ERP · head to head
DEAR Systems vs Sage X3
DEAR Systems
ERP
Cloud inventory management for growing businesses
- From
- $349/month
- Rated
- -
Sage X3
ERP
Mid-market ERP sold and implemented almost entirely through Sage partners
- From
- $1500/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: DEAR Systems dEAR Systems is sold as Cin7 Core and priced on the Cin7 pricing page; Sage X3 sage sells X3 through partners rather than direct, so implementation quality varies more than the software does, and a weak partner produces a failed project on a product that works fine elsewhere.
- They diverge on capability: DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Sage X3 covers Multi-company and multi-legislation finance.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which DEAR Systems and Sage X3 actually diverge.
| Attribute | DEAR Systems | Sage X3 |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $349/month | $1500/month |
| Platforms | Cloud, Web, Mobile | Cloud, Windows, Web |
| Founded | 2012 | 1981 |
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 DEAR Systems
- Inventory control
- Purchase orders
- Sales orders
- Accounting integration
- Xero
- QuickBooks
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
Only in Sage X3
- Multi-company and multi-legislation finance
- Inventory and warehouse
- Purchasing
- Sales and pricing
- Project accounting
- Quality control
- Development framework
Both cover
- Manufacturing
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
DEAR Systems
- Inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellersnot Sage X3
- Manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planningnot Sage X3
- Syncing stock and orders with Xero or QuickBooks Onlinenot Sage X3
- Multi warehouse stock control across unlimited locationsnot Sage X3
Sage X3
- A group with subsidiaries in several countries consolidating from separate accounting systems into one ledgernot DEAR Systems
- A food or chemical manufacturer needing lot traceability and formulation alongside standard financialsnot DEAR Systems
- A distributor with multiple warehouses and complex customer specific pricing that spreadsheets no longer containnot DEAR Systems
- A business that has outgrown a small business accounting package but cannot justify a tier one ERP programmenot DEAR Systems
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
DEAR Systems
- DEAR Systems is sold as Cin7 Core and priced on the Cin7 pricing page
- The $349 per month Standard plan caps sales orders at 6,000 per year, includes 5 users and 2 e-commerce integrations
- Material requirements planning requires the Pro plan at $599 per month
- Advanced warehouse management requires the Advanced plan at $1,199 per month
- Additional users, extra integrations, API access, forecasting and advanced automations all cost extra and are priced by the sales team
- The Omni enterprise plan is custom priced with no published rate
Sage X3
- Sage sells X3 through partners rather than direct, so implementation quality varies more than the software does, and a weak partner produces a failed project on a product that works fine elsewhere.
- Payroll is not part of X3 in most markets and is bought as a separate product or a third party service, so an organisation assuming a complete back office in one licence finds an extra vendor, an extra integration and an extra bill.
- The product uses its own development language and toolset rather than a mainstream stack, so the pool of people who can maintain a customised installation is small, expensive and largely employed by partners.
- Heavy customisation is possible and consequently common, and customised installations are harder to upgrade, which surfaces years later as a business running an old version because taking the current one means retesting and reworking every modification.
- The North American partner ecosystem and third party add-on market are thinner than for the products X3 competes with, so niche requirements are more often met by custom development than by buying something already built.
Pricing, plan by plan
DEAR Systems
$349/month- Standard$349/month
- 5 users
- 6000 annual sale orders
- 2 e-commerce integrations
- Pro$599/month
- 10 users
- 24000 annual sale orders
- 4 e-commerce integrations
- Advanced$1199/month
- 15 users
- 120000 annual sale orders
- 6 e-commerce integrations
- Omni$null/month
- 8 users
- Flexible annual sale orders
- 5 e-commerce integrations
Sage X3
$1500/month- Standard$1500/month
- Core ERP functionality
- Financial management
- Inventory management
- Enterprise$3000/month
- Multi-company support
- Advanced manufacturing
- Business intelligence
Which should you pick?
Choose DEAR Systems if
- You need inventory control.
- You work on Cloud, Web, Mobile.
- You also want purchase orders.
Choose Sage X3 if
- You need multi-company and multi-legislation finance.
- You work on Cloud, Windows, Web.
- You also want inventory and warehouse.
Questions people ask
- Is DEAR Systems or Sage X3 better?
- Neither clearly leads. DEAR Systems starts at $349/month and Sage X3 at $1500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, DEAR Systems or Sage X3?
- DEAR Systems starts at $349/month and Sage X3 at $1500/month.
- Does DEAR Systems or Sage X3 run on more platforms?
- DEAR Systems runs on Cloud, Web, Mobile. Sage X3 runs on Cloud, Windows, Web.
- What is DEAR Systems best used for?
- DEAR Systems is most often used for inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellers, manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planning, syncing stock and orders with xero or quickbooks online, multi warehouse stock control across unlimited locations. Of those, inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellers and manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planning are not what Sage X3 is typically brought in for.
- What can DEAR Systems do that Sage X3 cannot?
- DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Purchase orders, Sales orders, Accounting integration. Sage X3 covers Multi-company and multi-legislation finance, Inventory and warehouse, Purchasing, Sales and pricing. Both handle Manufacturing.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
DEAR Systems: How much does Dear Systems (Cin7) cost?
Dear Systems pricing starts at $349/month for the Standard tier, $599/month for the Pro tier (most popular), $1199/month for Advanced, and custom pricing for the Omni enterprise solution.
SourceSage X3: Is Sage X3 a cloud product?
It is offered as a hosted subscription, commonly on AWS, but it is not a multi-tenant SaaS product in the way Plex or NetSuite are. You still have your own instance and you still own the upgrade decision, which is both more control and more work.
DEAR Systems: What features does each Dear Systems plan include?
Standard includes 5 users and 6000 annual orders. Pro (most popular) adds 10 users, 24000 orders, and MRP. Advanced provides 15 users, 120000 orders, and advanced warehouse management. Omni offers enterprise customization with flexible user and order limits.
SourceSage X3: How do I choose a partner?
Ask for two references at your revenue, in your industry, on the version you are buying, and speak to them without the partner present. Ask who specifically will be on your project, how long they have worked on X3, and what happens if they leave mid engagement.
DEAR Systems: How many users and integrations are included in Dear Systems plans?
Standard tier includes 5 users and 2 e-commerce integrations. Pro tier includes 10 users and 4 integrations. Advanced tier includes 15 users and 6 integrations. Additional users and integrations are available as paid add-ons.
SourceSage X3: Does the licence cost tell me what the project costs?
No. For mid-market ERP the services bill commonly matches or exceeds the first year of software, and the subscription clock usually starts before go live, so the first year of licence buys considerably less usable time than it appears to.
Sage X3: Who should not buy X3?
A single entity operating in one country, because the multi-company and multi-legislation depth is the main reason to pay for this rather than something simpler, and a business paying for it without using it has overbought.
Related pages
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