Compare/Monica
Handshake vs Monica
Updated
Monica is the best-known open-source personal CRM: a self-hosted web application (AGPL) for remembering the details of friends and family, also offered as a hosted service at $9/month (July 2026). Handshake is open source too (MIT) – but it's a local desktop app storing plain markdown files, with no server anywhere.
We like Monica. It's the philosophical sibling in this category – genuinely open source, privacy-first, built because its creator kept forgetting birthdays and kids' names. It shines at life's soft details: gifts, pets, journals, how you met. It's actively maintained with a large community (22k+ GitHub stars).
The real difference is architectural. Monica is a web app with a database: to own your data you run a server (a VPS, Docker, PHP, upgrades). Handshake's answer to the same privacy goal is radical simplicity – there is no server to run because there's no server at all. Your network is a folder of text files on your disk.
At a glance
| Monica | Handshake | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free self-hosted (AGPL); hosted $9/mo, free tier limited to 10 contacts (July 2026) | Free, open source (MIT) |
| Where your data lives | A database on your server (or theirs, hosted) | Plain markdown files on your device |
| Platforms | Web (self-hosted or cloud) | macOS, Windows & Linux desktop |
| Works offline | Only as far as your server does | Fully offline – no account |
| Data format | SQL database; JSON/CSV export | Already plain text; nothing to export |
| Seeing your network | Profiles, lists, journals | A spatial board of your whole network |
| Auto-sync / enrichment | None – manual, like Handshake | None – you decide who's on the map |
| Open source | Yes (AGPL) | Yes (MIT) |
Competitor details checked July 2026 – check their site for current pricing.
Where Monica wins
Everywhere your browser is
Self-host it once and Monica is on every device, phone included. Handshake is desktop-only during the beta; your vault syncs as files, but the app itself doesn't run on a phone.
Life's soft details
Structured fields for gifts, pets, addresses, journals, significant others – Monica is lovingly deep on personal-life record keeping.
Maturity
Nearly a decade old, huge community, battle-tested. Handshake is a young public beta.
Where Handshake wins
No server to run
Monica's self-hosted privacy costs you a VPS, Docker, and upgrades. Handshake gives you the same ownership by writing plain files to your disk – download, open, done.
Files beat databases
Markdown you can grep, open in Obsidian, and read in 2056, versus a SQL database you query through an app. Both are yours; one needs no tooling to stay yours.
The map
Monica records people; Handshake shows the network – a spatial board with warmth-weighted ties, introduction chains, and backlinks drawn as lines.
Built-in time travel
Every network is git-versioned automatically (no git knowledge needed): snapshots, undo for everything, restore to any point.
The honest verdict
Choose Monica if…
- You want web access from every device, including your phone
- You track personal-life details – gifts, dates, journals – more than network structure
- You already run a homelab and enjoy self-hosting
Choose Handshake if…
- You want data ownership without running infrastructure
- You want to see relationships, not just record them
- Plain text files matter to you (Obsidian users, this is your species)
- You want a native, instant desktop app
Questions
- Is Monica still maintained in 2026?
- Yes – the open-source project is actively developed with a large community, and the hosted service at monicahq.com remains available at $9/month.
- Are both Monica and Handshake open source?
- Yes. Monica is AGPL-licensed (a self-hosted web app); Handshake is MIT-licensed (a local desktop app). The practical difference is architecture: Monica needs a server, Handshake writes plain files locally.
- Which is more private?
- Both are excellent, honestly. Self-hosted Monica keeps data on a server you control; Handshake keeps it on your local disk with no server at all. Handshake's surface area is smaller; Monica's reach is wider.
Try the local-first way
Handshake is free, open source, and takes about two minutes to meet your network. If it's not for you, your notes are plain markdown – nothing lost.