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CRM · head to head

EspoCRM vs Solid Performers

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
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Solid Performers logo

Solid Performers

CRM

Indian sales CRM with per-user pricing from 10 US dollars and a five-user minimum on monthly billing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only EspoCRM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Solid Performers monthly billing carries a five-user minimum, so the advertised 10 US dollars per user is really a 50 US dollar monthly floor, and teams of two or three must either overbuy seats or lock into annual billing.
  • They diverge on capability: EspoCRM covers Entity manager, Solid Performers covers Lead management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which EspoCRM and Solid Performers actually diverge.

Attributes where EspoCRM and Solid Performers differ
AttributeEspoCRMSolid Performers
Starting priceFreeOn request
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Docker, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: pricing model (Per user per month), user rating (Not yet rated), category (CRM).

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 EspoCRM

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

Only in Solid Performers

  • Lead management
  • Deal pipelines
  • Unlimited records and storage
  • Quotations and proposals
  • Follow-up automation
  • WhatsApp integration
  • White labelling
  • Custom fields and modules

What people use each for

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

EspoCRM

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

Solid Performers

  • An Indian education consultancy handling high lead volume from IndiaMART and Facebook that needs follow-up discipline more than marketing automationnot EspoCRM
  • A ten-person B2B sales team priced out of Salesforce or HubSpot that still needs pipeline reporting and quotation generationnot EspoCRM
  • An agency that wants to white-label a CRM for its own clients at 299 US dollars for the first year rather than build onenot EspoCRM
  • A real estate firm that runs its entire sales conversation over WhatsApp and needs those threads attached to the lead recordnot EspoCRM

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Solid Performers

  • Monthly billing carries a five-user minimum, so the advertised 10 US dollars per user is really a 50 US dollar monthly floor, and teams of two or three must either overbuy seats or lock into annual billing.
  • Common capabilities are charged as separate one-off add-ons rather than included: 249 US dollars for setup and training, 99 for SMS and 149 for WhatsApp, which can double first-year cost for a small team.
  • The integration catalogue is small and skewed to Indian channels such as IndiaMART and WhatsApp, so a European or North American team will find its usual marketing, support and finance tools absent.
  • It is a small vendor with support aligned to Indian business hours, which means slow turnaround for customers in the Americas and a genuine continuity risk for a system holding your entire pipeline.
  • Functionality is sales-first with no meaningful marketing automation or customer service module, so growth beyond pipeline management means adding another product rather than another tier.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Solid Performers

On request
  • Square (monthly)$10/month
    • Lead and deal management
    • Unlimited records and storage
    • Follow-up reminders and tasks
  • Pentagon (monthly)$15/month
    • Everything in Square
    • Quotations and proposals
    • Additional automation
  • Hexagon (monthly)$20/month
    • Unlimited feature access
    • Advanced reporting
    • Minimum five users on monthly billing, so 100 USD a month is the real floor
  • Square (annual)$100/year
    • Same as Square monthly
    • Two months free versus monthly billing
    • No five-user minimum on annual billing

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Solid Performers if

  • You need lead management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want deal pipelines.
Solid Performers review

Questions people ask

Is EspoCRM or Solid Performers better?
Neither clearly leads. EspoCRM starts at Free and Solid Performers at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, EspoCRM or Solid Performers?
EspoCRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for EspoCRM and On request for Solid Performers.
Does EspoCRM or Solid Performers run on more platforms?
EspoCRM runs on Web, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android. Solid Performers runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use EspoCRM for free?
Yes. EspoCRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Solid Performers starts at On request.
What is EspoCRM best used for?
EspoCRM is most often used for a small business that wants a crm on its own hosting with no per-seat fee and no vendor holding its customer data, a public sector or healthcare team with data residency rules that rule out us-hosted commercial crm, a developer or agency needing a crm whose data model can be extended into a bespoke entity structure through configuration, an organisation with many light users, where self-hosting avoids paying seat prices for people who open the crm twice a month. Of those, a small business that wants a crm on its own hosting with no per-seat fee and no vendor holding its customer data and a public sector or healthcare team with data residency rules that rule out us-hosted commercial crm are not what Solid Performers is typically brought in for.
What can EspoCRM do that Solid Performers cannot?
EspoCRM covers Entity manager, Dynamic logic, Email integration, Sales pipeline. Solid Performers covers Lead management, Deal pipelines, Unlimited records and storage, Quotations and proposals.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Solid Performers: What does Solid Performers actually cost to start?

On monthly billing, 50 US dollars a month, because the cheapest tier is 10 US dollars per user with a five-user minimum. Annual billing removes the minimum at 100 US dollars per user per year.

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.

Solid Performers: Is pricing available in rupees?

Yes. The pricing page offers INR alongside USD, and Indian customers are the primary market.

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.

Solid Performers: Is setup included?

No. Setup and training is a separate one-off charge of 249 US dollars.

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.

Solid Performers: Can I resell it under my own brand?

Yes. White labelling is 299 US dollars for the first year and 99 US dollars per year afterwards.

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