BulletCRMTwenty is a modern open-source CRM released under the AGPL-3.0 license. It has a clean interface, custom objects, workflows and auto-generated APIs, which makes it an attractive alternative to proprietary CRMs. Because it's open source, you can run it yourself. The real question is whether you should.
What self-hosting Twenty involves
Twenty ships as Docker images and is typically deployed with Docker Compose. A production setup usually includes:
- The application server serving the web app and APIs
- A background worker for jobs such as email sync and workflows
- PostgreSQL as the main database
- Redis for caching and queues
- A reverse proxy with TLS (for example Traefik, Caddy or nginx) and a domain
- File storage for attachments, local or S3-compatible
Then there's configuration: environment variables, secrets, outbound email (SMTP), and OAuth apps if you want Google or Microsoft email and calendar sync.
The ongoing work
Getting it running is the easy part. Keeping it healthy means:
- Upgrades: following releases, reading upgrade notes, running database migrations and testing before you roll forward.
- Backups: scheduled PostgreSQL dumps stored off the server, plus occasional test restores.
- Monitoring: uptime checks, disk space, memory, and failed background jobs.
- Security: OS patches, TLS renewal, access control and secret rotation.
Sizing tips
Don't under-provision. The app, worker, Postgres and Redis together need comfortable memory headroom, and builds or migrations can spike usage. A very small VPS that runs other services too is a common source of slowdowns and failed upgrades.
When self-hosting makes sense
- You have someone comfortable with Docker, Postgres and Linux operations.
- You have strict requirements to keep data on your own infrastructure.
- You want to modify the code deeply.
When managed hosting makes sense
- Your team wants to use a CRM, not operate one.
- You need upgrades, backups and monitoring handled reliably.
- You want the open-source exit option without the day-to-day maintenance.
BulletCRM is a managed host for Twenty-based workspaces. We run the infrastructure, apply updates and handle backups, and because the software is open source you can always take your data and self-host later. Get in touch to talk through your setup.