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ERP · head to head

Fishbowl vs Unit4

Fishbowl logo

Fishbowl

ERP

Manufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks

From
$4395/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Unit4 logo

Unit4

ERP

ERP for people-based organisations where the cost centre structure keeps changing

From
$800/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fishbowl the $229 per month Essentials plan includes only 2 users, Growth at $429 includes 5 and Scale at $729 includes 10, all billed annually; Unit4 manufacturing, warehouse management and supply chain planning are not the point of this product, so a business with significant inventory will find capability gaps that no amount of configuration closes.
  • They diverge on capability: Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Unit4 covers Flexible organisational model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fishbowl and Unit4 actually diverge.

Attributes where Fishbowl and Unit4 differ
AttributeFishbowlUnit4
Starting price$4395/one-time$800/month
Pricing modelone-timesubscription
PlatformsWindows, CloudCloud, Web, Mobile
Founded20011987

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 Fishbowl

  • Inventory management
  • Manufacturing
  • Work orders
  • Barcode scanning
  • QuickBooks integration
  • QuickBooks Desktop
  • QuickBooks Online
  • Shopify

Only in Unit4

  • Flexible organisational model
  • Project and time accounting
  • Financial management
  • Procurement
  • Human resources
  • Planning and forecasting
  • Reporting
  • Grant and fund accounting

What people use each for

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

Fishbowl

  • Inventory and SKU tracking for wholesale and distribution businessesnot Unit4
  • Manufacturing bills of materials, MRP, work orders and job costingnot Unit4
  • Warehouse fulfilment, transfer orders and automated reorderingnot Unit4
  • Multichannel selling with synchronised stock levelsnot Unit4

Unit4

  • A university or public body whose funding structure and reporting hierarchy change more often than its accounting system can keep up withnot Fishbowl
  • A professional services firm that needs time, project profitability and financials in one ledger rather than in three systemsnot Fishbowl
  • A nonprofit or NGO accounting for restricted funds and reporting to donors on how each was spentnot Fishbowl
  • An organisation going through a merger or restructure that needs comparative reporting across both the old and new structuresnot Fishbowl

Where each one falls short

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

Fishbowl

  • The $229 per month Essentials plan includes only 2 users, Growth at $429 includes 5 and Scale at $729 includes 10, all billed annually
  • A paid implementation package is required as part of purchase and covers a 6 to 8 week training certification
  • Lot tracking, demand forecasting and compliance documentation require the Scale plan at $729 per month
  • Advanced Warehouse from $595 per month and Advanced Manufacturing from $675 per month are quoted on team size and deployment rather than sold at a fixed rate
  • Demand forecasting and custom reports are add ons carrying separate fees
  • All listed plan prices are billed annually rather than monthly

Unit4

  • Manufacturing, warehouse management and supply chain planning are not the point of this product, so a business with significant inventory will find capability gaps that no amount of configuration closes.
  • Payroll is generally handled by a separate product or a regional third party rather than being included, so multi-country organisations end up managing several payroll vendors alongside the ERP.
  • Moving from an established on premise Agresso installation to the current cloud product is closer to a re-implementation than an upgrade, with data migration, process redesign and retraining to pay for on a system that already worked.
  • The consulting and partner ecosystem is considerably smaller than for SAP, Oracle or Microsoft, so specialist skills are harder to hire, cost more, and are concentrated in a small number of firms with limited availability.
  • The flexibility that makes reorganisation cheap also makes it easy to build a model nobody understands, and an organisation that has reconfigured its hierarchy repeatedly without documentation ends up unable to explain its own reporting.

Pricing, plan by plan

Fishbowl

$4395/one-time
  • Fishbowl Warehouse$4395/one-time
    • Inventory tracking
    • Order management
    • QuickBooks sync
  • Fishbowl Manufacturing$5495/one-time
    • Work orders
    • Bill of materials
    • Shop floor control

Unit4

$800/month
  • Professional Services$800/month
    • Project accounting
    • Resource management
    • Time tracking
  • Enterprise$2000/month
    • Advanced features
    • Multi-entity
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Fishbowl if

  • You need inventory management.
  • You work on Windows, Cloud.
  • You also want manufacturing.
Fishbowl review

Choose Unit4 if

  • You need flexible organisational model.
  • You work on Cloud, Web, Mobile.
  • You also want project and time accounting.
Unit4 review

Questions people ask

Is Fishbowl or Unit4 better?
Neither clearly leads. Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Unit4 at $800/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fishbowl or Unit4?
Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Unit4 at $800/month.
Does Fishbowl or Unit4 run on more platforms?
Fishbowl runs on Windows, Cloud. Unit4 runs on Cloud, Web, Mobile.
What is Fishbowl best used for?
Fishbowl is most often used for inventory and sku tracking for wholesale and distribution businesses, manufacturing bills of materials, mrp, work orders and job costing, warehouse fulfilment, transfer orders and automated reordering, multichannel selling with synchronised stock levels. Of those, inventory and sku tracking for wholesale and distribution businesses and manufacturing bills of materials, mrp, work orders and job costing are not what Unit4 is typically brought in for.
What can Fishbowl do that Unit4 cannot?
Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Manufacturing, Work orders, Barcode scanning. Unit4 covers Flexible organisational model, Project and time accounting, Financial management, Procurement.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fishbowl: How much does Fishbowl Inventory cost per month?

Fishbowl Inventory pricing starts at $229/month (billed annually) for the Essentials tier, $429/month for Growth, and $729/month for Scale. The Advanced Manufacturing tier starts at $675/month and Advanced Warehouse starts at $595/month, though both are quote-based and vary by user count.

Source
Unit4: Is Unit4 ERP the same thing as Agresso?

Yes, in lineage. Agresso is the earlier name for the same product line and long-standing customers still use it. Current marketing uses Unit4 ERP, and the cloud product is a substantially different deployment from the on premise Agresso installations still in service.

Fishbowl: How many users are included in each tier?

Essentials includes 2 users, Growth includes 5 users, and Scale includes 10 users. Advanced Manufacturing and Advanced Warehouse support teams of 2 to 200+ users with pricing confirmed by quote based on your specific deployment.

Source
Unit4: Can it run a manufacturing business?

Not well. This product is built for organisations whose cost base is people and projects. If your planning problem is materials and production capacity, look at a manufacturing ERP instead.

Fishbowl: Is Fishbowl billed monthly or annually?

Fishbowl Inventory plans require annual billing. The Advanced Manufacturing and Advanced Warehouse plans have variable pricing confirmed by quote and may have different billing arrangements.

Source
Unit4: What actually justifies the price against a mainstream ERP?

The cost of change. If your structure is stable, the flexibility is worth little and a mainstream product is cheaper. If you reorganise regularly and each reorganisation currently means a consultancy engagement, that recurring cost is where the business case sits.

Fishbowl: What's included when I sign up for Fishbowl?

All Fishbowl plans include an implementation package with specialist support, data migration services, and 6 to 8 weeks of certification training. Cloud hosting is included with Advanced Manufacturing plans.

Source
Unit4: Is it sold direct or through partners?

Both. Unit4 sells and implements direct in its main markets and also works with partners. Ask which model applies to your region and country, because it determines who is accountable when the implementation slips.

Fishbowl: Can I add more users if I exceed my tier's user limit?

You can upgrade to a higher tier which includes additional users. Essentials ($229/mo with 2 users) can upgrade to Growth ($429/mo with 5 users) or Scale ($729/mo with 10 users). Custom team sizes beyond 10 users require Advanced Manufacturing or Advanced Warehouse quotes.

Source
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