Looking forward to making Odoo your newest business ERP solution, one of the very first questions could be: Is Odoo free or paid? Well, it’s not that simple. Odoo is such a versatile and feature-rich platform, but it needs one to have a good knowledge of the pricing structure to make any decision. In this blog post, we are going to dissect what the cost of using Odoo actually is—free or not free—what it means for users, and how to milk the most out of this powerful ERP system.
Whether yours is a small business or you are an Odoo developer, there is something for you in this guide.
Odoo Community: Free Version
Well, the good news is that, yes, Odoo does have a free version. Odoo Community Edition is the open-source edition of Odoo, and hence free to use. But what “free” exactly means here is the following.
What You Get with Odoo Community
Odoo Community provides a number of key features, more than enough for many small businesses. In it, you will get modules for CRM, Sales, Invoicing, and Project Management, to mention a few, which could help in streamlining your operations without costing you anything.
However, please note that it doesn’t have full features as the paid version does. A lot of advanced capabilities like full accounting and multi-company management, plus some integrations, are available only in Odoo Enterprise. Moreover, Odoo doesn’t provide any official support for Community Edition either, so further support will have to be sought from community forums and third-party developers.
Paid Version: Odoo Enterprise
For businesses with a need for more advanced features, Odoo Enterprise would be the appropriate one. This is also provided on a paid subscription basis and has an expanse of added functionalities that give it the edge to be able to adapt to business growth.
What’s in Odoo Enterprise?
It includes all the features of Community Edition and more. You can have such advanced modules as Manufacturing, Accounting, Helpdesk, and much more. The biggest plus that you get in using Odoo Enterprise is the fact of official Odoo support. This ensures you get a professional response in case you need some help with absolutely everything.
With that in addition, Odoo Enterprise provides you with a much more professional user interface and design that is friendly to your mobile device to ensure ease of use on the go for all your business management. Other than that, you get regular updates and security patches for the software, and you can host your instance of Odoo on Odoo’s cloud servers, greatly simplifying maintenance and reducing the need for in-house IT expertise. Understand the Costs
So, how much does Odoo Enterprise cost? The pricing model is based on the number of users and the modules you choose. Typically, Odoo Enterprise is going to run you somewhere between $20 to $30 per user per month, with a number of additional costs for some modules. This, in many cases, might get very expensive, especially for large teams. Most of the time, though, this investment would already pay itself back through increased efficiency, better decision-making, and improved customer service. In case of Odoo, one should remember about the ability to have hidden costs. The phase of implementation can include, for example, the development of Open ERP by hiring experts in this area. This can be very necessary in case you have some specific modules to be implemented or complex integration procedures. More than that, though its Community Edition is free, one still needs to incur some expense on the hosting, security, and subsequent maintenance.
Why Hire Odoo Developers?
Having an Odoo developer on your side can turn out to be a game-changer when it comes to using the free Community Edition or the subscribed Enterprise version. Here’s why:
1. Customization
Odoo is very flexible, but you might need custom modules or integrations to make it tailor-fit to your business needs. These developers can create tailor-made solutions to keep you on top of your game with the platform. It should marry perfectly with your processes.
2. Expert Support
This includes that, although you may go with Odoo Enterprise and receive official support, chances are high that you will still need a specialized helping hand under unique business needs. This means you have an expert at hand should you hire an Odoo developer, to solve any challenges facing you—ranging from bug fixes, optimization, and so forth.
3. Efficient Implementation
Implementing an ERP system is a very complex task, and one should get it right. An experienced Odoo developer will take you through the process to avert common pitfalls, thus yielding in a smooth transition during the implementation process.
Combining Odoo Community and Enterprise: The Best of Both Worlds
Some businesses strategize by combining the Free Community Edition with Paid Enterprise Modules. This means that one can enjoy certain important and more advanced features of Enterprise in the critical areas of your business, but at the same time, cut the cost of using free version in other business functions.
For instance, you can use the Community Edition for basic CRM and sales management, then go for the Enterprise product for accounting and manufacturing. In that way, you select what you need and pay only for functionalities useful to your business.
Conclusion: Is Odoo Worth It?
So, is Odoo free, or do you pay for it? The answer is both! The Community edition is a free and powerful solution for large businesses, while the Enterprise version has even more functionality and support in exchange for a subscription. Really, what’s best for your business is going to depend on your company’s needs and future growth.
If you are a small business that has just started out, the free Community Edition may hold good for a way to get your feet wet with Odoo. In growing your business and outgrowing the Community version to have complex needs, then upgrading to the Odoo Enterprise or hiring an Odoo developer will help harness the full power of the platform.
