Capstone Outreach vs Monica: open-source memory or drafted check-ins

By Shawn Gregoire, founder of Capstone Outreach · Facts about Monica checked on its website 2026-10-06

Monica is a private, open-source personal CRM for remembering friends, family and other personal relationships; Capstone Outreach is a paid personal CRM for people whose network is their job, and it writes your check-ins. Pick Monica if you want free self-hosting, journal-style notes and AI kept out of your data. Pick Capstone Outreach if you want AI-drafted check-ins by email, text or WhatsApp, phone apps, card scanning and meeting follow-ups.

Side by side

Feature	Capstone Outreach	Monica
Positioning	A personal CRM for people whose network is their job: the personal CRM that writes your check-ins.	A private, open-source personal CRM for remembering important people; deliberately not a social network.¹²³
Who it is for	Professionals whose network is their job.	Personal relationships such as friends, family, colleagues and neighbors, not customers.⁴
Pricing	One plan: $25/month on the web; $24.99/month or $250/year on iPhone; $9/month Global plan in six countries.	Self-hosting is free; the hosted version is a paid subscription, and the page lists no specific price.⁵⁶⁷
Free plan or trial	14-day free trial; a payment method is required to start. No free plan.	Free to run on your own server; no credit card required to get started.⁶⁸
Platforms	Web, iPhone and Android, one account.	A web application that also works on phones; native iOS and Android apps are planned for after v3. Self-hosting with Docker or manual installation.¹⁰¹¹¹²
Keep-in-touch reminders	Rhythms from weekly to every three months by email draft, text, WhatsApp or call reminder; waits a full cycle if you have talked since.	Reminders to get back in touch with people.¹³
Notes and history	One timeline per person with every email, text, call and meeting; lead tiers, tags and search; ask what you discussed or promised.	Notes and journal entries, relationships between people, custom fields, and a history of activities such as meals, calls, trips and events.¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷
AI	AI drafts check-ins, emails, texts and WhatsApp messages from your history; private notes are never sent to the AI; any MCP agent can connect, and a person approves.	Says it never sends your relationship data to an AI model on its own; v3 will include an API and an MCP server so you can connect your own assistant.²⁰²¹²²
Sending	Emails send from your own Gmail or Outlook after you approve; texts and WhatsApp messages open on your phone already typed, sent from your own number.	Not listed on their site (checked Oct 6, 2026)
Business card scanning	Scans paper business cards, QR digital cards and NFC tags.	Not listed on their site (checked Oct 6, 2026)
Contact import and export	Imports the phone address book without duplicates, CSV files and WhatsApp chats; calendar meetings become contacts. LinkedIn and social network sync are not offered.	Imports vCard and CSV files and shows duplicates before merging; you can export all of your data at any time.¹⁸¹⁹
Meeting notes	AI notetaker for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex that drafts a follow-up per attendee.	Not listed on their site (checked Oct 6, 2026)

Choose Monica if

You want open-source software you can run on your own server for free, with Docker or a PHP environment.
You mainly want to remember friends, family, colleagues and neighbors, with journal entries and a history of meals, calls, trips and events.
You want to get started with no credit card.
You want strict privacy: Monica says hosted data is never sold, never used for advertising and never used to train AI models.
You want to be able to export all of your data at any time.

Choose Capstone Outreach if

Your network is your job and you want lead tiers, tags and one timeline per person with every email, text, call and meeting.
You want each check-in drafted for you from your history when it comes due, by email, text or WhatsApp.
You want iPhone and Android apps where texts and WhatsApp messages open already typed, sent from your own number.
You meet people in person and want to scan paper business cards, QR digital cards and NFC tags.
You want an AI notetaker that drafts a follow-up for each meeting attendee.

The differences that matter

Open source and self-hosting vs one paid plan

Monica has been open source since 2017 and has more than 25k GitHub stars. The code is free, and you can run it on your own server with Docker or a manual PHP install. People who do not want to run a server can use the paid hosted version, which includes automatic updates and managed backups. Capstone Outreach is one paid plan across web, iPhone and Android: $25/month on the web after a 14-day free trial that requires a payment method. It has no free plan.

Personal life vs a professional network

Monica is for remembering personal relationships such as friends, family, colleagues and neighbors, not customers. It tracks how people are related, keeps notes and journal entries, and logs activities such as meals, calls, trips and events. Capstone Outreach is built for people whose network is their job. It keeps one timeline per person with every email, text, call and meeting, adds lead tiers and tags, turns calendar meetings into contacts, and gives you your own digital business card, QR code and booking link. Its keep-in-touch rhythms run from weekly to every three months.

AI kept out vs AI that drafts

Monica says it does not send your relationship data to an AI model on its own, and that hosted data is never used to train AI models. Its v3 rebuild, expected before the end of 2026, will include a complete API and an MCP server so you can connect your own assistant. Capstone Outreach uses AI as its core: it drafts check-ins, emails, texts and WhatsApp messages from your history, and lets you ask what you discussed or promised. Private notes are never sent to the AI, and nothing sends without your approval. If you want no AI in your CRM, Monica's approach fits.

Pricing

Capstone Outreach has one plan: $25/month on the web after a 14-day free trial that requires a payment method, or $24.99/month or $250/year on iPhone through the App Store, with Android billed through Google Play. A $9/month Global plan is available in India, the Philippines, Malaysia, the UAE, South Africa and Nigeria. There is no free plan. Monica's code is free, and self-hosting on your own server costs nothing. Its hosted version is a paid subscription with automatic updates and managed backups; the page does not list a specific price or billing period. No credit card is required to get started.

Switching to Capstone Outreach

To move to Capstone Outreach, upload a CSV file of your contacts or import your phone address book, which skips duplicates. You can also import WhatsApp chats, and meetings from Google Calendar, Outlook and Calendly become contacts. Then set a keep-in-touch rhythm for the people you want to stay close to, and review the first AI-drafted check-ins as they come due during the 14-day free trial.

Keep them warm without the busywork. Capstone Outreach is the personal CRM that writes your check-ins. Put each person on a rhythm (weekly to every three months), and when they're due, the next message is already written from your history with them. If you've talked since, it waits a full cycle. You approve every message, and it goes out from your own email or phone.

Start 14 days free, then $25/mo iPhone: 14 days free, then $24.99/mo

A study of 20 million LinkedIn members found that acquaintances, more than close friends, led to new jobs (Science, 2022). Capstone keeps those people warm. You approve every message, and it goes from your own email or phone.

Also on Android. Cancel anytime in the first 14 days and you pay nothing.

Frequently asked questions

Is Monica free?

Monica's code is free, and you can run it on your own server at no cost. The hosted version is a paid subscription, and its homepage does not list a specific price. No credit card is required to get started. Capstone Outreach has no free plan: it is $25/month on the web after a 14-day free trial.

Does Monica have an iPhone or Android app?

Monica's site says it is currently a web application that also works on phones, and that native iOS and Android apps are planned for after v3. Capstone Outreach runs on the web, iPhone and Android with one account, and texts and WhatsApp messages open on your phone already typed.

Does Capstone Outreach send my notes to AI?

Private notes in Capstone Outreach are never sent to the AI. The AI drafts check-ins and messages from your history with each person, such as past emails, texts, calls and meetings, and nothing sends until you approve it. Monica says it does not send your relationship data to an AI model on its own.

Which is better for professional networking?

Capstone Outreach is built for people whose network is their job, with lead tiers, drafted check-ins, card scanning, sequences and a meeting notetaker. Monica describes itself as being for personal relationships such as friends, family, colleagues and neighbors, not customers.

Can I connect my own AI assistant?

With Capstone Outreach, yes: Claude, ChatGPT or any MCP agent can connect, and agents propose while a person approves. Monica's site says v3, a rebuild expected before the end of 2026, will provide an MCP server and a complete API so you can connect your own assistant.

Sources

Everything about Monica on this page comes from its own website, checked 2026-10-06. If something has changed, tell us and we'll update it.

Monica positions itself as an open-source personal CRM. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("The open-source personal CRM")
Monica describes itself as a private, open-source personal CRM for remembering important people. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("A private, open-source personal CRM for remembering the people who matter.")
Monica is deliberately not a social network. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Monica does not recommend friends, rank relationships, insert advertising, or tell anyone that you viewed their profile.")
Monica is for remembering personal relationships such as friends, family, colleagues, and neighbours, not customers. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Monica helps you remember friends, family, colleagues, neighbours, and everyone else who matters.")
Self-hosting is free, and a hosted version is also available. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Free to self-host · Hosted version available")
The code is free, and you can run it on your own server at no cost. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("The code is free and always will be. You can run it on your own server without paying anything.")
The hosted version is a paid subscription. This page does not list a specific price or billing period. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("The hosted version is a paid subscription, because servers and backups are not free")
No credit card is required to get started. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Open source · Self-hostable · No credit card required")
The hosted plan includes automatic updates and managed backups. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("automatic updates;")
Self-hosting supports both Docker and manual installation. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Docker and manual installation options.")
Monica is currently a web application that also works on phones. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("The web application works on a phone today.")
Native iOS and Android apps do not exist yet and are planned for after v3. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Native iOS and Android applications come after v3 — real applications, not a website in a shell.")
Monica includes reminders to get back in touch with people. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Call your mother. Congratulate your friend. Ask how the interview went. Monica remembers; you still get the credit.")
Monica supports notes and journal entries. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Notes and journal entriesRemember what happened without scrolling through six messaging apps.")
Monica tracks relationships between people, such as families, partners, friends, and coworkers. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Understand families, partners, friendships, coworkers, and the connections between them.")
Monica keeps a history of activities such as meals, calls, trips, and events. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Keep a history of meals, calls, trips, events, and the small moments that make up a relationship.")
Monica lets you store custom information about contacts. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Store the details that matter to you, not the fields a sales CRM thinks should matter.")
Contacts can be imported from vCard and CSV files, and duplicates are shown before merging. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Yes — vCard and CSV files. Duplicates are shown to you before anything is merged")
You can export all of your data at any time. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("At any time, in full, including the custom structures you built.")
Monica does not send your data to AI models on its own. Monica v3 will provide an MCP server so you can connect your own assistant. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Monica v3 exposes an MCP server, so you can point your own assistant at your own data if you want to.")
Monica does not send your relationship data to an AI model on its own. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("Monica does not send your relationships to a model on its own initiative.")
Monica v3 will include a complete API and an MCP server. Source: https://www.monicahq.com ("A complete API and MCP server")

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