Group-Office

Group-Office brings groupware, CRM, project work and business tools into one open-source product, with a choice between self-hosting and the company’s hosted service. It suits teams that want shared work across those areas and can work within the paid plans’ user or storage limits.

Overview

Made by a company based in ’s-Hertogenbosch and founded in 2003, Group-Office combines collaboration tools with customer and project management. Teams can co-edit documents, schedule meetings, and communicate by chat or video call; the wider product also covers shared contacts, support tickets, task and file tracking, time tracking, reporting and invoicing project work. That breadth makes it a practical option for organizations that want these workflows together, though the fit depends on which capabilities their plan includes.

Key features

Document editing and file management integrate with OnlyOffice, Collabora Online and Office 365. Email, contacts, calendars, notes and tasks can synchronize with native apps on iOS, macOS, Android and Windows through IMAP, Microsoft ActiveSync, CalDAV, CardDAV and WebDAV. This range gives teams several routes to connect their devices and document tools.

The CRM includes shared address books, newsletters and team support tickets submitted through a website or email. Project tools add task and file tracking, time tracking, reporting and invoicing for project work and time. Online payments through Mollie and PayPal, plus ZUGFeRD, XRechnung and UBL e-invoicing, extend the finance workflow. GroupOffice Studio, custom fields and filters offer power users ways to shape modules and records around their work.

Self-hosting gives organizations control over deployment; the hosted service is in the Netherlands. The privacy policy describes SSL encryption, one-time-password two-factor authentication, fail2ban, IP address access control and regular software security tests. The provider also says it keeps daily offsite backups in the Netherlands for 14 days. These are useful safeguards for teams handling business records, alongside a Professional helpdesk available from 9 to 5 CET/CEST and weekday phone support under service contracts.

Pricing

• Community: free for unlimited users. The self-hosted Community plan includes email, calendar, files, document editing, notes, tasks, chat and video calls, address book and device sync. It is a strong starting point for teams able to host and maintain their own software. The Professional plan is where support tickets, time tracking, projects, newsletters, Kanban, Studio and helpdesk are explicitly included.
• Professional (self-hosted): €439, paid once for a perpetual license covering 1–100 users, with updates costing €219 per year. It adds the Professional features and helpdesk support from 9 to 5 CET/CEST. This suits organizations that want self-hosting and those tools, but the 100-user ceiling rules it out for larger teams.
• Professional updates: €219 a year for updates on Professional features, for 1–100 users. Budget for this recurring cost after buying the perpetual license if ongoing updates matter.
• Online: €12 a month, with 5 GB storage per user and helpdesk from 9 to 5 CET. Document editor, video call and chat cost €2/user each; Finance costs €12/install and Document Search €15/install. This is the hosted option for teams that prefer not to run their own server, but 5 GB per user and the add-on charges should factor into the total cost. Extra storage is sold in monthly blocks.
• 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.

A 30-day trial is available. The free plan and trial make it possible to start without a paid commitment; the perpetual license’s annual update cost and Online’s per-user storage limit are the key terms to weigh before choosing a paid route.

Platforms

Group-Office supports Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, web access and self-hosting. Its mobile apps and device synchronization make it relevant to teams working across desktop and mobile devices.

Who it's for

Group-Office is best for teams that want collaboration, CRM and project management in one system, especially when unlimited free Community users or self-hosting matters. It is less suitable for organizations above 100 users considering Professional, or hosted teams that need more than 5 GB per user without paying for extra storage.

Pros and cons

• Pro: The self-hosted Community plan has unlimited users and covers core email, calendar, files, documents, tasks, messaging, contacts and device sync, making it useful for teams avoiding per-seat entry costs.
• Pro: CRM, project tracking, time reporting, invoicing and document integrations sit alongside collaboration tools, reducing the need to assemble those workflows from separate products.
• Pro: Self-hosting and a Netherlands-hosted option give teams a choice of deployment, with documented security controls and daily offsite backups for the hosted service.
• Con: Professional is limited to 100 users and carries a €219 per year updates charge after the 439.00 EUR perpetual license.
• Con: Online starts with 5 GB per user, while document editing, calls and chat each cost extra per user; teams relying on those features should account for add-on costs.

Alternatives

For teams focused on document management, LogicalDOC offers a free open-source Community plan with basic access control, advanced search, a web UI and SOAP and REST APIs. OpenKM is another free-plan document-management option. For a free open-source choice with a stated absence of limits on users or documents, consider SeedDMS. OpenDocMan offers a free self-installed Community edition for unlimited users with file locking and custom metadata.

Teams seeking quality-management software can compare FlinkISO, whose free on-premise plan includes unlimited concurrent users and all QMS modules. For transcription-focused work, Transkribus has a free plan with 50 free credits. Invenio is a free open-source option with self-hosted and web platforms. DocuWare offers cloud plans for 4 users with 20 GB storage and 15 users with 50 GB storage.

For category comparisons, browse Document Management Software, Project Management Software and CRM Software.

Verdict

Choose Group-Office if your team wants open-source groupware that brings collaboration, CRM and project work together, with the option to self-host and a free plan for unlimited users. Its broad feature set is the main draw; the 100-user Professional cap, annual updates charge and Online’s 5 GB per-user storage limit are the reasons to look elsewhere if your team exceeds those boundaries or needs more hosted storage.