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> The actual CRM part (basically tables of data with a UI) is trivial Although I agree with the general sentiment, I disagree with this. I've tried out over 10

> The actual CRM part (basically tables of data with a UI) is trivial Although I agree with the general sentiment, I disagree with this. I've tried out over 100 low-code ui builder over the past year (including creatio,Corteza,ERPNext,Baserow,tadabase,appsmith,nocodb,mathesar,bubble, etc.) and so far none of them have perfected "excel like ease with the power of a database". If anyone has any suggestions, (that's not on my list https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15Pg6y11JscBMK-PK06f7CK7TI0UQ4xBIGytG1flXsEY https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15Pg6y11JscBMK-PK06f7... ), please let me know!

iFelix 3y ago
2 competitors which I think are getting things right on the UI front are Attio [1] and Folk [2]. It's not as powerful as Salesforce and the data structure is very loose, but they have done a good job with the user-experience. They are not open source though. [1] https://attio.com https://attio.com [2] https://www.folk.app https://www.folk.app
- samanator 3y ago
  One of my requirements is that I must be able to host the database myself :-) (with a preference for Postgres)
  - jzig 3y ago
    No one’s going to sell you just a UI
- thedrake 3y ago
  It looks like a near clone of what Attio is doing.
  - iFelix 3y ago
    The trendsetter here is Notion, not Attio
gervwyk 3y ago
Check out https://lowdefy.com https://lowdefy.com We’ve built Lowdefy as a config webstack. Making it really easy to build web apps with yaml or json. You can also extend with npm plugins. Lowdefy is more low level than a crm. But we’ve used it to build advanced CRMs for enterprises.
yoz 3y ago
You seem to be missing Coda ( https://coda.io https://coda.io ) which (in my experience) comes remarkably close to “Excel with data powers”. Think of Notion’s document editing and tables, but with _much_ more power, a proper formula language, UI widgets, etc. The Coda team have churned out a ton of amazing features in remarkably short time. The main drawback I’ve encountered: no obvious way to separate code and data. I can’t find a way to version/clone one without the other while keeping the data in Coda. However there are plenty of integrations with external data sources, so keeping a chunk of the data external may be the best way. EDIT: Oops, forgot to thank you for creating this amazingly comprehensive sheet. I’m looking for a similar thing myself: a self-hostable CRM for a small team that wants some flexibility around custom fields and automation but doesn’t need most of the other common CRM features. My current plan is to try AppSmith, but there are a bunch of entries in your sheet that I haven’t seen before. Thanks again!
- yoz 3y ago
  Also missing these app builders, both of which are open source but offer managed hosting: * Budibase https://budibase.com https://budibase.com * ToolJet https://www.tooljet.com https://www.tooljet.com They’re both more of the AppSmith/Retool sort of thing than Excel, but may be worth a look anyway.
  - rubenfiszel 3y ago
    and https://windmill.dev https://windmill.dev
  - foxbee 3y ago
    FWIW, Budibase also has it's own multiplayer database that allows users to build workflows akin to Airtable. I'm the cofounder of Budibase.

iFelix 3y ago

2 competitors which I think are getting things right on the UI front are Attio [1] and Folk [2]. It's not as powerful as Salesforce and the data structure is very loose, but they have done a good job with the user-experience. They are not open source though. [1] https://attio.com https://attio.com [2] https://www.folk.app https://www.folk.app

samanator 3y ago
One of my requirements is that I must be able to host the database myself :-) (with a preference for Postgres)
- jzig 3y ago
  No one’s going to sell you just a UI
thedrake 3y ago
It looks like a near clone of what Attio is doing.
- iFelix 3y ago
  The trendsetter here is Notion, not Attio

gervwyk 3y ago

Check out https://lowdefy.com https://lowdefy.com We’ve built Lowdefy as a config webstack. Making it really easy to build web apps with yaml or json. You can also extend with npm plugins. Lowdefy is more low level than a crm. But we’ve used it to build advanced CRMs for enterprises.

yoz 3y ago

You seem to be missing Coda ( https://coda.io https://coda.io ) which (in my experience) comes remarkably close to “Excel with data powers”. Think of Notion’s document editing and tables, but with _much_ more power, a proper formula language, UI widgets, etc. The Coda team have churned out a ton of amazing features in remarkably short time. The main drawback I’ve encountered: no obvious way to separate code and data. I can’t find a way to version/clone one without the other while keeping the data in Coda. However there are plenty of integrations with external data sources, so keeping a chunk of the data external may be the best way. EDIT: Oops, forgot to thank you for creating this amazingly comprehensive sheet. I’m looking for a similar thing myself: a self-hostable CRM for a small team that wants some flexibility around custom fields and automation but doesn’t need most of the other common CRM features. My current plan is to try AppSmith, but there are a bunch of entries in your sheet that I haven’t seen before. Thanks again!

yoz 3y ago
Also missing these app builders, both of which are open source but offer managed hosting: * Budibase https://budibase.com https://budibase.com * ToolJet https://www.tooljet.com https://www.tooljet.com They’re both more of the AppSmith/Retool sort of thing than Excel, but may be worth a look anyway.
- rubenfiszel 3y ago
  and https://windmill.dev https://windmill.dev
- foxbee 3y ago
  FWIW, Budibase also has it's own multiplayer database that allows users to build workflows akin to Airtable. I'm the cofounder of Budibase.