Odoo alternative
CubeERP compared with Odoo
Odoo is the most capable thing you can self-host, and self-hosting is exactly the decision you are making.
- Odoo S.A.
- Open source
- 01234 672 617
What Odoo actually is
Odoo is a suite of open-source business applications covering sales, CRM, inventory, MRP, accounting, e-commerce, HR, project and a great deal more.
It is offered as a free single-app tier, a Standard plan with all apps at a per-user monthly price, and a Custom plan that adds Odoo Studio, multi-company and the external API, and which is the only plan permitting Odoo.sh or on-premise deployment. There is also a free Community edition you can run yourself. The scope is remarkable for the money and the community is large and active. The trade is that the implementation, the integration decisions and the long-term maintenance are substantially yours.
Credit where it is due
What Odoo does well
These are the real reasons it has the customers it has. If two or more of them describe something you need, weight them heavily.
Extraordinary functional breadth for the price - very few systems at this level cover MRP, e-commerce, CRM and accounting in one subscription.
Open source, with a Community edition you can run and modify without a licence fee at all.
A very large global community, huge module marketplace and a deep pool of developers who know the codebase.
No lock-in on hosting for Custom-plan and Community users - you can run it on your own infrastructure.
Side by side
The differences that actually change the decision
Not a feature checklist. These are the structural differences - licensing, scope, who implements it - that determine whether a system fits, and they are the ones nobody tells you until month four.
- Licence modelOdooPer user per month, all apps; free single-app and Community tiersCubeERPPer named user, all modules, no free tier
- API accessOdooExternal API on the Custom planCubeERPREST API and webhooks on every account
- HostingOdooOdoo Online, Odoo.sh or on-premise depending on planCubeERPUK hosted and managed, included
- ImplementationOdooBought separately from Odoo, a partner or done in-houseCubeERPFixed price per stage, on site, by the people who built it
- UpgradesOdooAnnual releases; customisation compatibility is yours to manageCubeERPContinuous versioned updates, managed by us
- Who fixes it at 4pm on a FridayOdooYour partner, your developer, or the communityCubeERPUs, on an agreed response time
Based on information published by the vendor. Last reviewed 2026-08-06. Check current details with Odoo S.A. directly before making a decision.
Worth checking
Questions to put to them before you sign
None of these are faults. They are design decisions with consequences, and every one of them is answerable - so ask.
The external API is plan-gated
Odoo’s published pricing places the external API, Odoo Studio, multi-company and on-premise or Odoo.sh deployment on the Custom plan. If integration is central to your requirement, that is the plan you are on, and the comparison should be made at that rate.
Implementation is a separate purchase
The subscription includes hosting, support and maintenance, but not configuring the system around your processes. That is bought from Odoo, a partner, or your own team - and it is the part that determines whether the project works.
Version upgrades need owning
Odoo releases annually, and customisations and community modules do not always move cleanly between versions. Somebody has to own that cycle. On a self-hosted deployment with third-party modules, that somebody is you.
Module quality varies
The marketplace is one of Odoo’s greatest strengths and its most variable component. Official apps are maintained; community modules are maintained by whoever wrote them, for as long as they choose to.
If you have real in-house technical capability, want to own your deployment outright, and value breadth and price over having somebody else responsible for the outcome, Odoo is an excellent choice - and the Community edition is a legitimately free way to run a business. Plenty of very good companies run on it. If you would enjoy the control, take it.
If you do move
What leaving Odoo actually involves
- 1
Data extracts cleanly
Odoo’s data model is documented and its API is capable, so extraction is one of the more straightforward migrations we do - assuming you are on a plan with API access.
- 2
Custom modules are the real question
Any bespoke or community modules encode business rules that exist nowhere else. We read them at discovery and decide, case by case, whether the behaviour is configuration in CubeERP or bespoke work.
- 3
Be clear about why
People usually leave Odoo because nobody owned it, not because it could not do the job. If you are moving for that reason, the thing you are buying is accountability - so make sure the replacement supplier actually offers it in writing.
Questions
What people ask when comparing us with Odoo
On subscription alone it usually is, particularly on Community. What you are buying with CubeERP is that the configuration, the integrations, the upgrades and the support are somebody else’s responsibility with agreed response times. If you have the in-house capability to own that, Odoo may well be the better value.
No. The platform is commercial and closed source. Your data, however, is yours and fully exportable in open formats at any time, and the REST API is documented and included, so there is no data lock-in even though there is no source access.
Not directly - we do not implement or support Odoo. If that is where you should be, we will say so and point you at the partner network rather than sell you something you do not need.
Odoo Studio and the module framework let you change almost anything, given the skills. CubeERP is configured rather than modified, with unusual requirements built as bespoke work by us. Odoo gives you more freedom; we give you fewer ways to break your own upgrade path.
It is a real option and we will not pretend otherwise. It has no licence cost, no support obligation and no hosting - all three of which become your job. For a business with a capable technical person who enjoys this work, that is a fair trade.
Relevant to this comparison
The parts of the platform people are usually weighing up
ERP Software
One system for quotes, orders, stock, production, purchasing and invoicing - built in the UK for growing businesses.
Read moreManufacturing Software
Bills of materials, works orders, routings, shop-floor booking and real job costing - for businesses that make things to order.
Read moreBusiness Management Software
One place for customers, orders, stock, jobs, suppliers and invoices, so the business stops being run from a folder of spreadsheets.
Read moreMRP Software
Net demand against stock, work in progress and inbound purchases to produce a buy list and a make list you can actually act on.
Read more
Also on the shortlist
Other comparisons people read alongside this one
- MRPeasy alternativeSelf-service MRP for small manufacturers. Per-user tiers, no module pricing, no mandatory implementation.
- Katana alternativeCloud MRP for small manufacturers. Flat monthly plans, unlimited users, capability sold as add-ons.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central alternativeMicrosoft’s mid-market ERP. Per-user licensing, deep Microsoft 365 integration, partner-implemented.
Odoo is a trade mark of Odoo S.A.. Cube Systems Limited is not affiliated with, endorsed by or a partner of Odoo S.A.. This comparison is based on information published by the vendor and was last reviewed on 2026-08-06. Product capabilities and pricing change - verify current details with the vendor before making any decision. If you believe anything here is inaccurate, contact us at hello@cubeerp.co.uk and we will correct it.
Odoo
Ask us before you commit to either
Tell us what you run now and what is not working. If Odoo is the better fit we will tell you on the call.