easy or surprisingly challenging, depending on the nature of your CRM, the nature of your hosting provider, your relative skill level, and the level of documentation available. Consult available documentation in your CRM community for further assistance, or reach out to collaborative developers in the community if you have any specific questions.

Configure and set up

Once fully installed, the next step is to configure and set up your CRM.

This is when you’ll tackle tasks like the following:

•       Admin account creation. Start by creating an admin account and other important accounts, and assign permissions according to your security needs.
•       Setting customization. This is your opportunity to fully customize all settings relevant to your open source CRM, including security settings, which are especially important.
•       Data import. In some cases, you may have data to import from previous CRMs or existing customer tracking documents. After importing, test to verify success.
•       Widgets, modules, and integrations. Finally, you’ll work on incorporating and testing your widgets, modules, and integrations.

Test

Before you go live, conducting several rounds of thorough testing is important.

•       Core functionality. Take some time to test out all the core features of your CRM product. By now, you’re probably intimately familiar with what this platform can do. Put it through the ringer and see if you can find any bugs or technical hiccups.
•       Integrations. Test your integrations as well. Are your additional modules and interfaces working as intended? You can use a variety of methods here, such as big-bang integration testing, bottom-up integration testing, and top-down integration testing.
•       User acceptance testing (UAT). After that, practice user acceptance testing by asking a select pool of real users to test the platform in a variety of real-world scenarios. This is a great way to test the limits of the platform and acquaint users with the CRM platform they’ll be using in the near future.
•       Performance evaluations. The final step of the process is to evaluate performance. Test the open source CRM platform under various loads and carefully monitor metrics like stability and responsiveness.

Go live

You’ll likely encounter at least a few problems during your testing. If you do, work to correct those problems and then test again to verify that your fixes have worked as intended.

When you and your team are satisfied that the open source CRM has been tested adequately and successfully, you’ll be ready to go live!