Salesforce is less a product than a platform with a CRM at the centre. Objects, fields, validation, and automation are all configurable, and an entire consulting industry exists to configure them.
HubSpot's free CRM is a genuine product rather than a trial, and that is the strategy: get the contact database in place, then sell the marketing, sales, and service hubs around it.
Customer messaging combining chat, help centre, and bots
CompanyIntercom
Since2011
PricingPaid
Intercom put support, onboarding, and product messaging into one thread per customer. The messenger in the corner of a product is close to a genre convention now, and Intercom largely defined it.
Zendesk is built for support as a function with headcount, shifts, and service level agreements, rather than for a founder answering email. Routing, macros, and SLA policies are the substance of it.
Colourful work operating system for cross-functional teams
Companymonday.com
Since2014
PricingFreemium
monday.com presents work as configurable boards with strongly typed columns, then layers dashboards and automations on top. It is aimed at operations, marketing, and sales teams that want structure without a database.
Customer conversations from every channel in one inbox
Stars24.7K
Commit1d ago
LicenseMIT
Chatwoot collects website chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, and SMS into a single agent inbox with shared assignment, canned replies, and a help centre.
Parlant addresses the problem that stops most support agents from shipping: a model that is helpful ninety-five percent of the time is not safe to put in front of customers. It manages behaviour through explicit, context-matched guidelines rather than one long prompt.
Twenty rebuilds CRM around the interaction patterns people already know from modern productivity tools: keyboard navigation, inline editing, flexible record views, and a data model you can extend without a consultant.
Open-source ERP, CRM, HRM, and project platform with time tracking
Stars8,184
Commitjust now
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Ever Gauzy is an open-source business management platform combining ERP, CRM, HRM, project management, and time tracking in one self-hostable TypeScript system.
Open-source helpdesk and customer support platform
Stars6,010
Commitjust now
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Zammad is an open-source helpdesk and customer support platform that unifies email, chat, phone, and social channels, with self-hosted or managed cloud operation under an AGPL-3.0 license.
Macro CRM is a self-building CRM inside Macro's unified workspace that creates and updates People, Company, Deal, and Job records automatically from email and calendar activity.
Free self-hosted helpdesk and shared inbox for support teams
Stars4,585
Commitjust now
LicenseAGPL-3.0
FreeScout is a free self-hosted helpdesk and shared inbox for teams replacing Zendesk or Help Scout, routing customer email into shared team mailboxes.
Open-source helpdesk with ticketing, SLAs, and unlimited agents
Stars3,417
Commitjust now
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Frappe Helpdesk is an open-source ticketing system that pulls email, form, and portal requests into one shared queue with SLA tracking and assignment rules.