Historis vs Twenty: a managed client timeline or a full CRM to run
Twenty is a capable open-source CRM you can self-host, patch and scale yourself, with a native MCP server. Historis is a light, managed, EN/FR client timeline your own AI works over MCP, hosted in the EU. Both bring your own AI; the real choice is whether you want to run a full CRM or use a hosted one.
Historis or Twenty for tracking clients with your AI?
Both let your own AI work over MCP. Choose Twenty if you want a full, extensible open-source CRM with pipelines and deals, and you're happy to self-host and maintain it. Choose Historis if you want a light, managed, bilingual EN/FR client timeline, hosted in the EU, with nothing to deploy or patch.
Run a full CRM yourself, or use a light timeline that's run for you
Twenty is yours end to end: you run the servers, apply the updates, take the backups and scale it as you grow, in exchange for full control and a complete CRM with companies, people, opportunities and pipelines. Historis takes the opposite trade. It's a managed SaaS, so you sign up and go with nothing to deploy or operate, and it stays deliberately light: a shared client timeline of what happened with each client, not a sales pipeline. It's bilingual EN/FR and EU-hosted, and your own assistant works it over MCP. The question isn't which is the better CRM in the abstract; it's whether you want to operate a full CRM yourself or have a light client timeline managed for you.
Read: events, not tasksThree honest differences
Managed for you vs self-hosted by you
The biggest asymmetry is who runs the thing. Twenty's free tier is self-hosted: you deploy, update, secure, back up and scale it (they also sell a managed cloud). Historis is only ever managed, with no infrastructure for you to run. Neither is automatically better; it depends on whether you have, or want, the ops appetite.
- Historis
- Historis is a managed SaaS: sign up and start, with no servers to deploy, patch, back up or scale, and EU hosting handled for you.
- Twenty
- Twenty can be self-hosted for free, giving you full ownership of the data and infrastructure in exchange for running and maintaining it yourself (they also offer a paid managed cloud).
A light client timeline vs a full CRM
Scope is the second fork. A full CRM models the whole sales motion; a light timeline models just the relationship. More structure helps a sales team and gets in the way of someone who only wants to remember what happened with each client.
- Historis
- Historis is a light, event-based relationship CRM: a shared timeline with server-side dedup, idempotent writes and exact full-text search, and no pipelines, deals or stages to maintain.
- Twenty
- Twenty is a full, extensible CRM with companies, people, opportunities, deal stages and custom objects, fit to a real sales process.
Bilingual EU host, worked by your own AI
Both connect to your own assistant over MCP, so this isn't an AI-versus-no-AI contrast. Historis runs no model of its own; you bring your AI. The differences are the native interface language and where the data lives.
- Historis
- Historis ships a native English and French UI, is EU-hosted with EU data residency and sovereign inference, and gives your AI provenance-marked, reversible writes.
- Twenty
- Twenty has a polished, developer-friendly UI and its own native MCP server, so your assistant can operate it over MCP just as it does Historis.
Historis vs Twenty at a glance
A fair, plain-text comparison for tracking clients with your own AI. Both connect over MCP; they differ on hosting, scope and language.
| Dimension | Historis | Twenty |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Sign up and go; nothing to install | Self-host it yourself, or use their cloud |
| Hosting & upkeep | Managed for you; no patching, backups or scaling | You run, update, back up and scale it (cloud option exists) |
| Scope | Light client timeline; no pipelines or deals | Full CRM: companies, opportunities, stages, custom objects |
| Languages | Native English and French UI; EU data residency | English-first, modern UI; self-hosted data lives where you put it |
| Your AI | Bring your own AI over MCP; deterministic, reversible writes | Native MCP too; your AI can operate it over the same protocol |
When Twenty is the better choice
Twenty is genuinely good: open-source with a large, active community and a modern, developer-friendly UI, and free to self-host. Self-hosted, you own your data and infrastructure end to end. It's a full, extensible CRM with companies, opportunities, pipelines, deal stages and custom objects, and it has its own native MCP server too, so your AI can drive it over the same protocol. If you want a complete sales CRM, the freedom to run it yourself at no license cost, or full control of the stack, Twenty is the stronger fit and you should pick it.
Historis vs Twenty, answered
Can I self-host Historis like Twenty?
No. Historis is a managed, EU-hosted SaaS with no self-host or on-prem option; there's nothing for you to deploy or run. If self-hosting and owning the infrastructure end to end matter to you, Twenty is the better fit, since its free tier is self-hosted (it also offers a paid managed cloud). Historis trades that control for zero operations.
Is Historis a Twenty CRM MCP alternative?
It's an alternative for one specific job: tracking clients with your own AI over MCP. Both expose a native MCP server, so your assistant can operate either. Historis is a light, managed, bilingual client timeline rather than a full CRM, so it's an alternative in use case, not a feature-for-feature replacement for Twenty's full pipeline CRM.
Can my AI assistant work with both over MCP?
Yes. Both Historis and Twenty ship a native MCP server, so an assistant like Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor can operate either over MCP. Neither runs a model for you; you bring your own AI. Historis adds server-side person dedup, idempotent writes and exact full-text search so those AI operations stay deterministic and reversible. The difference is hosting and scope, not whether your AI can connect.
Why pick a light client timeline over a full CRM like Twenty?
If you mainly need to remember what happened with each client, a full sales CRM is more structure than you'll use. Historis keeps a shared client timeline with no pipelines, deals or stages to maintain, so there's less to set up and operate. If you run a real sales process with pipelines and forecasting, a full CRM like Twenty is the right tool.
Is Historis available in French, and where is the data hosted?
Yes. Historis has a native English and French UI, not just a translation layer, and is hosted in the EU with EU data residency and sovereign inference. Twenty has a modern, English-first UI and, when self-hosted, lets you choose where your data lives. If native bilingual EN/FR and managed EU hosting are priorities, Historis is built for that.
A managed client timeline your AI can work today
If you'd rather not run a CRM yourself, start a light, bilingual, EU-hosted client timeline and connect your own assistant over MCP, in English or French. Nothing to deploy, patch or scale.
Start freeComparison written for the client-tracking use case only, based on public information. Twenty is a trademark and project of its respective authors; Historis is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.