Softwr

CRM · head to head

Capsule vs Dolibarr

Capsule logo

Capsule

CRM

Visual CRM for small teams

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Dolibarr logo

Dolibarr

ERP

Modular open source ERP and CRM for very small businesses, installable on shared hosting

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Dolibarr has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Capsule the free plan is capped at 2 users, 250 contacts, 5 custom fields and a single pipeline; Dolibarr the core is deliberately shallow, so a serious requirement such as advanced manufacturing, EDI or a specific payment gateway usually means buying a DoliStore module from a third-party author, and the quality and maintenance of those modules varies widely.
  • They diverge on capability: Capsule covers Contact management, Dolibarr covers Module toggles.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Capsule and Dolibarr actually diverge.

Attributes where Capsule and Dolibarr differ
AttributeCapsuleDolibarr
Starting price$19/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
CategoryCRMERP
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Capsule

  • Contact management
  • Deal tracking
  • Task management
  • Email sync
  • Activity timeline
  • Slack
  • Zapier
  • Google Apps

Only in Dolibarr

  • Module toggles
  • Third-party management
  • Quotes to invoices
  • Stock and warehouses
  • Double-entry accounting
  • Projects and time
  • Point of sale
  • DoliStore

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Capsule

  • Simple contact and pipeline CRM for a small teamnot Dolibarr
  • Tracking deals and follow-up tasksnot Dolibarr
  • Linking emails and notes to contact recordsnot Dolibarr
  • Multiple sales pipelines on the paid tiersnot Dolibarr

Dolibarr

  • A two-person consultancy wants quotes, invoices and basic accounting self-hosted on an existing five euro a month shared hosting account with no server administration.not Capsule
  • A French or Spanish small business needs VAT handling and accounting exports that match local practice out of the box rather than after configuration.not Capsule
  • An association or nonprofit needs membership, subscription and donation tracking alongside ordinary invoicing without paying per member.not Capsule
  • A small distributor wants stock, purchase orders and sales orders in one system and is willing to buy a DoliStore module rather than commission bespoke development.not Capsule

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Capsule

  • The free plan is capped at 2 users, 250 contacts, 5 custom fields and a single pipeline
  • Contact ceilings gate every tier, from 30,000 on Starter to 120,000 on Advanced
  • Per-user prices are not shown as figures on the pricing page, only as tier names
  • Ultimate is quote-only

Dolibarr

  • The core is deliberately shallow, so a serious requirement such as advanced manufacturing, EDI or a specific payment gateway usually means buying a DoliStore module from a third-party author, and the quality and maintenance of those modules varies widely.
  • Accounting was designed around French practice, and the chart of accounts, VAT model and fiscal exports need real work to satisfy accountants in the United States, the UK or Australia.
  • The interface is functional rather than designed and shows its age against Odoo, which makes internal adoption harder when staff are comparing it to consumer-grade software.
  • Upgrades between major versions can break paid third-party modules, because module authors update on their own schedules and there is no guarantee your combination will work on version 24 the day it ships.
  • Support is community forums unless you buy a partner contract, and the documentation is a wiki of uneven quality with substantial parts written in French, so English-only teams hit dead ends.

Pricing, plan by plan

Capsule

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • Contact management
    • Task tracking
  • Professional$39/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Pipeline management
    • Reporting
  • Enterprise$99/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Custom fields
    • API access

Dolibarr

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full GPL source, all core modules
    • Unlimited users
    • You provide PHP and MySQL hosting
  • Partner cloud hosting$14/month
    • Managed hosting from DoliCloud or a certified partner
    • Backups, updates and support included
    • Typically 10 to 30 euros per user per month

Which should you pick?

Choose Capsule if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want deal tracking.
Capsule review

Choose Dolibarr if

  • You need module toggles.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
  • You also want third-party management.
Dolibarr review

Questions people ask

Is Capsule or Dolibarr better?
Neither clearly leads. Capsule starts at $19/month and Dolibarr at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Capsule or Dolibarr?
Dolibarr has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $19/month for Capsule and Free for Dolibarr.
Does Capsule or Dolibarr run on more platforms?
Capsule runs on Web, Ios, Android. Dolibarr runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
Can I use Dolibarr for free?
Yes. Dolibarr has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Capsule starts at $19/month.
What is Capsule best used for?
Capsule is most often used for simple contact and pipeline crm for a small team, tracking deals and follow-up tasks, linking emails and notes to contact records, multiple sales pipelines on the paid tiers. Of those, simple contact and pipeline crm for a small team and tracking deals and follow-up tasks are not what Dolibarr is typically brought in for.
What can Capsule do that Dolibarr cannot?
Capsule covers Contact management, Deal tracking, Task management, Email sync. Dolibarr covers Module toggles, Third-party management, Quotes to invoices, Stock and warehouses.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Capsule: How long is the free trial for Capsule CRM paid plans?

Capsule CRM offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. None of the paid plan features are limited during the trial period.

Source
Dolibarr: Is Dolibarr genuinely free?

Yes. The full application is GPL with no user limit and no paid edition of the core. You pay only for hosting, optional DoliStore modules and optional partner support.

Capsule: What is the maximum number of contacts included in Capsule's free plan?

The free plan allows up to 250 contacts and supports a maximum of 2 users with 1 sales pipeline.

Source
Dolibarr: Can it run on shared hosting?

Yes, that is its main practical advantage. It needs only PHP and MySQL or MariaDB, so an ordinary cPanel account is enough.

Capsule: Does Capsule CRM offer annual billing discounts?

Yes, when you choose annual billing instead of monthly, Capsule CRM offers up to 15% discount on your subscription.

Source
Dolibarr: How does it compare to Odoo?

Odoo is deeper and better presented but its useful modules are in the paid Enterprise edition and it needs a proper deployment. Dolibarr is thinner but free end to end and far easier to host.

Capsule: Can I cancel my Capsule CRM account anytime or are there long-term commitments?

You can cancel your Capsule account at any time, and there are zero setup fees when opening an account.

Source
Dolibarr: Does it handle UK or US accounting?

Not comfortably out of the box. The accounting module reflects French conventions and needs configuration and often a local module to satisfy an accountant elsewhere.

Capsule: Does Capsule CRM support importing data from spreadsheets or other tools?

Yes, Capsule CRM supports data migration from spreadsheets and select integrations like Xero and Zendesk.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Capsule

More on Dolibarr

Keep looking

Other head to heads