head to head · open source
ERPNext vs frappe
ERPNext has 40,868 GitHub stars, 13,377 forks, 1,822 open issues and last shipped yesterday. frappe has 11,046 stars, 5,503 forks, 2,003 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ERPNext leads on adoption by 270% (40,868 vs 11,046 stars). ERPNext is written in Python under GPL-3.0; frappe is written in Python under MIT. ERPNext has attracted 33% as many forks as stars, frappe 50%. ERPNext was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (erpnext, frappe), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| ERPNext | frappe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 11K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 5.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ERPNext if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick frappe if
- You want the frappe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and frappe fits your workflow better
About ERPNext
ERPNext Powerful, Intuitive and Open Source ERP Live Demo Website Documentation ERPNext 100% Open Source ERP System to help you run your business. Motivation Running a business is a complex task handling invoices, tracking stock, managing personnel, and other daily operations. In a market where software is sold separately to manage each of these tasks, ERPNext does all of the above and more, for free. Key Features Accounting : All the tools you need to manage cash flow in one place, right from recording transactions to summarizing and analyzing financial reports. Order Management : Track inventory levels…
read the full ERPNext overview →
About frappe
Frappe Framework Low Code Web Framework For Real World Applications, In Python And JavaScript Website Documentation Frappe Framework Full stack web application framework that uses Python and MariaDB on the server side and a tightly integrated client side library. Built for ERPNext. Philosophy The best code is the one that is not written Started in 2005, Frappe Framework was inspired by the Semantic Web. The "big idea" behind semantic web was of a framework that not only described how information is shown (like headings, body etc), but also what it means, like name, address etc. By creating a web framework that…
read the full frappe overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ERPNext or frappe more popular?
ERPNext has 40,868 GitHub stars and frappe has 11,046. ERPNext has the larger community by that measure.
Are ERPNext and frappe free?
Both are open source. ERPNext is licensed under GPL-3.0 and frappe under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ERPNext and frappe?
ERPNext is written in Python and frappe in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ERPNext or frappe?
Choose ERPNext if you want the larger community (40,868 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose frappe if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.