EspoCRM review: an open-source PHP CRM with free self-hosting and paid Cloud plans. See features, pricing tiers, pros, cons, and top alternatives.
Researched and fact-checked by Bartu Cavusoglu · Updated July 18, 2026
EspoCRM is an open-source customer relationship management application built on a PHP backend with a JavaScript single-page frontend. It covers the standard CRM toolset, including contacts, accounts, leads, sales opportunities, calendars, email, and support case tracking, and it can be customized with new entities, fields, and layouts without writing code.
The project is developed by Letrium Ltd, a software company founded in 2011 in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Letrium began as a CRM customization service provider before building its own product, releasing the first version of EspoCRM in 2014 after roughly ten months of development.
Core capabilities include lead and opportunity management, account and contact records, activity and calendar scheduling with a meeting-booking tool for online appointment times, email integration, and configurable support cases.
The platform's extension system adds reporting, business process management and workflow automation through the Advanced Pack, and quoting, invoicing, purchasing, and inventory management through the Sales Pack, along with integrations for VoIP providers, Google, Outlook, Zoom, MailChimp, and Stripe.
The core EspoCRM application is free to download and self-host under the AGPLv3 open-source license, with official extensions such as the Advanced Pack and Sales Pack sold separately for self-hosted deployments.
EspoCRM Cloud, the hosted option, is billed per user per month across three tiers: Basic at EUR 12.90 per user per month with a three-user minimum, Enterprise at EUR 22.00 per user per month with a five-user minimum, and Ultimate at EUR 59.00 per user per month with a ten-user minimum. All Cloud tiers bundle every official extension at no extra cost, unlike the self-hosted edition.
Yes. The core EspoCRM application can be downloaded and self-hosted for free under the AGPLv3 open-source license. Paid options exist for official extensions on self-hosted installs and for the hosted EspoCRM Cloud service.
EspoCRM is developed by Letrium Ltd, a software company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, which released the first version of EspoCRM in 2014.
EspoCRM Cloud has three tiers billed per user per month: Basic at EUR 12.90 with a three-user minimum, Enterprise at EUR 22.00 with a five-user minimum, and Ultimate at EUR 59.00 with a ten-user minimum. All tiers include every official extension.
EspoCRM's backend is written in PHP and follows SOLID design principles with static typing, while its frontend is a JavaScript single-page application that communicates with the backend through a REST API.
EspoCRM, SuiteCRM, and Vtiger are all open-source CRM platforms offering free self-hosted editions alongside paid hosted or enterprise tiers. They differ in their extension ecosystems, licensing terms, and customization frameworks, so the right choice depends on specific feature and support needs.
EspoCRM does not publish an official first-party mobile app, but its REST API supports third-party companion applications such as YouCRM for EspoCRM and ObiCRMApp on iOS and Android.