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Developer Tools · head to head

Frappe vs One Identity

Frappe logo

Frappe

Developer Tools

The Python web framework behind ERPNext, sold as managed hosting through Frappe Cloud

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
One Identity logo

One Identity

Cybersecurity

Quest-owned identity governance, PAM and Active Directory management

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Frappe has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Frappe the framework is strongly opinionated: its own ORM, templating and job queue mean general Python and Django experience transfers only partly, and onboarding a new developer takes weeks rather than days.; One Identity the portfolio is assembled from separate acquisitions, so components are separately licensed, separately administered and do not present one console, which raises operational cost.
  • They diverge on capability: Frappe covers DocType modelling, One Identity covers Identity Manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Frappe and One Identity actually diverge.

Attributes where Frappe and One Identity differ
AttributeFrappeOne Identity
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by site or serverquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, DockerWeb, Windows, Linux
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

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 Frappe

  • DocType modelling
  • Role and field permissions
  • Built-in REST API
  • Background jobs
  • Bench CLI
  • Frappe Cloud hosting
  • App marketplace
  • Multi-tenancy

Only in One Identity

  • Identity Manager
  • Safeguard
  • Active Roles
  • OneLogin
  • Password Manager
  • syslog-ng
  • Starling connectors

What people use each for

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

Frappe

  • A team building an internal business application that needs permissions, audit trail and an API on day one rather than in month threenot One Identity
  • An ERPNext user who wants managed hosting, automatic updates and offsite backups without hiring a systems administratornot One Identity
  • An Indian or emerging-market business that wants to pay for application hosting in local currency at local price pointsnot One Identity
  • A consultancy shipping custom vertical apps to clients on a shared framework with per-client site isolationnot One Identity

One Identity

  • An organisation whose authoritative directory will remain on premises Active Directory and needs delegated administration with attribute-level controlnot Frappe
  • A government or defence environment requiring privileged session management on a hardened physical appliance rather than a cloud servicenot Frappe
  • A manufacturer with SAP and Active Directory needing provisioning governed under one certification processnot Frappe
  • An enterprise consolidating Active Directory after an acquisition and needing automated account lifecycle across both forestsnot Frappe

Where each one falls short

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

Frappe

  • The framework is strongly opinionated: its own ORM, templating and job queue mean general Python and Django experience transfers only partly, and onboarding a new developer takes weeks rather than days.
  • The developer pool is small and heavily concentrated in India, so hiring Frappe experience elsewhere is slow and expensive relative to mainstream stacks.
  • Documentation is uneven in depth and lags behind releases in places, so real answers often come from reading the source or the community forum.
  • Major version upgrades of the framework have historically broken custom apps that reach past the DocType layer, so bespoke code carries a recurring maintenance cost at each upgrade.
  • Frappe Cloud recommends against its cheapest Hetzner-backed option for mission-critical production, so the headline $5 entry price is not the price of a production-grade deployment.

One Identity

  • The portfolio is assembled from separate acquisitions, so components are separately licensed, separately administered and do not present one console, which raises operational cost.
  • Identity Manager implementations are customisation-heavy and commonly run over a year, with the services spend exceeding the licence cost in the first year.
  • Quest has changed private equity ownership more than once since the Dell separation, and buyers should ask directly about product investment commitments before signing a multi-year deal.
  • Product documentation and support sit behind a customer portal, which makes independent evaluation before purchase harder than with vendors that publish openly.
  • The cloud-native and developer experience trails the pure-play identity vendors, so organisations moving decisively to SaaS applications find the on premises heritage becomes a constraint rather than an asset.

Pricing, plan by plan

Frappe

Free
  • Framework, self-hostedFree
    • MIT licensed, no licence fee
    • Install with bench on your own Linux servers
    • You carry updates, backups and security patching
  • Frappe Cloud Sites$5/month
    • Also listed at ₹410 per month
    • Shared servers with 150+ installable apps
    • Automatic updates and offsite backups
  • Frappe Cloud Servers$40/month
    • Also listed at ₹3,600 per month
    • Dedicated or shared virtual machines
    • Unlimited sites on your server

One Identity

On request
  • Identity Manager$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed identity
    • On premises or hosted
    • Access certification and provisioning
  • Safeguard$undefined/year
    • Priced per privileged user or per appliance
    • Hardened appliance option for session management
    • Licensed separately from Identity Manager
  • Active Roles$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed Active Directory account
    • Delegated administration and automated provisioning
    • Licensed separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Frappe if

  • You need doctype modelling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want role and field permissions.
Frappe review

Choose One Identity if

  • You need identity manager.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want safeguard.
One Identity review

Questions people ask

Is Frappe or One Identity better?
Neither clearly leads. Frappe starts at Free and One Identity at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Frappe or One Identity?
Frappe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Frappe and On request for One Identity.
Does Frappe or One Identity run on more platforms?
Frappe runs on Web, Linux, Docker. One Identity runs on Web, Windows, Linux.
Can I use Frappe for free?
Yes. Frappe has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. One Identity starts at On request.
What is Frappe best used for?
Frappe is most often used for a team building an internal business application that needs permissions, audit trail and an api on day one rather than in month three, an erpnext user who wants managed hosting, automatic updates and offsite backups without hiring a systems administrator, an indian or emerging-market business that wants to pay for application hosting in local currency at local price points, a consultancy shipping custom vertical apps to clients on a shared framework with per-client site isolation. Of those, a team building an internal business application that needs permissions, audit trail and an api on day one rather than in month three and an erpnext user who wants managed hosting, automatic updates and offsite backups without hiring a systems administrator are not what One Identity is typically brought in for.
What can Frappe do that One Identity cannot?
Frappe covers DocType modelling, Role and field permissions, Built-in REST API, Background jobs. One Identity covers Identity Manager, Safeguard, Active Roles, OneLogin.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Frappe: Is Frappe the same as ERPNext?

No. Frappe is the framework; ERPNext is the ERP application written on it. You can run Frappe without ERPNext to build your own applications.

One Identity: Is One Identity the same company as Quest?

Yes. One Identity is Quest Software's identity and access management business unit, not a separate vendor.

Frappe: What licence is the framework under?

MIT, which is permissive and imposes no obligation to publish your changes, unlike the AGPL used by several open source ERP rivals.

One Identity: Does it include privileged access?

Safeguard provides it, but it is licensed separately from Identity Manager. Neither includes the other.

Frappe: Can I pay in rupees?

Yes. Frappe Cloud publishes the same plans in Indian rupees, ₹410 a month for sites and ₹3,600 for servers, rather than converting a dollar price at checkout.

One Identity: Why choose this over SailPoint or Saviynt?

Almost always because of Active Directory depth via Active Roles or an appliance requirement for privileged sessions. For cloud-first estates the specialists are the stronger choice.

Frappe: Do I have to use Frappe Cloud?

No, self-hosting with bench or Docker is fully supported and free. Frappe Cloud is a convenience purchase, and it funds the open source work.

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