Krayin CRM Review

Overview

Krayin CRM is an MIT-licensed, Laravel-native open-source CRM from Webkul, with 23,800-plus GitHub stars and a steady release rhythm: v2.2.5 shipped August 4, 2026, and the 2.2 branch took commits in September 2026. The current line requires PHP 8.3 or later and Laravel 12, with MySQL 8.0.32 or later, MariaDB 10.3 or later, and at least 3GB of RAM, so check the stack before installing. The feature set is broader than older reviews suggest: leads with multiple pipelines, quotes, activities, contacts and organizations, tags, products and warehouses, unlimited custom fields, role-based access control, embeddable web-to-lead forms, email templates, a marketing package, and an import-export layer, with dashboard support for multiple pipelines added in 2.2.4. Two corrections to the common criticisms. Krayin does ship a workflow engine: the Automation package provides event triggers, conditions, and actions plus webhooks, though documentation for it is thin. And it does have a genuine AI feature, Magic AI, which creates leads from uploaded PDFs and images using an OpenRouter API key and ships as an official module rather than in core. What is still absent is lead scoring and predictive analytics; the marketing copy mentions sales forecasting without documenting a forecasting engine. Email handling is inbound-focused: a SendGrid Inbound Parse webhook turns mail to your domain into HTTP posts, or an IMAP driver polls an existing mailbox, with outbound mail on Laravel configuration. The REST API is a separate composer package with Sanctum bearer tokens and Swagger documentation, not something the base install ships with. Installation is composer create-project plus an artisan installer that prompts for app and database settings and seeds an admin account. Paid extras include a multi-tenant SaaS extension at $1,799 and vendor cloud hosting with no published prices. We have not run Krayin; this assessment is from the repository, the docs, and the site.

AI Capabilities

• Magic AI lead creation from uploaded PDFs and images (OpenRouter key, official module)
• Automation package: event triggers, conditions, actions, and webhooks

How to install

1. Create the project and run the installer: composer create-project krayin/laravel-crm, then php artisan krayin-crm:install. If no .env exists, the installer prompts for app name, URL, locale, currency, database connection, and admin credentials; otherwise edit APP_URL plus the mail and database parameters in .env yourself.
2. The web root must point at laravel-crm/public/. The default admin signs in at /admin/login with [email protected] and admin123, so change both before anything touches the internet.
3. For production the README recommends removing development dependencies with composer install --no-dev.
4. The REST API is a separate package: composer require krayin/rest-api, then php artisan krayin-rest-api:install and php artisan l5-swagger:generate. Swagger UI lands at /api/admin/documentation, with Sanctum bearer-token endpoints such as POST /api/admin/login and GET /api/admin/leads.
5. Magic AI is configured after install under Dashboard, Settings, Configuration, Magic AI, where you supply an OpenRouter API key; the docs show a free Llama model as the example.

Requirements

PHP 8.3 or higher with the intl and gd extensions, Laravel 12 (the 2.2 branch composer.json pins ^8.3 and ^12.0), MySQL 8.0.32 or later or MariaDB 10.3 or later, Composer 2.5 or higher, and 3GB RAM or more per the docs requirements page. Note the master-branch README still says PHP 8.2 or higher; the 2.2 branch is the accurate source. Mail needs either a SendGrid account for inbound parse or an IMAP mailbox for the pull driver.

Best for

Laravel shops that want a self-hosted CRM they can extend in PHP without license friction: MIT code, familiar artisan tooling, web-to-lead forms, multiple pipelines, custom fields, and a REST API you can add as a composer package. Also a fit for teams that need a second language locale trail (Korean and Japanese landed in the last two releases) and prefer paying for extensions rather than seats.

Not for

Teams buying on AI: there is no lead scoring or predictive analytics, and Magic AI is document-to-lead extraction rather than pipeline intelligence. Also skip it if you need deep two-way Gmail or Outlook sync, a large native integration marketplace, or automation that is documented well enough to learn from the manual rather than the code.

Review notes

Assessed from the repository, devdocs.krayincrm.com, and krayincrm.com; we have not run an instance. Two corrections to our own earlier read: the Automation package is a real trigger, conditions, and actions engine with webhooks, and Magic AI is a documented AI feature that turns uploaded PDFs and images into leads through OpenRouter. Neither makes Krayin an AI CRM, but the flat no-automation claim that circulates in reviews is out of date.

Security history deserves attention before you expose an install. Version 2.2.5 fixed unauthenticated installer access and executable email attachment uploads; 2.2.4 fixed unrestricted file upload, stored XSS in notes, IDOR on agent access, and SQL injection in the lead filter, plus webhook validation rejecting internal endpoint URLs in 2.2.5. The pattern says the project patches, and also that running the latest release matters.

Documentation lag is the operational tax. The master README still says PHP 8.2 while the 2.2 branch requires 8.3, and the Automation package has no user-facing manual page, so expect to read source for workflow specifics. Release notes are informative where the docs are not: import and export for custom lead and person attributes, Google Contacts export, group-based view permissions, and quick attributes on lead forms all landed in the last two releases.

The commercial layer is a Webkul storefront rather than a core fork: extensions for VoIP, WhatsApp, purchase orders, and Google integration list on krayincrm.com without prices, the multi-tenant SaaS extension is published at $1,799 for Krayin 2.1.0, and cloud hosting advertises paying for servers rather than seats with no published rates. Budget discovery is a sales conversation.

Verdict

A current, actively maintained Laravel CRM that is more capable than its reputation on automation and AI, thinner than its marketing on documentation, scoring, and integrations, and best treated as an extendable base.

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