OpenBravovs
DEAR Systems
DEAR Systems: Cloud inventory management for growing businesses
OpenBravo
Open-source-derived ERP that has narrowed its focus to retail commerce
As of 30 August 2026, OpenBravo is free to use. Openbravo began as a web-based open-source ERP and its commercial product is now centred on retail and unified commerce. Softwr lists it under ERP. OpenBravo is launched in 2000, available on Self-hosted, Web.
Overview
What OpenBravo does
Openbravo is a Spanish software company whose product began as a web-based open-source ERP, written in Java and running on PostgreSQL or Oracle, covering financials, procurement, inventory, sales and light manufacturing. Over time the commercial focus has narrowed substantially towards retail: point of sale, store operations, omnichannel order management and inventory across stores and warehouses. The horizontal ERP heritage is still visible in the architecture, but the product being sold and invested in today is a retail commerce platform rather than a general ERP, and a buyer should evaluate it on that basis. The distinguishing characteristic is the open source lineage, and it is worth being precise about what that gives you. It gives access to the code, an ability to extend the platform through its own modularity mechanism, and freedom from a proprietary vendor's data format. It does not give you a free production system, because the commercial retail product is a paid subscription, and it does not give you a large pool of independent expertise, because the community around the horizontal ERP has been quiet for years. The realistic reading is that you get a technically open platform sold commercially, which is useful if you intend to build on it and want the source available, and irrelevant if you intend to use it as delivered. The buyer is a small to mid-sized retail chain or a distributor with retail operations, most commonly in Europe and Latin America where the partner presence is strongest. The trade-offs are the size of the ecosystem and the shift in focus. A small partner network means fewer implementers to choose between and a thinner market for niche add-ons, and a product that has moved towards retail means a buyer wanting a horizontal ERP for manufacturing or complex services is choosing a system whose development attention is elsewhere. Extending the platform requires Java and SQL skills that must be hired or contracted, and a heavily forked installation is one you will maintain yourself.
What people use it for
- A retail chain replacing separate point of sale and back office systems with one platform across stores
- A retailer needing a single view of stock across shops, warehouse and online fulfilment
- An organisation that requires source code access for auditability or long term control of its own extensions
- A business in Europe or Latin America where Openbravo's partner presence is established
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about OpenBravo.
- The commercial product is a paid subscription despite the open source lineage, so buyers who assume open source means low cost find the licence conversation no different from any other vendor's.
- Development focus has narrowed towards retail commerce, so a buyer wanting a general purpose ERP for manufacturing or services is choosing a product whose investment is going somewhere else.
- The community around the horizontal ERP is much quieter than it once was, so independent documentation, forum answers and third party modules are sparse and you are dependent on the vendor and its partners in practice.
- The partner network is small and concentrated in particular regions, which limits your choice of implementer and leaves you exposed if the one available partner in your country is unavailable or underperforms.
- Extending the platform requires Java and SQL skills specific to its framework, so customisation means hiring or contracting developers for a niche stack, and a heavily modified installation becomes yours to maintain across upgrades.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of OpenBravo
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- OpenBravovsFishbowl
Fishbowl: Manufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks
- OpenBravovsInfor CloudSuite
Infor CloudSuite: Industry-specific cloud ERP solutions
- OpenBravovsMRPeasy
MRPeasy: Affordable cloud MRP for small manufacturers
Pricing
What OpenBravo costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Community Edition
Free
- Open-source
- Core functionality
- Community support
- Self-hosted
Enterprise Support
$200 /mo
- Professional support
- Updates
- Consulting
- Training
Capabilities
Features
Retail point of sale
store terminals with offline capability and central configuration
Omnichannel order management
handles orders that cross store, warehouse and online fulfilment
Inventory and warehouse
stock control across stores and distribution centres with replenishment
Procurement
supplier orders and receipts tied to replenishment demand
Financials
general ledger, receivables and payables inherited from the horizontal ERP base
Modular architecture
extensions packaged as modules rather than as direct changes to core code
Web-based interface
browser delivered from the outset rather than retrofitted onto a desktop client
Open source lineage
source availability and a licence model derived from the project's open-source origins
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is Openbravo free?
The lineage is open source and source code is available, but the commercial retail product is sold as a subscription. Treat it as commercial software with an open codebase rather than as free software with paid support.
Can I still use it as a general ERP?
The horizontal capability exists in the architecture, but the commercial attention is on retail. If you are not a retailer, you would be relying on parts of the product that are not where investment is going.
What skills do I need in-house?
Java and SQL for anything beyond configuration, plus familiarity with the module framework. If you have no development capacity and no intention to acquire any, the open codebase gives you nothing you will use.
How do I judge the implementation risk?
By the partner, and specifically by whether there is more than one credible partner in your country. A single available implementer is a concentration risk that should be reflected in your contract terms.
Behind it
Who makes OpenBravo
- Company
- Openbravo
- Based in
- Barcelona, Spain
Keep looking
Where to go from OpenBravo
- OpenBravo alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- OpenBravo pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- OpenBravo badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All ERP softwareThe full category
- Best ERP softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best ERP software for
Compare OpenBravo with
- iDempiere
- Apache OFBiz
- Infor CloudSuite
- DEAR Systems
- MRPeasy
- Fishbowl
- Odoo
- Metasfresh
- Epicor
- SYSPRO
- Aptean
- Blue Link ERP
- Katana MRP
- Levelpath
- Zycus
- Cin7
- Deltek
- IFS Cloud
Other ERP software
Community-governed open source ERP, CRM and supply chain built on Java, OSGi and PostgreSQL
Open source12 researched notesJava ERP and e-commerce framework from the Apache Foundation, sold as a toolkit not a product
Open source12 researched notesManufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks
From $4,395/one-time15 researched notesA portfolio of separately acquired ERP products, not one system
From $750/mo13 researched notesLong-established mid-market manufacturing ERP, sold through a partner channel
From $1,200/mo13 researched notesAI-native procurement built around intake, from the founders who previously built Scout RFP
Pricing on request12 researched notesSource-to-pay suite with heavy AI positioning, priced by module and quoted throughout
Pricing on request12 researched notesSingle-codebase ERP, EAM and field service for asset-heavy industries
Pricing on request12 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for OpenBravo, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on OpenBravo
OpenBravo alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
OpenBravo pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare OpenBravo
Put it head to head with anything we hold
OpenBravo badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best ERP software alternatives
Modular open source ERP and CRM for very small businesses, installable on shared hosting
Open source, no licence fee
French open source ERP and CRM with a low-code studio for changing the data model without forking
Per user per month
Enterprise source-to-pay from a vendor that also sells the consulting and the outsourced procurement team
quote
Community-run open source ERP forked from Compiere, with no vendor behind it
Open source, no licence feeCommunity-governed open source ERP, CRM and supply chain built on Java, OSGi and PostgreSQL
Open source, no licence feeJava ERP and e-commerce framework from the Apache Foundation, sold as a toolkit not a product
Open source, no licence fee