Axelor vs metasfresh
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Axelor | metasfresh |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 68 · Good |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 976 | ★ 2,431 |
| First released | 2014 | 2015 |
| Replaces | SAP, Odoo | SAP, NetSuite |
What are Axelor and metasfresh?
Axelor
Axelor Open Suite is an open-source ERP, CRM, and business process management platform. It includes a low-code studio for customizing apps and workflows.
- ERP, CRM, and BPM modules
- Low-code studio
- Configurable business workflows
- Modern web interface
metasfresh
metasfresh is an open-source ERP system for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides sales, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and accounting functions.
- Full ERP feature set
- Responsive web UI
- Frequent releases
- Sales and procurement workflows
Axelor vs metasfresh: key differences
Both projects are written in Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Axelor versus GPL-2.0 for metasfresh. Axelor is the lighter option, starting around 2,048 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for metasfresh. Metasfresh has the considerably larger community, at 2,431 GitHub stars versus 976.
Why pick each one
Choose Axelor if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Java
Choose metasfresh if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is Axelor or metasfresh better?
Neither is universally better. metasfresh has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Axelor and metasfresh free and open-source?
Yes. Axelor is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and metasfresh under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Axelor and metasfresh with Docker?
Axelor: yes. metasfresh: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Axelor or metasfresh?
Axelor has the smaller minimum footprint at 2,048 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for metasfresh. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.