Group-Office

Group-Office is open-source groupware and CRM software for team collaboration and business tasks. Teams can co-edit documents, schedule meetings, and communicate by chat or video call. Its CRM includes shared address books, newsletters, and support tickets submitted through a website or email. Project tools cover tasks, files, time tracking, reporting, and invoicing project work and time. Document editing and file management integrate with OnlyOffice, Collabora Online, and Office 365; finance supports online payments and e-invoicing formats including ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, and UBL.

It synchronizes email, contacts, calendars, notes, and tasks with native apps on iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows, using protocols such as IMAP, ActiveSync, CalDAV, CardDAV, and WebDAV. Organizations can self-host or use the hosted service, which the company says is in the Netherlands. The Community plan is free for unlimited users; Online costs €12.00 per month and includes 5 GB per user. Professional self-hosted licensing is €439.00 per once, with updates listed at €219.00 per year.

Group-Office brings collaboration, CRM, project management, and finance features into one product. Its free Community plan, hosted option, and self-hosted licensing give teams different ways to deploy it, though the Online plan’s storage allowance and add-on charges are worth noting.

Group-Office suits teams seeking combined collaboration, CRM, and project tools, with a choice of self-hosting or hosted service. Its synchronization and device support may suit organizations working across desktop and mobile platforms.

Group-Office combines groupware and CRM with project and finance tools for teams that want collaboration and business workflows in one system. It suits organizations that value open-source software, broad device synchronization, and a choice between self-hosting and a hosted service. Its free Community option is unusually open on user count, while paid plans add defined caps, recurring costs, or storage limits.

Overview

Group-Office has been developed by its namesake maker, founded in 2003 and based in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Teams can use it on their own server or choose the hosted service, which the company says is hosted in the Netherlands. That deployment choice matters: self-hosting offers control over infrastructure, while Online avoids running a server but limits storage to 5 GB per user.

Key features

Group-Office brings collaboration, CRM, and project work together rather than focusing on one department. Users can co-edit documents, schedule meetings, and communicate by chat or video call. Shared address books, newsletters, and support tickets arriving through a website or email give the CRM a practical team-service role, while task and file tracking, time tracking, reporting, and invoicing connect project work with administration.

Document management integrates with OnlyOffice, Collabora Online, and Office 365. Finance supports payments through services such as Mollie and PayPal, as well as ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, and UBL e-invoicing formats. These integrations make the product more relevant to organizations managing documents and project billing in the same workflow; they are less compelling for buyers seeking a narrowly focused tool.

Synchronization covers email, contacts, calendars, notes, and tasks on iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows devices, using IMAP, Microsoft ActiveSync, CalDAV, CardDAV, and WebDAV. The breadth is useful for mixed-device teams. The stated security measures include SSL encryption, one-time-password two-factor authentication, fail2ban, IP access controls, and regular security tests. The provider says it keeps daily offsite backups in the Netherlands for 14 days.

Power users can build modules with GroupOffice Studio, and custom fields and filters allow some tailoring without changing the core product. That flexibility is a plus for teams with specific workflows, though the Professional plan is where Studio is explicitly included.

Pricing

The free Community plan is the entry point, but buyers should distinguish the self-hosted plan’s stated inclusions from the separate hosted Online offer. Paid choices also differ in whether the cost is monthly, a one-time perpetual license, or an annual update charge.

• Community: free, with unlimited users. Community (self-hosted) is also free and includes email, calendar, files, document editing, notes, tasks, chat and video calls, address book, and device sync. It suits teams willing to host and maintain their own service; its stated included features make it a credible starting point without per-user charges.
• Professional: €439 a month, billed Perpetual License; 1–100 users. Professional (self-hosted) is €439, paid once for a perpetual license, with updates costing € 219 per year. It adds support tickets, time tracking, projects, newsletter, Kanban, Studio, and helpdesk support from 9 to 5 CET/CEST. The 100-user ceiling and separate update fee should be part of the cost decision. Service contracts list weekday phone support from 9 to 17.
• Professional updates: €219 a year for updates on Professional features, for 1–100 users. This is an ongoing cost to retain updates rather than a replacement for the perpetual license.
• Online: €12 a month, with 5 GB storage per user and helpdesk support from 9 to 5 CET. Document editor, video call, and chat cost €2/user each; Finance costs €12/install, and Document Search costs €15/install. Its hosted convenience comes with per-user storage and add-on charges that can raise the bill as a team enables more capabilities.
• Billing add-on: €219, paid once for invoices, online payments, and smart debtor profiles.
• Document Search add-on: €299, paid once for deep file-content search, metadata search, and e-discovery.

The product has a free plan and a 30-day trial. The headline pricing note says paid plans start at €12/mo; the Professional license and update terms above are distinct from that hosted monthly price.

Platforms

Group-Office supports Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and web access, alongside self-hosted deployment. Mobile apps and synchronization across common desktop and mobile systems make it a plausible fit for teams whose staff use different devices.

Who it's for

Group-Office is best suited to organizations that want collaboration, CRM, project tracking, and finance capabilities in one open-source product and can choose a deployment model to match their operations. Community is especially attractive to self-hosting teams that need unlimited users at no charge. Online is more suitable for teams prioritizing hosted service, provided 5 GB per user and optional-feature charges fit their usage. It is a weaker fit for buyers who need predictable all-in pricing with extensive storage included.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Community allows unlimited users, avoiding per-seat entry costs for growing teams.
• Pros: Collaboration, CRM, project tracking, invoicing, and payment support sit in one product, reducing the need to assemble those functions separately.
• Pros: Self-hosting and a Netherlands-hosted option give teams a meaningful deployment choice, with daily offsite backups retained for 14 days on the hosted service.
• Cons: Professional is limited to 1–100 users, and updates on its perpetual license cost € 219 per year.
• Cons: Online’s 5 GB per-user storage allowance and separately priced editor, video call, chat, finance, and search can make the hosted plan less straightforward to budget.
• Cons: The more capable Professional features and helpdesk are tied to a paid license, so Community users should not assume those additions are included.

Alternatives

For a more document-management-focused choice, LogicalDOC offers a free open-source Community plan with advanced search, basic access control, a web UI, and SOAP and REST APIs. OpenKM is another freemium document-management option with a free plan and trial. DocuWare is a paid alternative with a free trial and cloud plans sized at 4 users with 20 GB or 15 users with 50 GB. Doxis is worth considering for custom-fit licensing and cloud, on-premises, or hybrid deployment.

Hyland AP Automation is an alternative for enterprise accounts payable automation. Box is a freemium alternative with an Individual plan offering 10 GB storage, 250 MB file uploads, one file version, and five signature requests per month. eDoc Organizer is a paid alternative with a Personal plan at $10 a month, 100 GB storage per user, and granular user permissions. Germes is another paid option for consideration.

Readers comparing category-specific tools can also browse Document Management Software, Project Management Software, and CRM Software.

Verdict

Choose Group-Office if your organization wants a broad, open-source suite with unlimited users on its free Community plan and the flexibility to self-host or move to a hosted service. Its strongest case is the combination of collaboration, CRM, projects, and finance under one roof. Look elsewhere if your team needs generous included cloud storage or a simple hosted bill without add-on charges.