Migrate your Crust CRM data
Open-source, self-hosted CRM from Planet Crust with configurable modules and no per-seat billing, built for enterprises that want full infrastructure control.
In its favor
Why people choose Crust CRM
The signal that keeps Crust CRM on the shortlist. Sourced from G2, Capterra, and customer scoping calls.
100% open source under Apache 2.0 — full source available on GitHub (cortezaproject/corteza) with no vendor lock-in, code-level customization, and freedom to self-host.
Low-code Corteza platform underneath the CRM allows organizations to extend and build adjacent business apps without writing the data layer from scratch, similar in spirit to Salesforce's customization but without per-user licensing.
Cloud-ready Docker deployment runs on any major OS, making it suitable for teams that require sovereign or air-gapped deployments.
Planet Crust provides commercial support and development services on top of the open-source codebase, so enterprises that need SLAs and consulting can buy them without losing portability.
Apache 2.0 licensing and standards-based architecture appeal to public sector, regulated industries, and enterprises with strict data residency requirements that disqualify proprietary SaaS CRMs.
Self-hosting requires operational investment — Docker, Postgres, monitoring, and upgrade discipline — which small teams without DevOps capacity find difficult versus turnkey SaaS.
Native marketplace of pre-built integrations is smaller than commercial CRMs, so customization work is often required to connect to common SaaS tools.
User interface and feature velocity lag commercial CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce) because the project is community- and partner-driven rather than venture-funded.
Limited public review presence on G2 and Capterra makes it harder for prospects to validate before commitment compared to mainstream CRMs.
Workflow automation, BI dashboards, and AI features must be built on the low-code platform rather than coming out of the box, increasing implementation time for organizations that want everything turnkey.
Reasons to switch
Why people leave Crust CRM
The recurring reasons buyers give for replacing Crust CRM. Presented as facts, not knocks.
Platform scorecard
Strengths, weaknesses, and where Crust CRM fits
Grades across six dimensions, plus a SWOT-style view of where the platform shines and where it falls short.
SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, and use-case fit
Strengths
Weaknesses
Where it works
Where it struggles
Pricing tiers
Crust CRM pricing overview
Crust CRM offers a free self-hosted community edition with no per-seat or per-contact fees, making it attractive for organizations with strong technical teams. Cloud-hosted and Enterprise tiers use custom pricing negotiated with Planet Crust, with no free trial available to preview the managed experience.
Community (Self-Hosted)
Tier 1 of 3
Free (self-hosted)
What's included
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What gets migrated
Crust CRM object support
Object-by-object support for Crust CRM migrations. Per-pair details surface during scoping.
Contacts
Fully supportedStandard CRM contact records with name, email, phone, and address fields. Schema is well-documented and maps cleanly to most destination CRMs. We preserve all standard properties and lifecycle stage assignments during migration.
Companies/Accounts
Fully supportedCompany records that can be linked to multiple contacts. The company-contact relationship is preserved by matching on company ID during import. We run deduplication checks against existing company records in the destination.
Deals
Mapping requiredDeal records include pipeline stage, amount, close date, and custom fields. Pipeline stage names vary by organization and require explicit mapping to destination stage names during import. We handle multi-currency amounts by converting or preserving as custom fields.
Leads
Mapping requiredWhere Leads exist as a distinct object from Contacts, we preserve the Lead_Status property as a custom Contact field in the destination if the target CRM does not have a separate Lead object. Requires confirmation of source schema before import.
Activities/Tasks
Mapping requiredActivity history including calls, emails, and notes. These are child records linked to contacts or deals. We preserve the parent-child linkage during migration but note that activity timestamps may need date-format normalization.
Custom Objects
Mapping requiredCrust CRM supports fully customizable modules. We review the custom object schema during scoping, map field types to destination equivalents, and flag any unsupported field types before running the migration.
Pipelines and Stages
Mapping requiredPipelines are defined per-organization and stages within them have arbitrary names. We collect the full pipeline-stage map during discovery and generate a translation table so deal records land in the correct stage in the destination CRM.
Users/Owner Assignment
Fully supportedUser records and owner assignments on contacts and deals. We map source user emails to destination user emails and flag any orphaned assignments where a source owner has no corresponding destination user.
Attachments
Mapping requiredAttachments are stored per-record and may require separate export handling depending on storage backend. We export files individually, preserving filename and record association, and re-attach them in the destination after record creation.
Tags and Custom Properties
Mapping requiredTags are simple label fields. Custom properties on any object require schema review to determine whether they map 1:1 or need transformation. We document all custom property types during the discovery phase.
| Object | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Fully supported | Standard CRM contact records with name, email, phone, and address fields. Schema is well-documented and maps cleanly to most destination CRMs. We preserve all standard properties and lifecycle stage assignments during migration. |
| Companies/Accounts | Fully supported | Company records that can be linked to multiple contacts. The company-contact relationship is preserved by matching on company ID during import. We run deduplication checks against existing company records in the destination. |
| Deals | Mapping required | Deal records include pipeline stage, amount, close date, and custom fields. Pipeline stage names vary by organization and require explicit mapping to destination stage names during import. We handle multi-currency amounts by converting or preserving as custom fields. |
| Leads | Mapping required | Where Leads exist as a distinct object from Contacts, we preserve the Lead_Status property as a custom Contact field in the destination if the target CRM does not have a separate Lead object. Requires confirmation of source schema before import. |
| Activities/Tasks | Mapping required | Activity history including calls, emails, and notes. These are child records linked to contacts or deals. We preserve the parent-child linkage during migration but note that activity timestamps may need date-format normalization. |
| Custom Objects | Mapping required | Crust CRM supports fully customizable modules. We review the custom object schema during scoping, map field types to destination equivalents, and flag any unsupported field types before running the migration. |
| Pipelines and Stages | Mapping required | Pipelines are defined per-organization and stages within them have arbitrary names. We collect the full pipeline-stage map during discovery and generate a translation table so deal records land in the correct stage in the destination CRM. |
| Users/Owner Assignment | Fully supported | User records and owner assignments on contacts and deals. We map source user emails to destination user emails and flag any orphaned assignments where a source owner has no corresponding destination user. |
| Attachments | Mapping required | Attachments are stored per-record and may require separate export handling depending on storage backend. We export files individually, preserving filename and record association, and re-attach them in the destination after record creation. |
| Tags and Custom Properties | Mapping required | Tags are simple label fields. Custom properties on any object require schema review to determine whether they map 1:1 or need transformation. We document all custom property types during the discovery phase. |
Gotchas
What to watch for in Crust CRM migrations
Issues we've hit on past Crust CRM migrations, tagged by severity. FlitStack AI handles every one — surfacing them up front because buyer engineering teams want to know.
No free trial limits pre-migration evaluation
Self-hosting shifts infrastructure responsibility to the customer
Custom object schemas require explicit discovery before migration
| Severity | Issue |
|---|---|
| Medium | No free trial limits pre-migration evaluation |
| Medium | Self-hosting shifts infrastructure responsibility to the customer |
| Medium | Custom object schemas require explicit discovery before migration |
Leaving Crust CRM?
Where Crust CRM customers move next
12 destinations Crust CRM can migrate to.
How a Crust CRM migration works
Four steps, Crust CRM-specific
Connect
OAuth 2.0 and personal access tokens are supported by the underlying Corteza platform per the open-source documentation. The REST API uses bearer tokens for authenticated requests. into Crust CRM. Scopes limited to read-only on the data we move.
Map
We translate Crust CRM-specific structures (custom fields, objects, value lists) to the destination's model.
Sample
Test with a 50–200 record subset to validate Crust CRM quirks before production.
Migrate
Full migration with Crust CRM rate-limit handling. Rollback available throughout.
FAQ
Crust CRM migration FAQ
Answers to the questions buyers ask most during Crust CRM migration scoping. Not seeing yours? Book a call.
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