GTM Ranked

folk vs Twenty

Updated based on independent user evidence
Verdict

Independent users prefer Twenty (54/100 from 25 rated comments) over folk (41/100 from 8 rated comments). Twenty is best for Small teams that want a free or low-cost self-hosted CRM without per-seat fees; folk is best for Solo founders and small teams that want a simple, fast-to-set-up CRM.

folk logofolkTwenty logoTwenty
Sentiment
Score41/10054/100
Rank in category#4#2
Rated comments825
Best forSolo founders and small teams that want a simple, fast-to-set-up CRM; Users who want to connect their own AI assistant to the CRMSmall teams that want a free or low-cost self-hosted CRM without per-seat fees; Technical teams that want to customize their CRM through an API or with AI coding tools; Teams leaving HubSpot or Salesforce mainly to cut cost
Skip it ifTeams that need advanced automation, website tracking or ad integrations; Anyone who needs full data export, including custom fields; Teams that need a mobile appTeams that need deep built-in workflow automation; Teams without anyone to host and maintain a self-hosted app; Buyers who need built-in reporting charts or formal security compliance
Starting price$24/member/mo$9/user/mo
Pricing (vendor-stated)Standard $24/member/mo billed annually ($30 monthly); Premium $48 annually ($60 monthly); Enterprise from $80/member/mo annually. 2-week free trial with premium features, no credit card; no priced free plan listed.Self-hosting the open-source core is free. Cloud plans: Pro $9/user/mo and Organization $19/user/mo on yearly billing (yearly saves 25%); Enterprise from $50k/year through sales. 30-day free trial, no credit card.

Independent discussion is thin: only eight non-promotional comments carry a real opinion. Those users like folk as a simple, quick-to-set-up CRM for solo founders and small teams, and one returned to it because it works with their own AI through MCP. The trade-offs they report are limited data export, a lack of advanced features that pushed one user to Pipedrive, and no mobile app. Promotion is heavy: about 40% of the comments that remained after filtering read as seeded or marketing, several repeating the same 'clean, simple, great for relationships' talking points, and many more were removed earlier as repeat promoters.

Users like

  • Easy to use and quick to set up, described as much less complicated than other CRMs[1][2][3][4]
  • Works with your own AI through MCP, which one user preferred over CRMs that charge for AI usage[1]
  • Cheaper than Attio for a plan with email sequences, according to a user comparing the two ($40 vs $69 per user per month on annual billing)[1]

Users complain about

  • Data export is limited; custom fields can't be exported, a concern for users worried about lock-in[1]
  • Too basic for some needs; one user switched to Pipedrive for website visitor tracking, ad integrations and automation[1][2]
  • No mobile app, as of mid-2025[1]

Independent users mostly like Twenty as a free, self-hostable open-source CRM: they cite no per-seat fees, low hosting costs and how easily it can be customized through its API or with AI coding tools, and several moved to it from HubSpot or Salesforce to save money. The main trade-offs are thin built-in workflow automation (users bolt on n8n), fewer features than mature CRMs, and self-hosting that one user found cost more and broke more often than a SaaS CRM. Several comments in the discussion come from consultants and hosting services selling Twenty setups, and one user complains about the people advertising it.

Users like

  • Free to self-host on a cheap server, and users can add as many people as they like without per-seat charges[1][2][3][4]
  • Easy to customize and extend: users point to a strong API and to customizing it with Claude or other AI tools[1][2][3][4][5]
  • Clean and minimal for basic contact management, with search and filtering one user found strong on a list of 8,000+ contacts[1][2][3]
  • Users who tried several CRMs rate it among the few that tick most boxes, and some run their own business on it[1][2][3]

Users complain about

  • Built-in workflow automation is limited or clunky; users connect a separate n8n server for things like follow-up sequences[1][2][3]
  • Self-hosting is not free in practice: one user's AWS hosting cost more than a SaaS CRM, and maintenance and breakages killed the project[1]
  • Fewer features than mature CRMs; users mention no charts and say it is still early[1][2][3]
  • One user calls it a terrible system with no security compliance certifications[1]

Frequently asked questions

Independent users prefer Twenty (54/100 from 25 rated comments) over folk (41/100 from 8 rated comments). Twenty is best for Small teams that want a free or low-cost self-hosted CRM without per-seat fees; folk is best for Solo founders and small teams that want a simple, fast-to-set-up CRM.