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ERP · head to head

OpenBravo vs Unanet

OpenBravo logo

OpenBravo

ERP

Open-source-derived ERP that has narrowed its focus to retail commerce

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Unanet logo

Unanet

ERP

Project ERP and CRM built for government contractors and architecture and engineering firms

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OpenBravo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: OpenBravo the commercial product is a paid subscription despite the open source lineage, so buyers who assume open source means low cost find the licence conversation no different from any other vendor's.; Unanet no pricing is published for any Unanet product; every line is quoted per user per month with separate implementation fees, so a small contractor cannot budget the first year without a full sales cycle.
  • They diverge on capability: OpenBravo covers Retail point of sale, Unanet covers DCAA-oriented timekeeping.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenBravo and Unanet actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenBravo and Unanet differ
AttributeOpenBravoUnanet
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsSelf-hosted, WebWeb, Cloud, iOS, Android
Founded2000Unknown

Identical on both: 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 OpenBravo

  • Retail point of sale
  • Omnichannel order management
  • Inventory and warehouse
  • Procurement
  • Financials
  • Modular architecture
  • Web-based interface
  • Open source lineage

Only in Unanet

  • DCAA-oriented timekeeping
  • Indirect rate management
  • Contract type support
  • Project accounting
  • Resource planning
  • Unanet CRM
  • Compliant invoicing
  • Unanet ERP AE

What people use each for

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

OpenBravo

  • A retail chain replacing separate point of sale and back office systems with one platform across storesnot Unanet
  • A retailer needing a single view of stock across shops, warehouse and online fulfilmentnot Unanet
  • An organisation that requires source code access for auditability or long term control of its own extensionsnot Unanet
  • A business in Europe or Latin America where Openbravo's partner presence is establishednot Unanet

Unanet

  • A federal contractor moving from QuickBooks and spreadsheets because it has won its first cost-reimbursable contract and needs an accounting system that survives a DCAA adequacy reviewnot OpenBravo
  • A services firm that must calculate and true up provisional indirect rates each year and cannot do it credibly in Excel any longernot OpenBravo
  • An architecture and engineering practice tracking utilisation and project profitability across dozens of concurrent jobsnot OpenBravo
  • A government contractor consolidating a separate CRM, timekeeping tool and accounting package into one system so pipeline and backlog reconcilenot OpenBravo

Where each one falls short

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

OpenBravo

  • The commercial product is a paid subscription despite the open source lineage, so buyers who assume open source means low cost find the licence conversation no different from any other vendor's.
  • Development focus has narrowed towards retail commerce, so a buyer wanting a general purpose ERP for manufacturing or services is choosing a product whose investment is going somewhere else.
  • The community around the horizontal ERP is much quieter than it once was, so independent documentation, forum answers and third party modules are sparse and you are dependent on the vendor and its partners in practice.
  • The partner network is small and concentrated in particular regions, which limits your choice of implementer and leaves you exposed if the one available partner in your country is unavailable or underperforms.
  • Extending the platform requires Java and SQL skills specific to its framework, so customisation means hiring or contracting developers for a niche stack, and a heavily modified installation becomes yours to maintain across upgrades.

Unanet

  • No pricing is published for any Unanet product; every line is quoted per user per month with separate implementation fees, so a small contractor cannot budget the first year without a full sales cycle.
  • Implementation is a project rather than a signup, involving chart of accounts design, indirect pool structure and data migration, and third parties report implementation fees reaching five figures for mid-sized deployments, an amount easily missed when comparing per-user rates.
  • The interface is dated compared with modern SaaS finance products, which raises training time for staff who only touch it to enter a timesheet and increases the support burden on the finance team.
  • ERP and CRM are separate products with separate contracts, so a firm that wants pipeline, backlog and actuals in one place pays twice and still deals with an integration boundary between them.
  • Its value is concentrated in United States federal and state contracting compliance, so a firm that does no public-sector work is paying for indirect rate machinery and DCAA audit behaviour it will never use, and a non-US firm gets almost nothing from the product’s main differentiator.

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenBravo

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Open-source
    • Core functionality
    • Community support
  • Enterprise Support$200/month
    • Professional support
    • Updates
    • Consulting

Unanet

On request
  • Unanet ERP GovCon$undefined/year
    • Project accounting with indirect rate pools
    • DCAA-oriented daily timekeeping and audit trail
    • Cost-plus, T&M and fixed price contract billing
  • Unanet ERP AE$undefined/year
    • Project accounting configured for architecture and engineering firms
    • Resource planning and utilisation reporting
    • Priced per user per month, quoted
  • Unanet CRM$undefined/year
    • Pursuit and opportunity tracking
    • Proposal content library and reuse
    • Sold separately from ERP; quoted

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenBravo if

  • You need retail point of sale.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Self-hosted, Web.
  • You also want omnichannel order management.
OpenBravo review

Choose Unanet if

  • You need dcaa-oriented timekeeping.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android.
  • You also want indirect rate management.
Unanet review

Questions people ask

Is OpenBravo or Unanet better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenBravo starts at Free and Unanet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenBravo or Unanet?
OpenBravo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OpenBravo and On request for Unanet.
Does OpenBravo or Unanet run on more platforms?
OpenBravo runs on Self-hosted, Web. Unanet runs on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android.
Can I use OpenBravo for free?
Yes. OpenBravo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Unanet starts at On request.
What is OpenBravo best used for?
OpenBravo is most often used for a retail chain replacing separate point of sale and back office systems with one platform across stores, a retailer needing a single view of stock across shops, warehouse and online fulfilment, an organisation that requires source code access for auditability or long term control of its own extensions, a business in europe or latin america where openbravo's partner presence is established. Of those, a retail chain replacing separate point of sale and back office systems with one platform across stores and a retailer needing a single view of stock across shops, warehouse and online fulfilment are not what Unanet is typically brought in for.
What can OpenBravo do that Unanet cannot?
OpenBravo covers Retail point of sale, Omnichannel order management, Inventory and warehouse, Procurement. Unanet covers DCAA-oriented timekeeping, Indirect rate management, Contract type support, Project accounting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OpenBravo: Is Openbravo free?

The lineage is open source and source code is available, but the commercial retail product is sold as a subscription. Treat it as commercial software with an open codebase rather than as free software with paid support.

Unanet: What does Unanet cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is per user per month and quoted, with implementation fees charged separately on top of the subscription.

OpenBravo: Can I still use it as a general ERP?

The horizontal capability exists in the architecture, but the commercial attention is on retail. If you are not a retailer, you would be relying on parts of the product that are not where investment is going.

Unanet: Does Unanet make you DCAA compliant?

No software does. Unanet provides the timekeeping controls, audit trail and indirect rate accounting that an adequacy review looks for; the policies and their enforcement are still yours.

OpenBravo: What skills do I need in-house?

Java and SQL for anything beyond configuration, plus familiarity with the module framework. If you have no development capacity and no intention to acquire any, the open codebase gives you nothing you will use.

Unanet: Is Unanet CRM included with the ERP?

No. Unanet CRM, built on the acquired Cosential platform, is a separate product with its own contract.

OpenBravo: How do I judge the implementation risk?

By the partner, and specifically by whether there is more than one credible partner in your country. A single available implementer is a concentration risk that should be reflected in your contract terms.

Unanet: How does it compare with Deltek?

Unanet typically targets smaller contractors than Deltek Costpoint and is quicker to implement, but has less depth for very large multi-segment organisations.

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