EspoCRM's free version is the entire CRM, on hosting you provide

77 is the joint highest free plan score in this category, level with SuiteCRM and one point above Twenty at 76, which we rank first overall. That is effectively a tie between the three, and we are stating it rather than smoothing it: Twenty holds rank 1 because it is the nicest of these to use every day, and none of our four pillars measures that. The score only asks how far zero dollars goes.

Where EspoCRM edges ahead is freedom at 86, the highest in the category. It is straight AGPL-3.0 with no commercially licensed carve-outs, so unlike Twenty's Enterprise-marked files there is no part of the codebase you are running on someone else's terms. Feature depth at 84 says the free application holds nothing back, and the distance to SuiteCRM is breadth rather than paywalling, since quotes, contracts and case management simply are not in this box.

There is no free tier to describe here, because there is no meter. The self-hosted build has no user cap, no record cap and no feature gating, so the limitations are entirely operational (as of July 2026).

• A LAMP-style stack is the entry fee. A web server, PHP and a MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL database. It installs on ordinary shared-style hosting or via Docker, which puts it within reach of anyone comfortable with a server and out of reach of anyone who is not.
• Updates, backups and security are yours. This is a database of every customer conversation your business has had. The honest phrasing is free if you can keep a PHP stack alive, and keeping it alive is a recurring job rather than a one-off install.
• Native integrations are limited. The list is shorter than the hosted incumbents', so connecting EspoCRM to the rest of your stack often means using its API rather than clicking an app. Check your must-have connections before you commit.
• The interface is functional rather than designed. It is fast and uncluttered, and next to Twenty it looks like the more utilitarian tool. That is a preference, not a fault, but it is worth seeing before you migrate.

The cloud is not a free escape hatch either, which matters here more than it sounds. Basic is $15 per user per month with a three-user minimum, so the smallest hosted purchase is $45 a month after a 30-day trial.

The headline cloud price is $15 per user per month, and the number you will actually pay is $45, because Basic carries a three-user minimum. That distinction is the most useful thing on this page for anyone weighing hosting against self-hosting, and it is easy to miss on a pricing page that leads with the per-seat figure.

Above it, Enterprise is $25 per user per month with a five-user minimum, which is $125, and Ultimate is $69 per user with a ten-user minimum for unlimited records and 400 GB of storage. Each rung raises the floor as well as the rate, so the cloud ladder gets steep quickly for a small team. A 30-day trial sits in front of all of it.

What you are buying at every rung is the same thing Twenty's cloud sells: somebody else running the server. No feature you need for ordinary CRM work is held back from the free self-hosted build, so the upgrade is operational relief rather than capability. Set $45 a month against the cost of a small VPS plus your own maintenance time and the answer usually turns on whether anyone in the building already administers a server.

Yes, genuinely. That is one step above where a score of 77 would usually land, and the reason is that the free build has no ceiling of any kind: AGPL-3.0 with no carve-outs, unlimited users, unlimited records, every feature included, for commercial use, indefinitely. What the score marks down is the operating cost and a sentiment pillar we have almost no evidence for, and neither of those is a limit you will hit.

A small business with a developer, an IT contractor or a technically confident founder can run its entire customer database here and never pay a licence fee. A team with nobody to own the server cannot, and for them EspoCRM is a $45 a month product with a trial, which is worth judging on those terms rather than on a free plan that is not really available to them.

If that is you, Zoho CRM's free plan gives three seats hosted for nothing, free EspoCRM alternatives lists the rest, and SuiteCRM's free plan is the comparison to read if you need quotes, contracts and case management in the box. The whole category is ranked at best free CRM software.