Freemium
Brings CRM tools into WordPress for contacts, leads, companies, deals, invoices, products, and client activity in one dashboard.
Table of contents
- TL;DR
- Bit CRM vs Groundhogg at a glance
- Sales pipeline or marketing funnel?
- Self-hosting gives both products similar operational responsibilities
- Pricing favors different planning styles
- WooCommerce and service-business workflows
- Which one should own the customer record?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Practical decision notes
Bit CRM and Groundhogg both keep customer data in WordPress, but they are designed around different business processes. Bit CRM is sales-pipeline oriented. Groundhogg is marketing-automation oriented, with funnels, campaigns, tagging, and a modular add-on ecosystem.
TL;DR
Bit CRM is the more direct fit for lead qualification, companies, deal stages, activities, invoicing, and client operations. Groundhogg is the more direct fit for contact funnels, broadcasts, marketing automation, segmentation, and plugin-driven customer journeys. Both are self-hosted, but the workflow they organize is different.
Bit CRM vs Groundhogg at a glance
| Compare |  Bit CRMStarter $169 one-time for 1 site; lifetime updates and support |  GroundhoggFree core; Basic $20/month billed annually; Plus $40/month; Pro $50/month; Agency $100/month |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | Starter $169 one-time for 1 site; lifetime updates and support | Free core; Basic $20/month billed annually; Plus $40/month; Pro $50/month; Agency $100/month |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| Sites included | 1 site (Starter); 5 (Plus); unlimited (Agency) | 1 site (Basic); 3 (Plus); 5 (Pro); 25 (Agency) |
| Lifetime option | Yes | No |
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back guarantee | 14-day money-back guarantee |
| Setup level | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| WordPress.org rating | 5.0/5 (4) | 4.9/5 (149) |
| Active installs | 200+ | 2K+ |
| Best for | Freelancers, agencies, WooCommerce businesses, and small sales teams that want a self-hosted WordPress CRM from lead through invoice. | WordPress-centric businesses and agencies that want self-hosted marketing automation and predictable pricing as their contact database grows. |
| Not ideal for | Teams that specifically want a cloud-hosted enterprise CRM ecosystem for broad marketing, service, and sales operations outside WordPress. | Teams that want a hands-off hosted CRM or need a full enterprise sales pipeline platform rather than marketing automation. |
| Tested version | 1.1.0 | 4.7.2 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-12 |
Sales pipeline or marketing funnel?
Bit CRM gives the sales team a traditional opportunity structure: leads can be qualified into contacts and companies, deals move through visual stages, activities keep follow-up attached to the customer, and invoices continue the workflow after the sale.
Groundhogg’s strength is the marketing journey. Contacts can enter funnels, receive tags, trigger follow-up, move through conditions, and interact with WordPress plugins through paid integrations and flow steps. Sales functionality exists in the wider product ecosystem, but the product’s center of gravity is still automation and relationship marketing.
Self-hosting gives both products similar operational responsibilities
Neither product moves the CRM into a separate cloud database. That means your WordPress hosting, backups, access controls, cron jobs, database performance, and email delivery setup all matter. This is useful for businesses that value data ownership, but it should not be mistaken for zero infrastructure responsibility.
Pricing favors different planning styles
Pricing checked September 25, 2026. Bit CRM currently starts at $169 one-time for a one-site lifetime license. Groundhogg starts at $20/month billed annually for Basic, with higher tiers unlocking more add-ons, integrations, and site allowances.
Bit CRM’s paid tiers currently differ mainly by site count. Groundhogg’s tiers differ more by feature coverage. That makes the Groundhogg buying decision more dependent on the exact integration or advanced flow capability you need.
WooCommerce and service-business workflows
Bit CRM is naturally suited to workflows where WooCommerce customers, sales leads, deal values, line items, and invoices need to remain connected. Groundhogg is naturally suited to customer journeys where WooCommerce or membership events should trigger marketing automation, tags, follow-up, and segmentation.
Which one should own the customer record?
If the business thinks in deals, stages, ownership, follow-ups, and invoices, Bit CRM maps more directly to that process. If the business thinks in funnels, sequences, tags, engagement, and lifecycle campaigns, Groundhogg maps more directly. Using both is possible, but only if the source of truth for customer fields and status is defined clearly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Bit CRM and Groundhogg both run inside WordPress?
Yes. Both are self-hosted WordPress CRM products, so the core customer data lives in your WordPress environment.
Which one has lifetime pricing?
Bit CRM currently offers lifetime licenses. Groundhogg currently uses recurring annual billing for its main plans.
Which one is built around sales pipelines?
Bit CRM is more directly structured around leads, companies, deals, stages, activities, and invoices.
Which one is built around marketing funnels?
Groundhogg is more directly structured around contact funnels, broadcasts, tags, automation steps, and marketing integrations.
Practical decision notes
Bit CRM is positioned around freelancers, agencies, WooCommerce businesses, and small sales teams that want a self-hosted WordPress CRM from lead through invoice, while Groundhogg is positioned around wordPress-centric businesses and agencies that want self-hosted marketing automation and predictable pricing as their contact database grows. That difference is more useful than counting features: map the product to the workflow your site actually needs to run every week.
Watch the fit: Bit CRM is less suitable when teams that specifically want a cloud-hosted enterprise CRM ecosystem for broad marketing, service, and sales operations outside WordPress. Groundhogg is less suitable when teams that want a hands-off hosted CRM or need a full enterprise sales pipeline platform rather than marketing automation. Treat those limits as implementation checks rather than absolute drawbacks.
Before switching or buying: Bit CRM currently lists Starter $169 one-time for 1 site; lifetime updates and support; Groundhogg currently lists Free core; Basic $20/month billed annually; Plus $40/month; Pro $50/month; Agency $100/month; the setup profiles are Bit CRM: intermediate and Groundhogg: intermediate. Recheck the vendor pricing page, then test the actual payment, email, permissions, automation, and data-migration path your production site depends on.
Compare before you choose
Use structured feature, pricing, and editorial research to compare these WordPress plugins side by side.