Decide whether you need MRP or full ERP first
MRPeasy, Katana, ERPAG, Cin7 Core, inFlow and Unleashed are inventory-and-production tools that add MRP-style planning on top. Unleashed's own FAQ states it is "not a full ERP system." Cetec ERP, MIE Trak Pro, JobBOSS², Genius ERP and Odoo bundle accounting, CRM and quality into one system. If your finance team already runs QuickBooks or Xero and you just need production scheduling and BOMs to sync with it, the lighter tools cost less to run. If you want quoting-to-cash and job costing in one login, look at the job-shop ERPs instead.
Decide your budget band before you request demos
Six of the fifteen here publish a per-month or per-user starting price: MRPeasy ($49/user/mo), Katana ($299/mo), Fishbowl ($229/mo, Manufacturing from $675/mo), Odoo ($24.90/user/mo), Cetec ERP ($50/user/mo, though the site doesn't publish it directly), ERPAG ($49/mo intro), Cin7 Core ($349/mo), inFlow ($129/mo), Unleashed ($99/mo) and Brahmin Solutions ($199/mo). Five (MIE Trak Pro, JobBOSS², Genius ERP, xTuple, and effectively Cetec ERP) require a quote or demo before you see a number. Budgeting for a demo cycle matters if procurement needs a number by Friday: quote-only vendors add a sales-call step the priced ones skip.
Decide between lot/batch traceability and full genealogy
If you're in food, cosmetics or medical device manufacturing, check which vendors actually document lot and serial tracking versus offering it as an add-on. MRPeasy documents lot and serial traceability across production and inventory. Cin7 Core lists batch/expiration tracking natively. Brahmin Solutions documents lot and batch traceability with recall reporting, but lists lot/serial/expiry tracking as a separate paid add-on in its cons, which is a contradiction worth clarifying on a call. Unleashed supports batch and serial tracking. TODO(editor): verify whether Brahmin's core plan includes lot tracking or whether it's always an add-on before publishing a claim about which vendors include it free.
Decide who administers the system day to day
A plant IT manager running lean should ask who owns the software after go-live. Tools with drag-and-drop scheduling (MRPeasy, MIE Trak Pro, JobBOSS², Genius ERP) are built for a production planner to run without IT involvement day to day, but the vendor pages don't specify admin training time. TODO(editor): check whether any vendor publishes an estimated admin onboarding time or training hour allotment beyond MRPeasy's separately billed Advanced Support hours.
Decide what it has to talk to
Map your existing stack before shortlisting. Fishbowl advertises deep QuickBooks and Xero integration. Cetec ERP integrates with QuickBooks Online with event-based syncing and offers a REST API. JobBOSS² documents QuickBooks Desktop and Online integration. Odoo, Genius ERP, and Cin7 Core each document an API but differ on which named third-party systems (CAD, EDI, label printers) are confirmed versus left to a generic integrations page. Genius ERP's own pages don't list named integrations beyond a general link. If EDI matters, check the fee: Brahmin Solutions charges a 500 USD setup fee for EDI/SPS Commerce on every plan.
Decide what deployment constraint rules vendors out
MIE Trak Pro and JobBOSS² offer both cloud and on-premise, useful if plant-floor connectivity is unreliable or IT policy forbids cloud-only systems. MRPeasy, Katana, Cetec ERP, xTuple, ERPAG, Statii, Cin7 Core, Unleashed and Brahmin Solutions are cloud only as published. TODO(editor): confirm deployment model for Odoo, Genius ERP and inFlow Inventory, since the source pages don't state it clearly, before writing a deployment comparison sentence.
Decide what implementation costs beyond the licence
Odoo's Community edition is free but Odoo.sh hosting and implementation services (project management, data import, customization) are billed separately. JobBOSS² states implementation takes three to six months. Unleashed bills onboarding separately. Factor these into any per-seat price before comparing totals across vendors; the listed subscription price is rarely the full first-year cost.
