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ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs Exact Online

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Exact Online logo

Exact Online

ERP

Dutch cloud business software for entrepreneurs and accountants

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.; Exact Online no pricing published; visitors directed to contact sales directly
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and Exact Online actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and Exact Online differ
AttributeADempiereExact Online
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWeb

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

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 Exact Online

Nothing recorded that ADempiere does not also cover.

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

Exact Online

  • Automating bookkeeping with AI document processingnot ADempiere
  • Managing multi-company accounting in single interfacenot ADempiere
  • Calculating tax compliance for multiple jurisdictionsnot ADempiere
  • Reconciling bank accounts automatically across subsidiariesnot 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.

Exact Online

  • No pricing published; visitors directed to contact sales directly
  • Website content in Dutch suggests regional/European focus

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

Exact Online

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Exact Online review.

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 Exact Online if

Nothing in the data separates Exact Online from ADempiere on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Exact Online review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or Exact Online better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and Exact Online at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or Exact Online?
ADempiere has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for ADempiere and On request for Exact Online.
Does ADempiere or Exact Online run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. Exact Online runs on Web.
Can I use ADempiere for free?
Yes. ADempiere has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Exact Online 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 Exact Online is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that Exact Online cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse.

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.

Exact Online: Does Exact Online publish pricing on its website?

No. Exact Online's website contains no pricing information, costs, subscription tiers, or fee structures. Interested parties must contact the company via phone or contact form for pricing details.

Source
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.

Exact Online: How can I get pricing information for Exact Online?

Exact Online directs visitors to contact sales directly. The website includes a phone number and contact form option for requesting pricing and product information.

Source
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.

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.

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