Crater Cloud OFBiz 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 | Crater Cloud OFBiz | metasfresh |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 68 · Good |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,125 | ★ 2,431 |
| First released | 2006 | 2015 |
| Replaces | SAP, Oracle ERP | SAP, NetSuite |
What are Crater Cloud OFBiz and metasfresh?
Crater Cloud OFBiz
Apache OFBiz is an open-source enterprise automation suite. It bundles ERP, CRM, e-commerce, supply chain, and manufacturing capabilities in a single framework.
- ERP and CRM in one suite
- Built-in e-commerce
- Manufacturing and supply chain
- Extensible component model
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
Crater Cloud OFBiz vs metasfresh: key differences
Both projects are written in Java. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Crater Cloud OFBiz versus GPL-2.0 for metasfresh. Crater Cloud OFBiz is the lighter option, starting around 2,048 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for metasfresh. Crater Cloud OFBiz is the more established project (first released 2006), while metasfresh arrived in 2015. Metasfresh has the considerably larger community, at 2,431 GitHub stars versus 1,125. Metasfresh lists first-class Docker deployment; Crater Cloud OFBiz does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Crater Cloud OFBiz if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- 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 Crater Cloud OFBiz 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 Crater Cloud OFBiz and metasfresh free and open-source?
Yes. Crater Cloud OFBiz is licensed under Apache-2.0 and metasfresh under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Crater Cloud OFBiz and metasfresh with Docker?
Crater Cloud OFBiz: check the project docs for container support. metasfresh: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Crater Cloud OFBiz or metasfresh?
Crater Cloud OFBiz 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.