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ERP · head to head

Epicor vs Rootstock

Epicor logo

Epicor

ERP

A portfolio of separately acquired ERP products, not one system

From
$750/month
Rated
-
Rootstock logo

Rootstock

ERP

Manufacturing ERP built natively on the Salesforce platform

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Epicor epicor is a portfolio of separately acquired products rather than one system, so reviews, references and analyst coverage about Epicor as a brand can be misleading about the specific product you are being sold.; Rootstock every Rootstock user also needs a paid Salesforce platform licence, so the true cost is two subscriptions stacked; third-party estimates put a fully loaded seat around 200 to 500 US dollars per user per month, which is far above the Rootstock line item alone.
  • They diverge on capability: Epicor covers Kinetic, Rootstock covers Native Salesforce architecture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Epicor and Rootstock actually diverge.

Attributes where Epicor and Rootstock differ
AttributeEpicorRootstock
Starting price$750/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, On-premise, HybridWeb, Salesforce Platform, iOS, Android
Founded1972Unknown

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 Epicor

  • Kinetic
  • Prophet 21
  • Eclipse
  • BisTrack
  • Cloud deployment
  • Extensibility tooling
  • Manufacturing execution
  • Industry compliance

Only in Rootstock

  • Native Salesforce architecture
  • Production and work orders
  • Materials and MRP
  • Inventory management
  • Order to cash
  • Project accounting
  • Financials
  • Quality and compliance

What people use each for

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

Epicor

  • A discrete manufacturer moving off spreadsheets and an accounting package onto a system that models routings and job costsnot Rootstock
  • A wholesale distributor whose pricing, rebate and purchasing rules exceed what a general ERP handles without customisationnot Rootstock
  • An electrical or plumbing distributor needing counter sales and trade-specific workflow out of the boxnot Rootstock
  • A building materials dealer needing yard operations, delivery scheduling and configured product ordering in one systemnot Rootstock

Rootstock

  • A discrete manufacturer already running Salesforce Sales Cloud that wants configured quotes to become works orders without an integration layer between two systemsnot Epicor
  • An engineer-to-order equipment maker that needs project cost tracking and CRM opportunity data in one database for margin reportingnot Epicor
  • A medical device supplier that needs lot and serial traceability under the same security and audit model as its customer recordsnot Epicor
  • A manufacturer replacing an on-premise ERP whose IT team wants to stop maintaining servers and standardise administration on a platform it already supportsnot Epicor

Where each one falls short

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

Epicor

  • Epicor is a portfolio of separately acquired products rather than one system, so reviews, references and analyst coverage about Epicor as a brand can be misleading about the specific product you are being sold.
  • The products are highly customisable and are routinely customised, and heavily customised installations become expensive to upgrade, which is why long-standing customers frequently run versions several releases behind current.
  • Cloud delivery is single-tenant hosting rather than multi-tenant SaaS, so you still own an upgrade decision and the regression testing that comes with it, and buyers who expected the SaaS model of no upgrades are surprised.
  • Sales and delivery run through a mix of direct staff and partners depending on product and region, so accountability for a failed implementation can be genuinely ambiguous unless it is fixed in the contract before signature.
  • The strongest coverage is in North American manufacturing and distribution, so an international group needing statutory compliance and local support across many countries has to test that coverage carefully rather than assume it.

Rootstock

  • Every Rootstock user also needs a paid Salesforce platform licence, so the true cost is two subscriptions stacked; third-party estimates put a fully loaded seat around 200 to 500 US dollars per user per month, which is far above the Rootstock line item alone.
  • Rootstock publishes no pricing whatsoever, so budget-setting depends on reseller and analyst figures rather than vendor rates, and there is no public benchmark to test a quote against.
  • Building on Salesforce means inheriting Salesforce governor limits and API constraints, which surface as batch size and data volume ceilings in high-transaction manufacturing that a purpose-built ERP would not hit.
  • Your ERP is now hostage to another vendors commercial decisions: Salesforce list price rises, edition changes or licence policy shifts flow straight into your ERP running cost with no alternative supplier.
  • Implementation is a serious project, commonly quoted in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars and measured in months, and the partner pool that genuinely knows both manufacturing and Salesforce-native ERP is small, which lengthens timelines and raises day rates.

Pricing, plan by plan

Epicor

$750/month
  • Starter$750/month
    • Core ERP
    • Manufacturing
    • Financial management
  • Professional$1500/month
    • Advanced ERP
    • Advanced CRM
    • Analytics

Rootstock

On request
  • Rootstock Cloud ERP$undefined/year
    • Manufacturing, inventory and supply chain modules
    • Runs as a managed package on the Salesforce Platform
    • Salesforce platform licences purchased separately for every user

Which should you pick?

Choose Epicor if

  • You need kinetic.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid.
  • You also want prophet 21.

Choose Rootstock if

  • You need native salesforce architecture.
  • You work on Web, Salesforce Platform, iOS, Android.
  • You also want production and work orders.

Questions people ask

Is Epicor or Rootstock better?
Neither clearly leads. Epicor starts at $750/month and Rootstock at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Epicor or Rootstock?
Epicor starts at $750/month and Rootstock at On request.
Does Epicor or Rootstock run on more platforms?
Epicor runs on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid. Rootstock runs on Web, Salesforce Platform, iOS, Android.
What is Epicor best used for?
Epicor is most often used for a discrete manufacturer moving off spreadsheets and an accounting package onto a system that models routings and job costs, a wholesale distributor whose pricing, rebate and purchasing rules exceed what a general erp handles without customisation, an electrical or plumbing distributor needing counter sales and trade-specific workflow out of the box, a building materials dealer needing yard operations, delivery scheduling and configured product ordering in one system. Of those, a discrete manufacturer moving off spreadsheets and an accounting package onto a system that models routings and job costs and a wholesale distributor whose pricing, rebate and purchasing rules exceed what a general erp handles without customisation are not what Rootstock is typically brought in for.
What can Epicor do that Rootstock cannot?
Epicor covers Kinetic, Prophet 21, Eclipse, BisTrack. Rootstock covers Native Salesforce architecture, Production and work orders, Materials and MRP, Inventory management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Epicor: Which Epicor product am I actually being sold?

Ask explicitly, by name. Kinetic, Prophet 21, Eclipse and BisTrack are different systems with different roadmaps. Then ask for references on that specific product, in your industry, at your size.

Rootstock: Do I need Salesforce to run Rootstock?

Yes, and it is not optional. Rootstock is a managed package on the Salesforce Platform and every user requires a Salesforce licence in addition to the Rootstock subscription.

Epicor: Is Epicor Kinetic a true SaaS product?

It is delivered as a hosted single-tenant service on Azure. You get vendor-managed infrastructure, but you do not get the multi-tenant model where the vendor upgrades everyone at once and no upgrade project exists.

Rootstock: What does Rootstock actually cost?

Rootstock does not publish rates. Third-party estimates put the ERP subscription at roughly 150 to 300 US dollars per user per month before Salesforce licences, with implementation quoted separately.

Epicor: How much should I customise?

Less than you will want to. Every modification is something to retest and potentially rework at each upgrade, and the accumulation of them is the main reason customers get stranded on old versions. Push hard on whether a requirement is genuinely a differentiator before building for it.

Rootstock: Is it suitable for process manufacturing?

It is built for discrete manufacturing. Recipe and batch-driven process manufacturers are a poor fit and should look elsewhere.

Epicor: Direct or partner implementation?

Both exist. The partner's track record on your product and industry matters more than the vendor's, so ask who will staff the project, request their references, and put named staff into the statement of work.

Rootstock: Has Rootstock been acquired?

No. Rootstock remains independent and was itself the acquirer, buying Salesforce-native applications firm Ascent Solutions in March 2026.

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