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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
20th
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
6.3
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the ERP category, the mindshare of ERPNext is 1.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 10.4%, down from 19.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP ERP10.4%
ERPNext1.5%
Other88.1%
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

NagendraCh - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Information Technology at BPM INFOTECH LLP
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.
Achmad Dimyati - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Service Management Team Lead at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Long-term adaptation and evolution meets changing technology trends
SAP ERP is not really real-time. We use the HANA database which is supposed to be memory data in memory, but we are still not very happy. It is supposed to be real-time and come very quickly, but in reality, it still takes time to run. That is why we use BW of SAP, Business Objects, and now we have moved to the Analytic Cloud where we start using predictive AI. SAP recently implemented Databricks, and they started investing significantly in the analytic environment. SAP ERP has been left behind as they moved to S/4HANA with the HANA database. They restructured the whole table structure of SAP ERP, introduced simple finance, simple logistics, and moved HR to SuccessFactors. They have the BTP layer where they manage everything from integration to master data management. The challenge with SAP is that they move very fast to different products and buy different products. It requires significant investment and many skills to catch up because all of these have different sets of technology. The fundamental has changed differently. It is not monolithic anymore but different products under one name, SAP. You have to buy it model by model for additional models. Products such as SuccessFactors, Ariba for procure to pay, Concur for travel, and Facility Management use totally different technology. They try to integrate with each other, but it remains a challenge for SAP to make them have the same management, technology, and operational approach.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a very user-friendly tool that is customizable based on the business environment."
"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."
"Standardization of processes Better control Ease of reporting Cost saving Working with the most comprehensive payroll solution in the world"
"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."
"MDG provides a central location for governance of the creation/updating processes of master data. It allows you to change several fields in the same object. For example, we can change a field on the purchasing view and change another field on an accounting view to the same material at the same time."
"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."
"SAP ERP offers a wide range of functional modules, including payroll, HR, financials, and others."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"Finance view across functions has been valuable."
"SAP has provided a much more integrated platform for managing our manufacturing business."
 

Cons

"The tool has not come up with anything for some specific domains, like construction domains."
"The look, feel, and color are areas in ERPNext that can be improved."
"My thoughts about SAP ERP's functionality for human capital management are not clear and not positive, as I have not researched this area extensively."
"I'm only working on the front end with ERP's user interface, which isn't very easy for end-users. It's an old-school interface, so it's often challenging to find what you need."
"The price of SAP ERP is greater than other companies with the equivalent product."
"It is not flexible for the users. SAP works in a specific way, and the users and the processes have to adapt to the way it works. It is hard to customize it to the level that we need for our work. It is not easy to get new extensions for process functions, modules, or activities."
"The system is very big. It is not exactly user-friendly, due to the fact that it's so massive and complex."
"Implementing SAP ERP can be very costly, particularly for smaller organizations with limited resources."
"I always prefer using an S/4HANA system."
"I would like to see more integration with other partners. Some of our customers already use specific or in-house applications for their business processes. They do not want to replace those applications."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as a three."
"There is a one-time license that is needed to use the solution. The support is what is needed to be renewed annually."
"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."
"It is less expensive than its competitors."
"When we talk about pricing it is expensive. On a scale of one to ten, it would rank a two. There are no additional fees but the user licenses are high."
"The pricing is based on the license per user, which I think makes the solution a bit costly...Basically, the prices of the solution are high, and we don't have that much revenue."
"SAP ERP is expensive."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution."
"The price of SAP ERP is high, but it is worth the money. The maintenance and support can be expensive. There should be a different price model for businesses that are not as large to be able to afford it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise78
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your primary use case for ERPNext?
I use the solution in my company to manage additional domains, especially in areas like education and manufacturing.
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?
SAP ERP logged out in slightly less time than expected. Updates to the SAP UI would be useful.
 

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: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.