head to head · open source
Frappe CRM vs EspoCRM
Frappe CRM has 3,546 GitHub stars, 1,434 forks, 273 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. EspoCRM has 3,368 stars, 972 forks, 69 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Frappe CRM leads on adoption by 5% (3,546 vs 3,368 stars). Frappe CRM is written in Vue under AGPL-3.0; EspoCRM is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. Frappe CRM has attracted 40% as many forks as stars, EspoCRM 29%. EspoCRM was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (crm, crm-platform, crm-system), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Frappe CRM | EspoCRM | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.5K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Vue | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 972 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Frappe CRM if
- You weight community size — 3.5K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick EspoCRM if
- You want the EspoCRM feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and EspoCRM fits your workflow better
About Frappe CRM
Frappe CRM is a fully featured, open source customer relationship management application released under the AGPL 3.0 license. It is built on the Frappe Framework, a full stack web application framework, and uses Frappe UI, a Vue based component library, to render its interface. The project lives in the Frappe ecosystem, the same family of tools that includes ERPNext, and it is distributed as a Frappe app that can be installed alongside those products. Its stated goal is to give modern sales teams a simple, affordable CRM with unlimited users.
read the full Frappe CRM overview →
About EspoCRM
EspoCRM is a free, open source customer relationship management application written in PHP. It lives in the open source business software ecosystem for CRM and sales systems, and it combines a single page frontend with a REST API backend. The project describes itself as a platform for storing, organizing, and managing leads, contacts, sales opportunities, marketing campaigns, support cases, and related business information.
read the full EspoCRM overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Frappe CRM or EspoCRM more popular?
Frappe CRM has 3,546 GitHub stars and EspoCRM has 3,368. Frappe CRM has the larger community by that measure.
Are Frappe CRM and EspoCRM free?
Both are open source. Frappe CRM is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and EspoCRM under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Frappe CRM and EspoCRM?
Frappe CRM is written in Vue and EspoCRM in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Frappe CRM or EspoCRM?
Choose Frappe CRM if you want the larger community (3,546 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose EspoCRM if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.