# Alternatives to ERPNext

Fully open source ERP.

ERPNext ranks #3 of 10 in Accounting software, with an Alt Score of 86. It is licensed under GPL-3.0, open source with paid hosting from $5/month and available on the web. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/erpnext/
Category: Accounting software

## Where ERPNext stands out

- **Inventory** — 3 of 9 apps with a verified answer have this
- **Payroll available** — 3 of 9 apps with a verified answer have this
- **Self-hostable** — 3 of 10 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Small-to-midsize businesses and growing organizations that want an integrated accounting/ERP system without per-user licensing fees or vendor lock-in, including those migrating off spreadsheets or costlier platforms like SAP or NetSuite.
- **What you get**: ERPNext is a full open-source ERP (by Frappe) whose accounting module covers general ledger, multi-currency and multi-subsidiary accounting, payables/receivables, financial statements, fixed assets, and tax compliance. Because it's one system rather than a standalone accounting tool, transactions from inventory, sales, purchasing, manufacturing, and POS post directly to the books. It also includes CRM, HR/payroll, project management, and helpdesk modules. It's self-hostable (fully free) or available as a hosted Frappe Cloud subscription priced by compute usage rather than per seat.
- **How it works**: You set up a company (or multiple subsidiaries) in a self-hosted or Frappe Cloud instance, then configure the chart of accounts, currencies, and tax rules. Day-to-day transactions (sales invoices, purchase orders, stock moves, payroll runs, etc.) are entered in their respective modules and automatically generate the corresponding ledger entries, so financial statements stay current without manual re-entry.

## Profile

- **License**: GPL-3.0 (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: $5/month (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Platforms**: Web
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Odoo](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/odoo.md) | 100 | LGPL-3.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [FreeAgent](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freeagent.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 3 | [FreshBooks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freshbooks.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [QuickBooks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/quickbooks.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Sage](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/sage.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Xero](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xero.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Zoho Books](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zoho-books.md) | 78 | ? | Web, iOS, Android |
| 8 | [Invoice Ninja](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/invoice-ninja.md) | 73 | Elastic-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android, Windows |
| 9 | [Wave](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/wave.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Accounting software checklist | ERPNext | Odoo | FreeAgent | FreshBooks | QuickBooks | Sage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription |
| Starts at | $5/month | €11.90/user/month | £5/month | $23/month | $38/month | £14.99/month |
| License | GPL-3.0 | LGPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Invoicing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank feeds | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Expense tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Tax reports (VAT) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll available | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| Inventory | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Accountant access | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for ERPNext. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: GPL-3.0 — <https://github.com/frappe/erpnext> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “GPL-3.0 license”
- **Starts at**: $5/month — <https://frappe.io/erpnext/pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “$5 onwards /mo”
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting — <https://frappe.io/erpnext/pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “ERPNext is a free and open-source software and always will remain so.”
- **Platforms**: Web — <https://frappe.io/erpnext/mobile> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “ERPNext UI is designed to be responsive so it works on your favorite browser”
- **Status**: active — <https://frappe.io/blog/product-updates/product-updates-for-june-2026> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “As we gear up for Frappeverse 2026, the team has been busy building new features and polishing existing ones.”
- **Invoicing**: Yes — <https://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/accounting> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Manage purchase, sales & service invoices, where respective accounting entries are posted automatically based on the transaction lifecycle”
- **Bank feeds**: Partial — <https://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/bank-transaction> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Bank integration apps (e.g., Plaid or other third-party integrations)”
- **Expense tracking**: Yes — <https://docs.frappe.io/hr/expense-claim> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Expense Claim is made when employees make expenses out of their pocket on behalf of the company.”
- **Multi-currency**: Yes — <https://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/accounting> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Record transactions in different currency, while having accounting entries in base currency. Fetch exchange rates & perform revaluations while recording gain/loss on fluctuations.”
- **Tax reports (VAT)**: Yes — <https://frappe.io/erpnext/open-source-accounting> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Stay statutory compliant with ease by defining tax ledgers in the Chart of Accounts. ERPNext's flexibility allows businesses across regions to seamlessly manage GST, VAT, Consumption Tax, and other ta”
- **Payroll available**: Yes — <https://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/user/manual/en/how-to-process-payroll-in-erpnext> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Most of the users find it difficult to process payroll in Frappe HR, but rather than it being difficult, it is a bit tedious in the initial setup.”
- **Inventory**: Yes — <https://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/stock> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “a comprehensive tool designed to manage inventory and streamline supply chain operations.”
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://frappe.io/erpnext/pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Deploy on your own server using our installation scripts. Great for companies with a tech team.”
- **API**: Yes — <https://docs.frappe.io/framework/user/en/api/rest> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Frappe framework generates REST API for all of your DocTypes out of the box.”

---
Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/