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ERP · head to head

DEAR Systems vs Protean ERP

DEAR Systems logo

DEAR Systems

ERP

Cloud inventory management for growing businesses

From
$349/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

Protean ERP

ERP

Process and batch manufacturing ERP from a small independent vendor

From
$800/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DEAR Systems dEAR Systems is sold as Cin7 Core and priced on the Cin7 pricing page; Protean ERP independent verification of this product is scarce, with little analyst coverage and few public customer references, so the vendor's own reference list is effectively the entire evidence base and you cannot triangulate a claim you are unsure about.
  • They diverge on capability: DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Protean ERP covers Formulation and recipe management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DEAR Systems and Protean ERP actually diverge.

Attributes where DEAR Systems and Protean ERP differ
AttributeDEAR SystemsProtean ERP
Starting price$349/month$800/month
PlatformsCloud, Web, MobileOn-premise, Hybrid, Web
Founded20121992

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 DEAR Systems

  • Inventory control
  • Purchase orders
  • Sales orders
  • Manufacturing
  • Accounting integration
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks
  • Shopify

Only in Protean ERP

  • Formulation and recipe management
  • Lot and batch traceability
  • Production planning
  • Inventory and warehouse control
  • Procurement
  • Order management
  • Financials
  • Quality control

What people use each for

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

DEAR Systems

  • Inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellersnot Protean ERP
  • Manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planningnot Protean ERP
  • Syncing stock and orders with Xero or QuickBooks Onlinenot Protean ERP
  • Multi warehouse stock control across unlimited locationsnot Protean ERP

Protean ERP

  • A batch manufacturer whose recipes scale by potency or assay and cannot be modelled as a fixed bill of materialnot DEAR Systems
  • A food or beverage producer that must trace every finished lot back to supplier lots for a recall exercisenot DEAR Systems
  • A distributor holding date sensitive stock that must be allocated by expiry rather than by quantitynot DEAR Systems
  • A company outgrowing spreadsheets and an accounting package but priced out of a tier one ERP implementationnot DEAR Systems

Where each one falls short

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

DEAR Systems

  • DEAR Systems is sold as Cin7 Core and priced on the Cin7 pricing page
  • The $349 per month Standard plan caps sales orders at 6,000 per year, includes 5 users and 2 e-commerce integrations
  • Material requirements planning requires the Pro plan at $599 per month
  • Advanced warehouse management requires the Advanced plan at $1,199 per month
  • Additional users, extra integrations, API access, forecasting and advanced automations all cost extra and are priced by the sales team
  • The Omni enterprise plan is custom priced with no published rate

Protean ERP

  • Independent verification of this product is scarce, with little analyst coverage and few public customer references, so the vendor's own reference list is effectively the entire evidence base and you cannot triangulate a claim you are unsure about.
  • Small ERP vendors run thin implementation benches, so the consultant who knows your industry is often the only one who does, and if that person leaves during the project the timeline restarts rather than continuing with a replacement.
  • Niche ERP products are frequent acquisition targets, and an acquired product is normally placed into maintenance while investment moves to the buyer's own line, which shows up years later as an unpatched version you cannot leave.
  • Payroll, warehouse management, EDI and advanced quality are commonly either separately licensed or resold third party components in products of this class, so the quoted licence figure understates what a working installation costs unless you get the full module list in writing.
  • ERP data is the hardest thing in a business to move, and a small vendor's schema is proprietary and usually undocumented, so leaving means paying somebody to reverse engineer it and the practical decision horizon is closer to a decade than to a contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

DEAR Systems

$349/month
  • Standard$349/month
    • 5 users
    • 6000 annual sale orders
    • 2 e-commerce integrations
  • Pro$599/month
    • 10 users
    • 24000 annual sale orders
    • 4 e-commerce integrations
  • Advanced$1199/month
    • 15 users
    • 120000 annual sale orders
    • 6 e-commerce integrations
  • Omni$null/month
    • 8 users
    • Flexible annual sale orders
    • 5 e-commerce integrations

Protean ERP

$800/month
  • Standard$800/month
    • Core ERP
    • Production management
    • Inventory
  • Premium$1800/month
    • Advanced features
    • Quality management
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose DEAR Systems if

  • You need inventory control.
  • You work on Cloud, Web, Mobile.
  • You also want purchase orders.
DEAR Systems review

Choose Protean ERP if

  • You need formulation and recipe management.
  • You work on On-premise, Hybrid, Web.
  • You also want lot and batch traceability.
Protean ERP review

Questions people ask

Is DEAR Systems or Protean ERP better?
Neither clearly leads. DEAR Systems starts at $349/month and Protean ERP at $800/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DEAR Systems or Protean ERP?
DEAR Systems starts at $349/month and Protean ERP at $800/month.
Does DEAR Systems or Protean ERP run on more platforms?
DEAR Systems runs on Cloud, Web, Mobile. Protean ERP runs on On-premise, Hybrid, Web.
What is DEAR Systems best used for?
DEAR Systems is most often used for inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellers, manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planning, syncing stock and orders with xero or quickbooks online, multi warehouse stock control across unlimited locations. Of those, inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellers and manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planning are not what Protean ERP is typically brought in for.
What can DEAR Systems do that Protean ERP cannot?
DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Purchase orders, Sales orders, Manufacturing. Protean ERP covers Formulation and recipe management, Lot and batch traceability, Production planning, Inventory and warehouse control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DEAR Systems: How much does Dear Systems (Cin7) cost?

Dear Systems pricing starts at $349/month for the Standard tier, $599/month for the Pro tier (most popular), $1199/month for Advanced, and custom pricing for the Omni enterprise solution.

Source
Protean ERP: Is a specialist process ERP worth it over a mainstream product with a process add-on?

It depends on how central formulation is to you. If recipes, potency and lot genealogy drive daily operations, a core capability beats an add-on because there is one vendor, one release cycle and one support call. If process needs are marginal, a mainstream product with a wider partner network is usually the safer institutional bet.

DEAR Systems: What features does each Dear Systems plan include?

Standard includes 5 users and 6000 annual orders. Pro (most popular) adds 10 users, 24000 orders, and MRP. Advanced provides 15 users, 120000 orders, and advanced warehouse management. Omni offers enterprise customization with flexible user and order limits.

Source
Protean ERP: What should I ask for in a demonstration?

Bring your own data. Ask them to build one of your real formulas, run a batch that produces a by-product, adjust for potency on receipt, then trace a finished lot back to supplier lots. Scripted vendor demonstrations avoid exactly these steps.

DEAR Systems: How many users and integrations are included in Dear Systems plans?

Standard tier includes 5 users and 2 e-commerce integrations. Pro tier includes 10 users and 4 integrations. Advanced tier includes 15 users and 6 integrations. Additional users and integrations are available as paid add-ons.

Source
Protean ERP: What contractual protection matters with a small vendor?

A documented and tested data extraction path, source code escrow with a release trigger you can actually invoke, named implementation staff, and clarity on what happens to your support terms if the company is acquired.

Protean ERP: How long does an implementation like this take?

For a single site batch manufacturer, plan on months rather than weeks, and assume the services and data migration bill is at least as large as the first year of software. Ask for a fixed scope statement rather than an estimate of days.

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