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ERP · head to head

OpenBravo vs Zip

OpenBravo logo

OpenBravo

ERP

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zip logo

Zip

ERP

Procurement intake and orchestration that sits on top of the systems you already run

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.; Zip it is a layer on top of systems you already pay for, so the business case rests on adoption and cycle time rather than replacing a licence, and that is harder to defend to a finance director cutting software spend.
  • They diverge on capability: OpenBravo covers Retail point of sale, Zip covers Unified intake.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenBravo and Zip actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenBravo and Zip differ
AttributeOpenBravoZip
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsSelf-hosted, WebWeb, iOS
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 Zip

  • Unified intake
  • Approval orchestration
  • Vendor onboarding
  • Contract repository
  • ERP write-back
  • Renewal management
  • Spend visibility
  • AI request handling

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 Zip
  • A retailer needing a single view of stock across shops, warehouse and online fulfilmentnot Zip
  • An organisation that requires source code access for auditability or long term control of its own extensionsnot Zip
  • A business in Europe or Latin America where Openbravo's partner presence is establishednot Zip

Zip

  • A company that owns a source-to-pay suite nobody uses because employees cannot navigate itnot OpenBravo
  • An organisation where every software purchase needs security, legal, privacy and finance sign-off and currently does it in email threadsnot OpenBravo
  • A finance team that keeps discovering contracts that auto-renewed because nobody owned the renewal datenot OpenBravo
  • A business needing an auditable record of who approved a third-party engagement and on what evidencenot 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.

Zip

  • It is a layer on top of systems you already pay for, so the business case rests on adoption and cycle time rather than replacing a licence, and that is harder to defend to a finance director cutting software spend.
  • Value depends entirely on integration depth into your specific ERP and ticketing tools, and a shallow connector reduces it to a workflow tool that someone rekeys out of.
  • Pricing is not published and is structured around company size and integration scope, so buyers cannot benchmark without peer references.
  • If procurement policy itself is unclear, Zip encodes the confusion: the tool routes requests according to rules someone must first write, and organisations without that clarity see slow implementations.
  • It does not do sourcing, auctions or spend analysis, so organisations expecting a full procurement capability will still need a suite or specialist tools alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenBravo

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

Zip

On request
  • Zip$undefined/year
    • Intake and approval orchestration
    • Vendor onboarding and diligence workflows
    • Integrations with ERP, contract and ticketing systems

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 Zip if

  • You need unified intake.
  • You work on Web, iOS.
  • You also want approval orchestration.
Zip review

Questions people ask

Is OpenBravo or Zip better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenBravo starts at Free and Zip at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenBravo or Zip?
OpenBravo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OpenBravo and On request for Zip.
Does OpenBravo or Zip run on more platforms?
OpenBravo runs on Self-hosted, Web. Zip runs on Web, iOS.
Can I use OpenBravo for free?
Yes. OpenBravo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zip 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 Zip is typically brought in for.
What can OpenBravo do that Zip cannot?
OpenBravo covers Retail point of sale, Omnichannel order management, Inventory and warehouse, Procurement. Zip covers Unified intake, Approval orchestration, Vendor onboarding, Contract repository.

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.

Zip: Is this the buy now pay later company?

No. This is Zip at ziphq.com, a procurement orchestration platform, unrelated to the payments company of the same name.

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.

Zip: Does it replace Coupa or Ariba?

No, and that is the point. It sits in front of them, providing the intake and approval experience employees actually use, and writes back into the suite.

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.

Zip: What does it cost?

Not published. Quoted by company size, modules and the integrations you need. Get peer benchmarks before negotiating.

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.

Zip: What is the prerequisite for success?

A written procurement policy. Zip automates the routing rules you give it; if nobody can say who approves what, implementation stalls.

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