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ERP · head to head

DEAR Systems vs Zip

DEAR Systems logo

DEAR Systems

ERP

Cloud inventory management for growing businesses

From
$349/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zip logo

Zip

ERP

Procurement intake and orchestration that sits on top of the systems you already run

From
On request
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; Zip it is a layer on top of systems you already pay for, so the business case rests on adoption and cycle time rather than replacing a licence, and that is harder to defend to a finance director cutting software spend.
  • They diverge on capability: DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Zip covers Unified intake.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where DEAR Systems and Zip differ
AttributeDEAR SystemsZip
Starting price$349/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, Web, MobileWeb, iOS
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Zip

  • Unified intake
  • Approval orchestration
  • Vendor onboarding
  • Contract repository
  • ERP write-back
  • Renewal management
  • Spend visibility
  • AI request handling

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

Zip

  • A company that owns a source-to-pay suite nobody uses because employees cannot navigate itnot DEAR Systems
  • An organisation where every software purchase needs security, legal, privacy and finance sign-off and currently does it in email threadsnot DEAR Systems
  • A finance team that keeps discovering contracts that auto-renewed because nobody owned the renewal datenot DEAR Systems
  • A business needing an auditable record of who approved a third-party engagement and on what evidencenot 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

Zip

  • It is a layer on top of systems you already pay for, so the business case rests on adoption and cycle time rather than replacing a licence, and that is harder to defend to a finance director cutting software spend.
  • Value depends entirely on integration depth into your specific ERP and ticketing tools, and a shallow connector reduces it to a workflow tool that someone rekeys out of.
  • Pricing is not published and is structured around company size and integration scope, so buyers cannot benchmark without peer references.
  • If procurement policy itself is unclear, Zip encodes the confusion: the tool routes requests according to rules someone must first write, and organisations without that clarity see slow implementations.
  • It does not do sourcing, auctions or spend analysis, so organisations expecting a full procurement capability will still need a suite or specialist tools alongside it.

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

Zip

On request
  • Zip$undefined/year
    • Intake and approval orchestration
    • Vendor onboarding and diligence workflows
    • Integrations with ERP, contract and ticketing systems

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 Zip if

  • You need unified intake.
  • You work on Web, iOS.
  • You also want approval orchestration.
Zip review

Questions people ask

Is DEAR Systems or Zip better?
Neither clearly leads. DEAR Systems starts at $349/month and Zip at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DEAR Systems or Zip?
DEAR Systems starts at $349/month and Zip at On request.
Does DEAR Systems or Zip run on more platforms?
DEAR Systems runs on Cloud, Web, Mobile. Zip runs on Web, iOS.
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 Zip is typically brought in for.
What can DEAR Systems do that Zip cannot?
DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Purchase orders, Sales orders, Manufacturing. Zip covers Unified intake, Approval orchestration, Vendor onboarding, Contract repository.

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
Zip: Is this the buy now pay later company?

No. This is Zip at ziphq.com, a procurement orchestration platform, unrelated to the payments company of the same name.

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
Zip: Does it replace Coupa or Ariba?

No, and that is the point. It sits in front of them, providing the intake and approval experience employees actually use, and writes back into the suite.

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
Zip: What does it cost?

Not published. Quoted by company size, modules and the integrations you need. Get peer benchmarks before negotiating.

Zip: What is the prerequisite for success?

A written procurement policy. Zip automates the routing rules you give it; if nobody can say who approves what, implementation stalls.

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