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Customer Support · head to head

Customerly vs EspoCRM

Customerly logo

Customerly

Customer Support

Customer service suite with live chat and automation

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
EspoCRM logo

EspoCRM

CRM

AGPL open source CRM in PHP that you can self-host free or buy as cloud with seat minimums

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Customerly usage-based pricing of 0.50 EUR per conversation can become expensive at scale; EspoCRM the AGPLv3 licence obliges you to publish source modifications if you make the modified software available over a network, which blocks resellers who want to offer a customised hosted version without opening their code.
  • They diverge on capability: Customerly covers Live chat, EspoCRM covers Entity manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Customerly and EspoCRM actually diverge.

Attributes where Customerly and EspoCRM differ
AttributeCustomerlyEspoCRM
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Customerly

  • Live chat
  • Email marketing
  • Customer surveys
  • Help center
  • Automation
  • Video chat
  • Slack
  • WordPress

Only in EspoCRM

  • Entity manager
  • Dynamic logic
  • Email integration
  • Sales pipeline
  • Case management
  • Reports and dashboards
  • Workflow automation
  • REST API

What people use each for

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

Customerly

  • Customer supportnot EspoCRM
  • Lead generationnot EspoCRM
  • Email marketingnot EspoCRM
  • Customer feedbacknot EspoCRM

EspoCRM

  • A small business that wants a CRM on its own hosting with no per-seat fee and no vendor holding its customer datanot Customerly
  • A public sector or healthcare team with data residency rules that rule out US-hosted commercial CRMnot Customerly
  • A developer or agency needing a CRM whose data model can be extended into a bespoke entity structure through configurationnot Customerly
  • An organisation with many light users, where self-hosting avoids paying seat prices for people who open the CRM twice a monthnot Customerly

Where each one falls short

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

Customerly

  • Usage-based pricing of 0.50 EUR per conversation can become expensive at scale
  • Limited to 11-50 employees according to company size metrics

EspoCRM

  • The AGPLv3 licence obliges you to publish source modifications if you make the modified software available over a network, which blocks resellers who want to offer a customised hosted version without opening their code.
  • Cloud plans carry seat minimums of three, five and ten users, so a two-person consultancy pays for three seats and a small team wanting the Ultimate features pays for ten.
  • Record ceilings are real on the cheaper cloud tiers, with Basic capped at 100,000 records, and hitting the cap means a tier upgrade rather than a small overage charge.
  • Marketing automation, sequences and native telephony are thin compared with HubSpot or Zoho, so most deployments end up wiring in a separate mailing tool and a separate dialler.
  • Self-hosting shifts the entire cost to your own team: PHP version upgrades, database backups and security patching are yours, and a neglected instance becomes an internet-facing liability holding your customer list.

Pricing, plan by plan

Customerly

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2 teammates
    • Live chat
    • Basic surveys
  • Essential$9/month
    • Unlimited chat
    • Help center
    • Automation
  • Startup$29/month
    • Video chat
    • Funnels
    • Priority support
  • Pro$79/month
    • White label
    • Advanced analytics
    • API access

EspoCRM

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • AGPLv3 licence, no fee
    • Runs on PHP with MySQL or MariaDB
    • Advanced Pack, Sales Pack and other extensions sold separately as one-off purchases
  • Cloud Basic$15/month
    • Three-user minimum
    • 3GB storage per user
    • Up to 100,000 records
  • Cloud Enterprise$25/month
    • Five-user minimum
    • 10GB storage per user
    • Up to 10 million records, extendable for a fee
  • Cloud Ultimate$69/month
    • Ten-user minimum
    • 400GB total storage
    • Unlimited records

Which should you pick?

Choose Customerly if

  • You need live chat.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want email marketing.
Customerly review

Choose EspoCRM if

  • You need entity manager.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android.
  • You also want dynamic logic.
EspoCRM review

Questions people ask

Is Customerly or EspoCRM better?
Neither clearly leads. Customerly starts at Free and EspoCRM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Customerly or EspoCRM?
Customerly starts at Free and EspoCRM at Free.
Does Customerly or EspoCRM run on more platforms?
Customerly runs on Web, Ios, Android. EspoCRM runs on Web, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android.
Can I use Customerly for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Customerly best used for?
Customerly is most often used for customer support, lead generation, email marketing, customer feedback. Of those, customer support and lead generation are not what EspoCRM is typically brought in for.
What can Customerly do that EspoCRM cannot?
Customerly covers Live chat, Email marketing, Customer surveys, Help center. EspoCRM covers Entity manager, Dynamic logic, Email integration, Sales pipeline.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Customerly: Where is Customerly's data stored?

All data is stored exclusively in the EU, providing GDPR compliance and data residency in European servers.

Source
EspoCRM: Is the self-hosted version really full featured?

The core CRM is, but several paid extension packs including Advanced Pack for reports and BPM are sold separately as one-off purchases and are not in the free download.

Customerly: What messaging channels does Customerly support?

Customerly integrates live chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, and mobile apps into a single unified inbox for managing customer conversations.

Source
EspoCRM: What are the cloud seat minimums?

Three users on Basic, five on Enterprise and ten on Ultimate, so the advertised per-user rate is not the smallest bill you can pay.

Customerly: How much of customer support can Customerly automate?

Customerly's AI assistant (Aura) handles up to 60 percent of customer conversations automatically, with the platform designed to handle 71 percent of support volume through automation.

Source
EspoCRM: What does it need to run?

PHP, MySQL or MariaDB and a web server. It installs on ordinary shared hosting or a small VPS, which is unusual for a modern CRM.

EspoCRM: Can I move from cloud to self-hosted later?

Yes. EspoCRM states customers own their database and data files, so an export and reinstall is possible, though you take on all maintenance when you do.

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