Softwr

ERP · head to head

QAD vs SAP S/4HANA

QAD logo

QAD

ERP

Cloud and on-premise ERP for manufacturers

From
$2000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SAP S/4HANA logo

SAP S/4HANA

ERP

SAP's current ERP, running only on the HANA database, with a migration deadline behind it

From
$5000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: QAD no price, per user rate, minimum or contract term is published on the site; the only routes are a demo request and a Contact Sales link; SAP S/4HANA implementation and integration costs routinely run to several times the software cost, and the subscription clock typically starts long before go live, so the first contract year buys much less usable production time than the headline suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: QAD covers Financial management, SAP S/4HANA covers HANA in-memory database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which QAD and SAP S/4HANA actually diverge.

Attributes where QAD and SAP S/4HANA differ
AttributeQADSAP S/4HANA
Starting price$2000/month$5000/month
PlatformsCloud, On-premise, WebCloud, Windows, Linux
Founded19791972

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 QAD

  • Financial management
  • Manufacturing
  • Supply chain
  • Inventory management
  • Quality management
  • REST APIs
  • EDI
  • IoT integration

Only in SAP S/4HANA

  • HANA in-memory database
  • Core finance
  • Supply chain and manufacturing
  • Country localisations
  • Fiori interface
  • Deployment options
  • Business Technology Platform
  • Embedded analytics

What people use each for

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

QAD

  • ERP for manufacturers covering production execution and schedulingnot SAP S/4HANA
  • Supply chain planning, purchasing and inventory controlnot SAP S/4HANA
  • Quality management, traceability and supplier management for regulated manufacturingnot SAP S/4HANA
  • Field service and enterprise asset managementnot SAP S/4HANA

SAP S/4HANA

  • An existing ECC customer facing the end of mainstream maintenance and choosing between migration and replacementnot QAD
  • A multinational needing statutory compliance and consolidation across many countries in one system of recordnot QAD
  • A large manufacturer whose supply chain complexity exceeds what mid-market ERP can modelnot QAD
  • A group standardising a fragmented estate of divisional ERP systems onto a single templatenot QAD

Where each one falls short

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

QAD

  • No price, per user rate, minimum or contract term is published on the site; the only routes are a demo request and a Contact Sales link
  • Field service management, enterprise asset management and quality management are presented as separate functional areas rather than a single priced bundle

SAP S/4HANA

  • Implementation and integration costs routinely run to several times the software cost, and the subscription clock typically starts long before go live, so the first contract year buys much less usable production time than the headline suggests.
  • Custom ABAP from an ECC installation must be assessed against the simplification list and either retired or rebuilt, and this remediation is normally the largest and most underestimated line in a brownfield conversion.
  • The public cloud edition constrains modification by design, so organisations that depend on non-standard processes are pushed either to change the process or to pay for the private edition, and that decision is often made after the contract is signed.
  • SAP intends extensions to live on the separately licensed Business Technology Platform, so the extensibility model that makes upgrades safe also adds a second subscription and a second set of skills to the total cost.
  • Exit is effectively impossible at reasonable cost, because the data model, the accumulated configuration and the trained staff around a large installation represent a switching cost that outweighs any competing vendor's discount, so the decision binds for a decade or more.

Pricing, plan by plan

QAD

$2000/month
  • Standard$2000/month
    • Financial management
    • Manufacturing
    • Supply chain
  • Premium$4000/month
    • Advanced modules
    • Analytics
    • Priority support

SAP S/4HANA

$5000/month
  • Cloud Standard$5000/month
    • Core ERP functionality
    • Cloud deployment
    • Real-time analytics
  • Cloud Premium$8000/month
    • Advanced features
    • AI and ML capabilities
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose QAD if

  • You need financial management.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Web.
  • You also want manufacturing.
QAD review

Choose SAP S/4HANA if

  • You need hana in-memory database.
  • You work on Cloud, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want core finance.
SAP S/4HANA review

Questions people ask

Is QAD or SAP S/4HANA better?
Neither clearly leads. QAD starts at $2000/month and SAP S/4HANA at $5000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, QAD or SAP S/4HANA?
QAD starts at $2000/month and SAP S/4HANA at $5000/month.
Does QAD or SAP S/4HANA run on more platforms?
QAD runs on Cloud, On-premise, Web. SAP S/4HANA runs on Cloud, Windows, Linux.
What is QAD best used for?
QAD is most often used for erp for manufacturers covering production execution and scheduling, supply chain planning, purchasing and inventory control, quality management, traceability and supplier management for regulated manufacturing, field service and enterprise asset management. Of those, erp for manufacturers covering production execution and scheduling and supply chain planning, purchasing and inventory control are not what SAP S/4HANA is typically brought in for.
What can QAD do that SAP S/4HANA cannot?
QAD covers Financial management, Manufacturing, Supply chain, Inventory management. SAP S/4HANA covers HANA in-memory database, Core finance, Supply chain and manufacturing, Country localisations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

QAD: How can I get pricing information for QAD manufacturing software?

QAD does not publish standard pricing on their homepage. Pricing discussions occur during personalized consultations. Interested parties can request a demo, contact the sales team, or download brochures to discuss pricing based on specific organizational needs.

Source
SAP S/4HANA: What is the actual deadline for leaving ECC?

SAP has set mainstream maintenance for the older Business Suite to end in 2027, with paid extended maintenance available for a further period to 2030. Confirm the current dates and terms with SAP directly, because the commercial detail has been adjusted more than once and it determines your negotiating window.

QAD: What deployment options does QAD offer?

QAD provides adaptive ERP solutions for various industries including Automotive, Food & Beverage, and Life Sciences. Their offerings include connected workforce solutions and supply chain management, with implementation and advisory services available.

Source
SAP S/4HANA: Greenfield or brownfield?

Brownfield carries your existing configuration and custom code forward, which is faster to start and slower to finish because everything must be remediated. Greenfield rebuilds on standard processes, which costs more in change management and leaves a cleaner system. The right answer depends mostly on how much of your existing configuration you would defend to a board.

QAD: Is there a trial available for QAD software without contacting sales?

The QAD homepage does not mention a free trial or self-serve trial option. The primary engagement path is through "Request a Demo" or "Contact Sales" buttons, suggesting trial access requires sales team interaction.

Source
SAP S/4HANA: Is the public cloud edition cheaper?

To run, generally yes. Whether it is cheaper overall depends on whether your processes fit within its extensibility limits. If they do not, the savings evaporate into workarounds or into a move to the private edition.

SAP S/4HANA: How should I approach pricing negotiation?

Treat licence, infrastructure, BTP, the integrator and the internal backfill as one number and negotiate against it. Also settle indirect and digital access terms explicitly in writing, since usage from connected systems has been a recurring source of unbudgeted cost.

Share

Related pages

More on QAD

More on SAP S/4HANA

Keep looking

Other head to heads