Softwr

ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs SugarCRM

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SugarCRM logo

SugarCRM

CRM

Customer relationship software for your business

From
$59/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.; SugarCRM every plan carries a 15 user minimum, so the entry cost is 15 seats regardless of team size
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, SugarCRM covers Contact management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and SugarCRM actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and SugarCRM differ
AttributeADempiereSugarCRM
Starting priceFree$59/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryERPCRM
FoundedUnknown2004

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 SugarCRM

  • Contact management
  • Sales pipeline
  • Lead management
  • Marketing automation
  • Customer service
  • Reporting
  • Mobile app
  • Salesforce

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

SugarCRM

  • CRM for sales, marketing and service teamsnot ADempiere
  • Managing accounts, opportunities and customer history at mid market scalenot 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.

SugarCRM

  • Every plan carries a 15 user minimum, so the entry cost is 15 seats regardless of team size
  • At $59 per user on Standard that minimum makes the real floor $885 a month
  • All three tiers are billed annually with no monthly option
  • The vendor still directs buyers to sales for a package rather than treating the published rate as final

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

SugarCRM

$59/month
  • Standard$59/month
    • Accounts management
    • Lead tracking
    • Quotes
  • Advanced$85/month
    • Mail and calendar integration
    • Case management
    • Sugar Intelligence
  • Premier$135/month
    • Geo mapping
    • Enhanced storage 2x
    • LinkedIn connector

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 SugarCRM if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want sales pipeline.
SugarCRM review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or SugarCRM better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and SugarCRM at $59/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or SugarCRM?
ADempiere has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for ADempiere and $59/month for SugarCRM.
Does ADempiere or SugarCRM run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. SugarCRM runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use ADempiere for free?
Yes. ADempiere has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SugarCRM starts at $59/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 SugarCRM is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that SugarCRM cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse. SugarCRM covers Contact management, Sales pipeline, Lead management, Marketing automation.

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.

SugarCRM: How much does SugarCRM cost?

SugarCRM costs $59 per user per month for the Standard plan, $85 per month for Advanced, and $135 per month for Premier. All plans require annual billing and a 15-user minimum.

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.

SugarCRM: What is included in the Advanced plan?

The Advanced plan at $85 per user per month includes everything in Standard plus mail and calendar integration, case management, Sugar Intelligence, and Sugar Predict features.

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.

SugarCRM: What distinguishes the Premier plan?

The Premier plan costs $135 per user per month and adds geo mapping, 2x enhanced storage, LinkedIn connector integration, and enhanced support compared to the Advanced plan.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on ADempiere

More on SugarCRM

Keep looking

Other head to heads