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ERP · head to head

QAD vs Zip

QAD logo

QAD

ERP

Cloud and on-premise ERP for manufacturers

From
$2000/month
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

  • 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; 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: QAD covers Financial management, Zip covers Unified intake.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which QAD and Zip actually diverge.

Attributes where QAD and Zip differ
AttributeQADZip
Starting price$2000/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, On-premise, WebWeb, iOS
Founded1979Unknown

Identical on both: 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 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.

QAD

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

Zip

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

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

QAD

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

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 QAD if

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

Choose Zip if

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

Questions people ask

Is QAD or Zip better?
Neither clearly leads. QAD starts at $2000/month and Zip at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, QAD or Zip?
QAD starts at $2000/month and Zip at On request.
Does QAD or Zip run on more platforms?
QAD runs on Cloud, On-premise, Web. Zip runs on Web, iOS.
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 Zip is typically brought in for.
What can QAD do that Zip cannot?
QAD covers Financial management, Manufacturing, Supply chain, Inventory management. Zip covers Unified intake, Approval orchestration, Vendor onboarding, Contract repository.

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
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.

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
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.

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
Zip: What does it cost?

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

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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