Is iDempiere or Preact better?

Neither clearly leads. iDempiere starts at Free and Preact at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, iDempiere or Preact?

iDempiere starts at Free and Preact at Free.

Does iDempiere or Preact run on more platforms?

iDempiere runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, Windows. Preact runs on Web.

Can I use iDempiere for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is iDempiere best used for?

iDempiere is most often used for a distributor wants multi-organisation, multi-currency accounting and warehouse costing without a per-user erp licence that scales with headcount., an organisation that has been caught by an open core vendor moving features into a paid tier wants an erp with no company that can make that decision., a team needs heavy customisation of screens, fields and approval workflows that must survive version upgrades, which the application dictionary makes possible without forking., a public sector or university body in latin america or indonesia needs a locally supportable erp where the source and the implementation skills are both available in-country.. Of those, a distributor wants multi-organisation, multi-currency accounting and warehouse costing without a per-user erp licence that scales with headcount. and an organisation that has been caught by an open core vendor moving features into a paid tier wants an erp with no company that can make that decision. are not what Preact is typically brought in for.

What can iDempiere do that Preact cannot?

iDempiere covers Application dictionary, OSGi plug-in architecture, Multi-organisation accounting, Materials management. Preact covers 3kB runtime, preact/compat, Same modern API, Fast rendering.

ERP · head to head

iDempiere vs Preact

iDempiere

ERP

Community-governed open source ERP, CRM and supply chain built on Java, OSGi and PostgreSQL

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Preact

Web Development

3kB alternative to React with the same modern API

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: iDempiere there is no vendor, so there is no support contract, no service level agreement and nobody to escalate to; you either build the skills internally or you depend entirely on a local partner whose quality you must judge yourself.; Preact compatibility through preact/compat is good but not total, and some React libraries break in ways that are hard to diagnose
They diverge on capability: iDempiere covers Application dictionary, Preact covers 3kB runtime.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which iDempiere and Preact actually diverge.

Attributes where iDempiere and Preact differ
Attribute	iDempiere	Preact
Platforms	Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, Windows	Web
Category	ERP	Web Development

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), 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 iDempiere

Application dictionary
OSGi plug-in architecture
Multi-organisation accounting
Materials management
Manufacturing
Workflow engine
Report and print engine
No paid edition

Only in Preact

3kB runtime
preact/compat
Same modern API
Fast rendering

What people use each for

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

iDempiere

A distributor wants multi-organisation, multi-currency accounting and warehouse costing without a per-user ERP licence that scales with headcount.not Preact
An organisation that has been caught by an open core vendor moving features into a paid tier wants an ERP with no company that can make that decision.not Preact
A team needs heavy customisation of screens, fields and approval workflows that must survive version upgrades, which the application dictionary makes possible without forking.not Preact
A public sector or university body in Latin America or Indonesia needs a locally supportable ERP where the source and the implementation skills are both available in-country.not Preact

Preact

Embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay smallnot iDempiere
Marketing and content sites where JavaScript payload affects Core Web Vitalsnot iDempiere
Applications targeting low-bandwidth or low-powered devicesnot iDempiere

Where each one falls short

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

iDempiere

There is no vendor, so there is no support contract, no service level agreement and nobody to escalate to; you either build the skills internally or you depend entirely on a local partner whose quality you must judge yourself.
It demands real Java, OSGi and PostgreSQL administration, so the running cost is a systems engineer rather than a subscription, and that engineer is harder to hire than a PHP developer.
The ZK-based interface is dense and dated, with a data-entry feel inherited from Compiere that staff used to modern software find hostile, which drives up training cost.
Localisation depends on community contribution, so tax, payroll and statutory reporting for your country may be absent, out of date or maintained by one person, and you may end up funding it yourself.
The documentation is a community wiki with gaps and stale pages, and much of the practical knowledge sits in forum threads and partner heads rather than in anything you can hand to a new administrator.

Preact

Compatibility through preact/compat is good but not total, and some React libraries break in ways that are hard to diagnose
Behavioural differences from React exist in edge cases, particularly around event handling
A much smaller community, so unusual problems have fewer existing answers than React

Pricing, plan by plan

iDempiere

Free

iDempiereFree
- Full ERP, CRM and supply chain source
- Unlimited users and organisations
- No enterprise edition and no feature gating
Implementation partner$undefined/year
- Local partners provide installation, configuration, training and support
- Priced per engagement, not published
- Realistically the only viable route for a production deployment

Preact

Free

PreactFree
- Full library
- Commercial use permitted
- No usage limits

Which should you pick?

Choose iDempiere if

You need application dictionary.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, Windows.
You also want osgi plug-in architecture.

iDempiere review

Choose Preact if

You need 3kb runtime.
You want to start without paying.
You also want preact/compat.

Preact review

Questions people ask

Is iDempiere or Preact better?: Neither clearly leads. iDempiere starts at Free and Preact at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, iDempiere or Preact?: iDempiere starts at Free and Preact at Free.
Does iDempiere or Preact run on more platforms?: iDempiere runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux, Windows. Preact runs on Web.
Can I use iDempiere for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is iDempiere best used for?: iDempiere is most often used for a distributor wants multi-organisation, multi-currency accounting and warehouse costing without a per-user erp licence that scales with headcount., an organisation that has been caught by an open core vendor moving features into a paid tier wants an erp with no company that can make that decision., a team needs heavy customisation of screens, fields and approval workflows that must survive version upgrades, which the application dictionary makes possible without forking., a public sector or university body in latin america or indonesia needs a locally supportable erp where the source and the implementation skills are both available in-country.. Of those, a distributor wants multi-organisation, multi-currency accounting and warehouse costing without a per-user erp licence that scales with headcount. and an organisation that has been caught by an open core vendor moving features into a paid tier wants an erp with no company that can make that decision. are not what Preact is typically brought in for.
What can iDempiere do that Preact cannot?: iDempiere covers Application dictionary, OSGi plug-in architecture, Multi-organisation accounting, Materials management. Preact covers 3kB runtime, preact/compat, Same modern API, Fast rendering.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

iDempiere: Is iDempiere the same as ADempiere or Compiere?

It shares the lineage. iDempiere forked from ADempiere in 2011 to rebuild the platform on OSGi, and it is the branch that remains actively developed.

Preact: Is Preact free?

Yes, open source under the MIT licence.

iDempiere: Is there a paid or enterprise edition?

No. There is no commercial owner and no feature gating. Money is spent on implementation partners and hosting, not on licences.

Preact: Can I use React libraries with Preact?

Most, through the preact/compat layer. Compatibility is good but not complete, so libraries relying on React internals can break.

iDempiere: What does it actually cost to run?

Nothing in licence fees, and a great deal in skills: expect a partner implementation and ongoing Java and PostgreSQL administration, which for a mid-sized company is comparable to a commercial subscription.

Preact: Why choose Preact over React?

Bundle size, almost always. If payload is not a binding constraint, React’s ecosystem is usually the better trade.

iDempiere: Which database does it need?

PostgreSQL or Oracle. PostgreSQL is the mainstream community choice and the one most partners deploy.

iDempiere vs Preact

iDempiere

Preact

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in iDempiere

Only in Preact

What people use each for

iDempiere

Preact

Where each one falls short

iDempiere

Preact

Pricing, plan by plan

iDempiere

Preact

Which should you pick?

Choose iDempiere if

Choose Preact if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on iDempiere

More on Preact

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Other head to heads