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ERP · head to head

DEAR Systems vs Unit4

DEAR Systems logo

DEAR Systems

ERP

Cloud inventory management for growing businesses

From
$349/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Unit4 logo

Unit4

ERP

ERP for people-based organisations where the cost centre structure keeps changing

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; Unit4 manufacturing, warehouse management and supply chain planning are not the point of this product, so a business with significant inventory will find capability gaps that no amount of configuration closes.
  • They diverge on capability: DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Unit4 covers Flexible organisational model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DEAR Systems and Unit4 actually diverge.

Attributes where DEAR Systems and Unit4 differ
AttributeDEAR SystemsUnit4
Starting price$349/month$800/month
Founded20121987

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Cloud, Web, Mobile), 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 Unit4

  • Flexible organisational model
  • Project and time accounting
  • Financial management
  • Procurement
  • Human resources
  • Planning and forecasting
  • Reporting
  • Grant and fund accounting

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 Unit4
  • Manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planningnot Unit4
  • Syncing stock and orders with Xero or QuickBooks Onlinenot Unit4
  • Multi warehouse stock control across unlimited locationsnot Unit4

Unit4

  • A university or public body whose funding structure and reporting hierarchy change more often than its accounting system can keep up withnot DEAR Systems
  • A professional services firm that needs time, project profitability and financials in one ledger rather than in three systemsnot DEAR Systems
  • A nonprofit or NGO accounting for restricted funds and reporting to donors on how each was spentnot DEAR Systems
  • An organisation going through a merger or restructure that needs comparative reporting across both the old and new structuresnot 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

Unit4

  • Manufacturing, warehouse management and supply chain planning are not the point of this product, so a business with significant inventory will find capability gaps that no amount of configuration closes.
  • Payroll is generally handled by a separate product or a regional third party rather than being included, so multi-country organisations end up managing several payroll vendors alongside the ERP.
  • Moving from an established on premise Agresso installation to the current cloud product is closer to a re-implementation than an upgrade, with data migration, process redesign and retraining to pay for on a system that already worked.
  • The consulting and partner ecosystem is considerably smaller than for SAP, Oracle or Microsoft, so specialist skills are harder to hire, cost more, and are concentrated in a small number of firms with limited availability.
  • The flexibility that makes reorganisation cheap also makes it easy to build a model nobody understands, and an organisation that has reconfigured its hierarchy repeatedly without documentation ends up unable to explain its own reporting.

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

Unit4

$800/month
  • Professional Services$800/month
    • Project accounting
    • Resource management
    • Time tracking
  • Enterprise$2000/month
    • Advanced features
    • Multi-entity
    • 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 Unit4 if

  • You need flexible organisational model.
  • You work on Cloud, Web, Mobile.
  • You also want project and time accounting.
Unit4 review

Questions people ask

Is DEAR Systems or Unit4 better?
Neither clearly leads. DEAR Systems starts at $349/month and Unit4 at $800/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DEAR Systems or Unit4?
DEAR Systems starts at $349/month and Unit4 at $800/month.
Does DEAR Systems or Unit4 run on more platforms?
Both run on Cloud, Web, Mobile, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Unit4 is typically brought in for.
What can DEAR Systems do that Unit4 cannot?
DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Purchase orders, Sales orders, Manufacturing. Unit4 covers Flexible organisational model, Project and time accounting, Financial management, Procurement.

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
Unit4: Is Unit4 ERP the same thing as Agresso?

Yes, in lineage. Agresso is the earlier name for the same product line and long-standing customers still use it. Current marketing uses Unit4 ERP, and the cloud product is a substantially different deployment from the on premise Agresso installations still in service.

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
Unit4: Can it run a manufacturing business?

Not well. This product is built for organisations whose cost base is people and projects. If your planning problem is materials and production capacity, look at a manufacturing ERP instead.

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
Unit4: What actually justifies the price against a mainstream ERP?

The cost of change. If your structure is stable, the flexibility is worth little and a mainstream product is cheaper. If you reorganise regularly and each reorganisation currently means a consultancy engagement, that recurring cost is where the business case sits.

Unit4: Is it sold direct or through partners?

Both. Unit4 sells and implements direct in its main markets and also works with partners. Ask which model applies to your region and country, because it determines who is accountable when the implementation slips.

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