Frequently asked questions
Everything people ask before switching to Imago CRM, in one place. Prefer a chat? The same answers live in the Conversations inbox and Ask AI.
Pricing and plans
What's free, what you pay for, and what's coming.
Is Imago CRM really free?
No catch. The app itself is free. Self-host it and you pay $0 to us, forever. You pay your own providers (Twilio, your email service, your AI key) directly, at their prices, with no markup from us. When Imago Cloud launches (Release 2) you can skip the server: a free workspace with no card, and you only top up a wallet for things that cost us money, like texts, calls and AI.
See plans & pricingDo I need a credit card to start?
No. Self-hosted Imago is free, and Imago Cloud Free (Release 2) signs up without a card. You only add money to buy a number, send texts or email through Imago, or use Imago AI.
How much is the Agency plan?
The Agency plan is planned at $97 a month, or $297 a month with white label, in Release 3. Self-hosters can already run workspaces for their own clients at no cost.
What does free email mean on Imago Cloud?
Connect your own Gmail or Outlook mailbox and send and receive from the CRM at no cost. Bulk campaigns go through Imago email from your wallet.
What tools can Imago CRM replace?
Most people cancel a stack: a CRM like GoHighLevel, HubSpot or Pipedrive; a phone system like Dialpad or RingCentral; Calendly; Typeform; Mailchimp or MailerLite; Loom; Notion; an AI chatbot like Chatbase; an AI voice agent like Vapi or Retell; and an AI website builder like Lovable or Bolt for your marketing sites. Imago has a built-in tool for each of those jobs, all sharing one contact list and one timeline.
See everything it replacesSelf-hosting and your keys
Installing Imago and connecting your own providers.
How hard is it to self-host Imago CRM?
If you can follow a recipe, you can do it. One command with Docker Compose starts everything: the app, the database, background jobs and HTTPS. On Railway you deploy from a template. Then you open your domain and a setup wizard creates your admin account, your agency and your first workspace. Launchpad walks you through the rest.
See how setup worksCan I use my own Twilio, OpenAI or Anthropic keys?
Yes. Self-hosted Imago is built around bring-your-own-keys. Connect Twilio or Telnyx for calls and SMS, Amazon SES, SendGrid, Postmark, Mailgun, Resend or plain SMTP for email, Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter (one key for Claude, GPT, Gemini and the newest experimental models) or a local Ollama model for AI, and Stripe or PayPal for payments. Keys are encrypted in the database, and every provider has a "Test connection" button. No keys yet? Every channel has a sandbox, so you can try everything first.
Where is the Imago CRM source code?
We're opening the code to a first group of builders before the public release. Leave your first name, email and (optionally) your GitHub username, and we'll email you the repository link. Add your GitHub username and we can invite you straight in.
Get early accessCan I import my contacts from another CRM?
Yes. The CSV import wizard maps your columns automatically, keeps an import history and finds duplicates you can merge field by field. Workflows, forms and sites can also be generated by AI in minutes, so you're not rebuilding by hand.
Can I reply to customers from my own Gmail or Outlook?
Yes. Connect Gmail or Outlook and your mail syncs into each customer's conversation. Replies you send from Imago go out from your real mailbox and stay in the same thread.
Will my text messages get blocked by carriers?
Imago walks you through US texting registration step by step and even generates the privacy, terms and opt-in pages carriers look for. Every text then shows queued, delivered or failed, with the carrier's reason in plain words, and STOP replies are honoured automatically.
Features
What's in the box, and how it fits your day.
How is Imago different from GoHighLevel or HubSpot?
You get the all-in-one toolkit (CRM, inbox, funnels, calendars, automations, payments, courses), plus things those tools charge extra for or don't have: a full SEO suite, Loom-style video with per-contact analytics, Notion-style docs, team chat, rentals, and an AI knowledge base that cites its sources. And you can own it: self-host on your own server with your own keys, and nobody marks up your texts or your payments.
See everything it replacesCan my team talk about a customer privately?
Yes. Internal comments sit right in the conversation, in a different colour, and never go to the customer. @mention a teammate to pull them in, and they get notified. For everything else there's team Chat: channels, DMs and threads, inside the same app.
See team ChatDoes Imago have an AI website builder?
Yes. Describe a site and a team of AI agents builds it with live preview, code view and versions, using Anthropic, OpenAI or any OpenRouter model. There's also a drag-and-drop page builder for funnels.
AI agents and knowledge
Voice agents, chatbots, models and costs.
Can AI answer my phone and book appointments?
Yes. Voice AI agents answer and place real calls on Twilio or Telnyx. Callers can interrupt mid-sentence, and the agent can book appointments, answer from your knowledge base, take a message, text the caller or transfer to a person. After every call it writes a summary, outcome and sentiment to the contact. You can test it from your browser before it goes live.
See AI AgentsCan the AI answer only when my team misses a call?
Yes. For each phone number you choose: AI answers every call, your team rings first and AI picks up if nobody does, or team only.
See voice agentsCan Imago's AI make outbound calls?
Yes. Voice agents can call contacts from a workflow, a contact record or the API, book appointments, send a confirmation text and leave a voicemail when a machine answers, only during your calling hours.
Which AI models does Imago support?
Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter (one key for Claude, GPT, Gemini, Kimi, Qwen, Grok and more) and Ollama models on your own hardware. Every feature also runs in a sandbox with no keys.
Can I see what AI costs me?
Every AI request is logged with feature, provider, model, tokens, latency and status. Agent runs show their estimated cost, and a daily budget caps automatic runs.
How does the Imago knowledge base find answers?
It combines meaning-based search (pgvector) with keyword search (BM25), re-ranks the results, answers with numbered citations and says it couldn't find something instead of guessing.
Can I measure the quality of AI answers?
Yes. The answer quality lab scores test questions through the real answer path against a random baseline, reports latency and cost, runs safety tests and proposes tuning changes for you to approve.
Agencies
Running and reselling Imago for clients.
Can agencies use Imago for clients under their own brand?
Self-hosted, you can run workspaces for your own clients today, with snapshots to clone your setup and Login as to support them. The Agency plan (Release 3) adds hosted sub-accounts, white label with your brand and domains, and rebilling clients for usage at your own markup through Stripe Connect.
See agency featuresCan I copy one client's setup to another?
Yes. Snapshots capture workflows, pages, forms, calendars and agents and apply them to a new or existing workspace. Links are rewired to the new copies and no customer data is copied.
Security, privacy and HIPAA
Who owns the data and how it's protected.
Who owns my data in Imago CRM?
You do. Self-hosted, it lives in your own PostgreSQL database on your own server. On Cloud, each business has its own workspace, separated in the database itself with row-level security, and you can export your contacts at any time.
Is Imago CRM HIPAA compliant?
Imago has a HIPAA mode you switch on per workspace. It refuses providers that won't sign a BAA (no silent fallbacks), logs idle sessions out, mirrors every event to an audit log, keeps health details out of messages and calendar invites, and makes AI-written texts and emails wait for human approval. Self-hosted, your database stays on your own server. A HIPAA add-on with a BAA from us is planned for Cloud.
Still have a question? Email hello@mail.syndcrm.com or call (888) 851-4197.
Which social networks can Imago post to?
Facebook Pages, Instagram, LinkedIn pages and profiles, every Google Business Profile location, YouTube (including Shorts) and TikTok, from one planner with per-network previews and delivery status.