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ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs MySQL

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MySQL logo

MySQL

Web Development

The world's most popular open source database

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.; MySQL hot online backup is not in the free Community Server; MySQL Enterprise Backup is a paid Enterprise Edition component
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, MySQL covers ACID compliance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and MySQL actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and MySQL differ
AttributeADempiereMySQL
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWindows, Macos, Linux, Unix
CategoryERPWeb Development
FoundedUnknown1995

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
  • Manufacturing
  • Point of sale
  • Workflow engine
  • Java and PostgreSQL stack

Only in MySQL

  • ACID compliance
  • SQL support
  • Multi-version concurrency control
  • Replication
  • Partitioning
  • Stored procedures
  • Triggers
  • Views

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

MySQL

  • Web application backendnot ADempiere
  • E-commerce platformsnot ADempiere
  • Content management systemsnot ADempiere
  • Data warehousingnot ADempiere
  • Business applicationsnot 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.

MySQL

  • Hot online backup is not in the free Community Server; MySQL Enterprise Backup is a paid Enterprise Edition component
  • Transparent Data Encryption, data masking and de-identification are Enterprise Edition only
  • MySQL Enterprise Firewall, which guards against SQL injection, and MySQL Enterprise Audit are both paid components
  • External authentication against PAM or Windows Active Directory requires MySQL Enterprise Authentication
  • The thread pool ships as MySQL Enterprise Scalability rather than in the community build

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

MySQL

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Open source license
    • Full SQL support
    • InnoDB storage engine
  • Standard Edition$2000/year
    • Commercial license
    • Oracle Premier Support
    • MySQL Enterprise backup
  • Enterprise Edition$5000/year
    • Advanced security
    • MySQL Enterprise Monitor
    • High Availability

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 MySQL if

  • You need acid compliance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Unix.
  • You also want sql support.
MySQL review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or MySQL better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and MySQL at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or MySQL?
ADempiere starts at Free and MySQL at Free.
Does ADempiere or MySQL run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. MySQL runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Unix.
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 MySQL is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that MySQL cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse. MySQL covers ACID compliance, SQL support, Multi-version concurrency control, Replication.

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.

MySQL: Does MySQL cost money?

MySQL is primarily open-source and free to use. Commercial editions and support services are available but pricing is not published on the main website.

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.

MySQL: How do I get MySQL pricing information?

For MySQL commercial editions and support pricing, customers can contact MySQL sales directly at +1-866-221-0634 or navigate to individual product pages.

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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