Freshsales vs Django-CRM
Django-CRM, whose supplied documentation names the application BottleCRM, is the better fit for teams wanting a self-hosted, MIT-licensed CRM centered on customer records and manually managed sales pipelines. Freshsales remains the stronger choice when workflow automation, AI scoring and recommendations, AI email drafting, sales campaigns, or broader multichannel engagement are required; BottleCRM explicitly lacks "
Decision guide
The practical reasons to choose either option, based on documented capabilities.
Choose Django-CRM if
- Small teams managing leads, contacts, accounts, and deals through a manual drag-and-drop pipeline
- Organizations that require CRM data on their own infrastructure under an MIT license
- Python/Django teams prepared to extend and operate the application themselves though its documented REST API
Stay with Freshsales if
- Lead scoring, nurturing, or workflow automation is required; BottleCRM documents that these are absent
- Sales representatives depend on AI prioritization, recommendations, or email drafting; documented AI coverage is API access for external agents, not Freshsales-style selling assistance
- Campaign management or outbound multichannel customer engagement must remain inside the CRM; BottleCRM says it does not compose and send customer email and does not replace an inbox complicated so much that it's not a
Deployment and operations
Django-CRM/BottleCRM is MIT-licensed and self-hostable. The repository provides a Docker Compose quick start; the stack includes PostgreSQL, Redis, the API, a Celery worker, and the web app. Operators are responsible for backups, upgrades, TLS, and the mail provider. Scheduled functions require both a Celery worker and beat process. Managed hosting and support are also offered as paid services.
Migration considerations
No Freshsales-specific importer or compatibility path is documented. A CSV importer exists on the backend but is not reachable from the web or mobile interfaces; the supplier lists migration from an existing CRM as a paid service. Plan for an API-assisted or service-led migration and validate fields, relationships, activities, and reporting before switching.
Feature fit
What Django-CRM covers
- Lead, contact, and account records
- Lead-to-deal record conversion
- Drag-and-drop deal pipeline
- Customer-linked activity records
- Custom fields on CRM entities
- REST API access
What’s different or missing
- No lead scoring or nurturing
- No workflow automation
- No native AI sales recommendations
- No AI-assisted email drafting documented
- No sales campaign module documented
- No customer-email composition
- No outbound webhooks
- No usable CSV-import interface
Project snapshot
- GitHub stars
- 2,384
- Contributors
- 48
- Language
- Python
- Last commit
- Aug 17, 2026
- Latest release
- Aug 17, 2026
Categories: Customer Data Platforms, Marketing Automation, Customer Support, Workflow Automation, Customer Relationship Management, Business Intelligence, Data Integration, Sales Intelligence
Sources and editorial review11 linked sources
Public documentation supports this comparison. Automation assists collection and classification; editorial standards and corrections remain the responsibility of Kris.
A free, self-hosted, multi-tenant CRM built with Django REST Framework, SvelteKit and Flutter.
readme · github.comIt covers the full customer lifecycle: leads, accounts, contacts, opportunities, support tickets, tasks and invoices.
readme · github.comthrough a SvelteKit web app, a native Flutter mobile app, and a documented REST API sharing one Django backend.
readme · github.comQuick start: git clone https://github.com/django-crm/Django-CRM.git ... docker compose up --build
readme · github.comPostgreSQL Row-Level Security isolates each organization's data at the database layer
readme · github.comThis page used to promise all three. None exists. Leads have a source, a status and an owner, and moving one forward is something a person does.
verdict · bottlecrm.ioEvery deal, the stage it is in, and how long it has been sitting there. Drag it forward when it moves. The board is the record, not a picture of one.
shared feature · bottlecrm.ioIt does not compose and send mail to a customer, so this is not a replacement for your inbox.
consider original · bottlecrm.iogit clone https://github.com/django-crm/Django-CRM.git cd Django-CRM docker compose up --build
deployment · github.comBackups, upgrades, TLS and the mail provider are yours. This is the part a subscription was buying you, and it is the honest reason managed hosting exists as an option.
deployment · bottlecrm.ioThe importer is built and tested on the backend, with per-row error reporting, and neither the web app nor the phone can reach it. Moving an existing CRM in is one of the things the paid migration covers.
migration · bottlecrm.io
