Is Axelor or Katana better?

Neither clearly leads. Axelor starts at Free and Katana at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Axelor or Katana?

Axelor has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Axelor and $99/month for Katana.

Does Axelor or Katana run on more platforms?

Axelor runs on Web, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android. Katana runs on Web.

Can I use Axelor for free?

Yes. Axelor has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Katana starts at $99/month.

What is Axelor best used for?

Axelor is most often used for a european sme that wants erp on its own servers for data sovereignty rather than in a us cloud, a company whose processes do not fit a standard erp and that wants to model them in bpmn instead of paying for custom code, a francophone business needing a french chart of accounts and local statutory reporting out of the box, a team validating an open source erp on the free community edition with the option to move the same database onto a commercial licence later. Of those, a european sme that wants erp on its own servers for data sovereignty rather than in a us cloud and a company whose processes do not fit a standard erp and that wants to model them in bpmn instead of paying for custom code are not what Katana is typically brought in for.

What can Axelor do that Katana cannot?

Axelor covers Axelor Studio, BPM engine, CRM and sales, Manufacturing. Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control.

ERP · head to head

Axelor vs Katana

Axelor

ERP

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

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Katana

Inventory

Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses

From: $99/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Axelor has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: 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.; Katana limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated
They diverge on capability: Axelor covers Axelor Studio, Katana covers Production planning.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Axelor and Katana actually diverge.

Attributes where Axelor and Katana differ
Attribute	Axelor	Katana
Starting price	Free	$99/month
Pricing model	Per user per month	Unknown
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android	Web
Category	ERP	Inventory
Founded	Unknown	2015

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 Axelor

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

Only in Katana

Production planning
Real-time inventory
BOM management
Shop floor control
Shopify
WooCommerce
QuickBooks
Xero

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Axelor

A European SME that wants ERP on its own servers for data sovereignty rather than in a US cloudnot Katana
A company whose processes do not fit a standard ERP and that wants to model them in BPMN instead of paying for custom codenot Katana
A francophone business needing a French chart of accounts and local statutory reporting out of the boxnot Katana
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 Katana

Katana

Production schedulingnot Axelor
Material planningnot Axelor
Work order managementnot Axelor
Inventory optimizationnot Axelor

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

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.

Katana

Limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated
No native invoicing capability, making it standalone without accounting system integration
Limited native integrations, with heavy reliance on Zapier for non-core tools
Slow performance with large datasets and high SKU counts

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Katana

$99/month

Essential$99/month
- Core inventory management
- Production scheduling
- Stock tracking
Pro$299/month
- Shop floor control
- API access
- Advanced reporting

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Katana if

You need production planning.
You also want real-time inventory.

Katana review

Questions people ask

Is Axelor or Katana better?: Neither clearly leads. Axelor starts at Free and Katana at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Axelor or Katana?: Axelor has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Axelor and $99/month for Katana.
Does Axelor or Katana run on more platforms?: Axelor runs on Web, Linux, Docker, iOS, Android. Katana runs on Web.
Can I use Axelor for free?: Yes. Axelor has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Katana starts at $99/month.
What is Axelor best used for?: Axelor is most often used for a european sme that wants erp on its own servers for data sovereignty rather than in a us cloud, a company whose processes do not fit a standard erp and that wants to model them in bpmn instead of paying for custom code, a francophone business needing a french chart of accounts and local statutory reporting out of the box, a team validating an open source erp on the free community edition with the option to move the same database onto a commercial licence later. Of those, a european sme that wants erp on its own servers for data sovereignty rather than in a us cloud and a company whose processes do not fit a standard erp and that wants to model them in bpmn instead of paying for custom code are not what Katana is typically brought in for.
What can Axelor do that Katana cannot?: Axelor covers Axelor Studio, BPM engine, CRM and sales, Manufacturing. Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Katana: What is Katana's pricing structure?

Katana starts at $99/month for the Essential plan with core MRP features. The Pro plan costs $299/month and adds shop floor control and API access. Add-ons for traceability, manufacturing, and warehouse management cost extra and can reach $747-$1,095 total.

Source

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.

Katana: Does Katana support multi-level bills of materials?

Katana has limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning capabilities. Complex multi-level BOMs with sub-assemblies require manual workarounds, which becomes increasingly problematic as SKU count grows.

Source

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.

Katana: Can Katana integrate with my accounting software?

Katana has no native invoicing capability and limited integrations with accounting systems. It is essentially standalone and requires manual data export or Zapier integration for most accounting workflows.

Source

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.

Katana: Does Katana have an offline mode?

No, Katana is a cloud-only solution requiring internet connectivity. There is no built-in offline mode for production floor access without internet.

Source

Axelor vs Katana

Axelor

Katana

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Axelor

Only in Katana

What people use each for

Axelor

Katana

Where each one falls short

Axelor

Katana

Pricing, plan by plan

Axelor

Katana

Which should you pick?

Choose Axelor if

Choose Katana if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Axelor

More on Katana

Keep looking

Other head to heads