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ERP · head to head

ADempiere vs Axelor

ADempiere logo

ADempiere

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Axelor logo

Axelor

ERP

French open source ERP and CRM with a low-code studio for changing the data model without forking

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.; Axelor pro requires at least ten users and Enterprise at least twenty, so a six-person company either stays on unsupported Community or pays for seats it does not have.
  • They diverge on capability: ADempiere covers Application dictionary, Axelor covers Axelor Studio.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADempiere and Axelor actually diverge.

Attributes where ADempiere and Axelor differ
AttributeADempiereAxelor
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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
  • Point of sale
  • Workflow engine
  • Java and PostgreSQL stack
  • gRPC and REST services

Only in Axelor

  • Axelor Studio
  • BPM engine
  • CRM and sales
  • Accounting
  • E-invoicing
  • Stock and logistics
  • REST API

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

Axelor

  • A European SME that wants ERP on its own servers for data sovereignty rather than in a US cloudnot ADempiere
  • A company whose processes do not fit a standard ERP and that wants to model them in BPMN instead of paying for custom codenot ADempiere
  • A francophone business needing a French chart of accounts and local statutory reporting out of the boxnot ADempiere
  • A team validating an open source ERP on the free Community edition with the option to move the same database onto a commercial licence laternot 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.

Axelor

  • Pro requires at least ten users and Enterprise at least twenty, so a six-person company either stays on unsupported Community or pays for seats it does not have.
  • Documentation, community answers and partner material are substantially richer in French than English, which slows adoption for anglophone teams and makes hiring implementers outside Europe difficult.
  • The AGPL licence on Community obliges you to publish modifications if you offer the software as a network service, which is a genuine blocker for anyone planning to resell a hosted version.
  • The implementation partner network is concentrated in France and neighbouring markets, so buyers elsewhere have few local firms to tender against and limited support timezone coverage.
  • It is a smaller ecosystem than Odoo or ERPNext, so there is no large third-party app marketplace, and functionality the suite lacks has to be built rather than bought.

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

Axelor

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • AGPL licensed, self-hosted
    • Essential ERP and CRM modules
    • Forum and documentation support only
  • Pro$35/month
    • Minimum ten users
    • Commercial licence covering all business modules
    • E-invoicing included
  • Enterprise$55/month
    • Minimum twenty users
    • Advanced BI and dedicated AI agents
    • SSO and CAS authentication

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 Axelor if

  • You need axelor studio.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android.
  • You also want bpm engine.
Axelor review

Questions people ask

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

Axelor: Is Axelor really free?

The Community edition is genuinely AGPL open source with no licence fee, but it lacks several business modules and has no vendor support, and you carry all hosting and upgrade work.

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.

Axelor: Can I upgrade from Community without losing data?

Yes, Axelor states that a Community deployment can move to Pro or Enterprise keeping its database and configuration, which is unusual among open core vendors.

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.

Axelor: Do I need Java developers?

Not for most changes. Studio handles entities, views and workflows as configuration. Deep integrations and new module logic still need Java skills.

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.

Axelor: Does it handle EU e-invoicing mandates?

E-invoicing is included on the paid editions, which is the main reason French customers move off Community as mandates come into force.

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