CRM by Industry

Open-Source CRMs

Open-source CRM platforms — self-hostable, source-available, and free of per-seat licensing. Best for teams with infra resources or strict data residency requirements.

Open-source CRMs trade convenience for control: you run them on your own infrastructure, customize them at the source level, and pay zero per-seat fees. The trade-off is real ops cost — backups, upgrades, monitoring, and security are now your problem. The CRMs below are the most mature open-source options in 2026, ranging from full SuiteCRM-style platforms to lighter options for teams with strict data-residency requirements.

FreeScout

Help Desk

Free, open-source help desk and shared inbox you self-host — a Zendesk or Help Scout alternative with no per-agent fees and full data ownership.

osTicket

Help Desk

Widely adopted open-source support ticketing system that consolidates email, phone, and web form requests into a single multi-user web interface. Free to self-host with an optional paid cloud edition.

OTRS Community Edition

Help Desk

Free, open-source web-based ticketing system for help desk, customer service, and IT service management. Community-maintained fork of the original OTRS platform following OTRS AG's discontinuation of the open-source line.

Request Tracker (RT)

Help Desk

Open-source ticketing and help desk system with 20+ years of production history, built for teams that need deep customization without vendor lock-in.

SuiteCRM

CRM

Fully open-source CRM forked from SugarCRM Community Edition, offering a complete sales-and-support platform with no per-user licensing fees — self- hosted or available via managed cloud plans.

Vtiger CRM

CRM

All-in-one CRM combining sales, marketing, help desk, and inventory in a single platform for small and mid-size businesses. Available as a cloud product or free open-source self-hosted edition.

Zammad

Help Desk

Open-source web-based help desk and ticketing system with a generous free self-hosted tier. Merges support channels into one queue with strong LDAP, SSO, and API support for technical teams.