Softwr

ERP · head to head

Dolibarr vs Zip

Dolibarr logo

Dolibarr

ERP

Modular open source ERP and CRM for very small businesses, installable on shared hosting

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 Dolibarr has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Dolibarr the core is deliberately shallow, so a serious requirement such as advanced manufacturing, EDI or a specific payment gateway usually means buying a DoliStore module from a third-party author, and the quality and maintenance of those modules varies widely.; 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: Dolibarr covers Module toggles, Zip covers Unified intake.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dolibarr and Zip actually diverge.

Attributes where Dolibarr and Zip differ
AttributeDolibarrZip
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, AndroidWeb, iOS

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 Dolibarr

  • Module toggles
  • Third-party management
  • Quotes to invoices
  • Stock and warehouses
  • Double-entry accounting
  • Projects and time
  • Point of sale
  • DoliStore

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.

Dolibarr

  • A two-person consultancy wants quotes, invoices and basic accounting self-hosted on an existing five euro a month shared hosting account with no server administration.not Zip
  • A French or Spanish small business needs VAT handling and accounting exports that match local practice out of the box rather than after configuration.not Zip
  • An association or nonprofit needs membership, subscription and donation tracking alongside ordinary invoicing without paying per member.not Zip
  • A small distributor wants stock, purchase orders and sales orders in one system and is willing to buy a DoliStore module rather than commission bespoke development.not Zip

Zip

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

Where each one falls short

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

Dolibarr

  • The core is deliberately shallow, so a serious requirement such as advanced manufacturing, EDI or a specific payment gateway usually means buying a DoliStore module from a third-party author, and the quality and maintenance of those modules varies widely.
  • Accounting was designed around French practice, and the chart of accounts, VAT model and fiscal exports need real work to satisfy accountants in the United States, the UK or Australia.
  • The interface is functional rather than designed and shows its age against Odoo, which makes internal adoption harder when staff are comparing it to consumer-grade software.
  • Upgrades between major versions can break paid third-party modules, because module authors update on their own schedules and there is no guarantee your combination will work on version 24 the day it ships.
  • Support is community forums unless you buy a partner contract, and the documentation is a wiki of uneven quality with substantial parts written in French, so English-only teams hit dead ends.

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

Dolibarr

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full GPL source, all core modules
    • Unlimited users
    • You provide PHP and MySQL hosting
  • Partner cloud hosting$14/month
    • Managed hosting from DoliCloud or a certified partner
    • Backups, updates and support included
    • Typically 10 to 30 euros per user per month

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 Dolibarr if

  • You need module toggles.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.
  • You also want third-party management.
Dolibarr review

Choose Zip if

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

Questions people ask

Is Dolibarr or Zip better?
Neither clearly leads. Dolibarr 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, Dolibarr or Zip?
Dolibarr has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Dolibarr and On request for Zip.
Does Dolibarr or Zip run on more platforms?
Dolibarr runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android. Zip runs on Web, iOS.
Can I use Dolibarr for free?
Yes. Dolibarr has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zip starts at On request.
What is Dolibarr best used for?
Dolibarr is most often used for a two-person consultancy wants quotes, invoices and basic accounting self-hosted on an existing five euro a month shared hosting account with no server administration., a french or spanish small business needs vat handling and accounting exports that match local practice out of the box rather than after configuration., an association or nonprofit needs membership, subscription and donation tracking alongside ordinary invoicing without paying per member., a small distributor wants stock, purchase orders and sales orders in one system and is willing to buy a dolistore module rather than commission bespoke development.. Of those, a two-person consultancy wants quotes, invoices and basic accounting self-hosted on an existing five euro a month shared hosting account with no server administration. and a french or spanish small business needs vat handling and accounting exports that match local practice out of the box rather than after configuration. are not what Zip is typically brought in for.
What can Dolibarr do that Zip cannot?
Dolibarr covers Module toggles, Third-party management, Quotes to invoices, Stock and warehouses. Zip covers Unified intake, Approval orchestration, Vendor onboarding, Contract repository.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dolibarr: Is Dolibarr genuinely free?

Yes. The full application is GPL with no user limit and no paid edition of the core. You pay only for hosting, optional DoliStore modules and optional partner 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.

Dolibarr: Can it run on shared hosting?

Yes, that is its main practical advantage. It needs only PHP and MySQL or MariaDB, so an ordinary cPanel account is enough.

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.

Dolibarr: How does it compare to Odoo?

Odoo is deeper and better presented but its useful modules are in the paid Enterprise edition and it needs a proper deployment. Dolibarr is thinner but free end to end and far easier to host.

Zip: What does it cost?

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

Dolibarr: Does it handle UK or US accounting?

Not comfortably out of the box. The accounting module reflects French conventions and needs configuration and often a local module to satisfy an accountant elsewhere.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Dolibarr

More on Zip

Keep looking

Other head to heads