Odoo manufacturing alternative that schedules finite capacity on every work center
ProductionPlanning.ai is an Odoo manufacturing alternative for plants that run Odoo for inventory, sales and accounting and still ship late. Odoo Manufacturing is cheap to license, but its plan places work orders by date and does not stop an overloaded work center from taking more jobs than it has hours. We schedule every work center against its real shifts and setups, from 149 USD per plant a month with unlimited users, and it runs next to Odoo instead of replacing it.
Free for 14 days on your own orders and machines. No card.
Machine shop, This week's schedule, finite capacity per work center
- On time
- Late
- Changeover
On time
0%
Bottleneck
0%
Shortages
0
What Odoo Manufacturing gives you, and what it costs
Odoo is an open core business suite sold per user. Its pricing page lists the Standard plan at roughly 20 to 25 EUR per user a month and Custom at roughly 36 to 45 EUR, depending on the billing term, and both include all apps, Manufacturing among them. A separate Light User license at 7.90 EUR covers shop floor access. Prices are in euros on Odoo's own page, so convert at your bank's rate.
Manufacturing brings bills of materials, routings, work centers, work orders, a shop floor screen and reordering rules, tied to inventory and accounting. For a 10 to 100 person plant that is a lot of system for the money, which is why Odoo shows up on so many shortlists. The license is the small part of the bill. A partner configures it, and the hours for that setup are quoted separately.
The question on this page is narrower. You have Odoo, or you are about to, and you need a plan that tells you which orders ship late this week and why.
Why plants look for an Odoo manufacturing alternative
- The plan is by date, not by capacity. Odoo schedules a work order on its work center's calendar, and several orders can sit on the same machine in the same hours. Third party add-ons advertise finite capacity precisely because the standard planning does not enforce it
- Sequencing is manual. A planner still decides which job runs first on each machine, usually in a Gantt view or a spreadsheet beside Odoo
- Setup times by product family and grouping of similar jobs are not part of the standard planning, so changeovers eat hours the plan never counted
- A late order list is not a report you open on Monday. You find out an order is late when the date has already passed
- Gantt and planning views depend on the edition and on add-ons, and a custom module means a developer and an upgrade path to maintain
If the real problem is the schedule, a new ERP is the most expensive way to fix it. You can keep Odoo and schedule next to it.
ProductionPlanning.ai and Odoo Manufacturing side by side
| What matters | ProductionPlanning.ai | Odoo Manufacturing |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Finite capacity production scheduling software | ERP suite with a Manufacturing app |
| Pricing model | Flat per plant, unlimited users | Per user a month, Light User license for the floor |
| Entry price | 149 USD per plant a month, or 894 USD a year | Roughly 20 to 25 EUR per user a month on Standard, in euros on Odoo's page |
| Shop floor and view only users | Unlimited, nothing to add | Light User at 7.90 EUR per user a month |
| Finite capacity against shifts and holidays | Yes, on every work center by default | Work center calendars, no enforced finite load in the standard planning |
| Job sequence per machine | Built automatically, then adjust by drag and drop | Set by the planner |
| Setup times by product family | Yes, with automatic grouping on Plant | Not in the standard planning |
| Late order and bottleneck warnings | Projected finish date for every order, the week's bottleneck named | Dates by work order, no named bottleneck |
| Inventory, purchasing, accounting, ecommerce | No, keep them in Odoo | Yes, the core of the product |
| Implementation | Import a spreadsheet the same afternoon | A partner project, scope set by your modules |
| Best for | 10 to 200 person plants on Odoo that need the schedule fixed | Companies that want the whole business in one low cost suite |
What the schedule costs next to Odoo, for a 20 user plant
Odoo licenses are inexpensive, so this is not a story about saving on seats. The point is what you buy for the schedule. The Odoo column uses the euro range from Odoo's page, so the two columns are in different currencies.
| Cost line | Odoo with a scheduling add-on | ProductionPlanning.ai next to Odoo |
|---|---|---|
| Full users | 20 users on Standard, about 4,800 to 6,000 EUR a year | 20 stay as they are, no change |
| Shop floor users | Light User at 7.90 EUR per user a month, 25 floor users about 2,370 EUR a year | Unlimited, included |
| Finite capacity | Third party add-on, priced by its publisher, one listing starts at 249 USD | 2,574 USD a year on Plant, 894 USD on Line |
| Setup and customization | Partner hours, quoted separately | Spreadsheet import, no project |
| Three year cost of the scheduling part | Add-on, upgrade testing and developer time, none of it published | 7,722 USD on Plant, 2,682 USD on Line |
If you need work orders and consumption posted in the ledger, Odoo Manufacturing earns its place, and our schedule runs next to it. If what you need is a finite plan and a late order list, keep the Odoo you have and add the schedule. The licenses, Light User seats and partner hours are worked through in our Odoo manufacturing pricing article.
Where Odoo Manufacturing is the better choice
We would rather you buy the right thing. Stay with Odoo alone if any of these applies.
- You want inventory, sales, purchasing, accounting and manufacturing in one system at a low per user price
- Your plant runs a few work centers with steady demand, so planning by date is enough
- You have an Odoo partner or an in house developer who maintains custom modules
- You sell online and want ecommerce, point of sale and manufacturing connected
- Production records and costing have to live in the same database as the ledger
For a company that wants one low cost suite for the whole business, Odoo is a reasonable buy, and replacing it costs more than any schedule fix is worth.
Where a dedicated scheduler wins
- A finite schedule on every work center and shift by default, with holidays and maintenance windows, on every plan
- Job sequences built for you, then adjusted by drag and drop, with the knock on effect shown before you save
- Setup times per product family and automatic grouping of similar jobs on Plant, so changeovers stop eating machine hours
- A projected finish date for every open order and the week's bottleneck named with the orders it will make late
- Unlimited users at a flat price per plant, so every supervisor and salesperson sees the plan without a license
- Runs next to Odoo with open orders and routings imported from a spreadsheet export
The clearest fit is a 10 to 200 person make to order or batch plant that runs Odoo for stock and accounting and schedules in Excel today. See how we load machines on capacity planning software and handle make to order work on job shop software. If you are weighing a whole new ERP instead, our Business Central manufacturing alternative and manufacturing ERP alternative pages compare the bigger systems.
How to test an Odoo manufacturing alternative on your own orders
1. Export open orders and routings
Export open manufacturing orders with product, quantity and deadline, and the work orders with work center and expected duration, from Odoo to a spreadsheet. The list views have an export action.
2. Enter work centers and shifts
Add each work center or machine with its shifts, holidays and planned maintenance. For a plant with 20 work centers this takes about an hour, and it is what makes the schedule finite.
3. Run a week next to Odoo
Publish the schedule and compare the late order list and the bottleneck with what your Odoo planning shows. Keep stock, purchasing and accounting in Odoo while you test.
4. Decide what to keep
If the schedule earns its place, run the floor from ours and keep Odoo for records. Either way you know before you buy an add-on or hire a developer.
Questions people ask about Odoo manufacturing
Is Odoo good for manufacturing?
Odoo is good for small manufacturers that want bills of materials, work orders, inventory, sales and accounting in one low priced system. Its weak spot is the schedule: work orders are placed by date, and an overloaded work center is not blocked, so planners still sequence the shop by hand or buy an add-on.
Does Odoo have finite capacity scheduling?
Not in the standard Manufacturing app as most partners describe it. Odoo plans work orders against work center calendars, but it does not stop two jobs from landing on the same machine at the same time. Third party finite capacity add-ons exist, so check what your Odoo version and edition include before you rely on it.
How much does Odoo Manufacturing cost?
Odoo prices per user a month and lists its plans in euros. Standard is roughly 20 to 25 EUR per user and Custom roughly 36 to 45 EUR per user, depending on billing term, with all apps including Manufacturing. A partner usually quotes setup and customization separately, and that is where most of the budget goes.
What is the best alternative to Odoo for manufacturing?
It depends on the gap. For a whole ERP, plants compare Business Central, Acumatica or an industry ERP. For the schedule only, a dedicated finite capacity scheduler fits: ProductionPlanning.ai costs 149 USD per plant a month with unlimited users and runs next to Odoo, which keeps your inventory and accounting.
Is Odoo too complicated for a small manufacturer?
Often the software is fine and the setup is the hurdle. Manufacturing needs bills of materials, routings, work centers and inventory rules configured correctly before the plan means anything, and many small plants hire a partner for it. If the only pain is late orders, a scheduler is a much smaller project.
Can I use ProductionPlanning.ai alongside Odoo?
Yes. Export open manufacturing orders and work orders from Odoo to a spreadsheet, import them, and publish a finite schedule the same afternoon. Inventory, purchasing and accounting stay in Odoo. On the Plant plan, operators can mark jobs started and finished at the machine.
Fix the schedule before you customize the ERP
Start on the Line plan at 149 USD a month with the whole plant included, or run the demo on a sample week of orders first. You will see your own bottleneck the same afternoon.
Your data stays yours. Export or delete it any time. No card to try the demo.