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ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs SOS Inventory

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SOS Inventory logo

SOS Inventory

Inventory

Inventory management for QuickBooks Online

From
$69.95/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.; SOS Inventory the Companion plan at $69.95 per month is limited to a single location and 1 custom field
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, SOS Inventory covers Lot tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and SOS Inventory actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and SOS Inventory differ
AttributeADempiereSOS Inventory
Starting priceFree$69.95/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Cloud-based
CategoryERPInventory
FoundedUnknown2011

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

Only in SOS Inventory

  • Lot tracking
  • Serial numbers
  • Multi-location
  • QuickBooks Online
  • Shopify
  • BigCommerce
  • ShipStation
  • Web support

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

SOS Inventory

  • Inventory managementnot ADempiere
  • Job costingnot ADempiere
  • Manufacturing automationnot 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.

SOS Inventory

  • The Companion plan at $69.95 per month is limited to a single location and 1 custom field
  • Serial and lot number tracking, barcoding and unlimited locations require the Plus plan at $139.95 per month
  • Phone support is excluded from the Companion plan
  • Job costing, advanced manufacturing and the customer portal require the Pro plan at $194.95 per month
  • Each plan includes only 2 to 5 users and additional users cost $25 each per month
  • The 2 months free discount requires paying a year up front

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

SOS Inventory

$69.95/month
  • Companion$69.95/month
    • Basic inventory management
    • 2 included users
    • Additional users $25/month each
  • Plus$139.95/month
    • Labeled most popular
    • Unlimited locations
    • Serial and lot tracking
  • Pro$194.95/month
    • Advanced automation
    • Job costing
    • Advanced manufacturing

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 SOS Inventory if

  • You need lot tracking.
  • You work on Web, Cloud-based.
  • You also want serial numbers.
SOS Inventory review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or SOS Inventory better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and SOS Inventory at $69.95/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or SOS Inventory?
ADempiere has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for ADempiere and $69.95/month for SOS Inventory.
Does ADempiere or SOS Inventory run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. SOS Inventory runs on Web, Cloud-based.
Can I use ADempiere for free?
Yes. ADempiere has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SOS Inventory starts at $69.95/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 SOS Inventory is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that SOS Inventory cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse. SOS Inventory covers Lot tracking, Serial numbers, Multi-location, QuickBooks Online. 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.

SOS Inventory: How much does SOS Inventory cost?

SOS Inventory offers monthly plans from $69.95 for Companion to $194.95 for Pro. Annual billing saves approximately two months of fees. Additional users cost $25/month, and external connections are $25/month each.

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.

SOS Inventory: Does SOS Inventory offer a free trial?

Yes, SOS Inventory offers 14 days to explore its full range of features. Users can upgrade or downgrade plans easily through account settings.

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.

SOS Inventory: What is the difference between SOS Inventory plans?

Companion includes 2 users and basic management. Plus is marked most popular and adds unlimited locations and lot tracking with 3 users. Pro adds advanced automation and manufacturing with 5 users.

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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