EspoCRM vs Frappe CRM (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Frappe CRM: it is third in our ranking of CRM tools, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Frappe CRM grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
EspoCRM
Open-source CRM you can self-host for free or rent in the cloud
Frappe CRM
Open-source CRM with unlimited users, billed by hosting
Which one is for you
Pick EspoCRM if
- Fits if you want a CRM on your own server with no per-user fee
- Works for companies that want CRM, quotes, invoices and inventory in one system
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're one or two people wanting the cloud, as plans need at least 3, 5 or 10 users
- Not for you if you can't run a server and won't pay, because free means self-hosted
- Tight if you self-host and want workflows, BPM or reports, which sit in the paid Advanced Pack
- Watch out: Basic and Enterprise are billed 6 or 12 months at a time, and cloud admins can't install extensions
- Tight if you're on cloud Basic: 100,000 records and 3 GB of files a user, on the web only
Pick Frappe CRM if
- Fits if you want a CRM with no per-seat price
- Works for teams that also run ERPNext
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want an app store app, as phones use the browser
- Watch out: the $5 entry price is a representative figure, and the bill varies by site, provider and region
- Watch out: Frappe's warranty support covers bugs in bundled apps, not functional support
- Watch out: implementation help comes through paid partners
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAEspoCRMGood | 3.0GPAFrappe CRMVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CCloud Basic is $15 a user a month, which is mid-pack for the CRMs here, and you need at least 3 users billed 6 months or a year at a time. Every official extension is included, so you're not paying twice for workflows or reports. Free if you host it yourself, but then those extensions cost extra. | A$5 a month per site on Frappe Cloud with unlimited users, under 60% of the $15 where the cheapest quarter starts. The page says the bill varies. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe open-source core is free on your own server, with no per-user fee and no time limit. The catch is you're running the server, and workflows, BPM and reports sit in the paid Advanced Pack. The cloud only gets a 30-day trial. | BFree to self-host with no record or user limits, plus a 14-day Frappe Cloud trial. |
| Features | BLeads and opportunities on a kanban board, trigger-based workflows and BPMN process flows, email sync and mass campaigns, quotes, invoices and inventory, cases with a customer portal, custom entities built in the UI. It covers the CRM job, as long as you're on a cloud plan that bundles the extensions. | BLeads, deals, contacts, SLAs, forecasting, multi-currency and customization. The listing shows no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record, and this isn't an app you open and start using. You're connecting IMAP and SMTP mailboxes, setting up stages and building entities, and if you take the free route you're installing it on a server or with Docker first. | CFrappe Cloud takes the server work off you, but pipelines and fields still have to be built. No store rating is on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app, with no phone or desktop app on our listing. It connects to Google Calendar, Outlook, Zoom, Stripe, Mailchimp, Twilio, Zapier and Make, and there's a REST API, so you can wire it into whatever else you run. | BWeb only, used on a phone through the browser, with WhatsApp, ERPNext, Twilio and Exotel. |
| Best for | teams that want to host their own CRM | a cheap open-source CRM with unlimited users |
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: EspoCRM and Frappe CRM. How we grade
Price against what you get
EspoCRM starts at $15 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Frappe CRM starts at $5 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Frappe CRM starts $10 a month lower. Of the other CRM tools on the chart, 3 score higher than EspoCRM for less, and none scores higher than Frappe CRM for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| EspoCRM | Frappe CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per user / month, minimum 3 users, billed for 6 months or 1 year | $5 per month per site on Frappe Cloud, unlimited users |
| Free plan | Self-hosted EspoCRM is free and open source under AGPLv3, with no per-user fees, on your own server. Official extensions such as the Advanced Pack are bought separately when self-hosting. | Self-host the AGPL-3.0 source for free; unlimited leads, deals, contacts and sales agents. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the cloud service | 14-day free trial of Frappe Cloud hosting for your whole team |
| Web | ||
| Made by | EspoCRM | Frappe Technologies Pvt. Ltd. |
| Price read from | espocrm.com | frappe.io |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
EspoCRM
- Cloud plans have seat minimums of 3, 5 and 10 users, and Basic and Enterprise are billed for 6 months or 1 year at a time.
- The Basic cloud plan is capped at 100,000 records and 3 GB of file storage per user.
- Workflows, BPM and reports belong to the Advanced Pack extension, which self-hosted installs must purchase.
- Cloud admins cannot install extensions themselves, and Zapier or Make connections need accounts with those services.
Frappe CRM
- The listed $5 entry price is a representative figure; Frappe says the bill varies by site, provider and region.
- Product Warranty support from Frappe engineers is limited to the bundled apps and covers bugs, not functional support.
- Mobile use is through the phone browser, which the FAQ says can be added to a home screen like an app.
- Implementation help comes through paid partners.
Key features
EspoCRM
- Core CRM and sales pipelines
- Accounts, contacts, leads and opportunities with customizable sales stages, probability and expected close dates, shown as lists or a drag-and-drop kanban board.
- Workflows and BPM
- Trigger-based and scheduled workflows send emails, update fields or create records, and business processes can be modeled as BPMN 2.0 flowcharts.
- Email sync and mass email
- Syncs inbound mail from IMAP mailboxes, sends through SMTP accounts from any record, and runs bulk campaigns to target lists with opt-out handling and tracking.
- Quotes, invoices and inventory
- The Sales Pack adds a product catalog, price books, quotes, sales orders, invoices, purchase orders and warehouse inventory tracking.
- Cases, portal and knowledge base
- Support cases are tracked to resolution with priorities and statuses, and a portal lets customers or partners submit cases and read articles.
- Entity Manager and REST API
- Custom entities, fields and relationships are created in the UI without code, and a REST API with OpenAPI support connects external systems.
Frappe CRM
- Leads and deals
- Capture leads from web forms, WhatsApp, email and calls, then move deals through Kanban stages to won or lost.
- Contacts and organizations
- Each person and company keeps its deals and communication history in one place.
- Automation and SLAs
- Rules can update, assign and follow up on deals, and SLAs set how quickly a new lead gets a first reply.
- Forecasting and multi-currency
- Deals can be priced in any currency with totals converted, and a forecast shows expected revenue from open deals.
- Customization
- Add custom fields, rename statuses and build views without code, or extend it through the Frappe Framework.
- ERPNext link
- Create quotations from a deal and a customer in ERPNext when the deal is won.
Plans
EspoCRM
Self-hostedFree
The open-source core on your own server, installed directly or with the official Docker image. No per-user fees.
Basic$15.00
per user / month, min. 3 users, billed for 6 months or 1 year
3 GB of file storage per user and 100,000 records, with the full feature set, all official extensions, API access and 12x5 support.
Enterprise$25.00
per user / month, min. 5 users, billed for 6 months or 1 year
10 GB of file storage per user and 10,000,000 records, which can be extended for an additional fee.
Ultimate$69.00
per user / month, minimum 10 users
400 GB of file storage and unlimited records on a private server with a dedicated IP address and your own domain name.
Frappe CRM
Self-hosted$0
Deploy the open-source code on your own server with the install scripts; you run upgrades and backups.
Frappe Cloud Sites$5
per month and up, per site, unlimited users
A single site on shared servers with managed upgrades and backups; the price depends on site size, provider and region.
Frappe Cloud Servers$20
per month and up, per server
Your own virtual machine for several sites; a $60 and up tier adds stronger isolation, snapshots and autoscaling.
Ways to pay less
EspoCRM
No public discounts listed.
Frappe CRM
- Education
Discounts for education and nonprofits
Frappe's pricing FAQ says it supports education institutes and nonprofits with a discount; you contact the company to apply.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, EspoCRM or Frappe CRM?
As of Nov 13, 2026, EspoCRM starts at $15 per user / month, minimum 3 users, billed for 6 months or 1 year, and Frappe CRM starts at $5 per month per site on Frappe Cloud, unlimited users. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, EspoCRM or Frappe CRM?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both EspoCRM and Frappe CRM have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.