Softwr

Inventory · head to head

Katana vs Unit4

Katana logo

Katana

Inventory

Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses

From
$99/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: Katana limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated; 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: Katana covers Production planning, Unit4 covers Flexible organisational model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Katana and Unit4 actually diverge.

Attributes where Katana and Unit4 differ
AttributeKatanaUnit4
Starting price$99/month$800/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWebCloud, Web, Mobile
CategoryInventoryERP
Founded20151987

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Katana

  • Production planning
  • Real-time inventory
  • BOM management
  • Shop floor control
  • Shopify
  • WooCommerce
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero

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.

Katana

  • Production schedulingnot Unit4
  • Material planningnot Unit4
  • Work order managementnot Unit4
  • Inventory optimizationnot Unit4

Unit4

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

Where each one falls short

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

Katana

  • Limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated
  • No native invoicing capability, making it standalone without accounting system integration
  • Limited native integrations, with heavy reliance on Zapier for non-core tools
  • Slow performance with large datasets and high SKU counts

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

Katana

$99/month
  • Essential$99/month
    • Core inventory management
    • Production scheduling
    • Stock tracking
  • Pro$299/month
    • Shop floor control
    • API access
    • Advanced reporting

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 Katana if

  • You need production planning.
  • You also want real-time inventory.
Katana 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 Katana or Unit4 better?
Neither clearly leads. Katana starts at $99/month and Unit4 at $800/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Katana or Unit4?
Katana starts at $99/month and Unit4 at $800/month.
Does Katana or Unit4 run on more platforms?
Katana runs on Web. Unit4 runs on Cloud, Web, Mobile.
What is Katana best used for?
Katana is most often used for production scheduling, material planning, work order management, inventory optimization. Of those, production scheduling and material planning are not what Unit4 is typically brought in for.
What can Katana do that Unit4 cannot?
Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control. Unit4 covers Flexible organisational model, Project and time accounting, Financial management, Procurement.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Katana: What is Katana's pricing structure?

Katana starts at $99/month for the Essential plan with core MRP features. The Pro plan costs $299/month and adds shop floor control and API access. Add-ons for traceability, manufacturing, and warehouse management cost extra and can reach $747-$1,095 total.

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.

Katana: Does Katana support multi-level bills of materials?

Katana has limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning capabilities. Complex multi-level BOMs with sub-assemblies require manual workarounds, which becomes increasingly problematic as SKU count grows.

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.

Katana: Can Katana integrate with my accounting software?

Katana has no native invoicing capability and limited integrations with accounting systems. It is essentially standalone and requires manual data export or Zapier integration for most accounting workflows.

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.

Katana: Does Katana have an offline mode?

No, Katana is a cloud-only solution requiring internet connectivity. There is no built-in offline mode for production floor access without internet.

Source
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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