The SuiteCRM Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about SuiteCRM in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
SuiteCRM
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source CRM with no per-user license fees
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among CRM tools, read from SuiteCRM’s own pages.
Made by SuiteCRM Ltd · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from SuiteCRM’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on SuiteCRM’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 19 of the 48 other CRM tools we grade
SuiteCRM is an open-source CRM covering sales, marketing campaigns, case management, reports and workflow automation. The software is free to download and run on your own servers with any number of users. SuiteCRM Ltd, the company behind it, sells managed hosting, implementation and support packages instead of licenses, priced in pounds sterling.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about SuiteCRM, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Free means your team runs the servers, with only a forum for help.
- 1
Best for a full CRM with no fee per user
SuiteCRM is an open-source CRM with sales, campaigns, support cases, reports and workflows, and no license fee however many people use it.
- 2
Paid plans start at about $171.87 a month
As its pricing page puts it: £130 / month, billed annually excl. VAT, unlimited users (£143 billed monthly).
- 3
There is a free plan
Self-hosted: the software is free to download and run on your own servers, with no user limit and community forum support. Your team handles infrastructure, updates and security.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Sales modules
Capture leads, manage opportunities and send personalized quotes, with dashboards that track the sales pipeline, upcoming meetings and key accounts.
- 6
Marketing campaigns
Segment contacts with the Target Lists module, create campaigns to send marketing content and automate marketing tasks.
- 7
Workflow automation
The Workflow module triggers actions when set conditions are met. On managed hosting, how often scheduled tasks run depends on the package.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 19 of 48
That is against the other CRM tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace SuiteCRM you would be making email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
SuiteCRM at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from £130 / month, billed annually excl. VAT, unlimited users (£143 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial of SuiteCRM Hosted packages
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- SuiteCRM Ltd
- Category
- CRM Software
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for a full CRM with no fee per user
SuiteCRM is an open-source CRM with sales, campaigns, support cases, reports and workflows, and no license fee however many people use it. Free means your team runs the servers, with only a forum for help. Hosting is a flat £130 a month before VAT, steep for two or three people and priced in pounds only, and it's a web app with two integrations on record.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Hosted Starter is a flat £130 a month on annual billing, before VAT, for unlimited users but recommended for up to 10. Across ten people that's £13 a head; for two or three people it's dear. No dollar price list is shown, and support packages and warranties are priced separately again. |
| Free plan and trial | B | The software is free to download and run with no user limit and no time limit. The price is your own servers, with infrastructure, updates and security down to you and only the community forum for help. Hosting gets a 30-day trial, not a free plan. |
| Features | B | Leads, opportunities and quotes, marketing campaigns with target lists, a workflow module, reports built from any module, support cases with a self-service portal, and admin tools that add fields and whole new modules without a developer. It covers the CRM job. |
| Ease of use | C | No rating on record, and this is modules, layouts and workflows to configure before anyone sells anything. The hosted packages at least spare you the server work; take the free route and you're installing and patching it yourselves. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | A web app only, with no phone or desktop app on our listing. The integrations on record run to two names, Microsoft Outlook and Elasticsearch, so anything else means using the open REST API yourself. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who SuiteCRM is for
- Fits if your headcount is growing and you don't want the bill to grow per user
- Works for teams with in-house IT that need CRM data on their own servers
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you can't run a server and won't pay, because free means self-hosted
- Pricey if there are only two or three of you, since hosting starts at a flat £130 a month before VAT
- Not for you if you want US or European hosting, as shared packages are UK only and Dedicated starts at £3,200 a year
- Watch out: prices are in pounds only, before VAT, and the SuiteASSURED warranty is from £3,350 a year on top
- Skip it if you want a phone app or ready-made integrations, as it's web only with Outlook and Elasticsearch on record
Good to know
Good for
- Organizations that want to avoid per-user license fees as headcount grows
- Teams with in-house IT that need CRM data on their own servers
- Buyers who want a customizable CRM with vendor hosting and support available
Worth knowing
- Prices are quoted in pounds sterling and exclude VAT; no dollar price list is shown.
- Managed hosting requires application support, so the online packages bundle the Silver Support package.
- Self-hosting has no software cost, but your team manages servers, updates and security.
- Shared hosting packages are hosted in the UK; a Europe or US location needs a Dedicated instance.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
~$171.87
A month to start. There is a free plan too
SuiteCRM has a free plan. Paid plans start at £130 / month, billed annually excl. VAT, unlimited users (£143 billed monthly).
No dollar price list is shown, and support packages and warranties are priced separately again.
Self-Hosted
Free
Download and deploy on your own servers or cloud provider, with community support. Infrastructure costs are yours.
Hosted Starter
£130
per month, billed annually excl. VAT (£143 billed monthly)
Managed shared hosting recommended for up to 10 users: 5 GB storage, hourly scheduled tasks, weekly backups and the Silver Support package.
Hosted Business
£180
per month, billed annually excl. VAT (£198 billed monthly)
Recommended for up to 50 users: 40 GB storage, scheduled tasks every 4 minutes and daily backups.
Hosted Premium
£280
per month, billed annually excl. VAT (£308 billed monthly)
Recommended for up to 150 users: 120 GB storage, tasks every 2 minutes, Git repository access and an annual health check.
Hosted Dedicated
From £3,200
per year, excl. VAT and application support
A managed instance on dedicated resources with scalable performance and storage, hosted in the UK, Europe or the US.
SuiteASSURED
From £3,350
per year, on top of hosting
A warranty and assurance layer: application warranty, legal indemnities, patent protections, priority support and 10 care hours.
The free plan
Self-hosted: the software is free to download and run on your own servers, with no user limit and community forum support. Your team handles infrastructure, updates and security.
Trying it first
30-day free trial of SuiteCRM Hosted packages
Read from suitecrm.com on Oct 5, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
About 9% less on hosting billed annually
Hosted Starter is £130 a month billed annually against £143 billed monthly, Business £180 against £198 and Premium £280 against £308, all excluding VAT.
Stated on suitecrm.comOther savings
20% off Standard Support with managed hosting
The pricing page takes 20% off the £1,200 Standard Support package, a saving of £240 a year, when it is bought with fully managed hosting.
Stated on suitecrm.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Open-source CRM with no per-user license fees. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, public API, sales pipeline, marketing automation, workflow automation, reports.
A web app only, with no phone or desktop app on our listing.
- Sales modules
- Capture leads, manage opportunities and send personalized quotes, with dashboards that track the sales pipeline, upcoming meetings and key accounts.
- Marketing campaigns
- Segment contacts with the Target Lists module, create campaigns to send marketing content and automate marketing tasks.
- Workflow automation
- The Workflow module triggers actions when set conditions are met. On managed hosting, how often scheduled tasks run depends on the package.
- Reports and dashboards
- The Reports module builds reports from real-time data in any module, and each user can arrange a dashboard from widgets called Dashlets.
- Case management and portal
- Case modules and a self-service portal handle customer issues, keeping correspondence on the case and tracking resolution times with workflows.
- Studio and open REST API
- Admin tools add fields, change layouts and create new modules without development, and an open REST API connects the CRM to other business systems.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Microsoft Outlook
- Elasticsearch
SuiteCRM is made by SuiteCRM Ltd.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
19/48
Other CRM tools it is graded above
SuiteCRM's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 19 of the 48 other CRM tools we grade, and level with 15.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 37 of 48) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at about $171.87 a month, against a middle price of $24 for the category: 45 of the 46 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 36 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 49 CRM tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. SuiteCRM’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 18 of 48
- BFree plan and trialAbove 37 of 48
- BFeaturesAbove 18 of 48
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 48
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 48
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 47 CRM tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. SuiteCRM is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace SuiteCRM you would be making email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $2,062.38 a year. SuiteCRM is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- Sales pipeline and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox.
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. SuiteCRM’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
EspoCRM, Vtiger, Odoo CRM, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
The 5 tools SuiteCRM is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
EspoCRM
Free plan · from $15/mo
Open-source CRM you can self-host for free or rent in the cloud.
- SuiteCRM also covers marketing automation.
- EspoCRM also covers kanban boards.
- 2.8GPA
Vtiger
Free plan · from $12/mo
All-in-one CRM with a free cloud plan and an open-source edition.
- Only Vtiger lists iOS and Android apps.
- SuiteCRM also covers reports.
- Vtiger also covers invoicing.
- 2.8GPA
Odoo CRM
Free plan · from $31.10/mo
Open-source CRM app from the Odoo business suite.
- Only Odoo CRM lists iOS and Android apps.
- SuiteCRM also covers marketing automation.
- Odoo CRM also covers kanban boards.
- 2.8GPA
Salesforce
Free plan · from $25/mo
CRM platform for sales teams with AI agents and a free 2-user suite.
- Only Salesforce lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Salesforce lists a browser extension.
- SuiteCRM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- 2.2GPA
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
Free trial · from $65/mo
Microsoft's sales CRM with Copilot and prebuilt sales agents.
- SuiteCRM has a free plan. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales lists iOS and Android apps.
- SuiteCRM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
15
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is SuiteCRM free?
SuiteCRM has a free plan. Self-hosted: the software is free to download and run on your own servers, with no user limit and community forum support.
How much does SuiteCRM cost?
SuiteCRM lists 6 plans. Self-Hosted: Free.
What platforms does SuiteCRM work on?
SuiteCRM is available on Web.
Does SuiteCRM offer any discounts?
SuiteCRM publicly lists the following: About 9% less on hosting billed annually; 20% off Standard Support with managed hosting.
Does SuiteCRM have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. SuiteCRM is listed for Web.
Does SuiteCRM have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. SuiteCRM is listed for Web.
Is SuiteCRM open source?
Yes. SuiteCRM is open source, according to its own site.
Does SuiteCRM have an API?
Yes. SuiteCRM offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does SuiteCRM integrate with?
SuiteCRM's listing names Microsoft Outlook and Elasticsearch. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Does SuiteCRM have a free trial?
Yes. 30-day free trial of SuiteCRM Hosted packages.
Who makes SuiteCRM?
SuiteCRM is made by SuiteCRM Ltd.
What are the alternatives to SuiteCRM?
The closest alternatives to SuiteCRM in our directory are EspoCRM, Vtiger, Odoo CRM, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales.
How does SuiteCRM compare with other CRM tools?
SuiteCRM's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 19 of the 48 other CRM tools we grade, and level with 15.
Is SuiteCRM good value for money?
ToolGPA grades SuiteCRM C for value for money. Its paid plans start at about $171.87 a month, against a middle price of $24 for the category: 45 of the 46 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of SuiteCRM?
To replace SuiteCRM you would be making email sent in volume that still reaches the inbox.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from SuiteCRM’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from SuiteCRM's own pages on 5 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-08-22.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by SuiteCRM Ltd. Prices change, so check suitecrm.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- SuiteCRM, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/suitecrm
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "SuiteCRM: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/suitecrm
Know someone choosing between CRM tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/suitecrm/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded CRM tools after SuiteCRM, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- CRM Software Insider's GuideEvery one of the 49 CRM tools we grade, compared
- HubSpot Insider's GuideFree CRM at the center of a marketing, sales and service suite3.2 GPA
- Bigin by Zoho CRM Insider's GuidePipeline-based CRM from Zoho for small businesses2.8 GPA
- Bitrix24 Insider's GuideFlat-priced CRM with tasks, chat, video calls and a site builder2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what SuiteCRM’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. SuiteCRM is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by SuiteCRM Ltd. Prices and plans change: check suitecrm.com before you buy.