Covve vs Monica Personal CRM
We give Covve a 2.8 GPA and Monica Personal CRM a 3.2, out of 4.0. Monica Personal CRM grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Covve
Personal CRM app with reminders, notes and card scanning
Free plan · from $4.99/mo
Monica Personal CRM
Open-source personal CRM for friends, family and colleagues
Free plan · from $9/mo
How we grade them
| 2.8GPACovveGood | 3.2GPAMonica Personal CRMVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BCovve Pro shows on the US App Store at $4.99 and $12.99 a month and at $49.99, $79.99 and $119.99 a year, without saying which a new subscriber pays. Mesh is $10 a month and Dex $12 on yearly billing, so it's in the same range. We can't see what Pro adds, so it stays a B. | AHosted Monica is $9 a month, or $90 for the year, for the whole account with unlimited contacts, notes and reminders. That's under what other personal CRMs ask and far under the $24 or so a typical CRM starts at. Prices may not include tax. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe app is free to install on iPhone, iPad and Android, and Pro is sold inside it. But neither the store listing nor Covve's help centre says which features need Pro, so we can't tell you how far free goes. | BThe full open-source app is free with unlimited contacts, but only on your own server, where hosting, updates and backups are your job. The hosted service has no free plan, just a 30-day trial that doesn't need a card. |
| Features | BReminders at a pace you set for each person, a log of the calls, texts and emails you start from the app, news about your contacts, a business card scanner and an AI assistant you forward emails to. Good basics. But contacts only come in from your phone's address book, a scanned card or by hand. | BRecords for how you met, family and pets, private notes and a journal, birthday reminders, call logs, gifts and debts. For a personal CRM that's the job. But our listing shows no integrations, so contacts arrive by vCard or CSV import and the rest is typed in. |
| Ease of use | B4.5 from about 630 App Store ratings, just short of an A. It works off the address book already on your phone, so there's no big import job. Do save the 9-word encryption key, because Covve says it can't recover your notes without it. | BNo rating on record, so a B is our ceiling, and that's for the hosted version, where updates and backups are done for you. The free route means Docker or a PHP setup on a server you look after. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad and Android, and that's about it. There's no web app, and on a Mac you install the iPhone and iPad app, which needs an Apple M-series chip. It syncs with Google Contacts, iCloud and Microsoft Exchange. | BIt's a web app. There are no native phone apps yet, though it works in a phone's browser, and iOS and Android apps are planned for after v3. No integrations are listed, but there's a REST API, included in the price. |
| Best for | keeping in touch with people, from your phone | remembering the people in your own life |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Covve and Monica Personal CRM. How we grade
Where they differ
- Covve starts at $4.99 to $12.99 / month or $49.99 to $119.99 / year (US App Store listing). Monica Personal CRM starts at $9 / month per account, or $90 billed yearly.
- Only Covve lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Monica Personal CRM lists a web app.
- Covve is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Monica Personal CRM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Monica Personal CRM also covers daily notes.
In commonFree planNotes
At a glance
| Covve | Monica Personal CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 to $12.99 / month or $49.99 to $119.99 / year (US App Store listing) | $9 / month per account, or $90 billed yearly |
| Free plan | The app is free to install on iPhone, iPad and Android. Covve's store listing and help center do not say which features require the paid Covve Pro subscription. | Self-hosted Monica: the full open-source application is free to run on your own server, with unlimited contacts and community support. You provide hosting, updates and backups. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of the hosted plan, no credit card required during the trial |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Covve Visual Network Limited | Monica |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | monicahq.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Covve
- Professionals who want reminders to stay in touch with their network
- People who manage their contacts mainly from a phone
- Users who want notes about contacts encrypted end to end
Monica Personal CRM
- People who want a private record of friends and family, not a sales tool
- Self-hosters who want an open-source personal CRM with no license fee
- Anyone who wants one flat price however many contacts they have
Worth knowing
Covve
- Mobile only: there is no web app, and Mac access means installing the iPhone and iPad app on a Mac with an Apple M-series chip.
- The App Store lists several Covve Pro prices ($4.99 and $12.99 monthly; $49.99 to $119.99 annually) without saying which applies to new subscribers.
- Contacts cannot be imported directly; they come from an address book synced with the phone, a scanned card or manual entry.
- The plans on covve.com/pricing are for Covve's separate business card scanner, not for the personal CRM app.
Monica Personal CRM
- There are no native mobile apps yet; the web app works on a phone, and iOS and Android apps are planned for after v3.
- The hosted service has no free plan, only a 30-day trial; using Monica for free means running your own server.
- Monica v3 is a ground-up rebuild expected before the end of 2026; a migration path for existing accounts is a stated goal.
- Displayed prices may exclude taxes, depending on your location.
Key features
Covve
- Smart reminders
- Automatic reminders prompt you to contact someone at a frequency you set per contact, alongside birthdays and other special dates. Missed reminders can be actioned or rescheduled.
- Notes and interaction log
- Calls, texts and emails started from the app are logged with date and time under the contact, and Covve prompts you to add a note after each call.
- Contact news
- Add a contact's company, hobbies or favorite team and the News tab shows recent headlines on those topics to read before you reach out.
- Business card scanner
- Scans paper business cards straight into contacts, and lets you create a digital business card of your own to share, including through a widget.
- AI assistant by email
- Email or forward a conversation to the assistant and it adds contacts, logs interactions, writes notes and sets follow-up reminders in your account.
- End-to-end encryption
- Notes, interactions, reminders and family information are encrypted on the device with a 9-word key that only the user holds. Covve says it cannot read or recover them.
Monica Personal CRM
- Contact records and relationships
- Each person's record holds how you met, contact details, significant others, children and pets, and links to family, partners, friends and coworkers.
- Notes and journal
- Private notes on each person and journal entries record what happened, so past conversations can be found without searching through messaging apps.
- Reminders
- Reminders for important dates and events, with birthdays filled in automatically, plus call logging so you can be prompted to get back in touch.
- Activities, gifts and debts
- Keep a history of meals, calls, trips and events, track gifts given or planned, and note money owed in either direction.
- Import, export and custom fields
- Contacts import from vCard and CSV files with duplicates shown before merging, records take custom fields and sections, and data can be exported at any time.
- REST API
- A REST API imports and exports contacts and automates other parts of the application. The pricing page lists API use as included, not an add-on.
Plans
Covve
Free$0
Free download with in-app purchases. The pages read do not state where the free version stops.
Covve Pro (monthly)$4.99 to $12.99
per month; the App Store lists two monthly amounts
In-app subscription billed monthly. The US App Store lists monthly purchases at $4.99 and $12.99 without saying which a new subscriber pays.
Covve Pro (annual)$49.99 to $119.99
per year; the App Store lists three annual amounts
In-app subscription billed yearly. The US App Store lists annual purchases at $49.99, $79.99 and $119.99.
Monica Personal CRM
Self-hosted Monica$0
The full open-source application on your own infrastructure, with unlimited contacts, data import and export, and community support.
Hosted Monica$90
per year, per account ($9 if billed monthly)
Unlimited contacts, notes, reminders and journal entries, with automatic updates, managed backups and email support.
Ways to pay less
Covve
No public discounts listed.
Monica Personal CRM
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
Hosted Monica is $90 a year against $9 a month, which the pricing page describes as two months free when billed yearly.
