SAP Business One (SAP B1) and Odoo keep showing up on the same short list when an SME decides to leave spreadsheets and disconnected management tools behind and look for a real ERP. Both promise to solve the same problem: sales, purchasing, inventory, accounting and CRM in one system. But they get there from radically different business models. SAP B1 is proprietary software, part of SAP's portfolio for SMEs and mid-sized companies (distinct from SAP S/4HANA, built for large corporations), sold and implemented almost always through authorized partners, with quote-based pricing. Odoo is an open-core ERP: a free, open-source Community core, with a paid Enterprise layer built on top offering extra apps, official support and managed hosting. That starting difference shapes everything else -cost, who can touch the code, how the system scales with you- and it's what actually needs comparing before you decide.
Key point: the real question isn't «which ERP is better», it's «which licensing and cost model fits my company's size and growth pace». SAP Business One tends to fit established SMEs with a fixed implementation budget and a preference for one global vendor. Odoo tends to fit companies that want to start small, pay only for what they use, and keep the option to touch the code without depending exclusively on one partner.
What each one actually is
SAP Business One is SAP's product for SMEs and mid-sized companies, separate from SAP S/4HANA (SAP's ERP for large corporations). It covers finance, purchasing, sales, inventory, production and CRM, with historical strength in distribution and discrete manufacturing. It's sold almost exclusively through SAP's network of authorized partners (VARs, Value Added Resellers), who handle the license, the implementation and the support.
Odoo is a modular ERP built by Odoo S.A. (Belgium) with two editions: Community, open source under the LGPL-3 license, installable on your own server with no license cost; and Enterprise, which adds extra apps (like Odoo Studio), official support and managed hosting (Odoo Online, Odoo.sh) for a per-user price. Unlike SAP B1, any developer -not just a certified partner- can install, configure or customize Odoo with admin access to the customer's account.
Licensing model: open-core vs proprietary
SAP Business One's model is proprietary and closed: the source code isn't accessible or modifiable by the customer. Extensions are built through SAP B1's official SDK (DI API and UI API) and distributed as partner add-ons, not through a public app store where you browse and install on your own. That gives stability and a catalog of proven vertical solutions, but it also means you depend on the partner who sold you the license for almost any change.
Odoo follows an open-core model. The Community core is free software: you can download it, install it and modify it without paying any license fee, though you'll need infrastructure and technical know-how of your own or a third party's. The Enterprise layer adds paid features (Studio for no-code customization, advanced reporting, official support from Odoo S.A.) on top of that same open core. You never need to be an official Odoo partner to hire customization or development work: it's simply configuration or programming with admin access to the account, something any Odoo developer can offer.
Total cost of ownership
SAP Business One has no public price list. License, implementation and support costs are negotiated case by case with the authorized partner, and vary by country, user count and project scope. The traditional model has been a perpetual per-user license plus an annual maintenance fee, though subscription and cloud deployment options managed by the partner or by SAP now exist too. In practice, a large share of the total cost isn't the license itself, but the partner's consulting hours spent implementing and customizing the system.
Odoo publishes its pricing: the Community edition is free as software (the cost sits in infrastructure and development), and Odoo Online -the managed version- has a Standard plan from €11.90 to €14.90 per user/month and a Custom plan (with Studio, multi-company and external API) from €17.90 to €22.40 per user/month. On top of that, if needed, come third-party modules: most of FlexigoTech's 86 proprietary modules, for example, are sold as a one-time payment with source code included, not a recurring monthly fee, which changes the multi-year math quite a bit compared to stacking continuously-billed add-ons on SAP B1.
Learning curve
SAP Business One has an interface built for an advanced management user, with a lot of functional depth in finance and production, but a medium-to-high learning curve: training is usually an explicit line item in the implementation contract with the partner. Odoo uses a unified web interface that's very similar across all its apps -sales, purchasing, inventory and accounting share the same navigation patterns-, which shortens the ramp-up time for a team that already knows one app when moving to another. On top of that, Odoo Studio (Enterprise) lets a business user, without coding, add fields, change views or build simple reports, something that in SAP B1 almost always means going through the partner and its SDK.
Module ecosystem, partners and customization
SAP Business One's ecosystem is built on partners: they're the ones who develop and sell the vertical add-ons (for a specific industry, a specific country, a specific integration) using SAP's SDK. There's no direct equivalent to a public app store where you compare, try and install on your own: you typically access the solutions catalog through your partner, and switching partners can mean renegotiating access to those same extensions.
Odoo has a public App Store with thousands of modules, from the free, open ones built by the OCA (Odoo Community Association) to paid third-party ones like FlexigoTech's, which maintains 86 proprietary modules for Odoo 17, 18 and 19 -marketplaces and ecommerce, e-invoicing and international compliance, HR, e-signature, ESG and operations. You can browse the catalog, see the exact price, and in many cases install it without going through any sales intermediary.
Comparison table: Odoo vs SAP Business One by area
| Area | SAP Business One | Odoo |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing model | Proprietary, closed software | Open-core: open-source Community core (LGPL-3) + paid Enterprise layer |
| Software cost | No public price list; negotiated with the partner | Community: €0. Enterprise: from ~€11.90/user/month (Standard) to ~€22.40 (Custom) |
| Source code | Closed; not accessible to the customer | Community: open and auditable. Enterprise: visible source, commercial license |
| Implementation | Almost always via a certified SAP partner | Via any Odoo developer, official partner or not; no certification required to configure/develop |
| Module ecosystem | Partner add-ons via proprietary SDK (DI/UI API); access mostly managed by the partner | Public App Store with thousands of modules, free (OCA) and paid, installable without an intermediary |
| Customization | Possible, but typically requires the partner and its SDK | Studio (no-code) for basic changes + open Python/XML development for deep changes |
| Learning curve | Medium-high; interface built for an advanced management user | Medium-low; unified web UI across all apps |
| Deployment | On-premise or cloud via partner / SAP Business One Cloud | On-premise, Odoo Online (SaaS) or Odoo.sh |
| Target company size | Established SMEs and mid-sized companies, especially in distribution/manufacturing | From freelancers and micro-businesses to multinational mid-sized companies |
When to choose each one
SAP Business One makes sense when your company already belongs to a group that runs SAP at headquarters and needs to report on the same standard, when you operate in a sector -distribution or discrete manufacturing, for instance- where your local partner already has a proven, mature vertical template, or when you'd rather have one global reference vendor and a traditional consulting-and-support model under a fixed contract.
Odoo tends to win when the initial budget is tighter and you want to start with a few modules and grow, when you need to avoid depending on a single partner for any future change, when open, auditable source code is a requirement (for security or data-sovereignty reasons, for example), or when you operate in Spain or the EU and need compliance modules -like e-invoicing or VeriFactu- that are already available in the catalog, without waiting for a partner to build them from scratch.
How we can help: customization or a full implementation
If you're already on Odoo, or you're still deciding and know you'll need something the standard catalog doesn't cover, our custom Odoo development service starts from admin access to your account and doesn't require being an official Odoo partner to get going. If instead you're starting from zero and want a full implementation -plans, data migration, configured modules and a team operational from day one-, you'll find the details in our Odoo 19 implementation service.
Frequently asked questions
Is Odoo cheaper than SAP Business One?
In most SME cases, yes: Odoo's Community edition carries no license cost, and Odoo Online publishes a public per-user price. SAP Business One doesn't publish a price list, and its cost is negotiated with the partner, traditionally as a perpetual license plus annual maintenance. That said, the real cost of either one depends mostly on the scope of implementation and customization, not just the license.
Do I need a certified partner to implement SAP Business One?
In practice, yes: SAP Business One is sold and implemented almost always through SAP's network of authorized partners (VARs), who handle the license, the implementation and the support. Odoo, by contrast, can be implemented and customized by any developer familiar with the system, whether or not they're an official partner.
Can I see or modify SAP Business One's source code?
No. SAP Business One is proprietary, closed software: extensions are built through its official SDK (DI API, UI API), not by modifying the core. Odoo Community is open source under the LGPL-3 license and can be freely audited and modified; Odoo Enterprise modules also ship with visible source code, under a commercial license that restricts redistribution.
Which ERP has more ready-made modules for marketplaces or for e-invoicing compliance in Spain?
Odoo, by public catalog volume: its App Store carries thousands of third-party modules, including FlexigoTech's 86 proprietary modules for marketplaces, ecommerce and Spanish compliance (like VeriFactu). On SAP Business One, that kind of integration usually depends on your local partner already having it built, or being willing to build it to order.
Can I migrate from SAP Business One to Odoo without losing data?
Yes, it's a common migration project: master data (customers, vendors, products) and the relevant history are exported from SAP B1 and imported into Odoo during implementation, validating that accounting and stock balances match before going live. That's exactly the kind of project our Odoo 19 implementation service covers.
Still deciding between Odoo and SAP Business One?
Tell us your company size, your sector and what you need to solve, and we'll tell you on the first call which model fits your budget and how you want to grow. Email us at comercial@flexigobe.com or call +34 616 809 504.