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ERPNext vs SAP ERP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ERPNext
Ranking in ERP
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP ERP
Ranking in ERP
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of ERPNext is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 19.0%, down from 22.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

NagendraCh - PeerSpot reviewer
Installation and integration are areas that are quite easy to manage
With ERPNext, some business challenges will definitely be there. So far, my company has seen that it cannot go for bigger enterprise models, like SAP. With SAP, it is a completely different game, whereas for the SMEs having almost 100 to 500 users, ERPNext can be a good tool. With ERPNext, there can be some challenges in the case of business or routing. The tool is suitable if you have a multi-cloud environment in your company or if there is some company that prefers to be branded as an enterprise business. As there are so many third-party integrations, depending on third-party applications, all those. You know? I mean, you have so many CRM models, but the thing is that with the ERP ERPNext CRM, you can't compare it with Salesforce. For the SME sector, the tool is good. The tool's features are developed for a bigger network. It will take a little bit of time, but as of now, we can see that the tool is good for the SME sector. The tool has not come up with anything for some specific domains, like construction domains. Right now, it is a big challenge to use the tool in the education domain, but right now, the product has resolved it. Many people use the tool since it has a larger network. The tool keeps developing, and it will take time to develop. For the education domain, the tool will have to come up with LMS features and transportation, which make up for small challenges.
Srinivasan Kuppuswamy - PeerSpot reviewer
The amazing, robust framework with unlimited scalability earns its #1 status
The solution is not ready for the current e-commerce environment. Its was built for large enterprises who need to predictably optimize their human, material, and financial resources. ERP has evolved and businesses are changing. There are not many large corporations. Most are small enterprises with the capabilities of large enterprises through networking and platform integration. Some companies promote products but get things done with other enterprises as a network. Companies do not want to create new capacity but want to leverage existing capacity with innovative products. They do not want to spend resources on duplicating capacity or facilities. I do not think any ERP product is ready to support this environment so ERPs as a whole might end up being used for back-office functions only. It is not easy to evolve an ERP product because its intent is to integrate functions and processes within an organization. Whereas, in the new business model, processes are not limited to one's own enterprise but cut across different enterprises. There is no enterprise solution as this point in time for the current e-commerce environment so companies must integrate with many solutions.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...I rate the product's initial setup a nine on a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a very user-friendly tool that is customizable based on the business environment."
"From a long-term perspective, I can say that the solution can offer a return on investment, but it may take around three to four years for our company to experience it."
"SAP ERP's interface is pretty easy nowadays, as it has evolved over time and has been made as user-friendly as a person would like it."
"It meets our requirements for what we need it to do in the manufacturing industry."
"SAP ERP provides the perfect database and options for additional production. It's also good for finance analytics, production drill-down, and other types of analysis."
"I like the solution's ability to close plans and resource requirements in deals."
"If you are well versed in SAP, the initial setup is pretty simple."
"The new Visual Enterprise functionalities give an intuitive approach to data and make communication between engineering and production easy."
"The implementation is very straightforward."
 

Cons

"The look, feel, and color are areas in ERPNext that can be improved."
"The tool has not come up with anything for some specific domains, like construction domains."
"SAP ERP needs to be more innovative when it comes to areas like mobility and the internet."
"The user interface could be improved. For example, sometimes you're missing some data and can't complete a task. There should be some built-in support and suggestions on how to solve your problem. I would also like the interface to be optimized to work better with mobile devices like tablets and smartphones."
"Functionality could be improved."
"SAP ERP could improve by integrating additional components such as digital signatures and barcoding."
"The reporting feature could improve in SAP ERP. It could benefit from being more flexible."
"Pricing could be improved for preferred customers."
"The UI could use improvement."
"It would also help if it were more open, more flexible, with more standard products."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as a three."
"Price-wise, ERPNext is a cheap product. There are no licensing costs attached to ERPNext since it is an open-source product. You have to pay for the solution's hosting and implementation process."
"Licensing can vary, but for educational institutions, there are often favorable conditions."
"The licensing costs are slightly on the higher side. They need to make it more competitive."
"Some components are available at an additional cost, depending on the type of contract that you have."
"The solution is expensive and is best-suited for large enterprises."
"SAP ERP is an expensive tool."
"My company makes early payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product. There are no additional costs apart from the charges paid toward the subscription-based license offered by SAP."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution."
"There is a one-time license that is needed to use the solution. The support is what is needed to be renewed annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Healthcare Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
7%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ERPNext?
It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...I rate the product's initial setup a nine on a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ERPNext?
It is an open-source tool. Some kinds of plug-ins for the tool are available in the marketplace. ERPNext was developed using Python. Plug-ins are available in the marketplace, and users need to buy...
What needs improvement with ERPNext?
With ERPNext, some business challenges will definitely be there. So far, my company has seen that it cannot go for bigger enterprise models, like SAP. With SAP, it is a completely different game, w...
Is Anaplan better than SAP ERP?
There are different aspects of both Anaplan and SAP ERP that I like and dislike. Anaplan improves forecast accuracy and drives up the quality of analytics. Rather than spending all of their time co...
What do you like most about SAP ERP?
The solution has made the most significant impact on our human resources function, specifically in HR operations and HR analytics. One feature of SAP ERP that I found most valuable is its use of co...
What needs improvement with SAP ERP?
There is a need for improvement in the business analytics aspect in financial reporting and also in sales and marketing analytics.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
B&G Manufacturing, Unilever, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town, Bhopal Municipal, Corporation (BMC), adidas Group, Butcher & Packer Supply Company, Franklin Valve L.P., Evoshield, Prime Meats, a Norsan Group company, EMC Corporation, Varian Medical Systems Inc., FC Bayern Mªnchen AG, AkzoNobel Chemicals B.V., T¾V Rheinland, Pacific Drilling S.A., Fire & Rescue New South Wales, University of Amsterdam, Pa_alon S.A.
Find out what your peers are saying about ERPNext vs. SAP ERP and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.