Softwr

ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs Propel

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Propel logo

Propel

Manufacturing

PLM, quality and product information management built on the Salesforce 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.; Propel your product data lives in a Salesforce org, so a future decision to leave Salesforce becomes a PLM migration as well as a CRM one, and the extraction is not trivial.
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Propel covers Item and BOM management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and Propel actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and Propel differ
AttributeADempierePropel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, iOS, Android, Cloud, API
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 Propel

  • Item and BOM management
  • Change management
  • Quality management
  • Product information management
  • Supplier collaboration
  • Native Salesforce
  • Licence types

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

Propel

  • A medical device company needing linked design control and CAPA records for an ISO 13485 audit without an on-premise PLM programmenot ADempiere
  • A consumer products firm publishing the same product record to engineering, packaging and e-commerce teamsnot ADempiere
  • A company already standardised on Salesforce that wants product data governed with the same admin skills as the CRMnot ADempiere
  • A hardware manufacturer routing customer complaints straight to the part revision and supplier that caused themnot 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.

Propel

  • Your product data lives in a Salesforce org, so a future decision to leave Salesforce becomes a PLM migration as well as a CRM one, and the extraction is not trivial.
  • CAD data management is handled through connectors rather than natively; Propel manages metadata and files well but is not a substitute for a CAD vault on large assemblies.
  • The published cost bands are extremely wide, from 10,000 to 500,000 US dollars a year, and setup can approach the annual licence, so early budgeting without a scoped quote is close to meaningless.
  • Licence roles are split across Performance, Quality, Enrichment, Collaboration and Partner types, and buyers frequently discover mid-project that a user needs a more expensive role than budgeted.
  • Salesforce platform limits such as governor limits, API call ceilings and storage allowances apply, and organisations with very large BOMs or heavy integration traffic hit them in ways a purpose-built PLM would not surface.

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

Propel

On request
  • Propel$undefined/year
    • Annual user-based licensing in role types
    • Salesforce platform access included in each licence
    • Indicative small deployment band of 10,000 to 150,000 USD a year plus 10,000 to 25,000 setup

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 Propel if

  • You need item and bom management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud, API.
  • You also want change management.
Propel review

Questions people ask

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

Propel: Do I need to buy Salesforce separately?

No. Each Propel licence includes Salesforce platform access, and end users do not need their own Salesforce licences or Salesforce expertise.

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.

Propel: Does being on Salesforce lock me in?

Practically, yes. The application, its configuration and your product data all sit in a Salesforce org, which is a real consideration at renewal.

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.

Propel: What does it cost?

Propel publishes indicative bands rather than list prices: roughly 10,000 to 150,000 US dollars a year for a small deployment and 250,000 to 500,000 for a large one, plus setup.

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.

Propel: Is it suitable for regulated medical devices?

Yes, that is a core segment; the quality module covers CAPA, non-conformance, audits and training records with electronic signatures.

Share

Related pages

More on ADempiere

More on Propel

Keep looking

Other head to heads