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ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs Megaventory

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Megaventory logo

Megaventory

Inventory

Order and inventory management for SMBs

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.; Megaventory single Pro plan tier; no tiered options for different business sizes
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Megaventory covers Inventory tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and Megaventory actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and Megaventory differ
AttributeADempiereMegaventory
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryERPInventory
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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
  • Point of sale
  • Workflow engine
  • Java and PostgreSQL stack
  • gRPC and REST services

Only in Megaventory

  • Inventory tracking
  • Order management
  • Multi-location
  • WooCommerce
  • Shopify
  • Magento
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero

Both cover

  • Manufacturing

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

Megaventory

  • Small inventory operations with Pro plan's 50,000 transaction capacity and 5 usersnot ADempiere
  • Multi-location inventory management across up to 20 locations with Pro plannot ADempiere
  • Growing businesses requiring custom plans beyond Pro specifications via Enterprise tiernot 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.

Megaventory

  • Single Pro plan tier; no tiered options for different business sizes
  • Additional users cost $45 per month each up to 35 total users
  • Additional transaction blocks cost $45 per month per 25k transactions up to 200k total
  • Enterprise plan pricing requires contacting sales for custom quote

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

Megaventory

Free
  • Pro$135/month
    • 5 users
    • 50k transactions
    • 20 locations
  • Pro (annual)$121.5/month
    • 5 users
    • 50k transactions
    • 20 locations

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 Megaventory if

  • You need inventory tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want order management.
Megaventory review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or Megaventory better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and Megaventory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or Megaventory?
ADempiere starts at Free and Megaventory at Free.
Does ADempiere or Megaventory run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. Megaventory runs on Web.
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 Megaventory is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that Megaventory cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse. Megaventory covers Inventory tracking, Order management, Multi-location, WooCommerce. Both handle Manufacturing.

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.

Megaventory: What is included in Megaventory's Pro plan?

The Pro plan costs $135 per month ($121.50/month with annual billing) and includes 5 users, 50,000 transactions, 20 locations, 20,000 product SKUs, 20,000 clients, and 2 hours of training.

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.

Megaventory: How much does Megaventory charge for additional users?

Megaventory charges $45 per month for each additional user, up to a maximum of 35 total users on the platform.

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.

Megaventory: Does Megaventory offer a free trial?

Yes, Megaventory offers a 15-day free trial with no obligation to continue to a paid subscription. Non-profit organizations can contact Megaventory for discounted subscription rates.

Source
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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