Comparison · Structured data · Sourced
Odoo versus ERPNext
These are the two open-source-rooted ERP options in this category, and they are the only two products here where you can build a real cost model from published figures without entering a sales process. That alone makes this a genuinely decidable comparison, unlike most of this category. It is also a comparison where the licensing structure, not the feature list, should drive the decision.
ERPNext is free and open-source software under the GPL-3.0 licence, stewarded by Frappe, which states that ERPNext is free and open-source software and always will remain so. Self-hosting costs nothing in licence terms, with the caveat Frappe itself publishes: cloud providers still charge a hosting fee, and the operational burden of running it falls on you. Frappe Cloud hosting is priced by resource consumption rather than per user, stated as pay only for what you use and not per user, from 5 dollars a month for the entry Sites plan, with Servers plans from 20 dollars and from 125 dollars a month. Both US dollars and Indian rupees are printed on the page, so currency is stated rather than inferred, though the dollar and rupee figures are not direct conversions and read as regional pricing.
Odoo runs an open-core model with real published per-user pricing: 16.90 US dollars per user per month on the Standard plan at the annual rate, 21.10 monthly. The currency is explicitly stated on the page, not inferred. There is also a genuinely free tier rather than only a trial, because Odoo states the One App Free plan is free for unlimited users forever.
Last reviewed 7 November 2026
The products
Odoo
Odoo
Modular open-core business suite with a genuinely free single-app tier and published per-user pricing. Multi-company and external API access are reserved for the top Custom plan.
Full profileERPNext
Frappe
Free and open-source ERP under the GPL-3.0 licence, stewarded by Frappe. Self-hosting costs nothing in licence terms, and Frappe Cloud hosting is priced by resource consumption rather than per user, from 5 dollars a month.
Full profileThe main differences
The Odoo pricing trap, stated plainly
Two published caveats change the Odoo cost picture materially, and both are verified from the vendor pricing page.
- The Standard headline price is promotional. The footnote states the discount is valid for 12 months for initial users ordered. Year two costs more.
- Multi-company and external API access are not in Standard. They require the Custom plan at 32.00 per user per month annual, or 40.00 monthly, roughly double. Odoo states that installing Studio or adding companies moves an account onto Custom. Odoo.sh hosting is not included in the Custom plan price either.
So if you have more than one legal entity, or you intend to integrate anything, the real Odoo comparison figure is 32.00 per user per month and rising, not 16.90. A Light User tier is listed at 5.90 per user but requires a custom quote.
Cost structure, not cost level
The structural difference is the one that compounds. Odoo charges per user. ERPNext hosting charges by resource consumption and explicitly not per user. For an organisation with many occasional users, warehouse staff, field staff, approvers who log in twice a month, ERPNext is structurally cheaper and the gap widens with headcount. For a small team of heavy users, the Odoo per-user figure is predictable and easy to budget.
What neither record can tell you
Be straight about this: only the pricing pages were read for both products. Functional capabilities are almost entirely recorded as unknown for both, meaning not verified from published sources rather than absent. Odoo has only two verified capabilities, multi-company and documented API, and both are Custom-plan gated. ERPNext has none verified at all. Odoo has accounting, inventory and manufacturing apps and ERPNext has accounting and manufacturing modules with public documentation, but none of that was sourced in the verification pass, so nothing functional is claimed here for either.
Localisation is the shared risk
Nothing about multi-jurisdiction statutory compliance was verified for ERPNext, and that is the usual weak point for open-source ERP outside its core markets. Tax compliance is unknown for Odoo too. If you operate in a jurisdiction with strict statutory filing or e-invoicing obligations, test this first and hardest, before you look at anything else.
Side by side
| Attribute | Odoo | ERPNext |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Odoo | Frappe |
| Primary use | ERP suite | ERP suite |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud, On-premises |
| Organisation size | Small, Medium | Small, Medium |
| Licensing model | Mixed | Open source |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| Trial | Not verified | Not verified |
| Published price | USD 16.9 per user per month, Standard plan, annual rate | USD 5 per month, Frappe Cloud Sites entry plan, priced by resource use not per user |
| Product status | Active | Active |
| Capabilities | ||
| Mobile access | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Documented API | Yes External API access is listed as a Custom plan inclusion, so it is not available on the Standard plan. source | Not verified Not sourced in this pass, although the source code and documentation are public. |
| Reporting and analytics | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Tax and statutory compliance | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. Localisation breadth is the usual weak point for open-source ERP and should be tested directly. |
| Multi-currency | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Multi-company consolidation | Yes Included in the Custom plan only. Odoo states that adding companies moves an account to the Custom plan, so this is not available on Standard. source | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| HR and payroll | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Project accounting | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Manufacturing and production | Not verified Odoo has manufacturing apps, but no manufacturing capability statement was sourced in this pass and depth was not assessed. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Inventory management | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Purchasing and procurement | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Fixed asset accounting | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Accounts receivable | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| Accounts payable | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. | Not verified Not sourced in this pass. |
| General ledger | Not verified Odoo has an Accounting app, but the pricing page does not enumerate individual functions and no app or documentation page was opened in this pass to source it. | Not verified Only the Frappe pricing page was read this pass. ERPNext has accounting modules and public documentation, but no capability page was opened, so nothing is claimed. |
| Last reviewed | 7 November 2026 | 7 November 2026 |
| Profile | View profile | View profile |
Not verified means the capability has not been checked for that product. It does not mean the product lacks it. Blank cells and unverified rows are never counted as a "no".
Strengths and limitations
Drawn from each product's own profile, where every item is labelled a verified fact or an editorial judgement.
ERPNext
Read the full assessmentWhich to choose
Choose ERPNext if you have genuine technical capability in-house and want to remove licence lock-in entirely. GPL-3.0 means you own your exit. The resource-based hosting model rewards organisations with wide, shallow user bases. The trade is that you carry the operational burden, which Frappe says plainly rather than hiding, and you will have to verify statutory coverage for your own countries yourself.
Choose Odoo if you want published per-user pricing, a vendor-run hosted option and a free single-app tier to start from, and price the Custom plan from the outset rather than the Standard headline. If you need multi-company or any integration, you are a Custom plan customer from day one and should model year two at the undiscounted rate.
Both are credible for small and medium-sized organisations and neither is targeted at enterprise buyers in this record. If you want a commercially supported mid-market suite instead, with a broader verified functional footprint on one readable page, Acumatica Cloud ERP is the closest comparable. For the Microsoft comparison, see our Business Central versus Odoo and Business Central versus ERPNext articles rather than restating them here.
Frequently asked questions
Only on the Standard plan, at the annual rate, and only for 12 months. The Odoo pricing page footnote states the discount is valid for 12 months for initial users ordered. The monthly rate is 21.10. Multi-company and external API access require the Custom plan at 32.00 annual or 40.00 monthly per user per month, and Odoo.sh hosting is not included in that price.
The software is, under GPL-3.0. Frappe states ERPNext is free and open source software and always will remain so, and that you pay absolutely nothing for running and managing it yourself. Frappe also notes that cloud provider hosting fees still apply, so free of licence cost is not free of cost. Frappe Cloud starts from 5 dollars a month.
Only Odoo multi-company support is verified, and it is restricted to the Custom plan. ERPNext multi-company was not sourced in the verification pass, so it is recorded as unknown rather than absent. Test it directly in both before deciding.
There is deliberately very little of one. Only the vendor pricing pages were read for both products, so almost every functional capability is recorded as unknown for both. That is an honest limit of the verification pass, not a judgement about either product. Both publish extensive functional documentation you should read directly.
Related comparisons
Sources and review basis
Attribute values come from each product's structured profile rather than being written into this page, so a correction made once appears everywhere. This comparison was last reviewed on 7 November 2026. Assessment of this category is documentation-based, not hands-on testing of every product.
- Odoo Pricing accessed 7 November 2026
- ERPNext Pricing accessed 7 November 2026
Disclosure
Alongside advisory work I also build a CMMS and CAFM platform, so I have a commercial interest in enterprise software generally. No vendor here has paid for inclusion, placement or wording, and there are no reseller or affiliate arrangements.
Deciding between these?
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