Hermit CRM vs folk
Prices and features checked on .
The short answer
Choose folk if you work with a small team, manage many relationships and want contacts enriched and captured from LinkedIn and your mailbox for you. Choose Hermit CRM if you work alone and want your companies, contacts and conversations as plain files on your own computer, with AI tools reading them directly. Hermit CRM is free; folk has a 14-day trial and starts at €22 a member a month billed yearly.
Side by side
| Hermit CRM | folk | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for one person | Free and open source. There is no paid plan. | No free plan; a 14-day trial. Standard €22 a member a month billed yearly, or €27 monthly. Premium €43 billed yearly, or €54 monthly. |
| Where your data lives | In a folder on your own computer. | In folk's cloud. |
| Data format | Markdown files with YAML front matter: one per company, contact and conversation. Readable without the app. | Records in folk's database. Export to CSV. |
| Works offline | Yes. It runs on your computer. Mail import, enrichment and Ask Hermit need the internet. | No. It is a hosted service. |
| Team use | No. It is built for one person. | Yes. Members share groups, contacts and pipelines. |
| AI tools | Your AI tool reads the files, runs the CLI or connects to the local MCP server. No API key, no OAuth. Ask Hermit uses the AI command line tool you already have. | Built-in AI assistants, an API and an MCP server. |
| Email and calendar | BCC or forward mail to a Gmail address you choose, and it is logged on the right contact. Past meetings come from your calendar's ICS link. No inbox sync. | Gmail and Outlook sync: one mailbox per member on Standard, five on Premium. |
| History and undo | Every change is a git commit, so every earlier version is kept and can be restored. | Notes and interactions on each contact. |
| Source code | Open source, Apache License 2.0. | Closed source. |
| Runs on | macOS and Linux, in your browser. No Windows and no mobile app. | Browser, a Chrome extension, iOS and Android. |
| Setup | Download it and let your AI coding tool install it. It needs Python 3.11 and git and installs them when they are missing. | Sign up in the browser and connect your mailbox. |
| Maturity and support | Alpha software. No warranty and no support. | A mature product with a support team. |
When folk is the better choice
- A few people share the same contacts and pipelines.
- You want contacts enriched with emails and company data for you.
- You want mail campaigns and follow-ups sent from the CRM.
- You want a mobile app and a vendor that supports you.
- You work on Windows.
When Hermit CRM is the better choice
- You work alone and want no subscription.
- You want your contacts and conversations as files on your own disk.
- You want an AI agent to read and update your CRM through files and a CLI, and every change it makes kept in git.
- You want to add a contact from a LinkedIn profile without installing an extension: Hermit CRM uses a bookmarklet that reads the page in your own tab.
- You want message drafts in your own wording, in English, German, Dutch or French.
Hermit CRM is a free, open-source CRM for founders, freelancers and anyone doing their own sales. It runs on your Mac or Linux computer and keeps every company, contact and conversation as a Markdown file in a git folder on your own disk. A local web app gives you a pipeline board, a calendar of next steps, message drafts and reports. AI tools such as Claude Code, Codex or Claude Desktop can read and update the pipeline through the files, a small CLI or the built-in MCP server. It is alpha software under the Apache License 2.0, with no warranty and no support.
Moving from folk to Hermit CRM
- In folk, export your contacts and companies as CSV.
- In Hermit CRM, choose Import a spreadsheet on the home page and upload each file. It shows a preview and writes nothing until you confirm.
- Columns Hermit CRM has no field for are kept in the notes. Add fields in Settings if you want them as columns.
Questions
Is Hermit CRM an alternative to folk?
For one person, yes. folk is a hosted relationship CRM for small teams, with enrichment and mail sync. Hermit CRM is a free local CRM for one person that keeps the data in plain files on your computer.
Can Hermit CRM add contacts from LinkedIn like folk?
Yes, one at a time. Its bookmarklet turns a LinkedIn profile you are looking at into a filled-in contact form, read in your own browser tab. It does not look up email addresses for you.
Does Hermit CRM enrich contacts?
It fills in company details from a company's website for free, or through an AI command line tool you already use, such as Claude or Codex. It has no database of contact data of its own.