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ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs AVEVA System Platform

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

Community-run open source ERP forked from Compiere, with no vendor behind it

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
AVEVA System Platform logo

AVEVA System Platform

Manufacturing

Supervisory HMI and SCADA platform, formerly sold as Wonderware System Platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only ADempiere has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ADempiere there is no company behind it, so there is no support contract to buy, no SLA, no escalation path and no roadmap commitment; if your implementation partner leaves the market you own the problem entirely.; AVEVA System Platform wonderware is no longer a name you can buy; if you have inherited documentation, purchase orders or job specifications that say Wonderware, everything has to be re-mapped to AVEVA product names before you can quote it.
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, AVEVA System Platform covers ArchestrA object model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and AVEVA System Platform actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and AVEVA System Platform differ
AttributeADempiereAVEVA System Platform
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWindows
CategoryERPManufacturing

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADempiere

  • Application dictionary
  • Financial accounting
  • Order to cash and procure to pay
  • Inventory and warehouse
  • Manufacturing
  • Point of sale
  • Workflow engine
  • Java and PostgreSQL stack

Only in AVEVA System Platform

  • ArchestrA object model
  • InTouch HMI
  • AVEVA Historian
  • Redundancy
  • Situational awareness graphics
  • OMI
  • Alarm management
  • Connectivity

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADempiere

  • A manufacturer in Latin America with an existing ADempiere consulting partner that needs localised tax and accounting behaviour a global vendor will not buildnot AVEVA System Platform
  • A company that wants to modify ERP screens and document workflows without a vendor change request, using the application dictionary rather than codenot AVEVA System Platform
  • An organisation with a hard requirement to keep financial data on its own servers under its own control with no cloud dependencynot AVEVA System Platform
  • A systems integrator building a vertical ERP product on a permissive base it can fork and ship without paying a licence feenot AVEVA System Platform

AVEVA System Platform

  • A multi-site food manufacturer standardising operator screens across plants that run different PLC brandsnot ADempiere
  • A water utility with a decade of ArchestrA templates where rewriting to another platform cannot be justifiednot ADempiere
  • A pharmaceutical line needing ISA-88 batch recipe handling above existing Rockwell and Siemens controllersnot ADempiere
  • A plant modernising legacy InTouch applications without discarding the existing screens and scriptsnot ADempiere

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADempiere

  • There is no company behind it, so there is no support contract to buy, no SLA, no escalation path and no roadmap commitment; if your implementation partner leaves the market you own the problem entirely.
  • The official website adempiere.net does not resolve, which strands most of the historic documentation and tutorials that search engines still point at and makes onboarding a new developer considerably harder.
  • The last conventional stable release, 3.9.4, is from January 2023, so despite ongoing GitHub activity a buyer evaluating on release cadence sees a project moving slowly.
  • iDempiere, a later fork of the same codebase, absorbed much of the developer community, so ADempiere competes for contributors with its own descendant and is the smaller of the two ecosystems.
  • The interface and the Java Swing heritage feel dated, and staff coming from a modern cloud ERP will need training and will complain; expect resistance from finance and warehouse users during rollout.

AVEVA System Platform

  • Wonderware is no longer a name you can buy; if you have inherited documentation, purchase orders or job specifications that say Wonderware, everything has to be re-mapped to AVEVA product names before you can quote it.
  • AVEVA Flex converts licensing to a recurring subscription draw-down, so organisations that budgeted for a perpetual licence with a support percentage face a materially different cost model at renewal.
  • It is Windows only, and version compatibility between System Platform, Historian and InTouch is tight, so upgrades are coordinated projects rather than incremental patches.
  • The ArchestrA object model has a steep learning curve and small systems end up paying for structure they do not need, which is why integrators often deploy standalone InTouch instead.
  • Licence enforcement counts I/O aggressively and unexpected tag growth during commissioning can trigger a mid-project licence purchase at list price.

Pricing, plan by plan

ADempiere

Free
  • Community editionFree
    • GPL v2 licensed, no licence fee
    • Full ERP, CRM, supply chain and POS modules
    • Self-hosted on your own infrastructure

AVEVA System Platform

On request
  • AVEVA System Platform$undefined/year
    • Licensed by I/O count, client count and platform nodes
    • Sold through AVEVA Flex subscription token pool or legacy perpetual licence
    • Legacy perpetual licences carry an annual customer FIRST support fee

Which should you pick?

Choose ADempiere if

  • You need application dictionary.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want financial accounting.
ADempiere review

Choose AVEVA System Platform if

  • You need archestra object model.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want intouch hmi.
AVEVA System Platform review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or AVEVA System Platform better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and AVEVA System Platform at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or AVEVA System Platform?
ADempiere has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for ADempiere and On request for AVEVA System Platform.
Does ADempiere or AVEVA System Platform run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. AVEVA System Platform runs on Windows.
Can I use ADempiere for free?
Yes. ADempiere has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. AVEVA System Platform starts at On request.
What is ADempiere best used for?
ADempiere is most often used for a manufacturer in latin america with an existing adempiere consulting partner that needs localised tax and accounting behaviour a global vendor will not build, a company that wants to modify erp screens and document workflows without a vendor change request, using the application dictionary rather than code, an organisation with a hard requirement to keep financial data on its own servers under its own control with no cloud dependency, a systems integrator building a vertical erp product on a permissive base it can fork and ship without paying a licence fee. Of those, a manufacturer in latin america with an existing adempiere consulting partner that needs localised tax and accounting behaviour a global vendor will not build and a company that wants to modify erp screens and document workflows without a vendor change request, using the application dictionary rather than code are not what AVEVA System Platform is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that AVEVA System Platform cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse. AVEVA System Platform covers ArchestrA object model, InTouch HMI, AVEVA Historian, Redundancy.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ADempiere: Should I choose ADempiere or iDempiere?

Look at iDempiere first. It is a later fork of the same codebase with a more active community and a modular OSGi architecture. Choose ADempiere if a specific partner or localisation you need only exists there.

AVEVA System Platform: Is Wonderware still sold?

No. The brand was retired; buy AVEVA System Platform, AVEVA InTouch HMI, AVEVA Historian or AVEVA Plant SCADA instead.

ADempiere: Is ADempiere free?

The software is GPL licensed with no licence fee. The cost is implementation, customisation and permanent in-house maintenance, which for a real deployment is substantial.

AVEVA System Platform: Can I still buy a perpetual licence?

AVEVA steers new business to Flex subscriptions. Perpetual is increasingly restricted to existing agreements and renewals.

ADempiere: Is the project still alive?

Development continues on GitHub with commits into 2026, but the official website is down and the last stable release is from January 2023. Treat it as maintained rather than actively advancing.

AVEVA System Platform: Do my old InTouch applications still run?

Yes, legacy InTouch applications are supported in System Platform, though the older graphics do not gain the newer situational-awareness features without rework.

ADempiere: What is the application dictionary?

It is the metadata layer inherited from Compiere that stores the definition of every window, field and validation rule as data, so you can change the application without touching source code.

AVEVA System Platform: What is AVEVA Flex?

A subscription credit pool you draw against for any AVEVA product, which trades a fixed licence for a recurring balance you must keep topped up.

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