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ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs QAD

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QAD logo

QAD

ERP

Cloud and on-premise ERP for manufacturers

From
$2000/month
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.; QAD no price, per user rate, minimum or contract term is published on the site; the only routes are a demo request and a Contact Sales link
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, QAD covers Financial management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and QAD actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and QAD differ
AttributeADempiereQAD
Starting priceFree$2000/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedCloud, On-premise, Web
FoundedUnknown1979

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
  • Point of sale
  • Workflow engine
  • Java and PostgreSQL stack
  • gRPC and REST services

Only in QAD

  • Financial management
  • Supply chain
  • Inventory management
  • Quality management
  • REST APIs
  • EDI
  • IoT integration
  • Third-party systems

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

QAD

  • ERP for manufacturers covering production execution and schedulingnot ADempiere
  • Supply chain planning, purchasing and inventory controlnot ADempiere
  • Quality management, traceability and supplier management for regulated manufacturingnot ADempiere
  • Field service and enterprise asset managementnot 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.

QAD

  • No price, per user rate, minimum or contract term is published on the site; the only routes are a demo request and a Contact Sales link
  • Field service management, enterprise asset management and quality management are presented as separate functional areas rather than a single priced bundle

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

QAD

$2000/month
  • Standard$2000/month
    • Financial management
    • Manufacturing
    • Supply chain
  • Premium$4000/month
    • Advanced modules
    • Analytics
    • Priority support

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 QAD if

  • You need financial management.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Web.
  • You also want supply chain.
QAD review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or QAD better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and QAD at $2000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or QAD?
ADempiere has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for ADempiere and $2000/month for QAD.
Does ADempiere or QAD run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. QAD runs on Cloud, On-premise, Web.
Can I use ADempiere for free?
Yes. ADempiere has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. QAD starts at $2000/month.
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 QAD is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that QAD cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse. QAD covers Financial management, Supply chain, Inventory management, Quality management. 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.

QAD: How can I get pricing information for QAD manufacturing software?

QAD does not publish standard pricing on their homepage. Pricing discussions occur during personalized consultations. Interested parties can request a demo, contact the sales team, or download brochures to discuss pricing based on specific organizational needs.

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.

QAD: What deployment options does QAD offer?

QAD provides adaptive ERP solutions for various industries including Automotive, Food & Beverage, and Life Sciences. Their offerings include connected workforce solutions and supply chain management, with implementation and advisory services available.

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.

QAD: Is there a trial available for QAD software without contacting sales?

The QAD homepage does not mention a free trial or self-serve trial option. The primary engagement path is through "Request a Demo" or "Contact Sales" buttons, suggesting trial access requires sales team interaction.

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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