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Endearist vs Monica
A fair, specific comparison — written so you'd be comfortable if a Monica engineer read it.
Fairness pledge
Monica (monicahq.com) is the closest thing to Endearist's spirit in the personal-CRM space — it has been around since 2017, it's open source (AGPL), and its self-hosted edition is genuinely free. If you're comfortable running a PHP/Laravel app yourself, Monica is an excellent choice and we say so on this page. Endearist is being built for people who want the same data control without operating a server — and, unlike Monica, it is not released yet. Note: this page is about Monica the personal CRM (monicahq.com), not monica.im (an unrelated AI browser sidebar that shares the name). If you landed here looking for the AI assistant, monica.im is the right URL.
Where does my data live with Monica versus Endearist?
Monica self-hosted: your server, your database (MySQL). Monica Cloud: shared servers in Europe operated by the Monica team. Endearist: not publicly available yet. The primary copy is intended to stay on your device. End-to-end encrypted sync over storage you run yourself — a local or shared folder, or a WebDAV server — is planned for v1. Google Drive as a destination is not decided yet. Managed sync on Endearist Cloud is planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only.
How does each tool access AI?
Monica ships no AI at all — its README says so plainly, listing “built-in AI with integrations like ChatGPT” under what Monica is not. Monica v3 plans an MCP server so you can connect your own assistant, but Monica never sends your relationships to a model on its own initiative. Endearist's AI is planned as strictly opt-in: bring your own AI key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini), kept on your device, or — if you'd rather not manage a key — managed AI in a proposed Pro Cloud subscription whose budgets and prices are not approved yet. The app is designed to work fully without AI. AI with your own key: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: managed AI (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only) and Endearist Cloud (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only). Specific budgets, routing and prices require approval. Family sharing: not decided yet; no included family seat is promised.
What do Monica and Endearist cost over three years?
Monica self-hosted: ~€30 over 3 years (typical $1/month VPS). Monica Cloud: $9/month or $90/year — ~€290 over 3 years monthly, ~€242 on annual billing. There is no free cloud tier; the hosted plan has a 30-day trial. Endearist cannot be bought yet; its proposed prices are Free at €0, Pro Lifetime at €69 once, Pro Cloud Light at €4.99/month (~€180 over 3 years), and Pro Cloud at €9.99/month (~€360 over 3 years). Monica Cloud is a price you can pay today; ours are proposals. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: local core and data export. The proposed 25-contact limit is not a confirmed entitlement. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: local app and AI with your own key (planned for v1). Sync over your own storage is planned for v1. Managed cloud services are not a lifetime feature. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: managed AI (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only) and Endearist Cloud (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only). Specific budgets, routing and prices require approval. Family sharing: not decided yet; no included family seat is promised.
What doesn't Endearist do?
We don't have Monica's full activity log, gift tracker, or relationship-graph visualisation. Monica's feature surface is broader. If you want a comprehensive web-based system of record, Monica wins. If you want a quiet local-first journal that travels with you on mobile and desktop, that is what Endearist is being built for — it is not released yet. Endearist is not publicly available yet. The launch list is a notification signup, not app access or a purchase. Platforms and capabilities have separate release approvals.
Feature matrix
Side-by-side.
| Feature | Endearist | Monica |
|---|---|---|
| Local-first data storage | Designed so the primary copy lives on your device, not on a server. Local-first vault, fully offline: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | Self-host: yes (your server). Cloud: no — Monica's EU servers. |
| End-to-end encrypted sync | End-to-end encrypted sync over storage you run yourself — a local or shared folder, or a WebDAV server — is planned for v1. Google Drive as a destination is not decided yet. Managed sync on Endearist Cloud is planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only. | Transport TLS only; server holds plaintext. |
| Mobile native apps (iOS / Android) | Flutter apps in development; nothing to install yet. Native Android app: planned for v1. The first release is intended for Android and Windows. Native Windows app: planned for v1. The first release is intended for Android and Windows. Native iPhone and iPad app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. Native macOS app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. Native Linux app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. | Source check for Monica (2026-09-30): Listed platforms: Web. Native availability for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux is unverified. Published mobile roadmap language is not a verified released native iOS/Android client. Check current availability and account/region limits with the vendor. We have not tested the apps ourselves. |
| Desktop native apps | Native desktop apps in development; nothing to install yet. Native Android app: planned for v1. The first release is intended for Android and Windows. Native Windows app: planned for v1. The first release is intended for Android and Windows. Native iPhone and iPad app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. Native macOS app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. Native Linux app: planned for later. The first release is intended for Android and Windows only. | Source check for Monica (2026-09-30): Listed platforms: Web. Native availability for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux is unverified. Published mobile roadmap language is not a verified released native iOS/Android client. Check current availability and account/region limits with the vendor. We have not tested the apps ourselves. |
| AI features | Planned as strictly opt-in — your own key, or managed AI in a proposed Pro Cloud subscription. AI with your own key: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: managed AI (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only) and Endearist Cloud (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only). Specific budgets, routing and prices require approval. Family sharing: not decided yet; no included family seat is promised. | None — Monica ships no built-in AI. v3 plans an MCP server so you can point your own assistant at your data. |
| Self-host option | No — there is no server component to host; the local store is meant to be the app itself. Local-first vault, fully offline: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | Yes — Docker, manual install, AGPL v3. |
| Pricing | Proposed, not purchasable yet: free up to 25 contacts; Pro Lifetime €69 once, Pro Cloud Light €4.99/mo, or Pro Cloud €9.99/mo. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: local core and data export. The proposed 25-contact limit is not a confirmed entitlement. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: local app and AI with your own key (planned for v1). Sync over your own storage is planned for v1. Managed cloud services are not a lifetime feature. Proposed plan, not purchasable yet: managed AI (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only) and Endearist Cloud (planned for after v1, as part of the Pro Cloud subscription only). Specific budgets, routing and prices require approval. Family sharing: not decided yet; no included family seat is promised. | Self-host free. Cloud $9/mo or $90/yr (30-day trial, no free tier). |
| Open source code | Not open source today — but we pledge a source release on shutdown or acquisition. | Yes — AGPL v3, public GitHub. |
| Plain-Markdown export | Planned — plain Markdown you can read without any app. Markdown, CSV and vCard export: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. The documented implementation has a separate readable ZIP export with media and a report of omissions; legacy exports remain partial. This is not device or release acceptance. | JSON / SQL dump; no Markdown export. |
| Voice-note transcription | Planned — on-device, or with your own key. On-device transcription: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | No. |
| Family / multi-vault share | Family sharing: not decided yet. Multiple vaults: not decided yet. | Yes — Monica supports multiple vaults per account. |
| Journal / reflection | A journal, a weekly ritual, and appreciation prompts are meant to be built in. Local-first vault, fully offline: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | Yes — "Tell your life story" + activity log. |
| Relationship depth (how-we-met, pets) | Designed for comparable depth: how-we-met, pets, custom pronouns, life events, debts, attachments. Local-first vault, fully offline: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1. | Strong — how-we-met, pets, debts, life events, custom genders/pronouns. |
| Calendar / messenger integrations | Not decided: a read-only calendar overlay and share-sheet capture are ideas, not planned deliverables. Read-only calendar overlay: scope and availability are not confirmed. Status: not decided yet. Share-sheet capture: scope and availability are not confirmed. Status: not decided yet. | Limited — no native calendar sync; manual logging. |
When to pick Monica
When is Monica the better choice?
If you already run a Linux VPS and like operating things yourself, Monica's self-hosted edition is genuinely free and AGPL-licensed — the data sits on hardware you control, the code is auditable, and the project has a long track record since 2017. It's also broader than Endearist is designed to be on certain features: the activity log, debt tracker, and relationship-graph visualisation are mature. Pick Monica if you want a comprehensive web-based system of record, are comfortable maintaining a PHP/Laravel stack, and don't need native mobile or desktop apps — or simply want something you can run today. We're building a different shape of product — local-first, native apps, journal-quiet — and we'd rather lose a comparison fairly than misrepresent the trade-off.
Switching
How do I switch from Monica to Endearist?
If you're on Monica Cloud and want to switch: export your data from Monica's settings → Account → Export (you get a SQL dump + JSON). Endearist is not released yet, so keep that export for now: file import is planned for the app, but whether Monica's JSON imports and how contacts, notes, and reminders would carry over has not been verified. If you self-host Monica and just want lighter mobile access later, you can keep Monica running alongside; we don't require you to migrate everything. vCard and CSV import: not publicly available yet. Status: planned for v1.
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Prices and positioning verified 2026-09-03.
Platform information updated 2026-09-30; source-check dates are shown in the table.
Sources for the platform review
Endearist is in development.
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