Paid per user: €24.90/month Standard, €37.40/month Custom, or €19.90 and €29.90 billed annually. One app is free for unlimited users on Odoo Online. Odoo Studio, on-premise deployment, and the external API require the Custom plan.
ERP comparison for 2026
Odoo or ERPNext?
ERPNext carries no licence fee at any user count under GPLv3. Odoo Standard costs €24.90 per user per month, or €19.90 billed annually. Neither system is ZATCA or ETA compliant on a fresh install. BDC implements both Odoo and ERPNext, is an official partner of neither, and takes a commission from neither.
The difference is licensing, not features
Both platforms cover accounting, inventory, sales, purchasing, manufacturing, and HR. The decision is set by four measurable things: Odoo charges per user and ERPNext does not; Odoo keeps Enterprise code closed while all of ERPNext is GPLv3 on GitHub; Odoo ships official Saudi and Egyptian e-invoicing localisations while ERPNext relies on marketplace apps; and Odoo has the larger paid-module catalogue while ERPNext has the larger share of free code.
No licence fee at any user count. GPL-3.0 on GitHub (frappe/erpnext, roughly 37,800 stars). Frappe Cloud managed hosting starts at $5/month for a shared site and $40/month for a dedicated server, priced by compute rather than by user.
The 8-point comparison
Every figure below traces to odoo.com/pricing, frappe.io/cloud/pricing, the official product documentation, or the public GitHub repositories. Where a range is genuine, the range is stated.
| Area |  |  ERPNext |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing model | Community edition is open source under LGPLv3. Enterprise is a paid commercial licence and its code is not published. Odoo Online offers one app free for unlimited users; a second app moves the whole account to a paid per-user plan. | The entire product is GPL-3.0 open source, confirmed by the licence on frappe/erpnext. There is no paid edition, no closed core, and no per-user fee. The code Frappe runs on its own cloud is the code you can download and self-host. |
| Total cost | Standard is €24.90/user/month or €19.90 billed annually; Custom is €37.40 or €29.90 annually. Ten users on Standard annual is €2,388/year and fifty users is €11,940/year, before implementation. Odoo states the annual discount is valid 12 months for initial users. | Licence cost is €0 whether you have 10 users or 500. Frappe Cloud starts at $5/month for a shared site ($60/year) and $40/month for a dedicated server ($480/year), and scales with compute, not headcount. Implementation, customisation, and support are still paid work. |
| App marketplace | Third-party modules are sold on apps.odoo.com, published per major Odoo version and frequently paid per module. A module must have a build for your exact version, so every major upgrade means re-checking each paid module you depend on. | Apps are listed on cloud.frappe.io/marketplace and on GitHub, and are mostly free and open source — including the ZATCA Phase 2 apps used in Saudi Arabia. The catalogue is materially smaller, so more gaps are closed by custom development instead of purchase. |
| Customization | Odoo Studio, the no-code builder, is bundled only with the Custom plan at €37.40/user/month (€29.90 annually) — as are the external API and on-premise deployment. Deeper work is Python modules on the Odoo ORM. | Customise Form, Client Script, Server Script, and the DocType builder ship in the standard install with nothing gated behind a paid tier. Deeper work is Python apps on the Frappe framework, using the same APIs the product itself uses. |
| Hosting | Odoo Online (SaaS), Odoo.sh, or on-premise. Odoo Online does not run custom Python modules; custom code requires Odoo.sh or on-premise, and both sit on the Custom plan at €37.40/user/month (€29.90 annually). | Frappe Cloud managed hosting from $5/month, or self-host on any infrastructure you choose, including on-premise in Saudi Arabia or Egypt for data-residency requirements. GPL-3.0 places no restriction on where or on how many servers you run it. |
| E-invoicing | Not compliant on a fresh database. Odoo does ship official fiscal localisations — l10n_sa_edi for Saudi ZATCA and l10n_eg_edi_eta for Egypt — but they must be installed and onboarded: a per-journal OTP from the ZATCA Fatoora portal, and for Egypt an ETA Client ID and Secret plus a USB signing key from the ETA or Egypt Trust. Rules change, so compliance is ongoing implementer work. | Not compliant on a fresh install, and neither integration is in the core frappe/erpnext repository. Saudi ZATCA Phase 2 comes from marketplace apps such as KSA Compliance or zatca_erpgulf. Egyptian ETA comes from community apps such as erpnext_eta, which requires an HSM from an ITIDA-certified provider; native ETA support has been an open request on frappe/erpnext since 2022. Rules change, so compliance is ongoing implementer work. |
| Community and ecosystem | odoo/odoo on GitHub carries roughly 53,600 stars and 33,400 forks. GitHub reports no single OSI licence for the repository, because Community is LGPLv3 while Enterprise code is proprietary and never published — so part of what you run cannot be audited. | frappe/erpnext on GitHub carries roughly 37,800 stars and 12,400 forks, entirely under GPL-3.0. There is no closed edition, so every line you run can be read, audited, forked, and patched by your own team or any developer you hire. |
| Support and operations | Support from Odoo is bundled with the paid Standard and Custom subscriptions. The free Community edition carries no support contract from Odoo SA — the vendor relationship exists only while you pay per user. | Frappe sells support attached to Frappe Cloud plans; the free path is the public forum at discuss.frappe.io and GitHub issues. If you self-host, you or your implementer own upgrades, backups, and security patching, with no vendor to escalate to unless you buy a plan. |
Which system fits better?
Choose Odoo when...
- Your user count is small and stable, so €24.90 per user per month stays affordable as you grow.
- You need a specialised module that already exists on apps.odoo.com and would otherwise be built from scratch.
- You want an official vendor localisation for Saudi ZATCA or Egyptian ETA rather than a third-party app.
ERPNextChoose ERPNext when...
- Your user count is large or growing, where per-user licensing compounds fastest — 50 users is €11,940/year on Odoo and €0 on ERPNext.
- You need full data sovereignty or on-premise hosting inside Saudi Arabia or Egypt.
- You want every line of code auditable and forkable, with no vendor able to withdraw the licence.
There is no universal winner
On licence cost alone ERPNext wins at every user count. Odoo earns its per-user fee when a ready-made module or an official localisation saves more development than the subscription costs. Map your requirements, price both over five years, then test the critical workflows in each before deciding.
Pricing models, features, and local compliance coverage change. Verify current terms before purchasing or contracting. Prices here were checked against odoo.com/pricing and frappe.io/cloud/pricing in August 2026.Questions before you choose
Direct answers to the questions buyers in Saudi Arabia and Egypt actually ask before choosing between Odoo and ERPNext.
Is ERPNext ZATCA compliant?
Not out of the box. A standard ERPNext install has no ZATCA integration in the core frappe/erpnext repository, and Phase 2 clearance is added through apps such as KSA Compliance or zatca_erpgulf from the Frappe marketplace. Those apps handle UBL 2.1 XML, cryptographic stamping, the QR code, and the Fatoora API, but each installation still needs onboarding and certificate setup by the implementer. Because ZATCA amends its requirements, compliance is an ongoing maintenance commitment, not a one-time switch.
Does Odoo support Egyptian ETA e-invoicing?
Yes, through the official Egyptian localisation module l10n_eg_edi_eta, which is not active on a new database and must be installed and configured. You must register your Odoo system on the Egyptian Tax Authority portal to obtain a Client ID and two Client Secrets, and each person signing invoices needs a USB key issued by the ETA or Egypt Trust, with Odoo installed locally as a proxy for the signing device. Branches, customers, and products also need the correct ETA codes before you can issue a valid invoice.
What does Odoo cost for 20 users?
On the Standard plan, 20 users is €498 per month or €5,976 per year at the monthly rate of €24.90 per user. Billed annually at €19.90 per user, the same 20 users cost €398 per month or €4,776 per year. The Custom plan, which is what you need for Odoo Studio, the external API, or on-premise hosting, is €37.40 per user per month, or €29.90 billed annually — €7,176 per year for 20 users. Odoo states the discounted annual rate is valid for 12 months for initial users, so budget the list rate from year two.
What does ERPNext actually cost to run?
The software itself is €0 at any user count because it is GPL-3.0 with no per-user licence. Managed hosting on Frappe Cloud starts at $5 per month for a shared site and $40 per month for a dedicated server, priced by compute rather than by headcount, or you can self-host on your own infrastructure at the cost of that infrastructure. Implementation, data migration, customisation, training, and support are real costs and are where an ERPNext budget is actually spent.
Is ERPNext always cheaper than Odoo?
On licence fees, yes, at every user count. On total cost, not automatically: implementation, hosting, customisation, maintenance, and support still have to be paid for, and a gap that Odoo fills with a ready-made module may need custom development in ERPNext. The gap widens with headcount — at 50 users Odoo Standard is €11,940 per year in licences alone against €0 — so compare a full three-to-five-year operating model rather than the licence line.
Can we migrate from Odoo to ERPNext, or the other way round?
Master data moves reliably: customers, suppliers, items, chart of accounts, and opening balances all transfer through the REST APIs and import tools both systems expose. Historical transactions and posted documents are harder, because the two use different data models and different databases — PostgreSQL for Odoo, MariaDB for ERPNext. Customisations and third-party modules do not port at all and must be rebuilt. Most migrations move master data plus opening balances and keep the old system read-only for history.
Can we test both systems before deciding?
Yes, and it costs almost nothing. ERPNext can be installed free or trialled on Frappe Cloud, and Odoo offers one app free for unlimited users on Odoo Online plus a trial of the full suite. Prototype the same critical workflows in both with representative data, users, approvals, reports, and integrations — that exposes operational differences no feature list will show.
Is BDC a partner of Odoo or ERPNext?
No. BDC implements both Odoo and ERPNext, is an official partner of neither, and takes a commission from neither. Almost every other comparison of these two systems is published by a certified partner of one of them, whose revenue depends on the answer. Ours does not, which is why the pricing above is stated in full rather than framed to favour one product.
Which is better for a company in Saudi Arabia or Egypt?
It depends on headcount and on how you want e-invoicing handled. Odoo gives you a vendor-maintained localisation for both ZATCA and ETA, which reduces integration risk but costs €24.90 to €37.40 per user per month. ERPNext removes the licence cost entirely and allows on-premise hosting inside the country for data-residency requirements, but its ZATCA and ETA coverage comes from marketplace or community apps that you and your implementer must maintain. Under roughly 15 users the licence saving rarely decides it; above that it usually does.
Turn the comparison into a clear decision
BDC implements both Odoo and ERPNext, is an official partner of neither, and takes a commission from neither. That is why our recommendation starts with your numbers rather than a product name.
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