Twenty vs EspoCRM vs HubSpot Free: Self-Hosted CRM for a Small Business
Most of this site’s “self-host it yourself” comparisons are about infrastructure — chat, file sync, wikis. A CRM is a different kind of tool: it holds customer and deal data a small business actually depends on day to day, which makes the self-hosted-vs-SaaS trade-off feel higher stakes. Twenty, EspoCRM, and HubSpot’s free tier are the three most common starting points.
Search intent
Someone searching “Twenty vs EspoCRM vs HubSpot CRM” is a small business owner or ops person who has outgrown a spreadsheet for tracking leads/deals and is deciding between self-hosting an open-source CRM and using a free-tier hosted SaaS CRM, before any budget is committed.
Quick take
- Want a modern, actively developed open-source CRM with no per-seat fees if self-hosted: Twenty
- Want the most mature open-source CRM feature set and don’t mind paying for reporting/workflow automation as an add-on: EspoCRM
- Want zero setup and don’t mind data living in a vendor’s cloud: HubSpot’s free CRM tier
The three options
Twenty is an open-source CRM (AGPLv3 core, with some Enterprise features under a separate commercial license) built with a modern, Notion/Airtable-style interface — custom objects, custom fields and views, and an increasingly capable workflow-automation layer. Self-hosted via Docker, it’s free with no per-seat licensing on the core product: unlimited seats, unlimited records, and full API access whether you self-host or not. Twenty also sells hosted Cloud plans if self-hosting isn’t wanted: Pro ($9/user/month — full customization, custom apps, AI agents, 50 workflow credits/year), Organization ($19/user/month — adds row-level permissions, SAML/OIDC SSO, custom domain), and Enterprise (from $50,000/year — single-tenant isolation, SCIM, dedicated support). For a small business willing to self-host, the free self-hosted tier covers essentially everything most teams need.
EspoCRM is the more established open-source option, with a broader out-of-the-box feature set — sales pipeline, calendar, email integration — under a free, self-hostable Community Edition. The catch: some of the more business-critical features (Reports, Business Process Management/workflow automation) live in a paid Advanced Pack extension rather than shipping in the free core. EspoCRM’s own extension page doesn’t publish a self-hosted price directly; community forum posts cite figures in the roughly $300–$400 one-time range, but that’s unverified against an official EspoCRM price list — worth getting a direct quote from EspoCRM before budgeting around any specific number. If cloud hosting is preferred instead, EspoCRM’s official Cloud plans (which include the Advanced Pack at no extra cost) start at Basic (€12.90/user/month, minimum 3 users, 100,000 records), then Enterprise (€22/user/month, minimum 5 users) and Ultimate (€59/user/month, minimum 10 users, unlimited records).
HubSpot’s free CRM tier needs no installation at all — it’s the easiest of the three to actually start using today. The free tier includes up to 2 users, up to 1,000 contacts, deal tracking, and email integration, with no credit card required and no time limit on the free tier itself. The trade-off shows up once a business grows past that: paid tiers start around $7–$20/seat/month (pricing varies by billing term and region) once more than 1,000 contacts or more than 2 users are needed, and HubSpot’s more advanced AI and automation features are reserved for its Professional/Enterprise tiers, which run well into the hundreds to low thousands per month. Unlike Twenty or EspoCRM, there’s no self-hosting option at all — data lives in HubSpot’s cloud regardless of tier.
Cost and fit compared (2026)
| Twenty | EspoCRM | HubSpot Free | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted option | Yes, free, AGPLv3 core | Yes, free Community Edition | No |
| Self-hosted catch | None on core features | Reports/workflow automation gated behind a paid Advanced Pack (price not officially published) | N/A |
| Cloud-hosted starting price | $9/user/month (Pro) | €12.90/user/month, 3-user minimum (Basic) | $0 up to 2 users / 1,000 contacts |
| Where the free tier stops | Doesn’t — self-hosted has no seat/record caps | Free core lacks Reports/BPM | 2 users, 1,000 contacts |
Which one should you actually pick?
- Comfortable running a Docker container and want the most modern interface with genuinely no seat limits: Twenty, self-hosted.
- Want the broadest built-in CRM feature set and are prepared to either budget for the Advanced Pack or start on a Cloud plan that bundles it: EspoCRM — get a direct quote before assuming any third-party self-hosted extension price.
- Team of two, under 1,000 contacts, and want to start today with zero setup: HubSpot’s free tier — just plan for a real cost jump once you outgrow it.
- Already self-hosting other business tools and want this one to plug into the same automation layer: n8n vs Zapier vs Make — both Twenty and n8n are common pairings for connecting a self-hosted CRM to email, forms, and other tools.
- Weighing self-hosted vs SaaS in general before committing to a CRM specifically: Nextcloud vs Google Workspace covers the same trade-off for office/file tools.
- Need to invoice the deals this CRM tracks: see Invoice Ninja vs Wave vs QuickBooks Simple Start.
- Need a signed contract before a deal counts as closed: see Documenso vs DocuSeal vs PandaDoc for e-signatures.
- Need to email these contacts once they’re in the CRM: see Listmonk vs Mailchimp vs Brevo for the newsletter/email-marketing side.
VPS/hosting referral placeholder — swap for a real hosting/VPS affiliate link once a program is confirmed, for readers self-hosting Twenty or EspoCRM rather than using existing homelab hardware.
Bottom line
Twenty is the strongest pick for a small business willing to self-host and wanting a modern CRM with no seat limits or hidden feature gates. EspoCRM has the broader built-in feature set but pushes Reports and workflow automation behind a paid extension whose self-hosted price EspoCRM doesn’t publish officially — verify the actual cost before committing. HubSpot’s free tier is the fastest way to start today, provided a business expects to outgrow its 2-user/1,000-contact ceiling and budget for the jump when it happens.