Hermit CRM vs Notion
Prices and features checked on .
The short answer
Choose Notion if you already work in Notion, share it with others, and a database with a board view is all the CRM you need. Choose Hermit CRM if you want a CRM that does CRM work for you: mail logged on the right contact by BCC, a follow-up radar for unanswered threads, meeting briefs and reports, with the data as plain files on your own computer. Both are free for one person.
Side by side
| Hermit CRM | Notion | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for one person | Free and open source. There is no paid plan. | Free for one person. Plus €9.50 a member a month, Business €19.50. |
| Where your data lives | In a folder on your own computer. | In Notion's cloud, with offline access to pages you choose. |
| Data format | Markdown files with YAML front matter: one per company, contact and conversation. Readable without the app. | Notion pages and databases. Export to Markdown and CSV. |
| Works offline | Yes. It runs on your computer. Mail import, enrichment and Ask Hermit need the internet. | Partly. Pages you download for offline use. |
| Team use | No. It is built for one person. | Yes. Workspaces, members and guests. |
| 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. | Notion AI, an API and an official 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. | Not built into a CRM database. People connect mail through integrations. |
| History and undo | Every change is a git commit, so every earlier version is kept and can be restored. | Page history: 7 days on the Free plan, longer on paid plans. |
| 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, Mac, Windows, 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 and build or copy a CRM template. |
| Maturity and support | Alpha software. No warranty and no support. | A mature product. Support depends on the plan. |
When Notion is the better choice
- You already run your notes, docs and projects in Notion and want sales next to them.
- Others work in the same workspace.
- A list of leads with a status column is all you need.
- You want apps on Windows and on your phone.
When Hermit CRM is the better choice
- You want mail and meetings logged on the right company without copying them by hand.
- You want to see which threads wait for your answer, and which went quiet.
- You want a brief before each meeting, reports on your funnel and which messages get answers.
- You want the data on your own disk, as Markdown files in git, not in a workspace in the cloud.
- You want an AI agent to read and update your pipeline from your own computer.
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 Notion to Hermit CRM
- In Notion, export your CRM database as CSV.
- In Hermit CRM, choose Import a spreadsheet on the home page and upload the 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 Notion good enough as a CRM?
For a short list of leads, often yes. It becomes work when you want mail logged on contacts, reminders for follow-ups, and reports: in Notion you build and maintain those yourself. Hermit CRM has them built in.
Both keep Markdown. What is the difference?
Notion stores your pages in its cloud and can export them as Markdown. Hermit CRM stores them as Markdown from the start, in a folder on your computer, and commits every change to git.
Can I move my Notion CRM to Hermit CRM?
Yes. Export the Notion database as CSV and import it in Hermit CRM. It shows a preview first, and columns it has no field for are kept as notes.