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ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs Apache OFBiz

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Apache OFBiz logo

Apache OFBiz

ERP

Java ERP and e-commerce framework from the Apache Foundation, sold as a toolkit not a product

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.; Apache OFBiz oFBiz has disclosed repeated critical vulnerabilities including pre-authentication remote code execution and authentication bypass chains, several exploited in the wild, so an internet-facing instance that is not patched promptly is a genuine breach risk rather than a theoretical one.
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Apache OFBiz covers Entity engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and Apache OFBiz actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and Apache OFBiz differ
AttributeADempiereApache OFBiz
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), 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
  • Manufacturing
  • Point of sale
  • Workflow engine
  • Java and PostgreSQL stack

Only in Apache OFBiz

  • Entity engine
  • Service engine
  • Accounting
  • Order management
  • E-commerce storefront
  • Warehouse management
  • Manufacturing and MRP
  • Party model

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

Apache OFBiz

  • A systems integrator building a vertical industry product on a permissively licensed ERP core it can redistribute commerciallynot ADempiere
  • An organisation with strong Java capability that needs an order and inventory data model it can extend rather than configurenot ADempiere
  • A business that requires a permissive Apache 2.0 licence because GPL copyleft is unacceptable to its legal teamnot ADempiere
  • A team replacing a bespoke in-house order management system that wants an entity model rather than a finished applicationnot 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.

Apache OFBiz

  • OFBiz has disclosed repeated critical vulnerabilities including pre-authentication remote code execution and authentication bypass chains, several exploited in the wild, so an internet-facing instance that is not patched promptly is a genuine breach risk rather than a theoretical one.
  • There is no vendor, no support contract and no hosted edition, so every deployment depends on either in-house Java skill or an integrator you find and vet yourself.
  • The screens and default workflows look and behave like enterprise software from the 2000s, and user acceptance in a finance or warehouse team is frequently the reason projects stall.
  • It is a framework rather than a configurable product, so meaningful deployments require Java, XML widget and entity engine development, which puts the real cost in developer months rather than licence fees.
  • Localisation for tax, statutory reporting and payroll is largely absent, so any country-specific compliance requirement has to be built, and that build has to be maintained against upstream releases.

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

Apache OFBiz

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Apache License 2.0, permissive and commercially redistributable
    • Accounting, order management, warehousing and manufacturing included
    • E-commerce storefront included

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 Apache OFBiz if

  • You need entity engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted.
  • You also want service engine.
Apache OFBiz review

Questions people ask

Is ADempiere or Apache OFBiz better?
Neither clearly leads. ADempiere starts at Free and Apache OFBiz at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADempiere or Apache OFBiz?
ADempiere starts at Free and Apache OFBiz at Free.
Does ADempiere or Apache OFBiz run on more platforms?
ADempiere runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. Apache OFBiz runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted.
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 Apache OFBiz is typically brought in for.
What can ADempiere do that Apache OFBiz cannot?
ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Financial accounting, Order to cash and procure to pay, Inventory and warehouse. Apache OFBiz covers Entity engine, Service engine, Accounting, Order 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.

Apache OFBiz: Is Apache OFBiz safe to run on the public internet?

Only with disciplined patching. It has shipped fixes for pre-authentication remote code execution and authentication bypass flaws, with CVEs continuing into 2026, and some have been exploited in the wild.

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.

Apache OFBiz: What does it cost?

Nothing to licence. It is Apache 2.0. The cost is Java development, hosting and ongoing security maintenance.

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.

Apache OFBiz: Can I use it as a finished ERP?

Not realistically. It is a framework with reference applications, and most production deployments are custom builds on top of it.

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.

Apache OFBiz: Why choose it over a GPL ERP?

The Apache 2.0 licence is permissive, so an integrator can build and sell a derived commercial product without copyleft obligations.

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