Attio vs Twenty
An independent, review-free comparison compiled by the SaaSTracker editorial team. Both products are profiled in full, and neither can pay for placement here.
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The short answer
Editorial assessmentTwenty compared with Attio
Attio is the closest commercial equivalent: modern, object-flexible, email-derived records, workflow automation, and AI agents, from $35 a seat with metered AI credits. Twenty does much of the same for $9 or free self-hosted, but with a thinner integration ecosystem and less polished reporting. Choose Attio if you want the flexible modern CRM without operational risk; choose Twenty if data ownership, price, or an open codebase matters more than maturity.
Choose Attio if
Startups and scale-ups (SaaS, VC, and other data-heavy B2B teams) that want a fast, flexible CRM with genuine automation and AI depth, have outgrown spreadsheet-plus-Notion setups, and would rather configure a modern data model than inherit Salesforce's.
Choose Twenty if
Technically comfortable startups and small businesses that want to own their CRM data, need an unusual data model without paying enterprise prices for custom objects, and are happy to trade a large integration marketplace for an open codebase, a real API, and a $9 seat.
Side by side
13 attributes| Attribute | Attio | Twenty |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CRM | CRM |
| Starting price | $35/user/mo (Plus, billed annually; $44 monthly) (free plan available) | $0 self-hosted, or $9 per user per month billed yearly ($12 monthly) for managed cloud (Pro) |
| Pricing model | Per-seat subscription across four tiers (Free, Plus, Pro, Enterprise) with roughly 20% off on annual billing, plus a separate workspace-credit meter for AI and enrichment usage; extra credit packs are sold monthly. | Open-source software that is free to self-host, plus a managed cloud sold per user per month on three tiers, with a small annual workflow credit allowance as the only metered element. |
| Free plan | Free tier for up to 3 seats: 3 objects, 50,000 records, 200 emails/month, 3 reports, 50 GB storage, real-time sync and enrichment included. | Self-hosting the Pro feature set is free (up to 5 workspaces, community support); Organization features on a self-hosted instance cost $19 per user per month billed yearly ($25 monthly). You supply the infrastructure and the operations. |
| Free trial | Trial available on paid tiers; no credit card required to start | 30 days on cloud, no credit card required |
| Best for | Startups and scale-ups (SaaS, VC, and other data-heavy B2B teams) that want a fast, flexible CRM with genuine automation and AI depth, have outgrown spreadsheet-plus-Notion setups, and would rather configure a modern data model than inherit Salesforce's. | Technically comfortable startups and small businesses that want to own their CRM data, need an unusual data model without paying enterprise prices for custom objects, and are happy to trade a large integration marketplace for an open codebase, a real API, and a $9 seat. |
| Setup time | A working CRM within a day: connecting mailboxes auto-builds people and companies, and importing a CSV fills the gaps. Designing custom objects, workflows, and agents for a full revenue process is more like 1 to 3 weeks of iterative configuration. | Cloud: a working workspace in under an hour, including email and calendar sync. Self-hosted: half a day for a competent engineer using Docker Compose, longer if you are wiring managed Postgres, Redis, object storage, and OAuth credentials properly. |
| Learning curve | Low for reps (records and lists behave like a modern SaaS app), moderate for the admin designing the data model and automations; the flexibility that experts love is exactly what makes the first week feel open-ended. | Low for daily use because the table and kanban views are familiar, and moderate for whoever designs the schema. Building objects, relations, and workflows is light data modelling, and the quality of the result depends entirely on that person. |
| Platforms | Web app, iOS and Android apps, REST API, App SDK, MCP server | Web, Self-hosted via Docker Compose or Kubernetes, MCP server for AI assistants |
| Compliance | GDPR (UK/EU-headquartered operations), Public Trust Center at trust.attio.com; detailed certification reports are gated behind the portal rather than published openly | GDPR, SOC 2 (cloud); confirm current attestation status with the vendor before signing |
| Founded | 2019 | 2023 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | Paris, France |
| Ownership | Venture-backed | Venture-backed, Y Combinator alumnus (S23) |
Strengths and limitations
Attio
Strengths
- Best-in-class data model flexibility: custom objects, typed attributes, and multiplayer lists make it fit non-standard motions (PLG, VC, partnerships) that template CRMs mangle.
- Self-populating records from real-time email and calendar sync remove most of the data-entry tax that kills CRM adoption.
- The AI layer is integrated, not bolted on: agents, AI workflow steps, and Call Intelligence all operate on the same context layer and automation engine.
- Developer platform (API, SDK, webhooks, MCP) is unusually deep for a company this size, which shows in the reported 400M weekly API calls.
Limitations
- No native calling or SMS; inside sales teams built around the phone need a separate dialer or a different CRM entirely.
- Workspace credits make real costs opaque: the AI features in the marketing all draw from a metered pool that is easy to burn through and priced in add-on packs.
- Flexibility is a tax on setup: without an opinionated default process, someone on the team has to design objects, lists, and workflows, and small teams without an ops-minded person can stall.
- The agentic repositioning is young; buyers should separate the proven core (data model, sync, workflows) from newer agent claims and pilot the latter before depending on them.
Twenty
Strengths
- Unlimited custom objects, fields, and records on the $9 tier, which no packaged CRM at that price comes close to matching.
- Genuinely open source with the full stack on GitHub, so self-hosting is a real option and vendor lock-in is close to zero.
- A native MCP server on every cloud workspace, making the CRM readable and writable by Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor without middleware.
- REST and GraphQL APIs plus webhooks on every plan rather than gated behind an upper tier.
Limitations
- No native calling, SMS, or call recording anywhere in the product, so phone-driven sales teams need a separate tool entirely.
- No built-in mass email marketing, nurture campaigns, or landing pages; Twenty is a system of record, not a growth platform.
- The integration ecosystem is small compared with Pipedrive, HubSpot, or Zoho, and most connections are made through the API, webhooks, or middleware rather than one-click apps.
- Reporting is comparatively thin: views, filters, and dashboards exist, but there is no forecasting engine of the depth a sales manager gets from Pipedrive or Zoho.
Pricing compared
Attio
Per-seat subscription across four tiers (Free, Plus, Pro, Enterprise) with roughly 20% off on annual billing, plus a separate workspace-credit meter for AI and enrichment usage; extra credit packs are sold monthly.
- Free$0
- Plus$35
- Pro$79
- EnterpriseCustom
Per seat, Attio undercuts Salesforce Sales Cloud and sits close to HubSpot's mid tiers while shipping a more modern product than either, and the Free tier is genuinely usable rather than a demo. The honest total cost, though, is seats plus credits: a Pro workspace leaning on agents, enrichment, and AI workflow steps can add $120 to $410 a month in credit packs on top of per-user fees. For teams that mostly want the fast data model and light automation, Plus is excellent value; for teams buying the agentic pitch, model the credit burn before comparing prices with flat-fee rivals.
Twenty
Open-source software that is free to self-host, plus a managed cloud sold per user per month on three tiers, with a small annual workflow credit allowance as the only metered element.
- Self-hosted$0
- Pro (cloud)$9
- Organization (cloud)$19
- EnterpriseFrom $50,000
At $9 a seat for unlimited custom objects, unlimited records, workflows, a full API, and a native MCP server, Twenty is the best capability-per-dollar in this category by a wide margin, and it is not close. Bigin at $7 caps you at 50,000 records and ten custom fields per module; Pipedrive charges $39 for the tier where automation lives; Attio starts at $35. What you are giving up is maturity: no dialer, no marketing engine, a thin connector ecosystem, and a young company still changing quickly. If your team can absorb that, the open-source option removes lock-in entirely, and self-hosting turns the licence line item into an infrastructure line item you control.
Editorial verdict on each
Attio
MomentumAttio is the strongest general-purpose CRM built this decade: the data model, real-time sync, and automation engine solve the problems that make teams hate legacy CRMs, and the developer platform is genuinely serious. The 2025-2026 agentic pivot is more promising than proven, and it comes with a credit meter that quietly reshapes the economics for AI-heavy users, so buy Attio first for the core platform and treat the agents as upside you pilot, not the reason you sign. Phone-first teams and marketing-led orgs should look elsewhere; nearly everyone else evaluating a modern CRM should have Attio on the shortlist.
Read the full Attio profileTwenty
Twenty is the most interesting CRM in this directory and one of the cheapest, which is a rare combination. Unlimited custom objects and records at $9 a seat, a full API, a native MCP server, and a genuinely open codebase add up to a product that removes the two things buyers hate most about CRM: arbitrary limits used as upsell levers, and lock-in. Buy it if you have someone comfortable with a data model and you either want to own the data or want a flexible schema without Attio pricing. Do not buy it if you sell by phone, need marketing automation in the same subscription, or want a marketplace full of one-click integrations. And be honest about self-hosting: free of licence, not free of work.
Read the full Twenty profileAttio profile last reviewed 2026-09-26; Twenty last reviewed 2026-09-26. Pricing is compiled from public sources and can change without notice. See our methodology.
The best in Sales CRM
23 trackedSales CRMs are the system of record for pipeline: they store every contact, company, and deal, and structure the follow-up work that turns conversations into revenue.
The free CRM that defined the modern entry point, with the deepest ecosystem a small business can grow into.
The most capability per dollar in the category, if you are willing to configure it.
The AI-native CRM betting that agents will do the pipeline work, and shipping toward that bet faster than any incumbent.
A CRM that fills itself in from email, calendar, and phone signals, removing the data entry that kills small-team CRM adoption.
Setup under an hour with support staff importing your spreadsheet free, and non-technical users productive on day one make it the gentlest CRM here.
Frequently asked questions
6 questionsWhat is the difference between Attio and Twenty?
Attio is the closest commercial equivalent: modern, object-flexible, email-derived records, workflow automation, and AI agents, from $35 a seat with metered AI credits. Twenty does much of the same for $9 or free self-hosted, but with a thinner integration ecosystem and less polished reporting. Choose Attio if you want the flexible modern CRM without operational risk; choose Twenty if data ownership, price, or an open codebase matters more than maturity.
Is Attio or Twenty cheaper?
Attio starts at $35/user/mo (Plus, billed annually; $44 monthly) (free plan available). Twenty starts at $0 self-hosted, or $9 per user per month billed yearly ($12 monthly) for managed cloud (Pro). The billing models differ, so the entry price is rarely the whole cost. Attio pricing model: Per-seat subscription across four tiers (Free, Plus, Pro, Enterprise) with roughly 20% off on annual billing, plus a separate workspace-credit meter for AI and enrichment usage; extra credit packs are sold monthly. Twenty pricing model: Open-source software that is free to self-host, plus a managed cloud sold per user per month on three tiers, with a small annual workflow credit allowance as the only metered element.
Does Attio or Twenty have a free plan?
Attio has a free plan. Free tier for up to 3 seats: 3 objects, 50,000 records, 200 emails/month, 3 reports, 50 GB storage, real-time sync and enrichment included. Trial terms: Trial available on paid tiers; no credit card required to start. Twenty has a free plan. Self-hosting the Pro feature set is free (up to 5 workspaces, community support); Organization features on a self-hosted instance cost $19 per user per month billed yearly ($25 monthly). You supply the infrastructure and the operations. Trial terms: 30 days on cloud, no credit card required.
Who should choose Attio?
Startups and scale-ups (SaaS, VC, and other data-heavy B2B teams) that want a fast, flexible CRM with genuine automation and AI depth, have outgrown spreadsheet-plus-Notion setups, and would rather configure a modern data model than inherit Salesforce's.
Who should choose Twenty?
Technically comfortable startups and small businesses that want to own their CRM data, need an unusual data model without paying enterprise prices for custom objects, and are happy to trade a large integration marketplace for an open codebase, a real API, and a $9 seat.
What are the best alternatives to Attio and Twenty?
SaaSTracker profiles 23 products in Sales CRM. The Summer 2026 awards in the category went to HubSpot CRM (Category Leader), Zoho CRM (Best Value), Salesflare (Innovation). Every profile is compiled from primary sources, so a shortlist can be built from pricing, limitations, and fit rather than from star ratings.
