Softwr

ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs Corteza

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Corteza logo

Corteza

No-Code

Apache-licensed open source low-code platform, formerly Crust, positioned against Salesforce

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Corteza planet Crust is a small company of roughly a dozen or so people, so the entire commercial support capability behind Corteza is thin and a large deployment can outgrow the vendors ability to respond.
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Corteza covers Corteza Low Code.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and Corteza actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and Corteza differ
AttributeADempiereCorteza
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker
CategoryERPNo-Code

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), 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 Corteza

  • Corteza Low Code
  • Automation and workflow
  • Bundled CRM
  • Case management
  • Federation
  • Role-based access control
  • Corteza Messaging and integrations
  • Self-hosted deployment

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 Corteza
  • A company that wants to modify ERP screens and document workflows without a vendor change request, using the application dictionary rather than codenot Corteza
  • An organisation with a hard requirement to keep financial data on its own servers under its own control with no cloud dependencynot Corteza
  • A systems integrator building a vertical ERP product on a permissive base it can fork and ship without paying a licence feenot Corteza

Corteza

  • A European public body that needs a case management system on servers inside its own jurisdiction with an auditable licence and no per-seat vendor feenot ADempiere
  • An NGO replacing a Salesforce donation that has run out, needing to keep the data model but remove the recurring costnot ADempiere
  • An integrator building a regulated vertical application it intends to resell, requiring a permissive licence it can ship commerciallynot ADempiere
  • A mid-size European company that wants one platform for internal applications and a sales pipeline without paying per seat as headcount growsnot 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.

Corteza

  • Planet Crust is a small company of roughly a dozen or so people, so the entire commercial support capability behind Corteza is thin and a large deployment can outgrow the vendors ability to respond.
  • No pricing is published for Planet Crusts support, hosting or implementation services, so the true running cost of a supported deployment cannot be estimated without a sales conversation.
  • The connector ecosystem is small compared with commercial low-code platforms, so integrations with common SaaS tools usually mean writing against the REST API rather than installing something.
  • Hiring is hard: almost nobody has Corteza on a CV, so you are training internal developers on a niche platform and you cannot easily replace them.
  • The bundled CRM is a starting point rather than a mature product, and teams that expect Salesforce-equivalent sales functionality out of the box will spend months building the gap themselves.

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

Corteza

Free
  • Corteza communityFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed with no feature gating
    • Low-code builder, workflow engine, CRM and case management included
    • Self-hosted on your own infrastructure
  • Planet Crust support and services$undefined/year
    • Commercial support, hosting and implementation from Planet Crust
    • Custom application development
    • Training

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 Corteza if

  • You need corteza low code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want automation and workflow.
Corteza review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or Corteza better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and Corteza at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or Corteza?
ADempiere starts at Free and Corteza at Free.
Does ADempiere or Corteza run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. Corteza runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use ADempiere for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Corteza is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that Corteza cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse. Corteza covers Corteza Low Code, Automation and workflow, Bundled CRM, Case management.

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.

Corteza: Is Corteza the same thing as Crust?

Yes. The project was branded Crust and renamed Corteza in 2019 when Crust Technology donated it to the Commons Conservancy.

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.

Corteza: Who owns the code?

The Commons Conservancy, a Dutch foundation. Planet Crust in Cork is the primary developer and sells commercial services around it.

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.

Corteza: Is there a paid enterprise edition?

No. Corteza is Apache 2.0 with no feature gating. Planet Crust sells support, hosting and development instead of a restricted edition.

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.

Corteza: Can it genuinely replace Salesforce?

For case management and a straightforward sales pipeline on a self-hosted footprint, yes. For a large sales organisation relying on AppExchange products and a mature ecosystem, no.

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