espocrm/espocrm - Detailed Review#

1. Overview & GitHub Stats#

URL: https://github.com/espocrm/espocrm
Stars: 2171
License: GNU GPL v3
Latest Release: v8.1.0

EspoCRM is a flexible, open-source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform designed for businesses looking for a self-hosted alternative to commercial solutions like Salesforce or HubSpot.

2. Project Description#

EspoCRM is a PHP-based CRM that helps businesses manage customer interactions, sales pipelines, marketing campaigns, and support tickets. It offers a modern UI, REST API, and customizable modules, making it suitable for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Key aspects:
✔ Self-hosted (no vendor lock-in)
✔ Extensible via modules & integrations
✔ Mobile-friendly interface

3. What Software Does It Replace?#

EspoCRM competes with:

Salesforce (Commercial)
HubSpot CRM (Freemium)
SuiteCRM (Open-source fork of SugarCRM)
Zoho CRM (SaaS-based)

Unlike SaaS solutions, EspoCRM gives users full control over their data.

4. Core Functionality#

Contact & Account Management – Store customer details, interactions, and documents.
Sales Pipeline – Track leads, opportunities, and deals.
Email Integration – Sync with IMAP/POP3, send bulk emails.
Task & Calendar – Schedule meetings and follow-ups.
Reporting & Dashboards – Visualize sales performance.
API & Webhooks – Integrate with third-party tools.

5. Pros and Cons#

Pros#

✅ No Licensing Costs – Free and open-source.
✅ Customizable – Modify fields, workflows, and layouts.
✅ Self-Hosted Privacy – Data stays on your server.
✅ Active Community – Regular updates & plugins.

Cons#

❌ Requires Technical Setup – Needs PHP/MySQL knowledge.
❌ Limited Cloud Hosting – Not optimized for serverless deployments.
❌ Fewer Native Integrations Compared to SaaS CRMs.

6. Detailed Installation Guide (Self-host)#

Prerequisites#

Linux Server (Ubuntu 22.04 recommended)
PHP 8.1+ (with php-mysql, php-curl, php-gd)
MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+
Apache/Nginx (with mod_rewrite enabled)
Composer (for dependency management)

Step-by-Step Setup#

Install Dependencies

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sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y apache2 mysql-server php php-mysql php-curl php-gd php-zip unzip composer

Configure MySQL

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sudo mysql_secure_installation
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mysql -u root -p
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CREATE DATABASE espocrm;
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CREATE USER 'espocrm'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
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GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON espocrm.* TO 'espocrm'@'localhost';
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FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Download EspoCRM

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cd /var/www/html
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sudo wget https://www.espocrm.com/downloads/EspoCRM-latest.zip
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sudo unzip EspoCRM-latest.zip
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sudo chown -R www-data:www-data espocrm/

Set Up Apache Virtual Host
Edit /etc/apache2/sites-available/espocrm.conf:

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<VirtualHost *:80>
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    ServerName yourdomain.com
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    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/espocrm
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    <Directory /var/www/html/espocrm>
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        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
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        AllowOverride All
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        Require all granted
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    </Directory>
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</VirtualHost>

Enable the site:

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sudo a2ensite espocrm.conf
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sudo systemctl restart apache2

Run the Installer
Visit http://yourdomain.com in a browser and follow the setup wizard.

Post-Installation#

Secure with HTTPS (use Let’s Encrypt).

Set up cron jobs for scheduled tasks:

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* * * * * /usr/bin/php /var/www/html/espocrm/cron.php > /dev/null 2>&1

Docker Alternative#

For Docker users, EspoCRM provides an official image:

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docker run -d --name espocrm -p 80:80 -v espocrm_data:/var/www/html espocrm/espocrm:latest

Final Thoughts
EspoCRM is a robust, cost-effective CRM for businesses prioritizing data ownership. While it requires manual setup, its flexibility and open-source nature make it a compelling choice.

Contribute: Found a bug? Submit an issue or PR on GitHub.