Manufacturing · alternatives
Alternatives to OpenBOM
23 manufacturing tools sit alongside OpenBOM in this directory. Below is what separates each from OpenBOM on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 23
- With a free tier
- 2
- Cheaper to start
- 1
- OpenBOM starts at
- Free, then $30/month
Why people look past OpenBOM
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the OpenBOM entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
OpenBOM publishes 4 tiers, from Free up to On request. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the OpenBOM pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses
- No free tier, where OpenBOM has one.
- Starts $69 a month dearer, at $99/month.
- 2 tiers to OpenBOM's 4.
Cloud-based 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE platform
- Starts $40 a month dearer, at $70/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than Per user per month.
- 2 tiers to OpenBOM's 4.
Open-source ERP and CRM suite for all business needs
- Starts $30 a month cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than Per user per month.
- 3 tiers to OpenBOM's 4.
Industrial edge platform that collects, normalises and forwards OT data to cloud and enterprise systems
- No free tier, where OpenBOM has one.
- Starts $1470 a month dearer, at $1500/month.
- Sold on a Per site by data point count model rather than Per user per month.
- 3 tiers to OpenBOM's 4.
Enterprise asset management suite licensed by a shared pool of AppPoints rather than by named user
- No free tier, where OpenBOM has one.
- Starts $3120 a month dearer, at $3150/month.
- Sold on a Per year by AppPoint pool model rather than Per user per month.
Industrial connectivity server translating 150-plus PLC protocols into OPC UA, formerly KEPServerEX
- No free tier, where OpenBOM has one.
- Sold on a quote model rather than Per user per month.
- 1 tier to OpenBOM's 4.
Every OpenBOM alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenBOM (this page) | Free, then $30/month | Per user per month | 4 | |
| KatanaIf the real problem is production scheduling and inventory rather than engineering BOM control | $99/month | - | 2 | vs OpenBOM |
| Fusion 360Includes Fusion Manage-adjacent data management if you are already on Autodesk CAD | Free, then $70/month | Freemium | 2 | vs OpenBOM |
| OdooIf you want BOMs inside a wider ERP rather than a standalone engineering tool | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs OpenBOM |
| Litmus Edge | $1500/month | Per site by data point count | 3 | vs OpenBOM |
| IBM Maximo Application Suite | $3150/month | Per year by AppPoint pool | 4 | vs OpenBOM |
| Kepware Server | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| Petasense | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| COPA-DATA zenon | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| Nanoprecise Sci Corp | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| KCF Technologies | $199/one-time | Per monitoring point, quoted | 2 | vs OpenBOM |
| Samotics | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| Erbessd Instruments | $999/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs OpenBOM |
| Flow Software | $11390/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs OpenBOM |
| Poseidon Systems | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| Augury | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| PROGNOST Systems | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| MOVUS | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| Rockwell FactoryTalk | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| Sensemore | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| Seeq | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| GENESIS Version 11 | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| AVEVA System Platform | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
| ABB 800xA | On request | Quote | 1 | vs OpenBOM |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the OpenBOM badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (2)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Fusion 360 , Free, then $70/month
- Odoo , Free
Cheaper than OpenBOM (1)
Entry price under OpenBOM's $30/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Odoo , Free
What you would be giving up
OpenBOM is most often brought in for a hardware startup replacing a shared bom spreadsheet before its first contract manufacturing run, a contract manufacturer sharing structured boms with customers who should see but not edit them, an electronics team pulling boms straight out of altium and mechanical cad instead of retyping them, a small manufacturer that needs part numbering and revision discipline but cannot fund a plm project. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If OpenBOM is broadly right and the question is cost, the OpenBOM pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Manufacturing category lists everything the directory holds, and best manufacturing tools ranks them.
OpenBOM runs on web, windows, macos, api. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about OpenBOM alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to OpenBOM?
- 23 other manufacturing tools are listed in this directory, led by Katana, Fusion 360, Odoo, Litmus Edge. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to OpenBOM?
- 2 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Fusion 360, Odoo.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to OpenBOM?
- Yes. 1 of the alternatives below start under OpenBOM's $30/month: Odoo at Free.
- Why do people look for an alternative to OpenBOM?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from OpenBOM?
- OpenBOM is most often brought in for a hardware startup replacing a shared bom spreadsheet before its first contract manufacturing run, a contract manufacturer sharing structured boms with customers who should see but not edit them, an electronics team pulling boms straight out of altium and mechanical cad instead of retyping them, a small manufacturer that needs part numbering and revision discipline but cannot fund a plm project. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to OpenBOM?
- None of the manufacturing tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these OpenBOM alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Manufacturing, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare OpenBOM against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against OpenBOM covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every manufacturing tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Manufacturing category, 23 tools beside OpenBOM. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.