Can a self-hosted CRM like Twenty replace paid CRM seats?
For a small team, yes. We run Twenty, an open-source CRM, on our own server with no per-user licence. It holds people, companies, opportunities and tasks, syncs with Gmail and Calendar, and takes in forms through n8n. It's not the right answer for everyone, though. We wouldn't claim it replaces HubSpot or Salesforce for a large sales team.
What we run
Twenty holds people, companies, opportunities and tasks, plus custom objects we add for each workspace. Gmail and Calendar sync into each record's timeline. Forms reach it through n8n, which creates the person, a deal and a record of the form fill. Client workspaces are kept separate from ours.
What it saves
There's no per-user licence. What it costs is a small server and the time to keep it updated and backed up.
When it isn't enough
A bigger sales team that needs deep marketing automation, built-in ad platform links or a vendor to call may still be better off on HubSpot or Salesforce. We set those up too.
Get the records right first
Whichever CRM you use, it only helps when each record has the right source and stage. We design that before we pick the software.
The tools in this answer
Twenty CRMOur CRM and task board, on our own server with no per-user fees. Leads from our contact and landing-page forms and our Meta lead forms land in it as a person and a deal, with the campaign they came from attached.CRM
n8nAutomation that scales with you, not against you. We run n8n on our own server, so scaling is free and every run is visible, to people and to our agents.Tech
Self-hostedOur CRM, automation, email platform and headshot tool run on four servers we rent in Germany. We self-host only when a named person patches the server and is on call for it. Otherwise we use the maker's cloud plan.Tech
Also worth asking
Other answers about the same tools.
How do you measure the return on an automation, whether it's n8n or Zapier?
We count what it replaces. Before we build, we write down how long the manual job takes and how often it happens. After launch, we look at how many times the workflow ran, how often it failed, and the time it saved against what it costs to run.
We don't quote a standard payback period, because it depends on the job.
Can n8n handle complex multi-step marketing workflows, and how does it compare with Zapier?
Yes. We build multi-step workflows in n8n that branch on conditions, loop over lists, wait, run a bit of code and call any service with an API. Zapier can do multi-step work too, with paths, filters and delays, but it bills by task, so long workflows that run often get expensive. On an n8n server we run ourselves, you pay for the server, not the number of steps.
Here's one of ours: a form comes in on this site, a switch routes it by form name, a row goes into a sheet, a person and an opportunity are created in the CRM, the team gets an alert, and any failure goes to a named person.
What happens when an automation breaks or fails?
Someone gets told. Our n8n workflows report a failure to a named person, with the step that failed. The usual causes are an expired login, a service changing its API, or data arriving in an unexpected format.
We fix the cause, then re-run the failed items.
How does n8n pricing work, and how does it compare with Zapier?
Zapier bills by how many tasks you run each month, in plan tiers. n8n's own cloud plans bill by workflow executions. We go a third way: we run n8n ourselves on a small server, so we pay for the server and the time to keep it updated, not for each task.
For current prices, check Zapier's and n8n's pricing pages.
What are the most useful automations for a marketing agency?
The ones that move a lead along without anyone copying it. These are the ones we rely on, built in n8n:
- Form fill to CRM person, opportunity and team alert
- Real leads sent back to Google Ads as offline conversions
- Alerts when a workflow or a form fails
- A cache clear when a site ships
Zapier can do some of these too.
Still have questions?Talk to us
Bring your numbers.
We'll tell you if the spend makes sense.
- A 15-minute callYour goals, your challenges, and whether we're the right fit.
- A 1-hour discovery callWe dig into your numbers. Worth a hundred emails.
- A concrete planAds, a custom build or both, as a one-off project or ongoing.