MRPeasy vs Unleashed vs Katana: 11 Best MRP Software for Small Manufacturers 2026

Best for Production plans and shortages out of a spreadsheet

MRPeasy (#1, 8.8/9.4). MRP is the product, and every tier has a price. It also handles Bills of material, purchasing and stock in one tool, Starting with a trial and a printed price.

Best for Stock, orders and a production module on one plan

Unleashed (#2, 8.0/9.4). Clear plan table, MRP priced as an add-on. It also handles MRP priced as a visible add-on, Xero or QuickBooks Online alongside the stock system.

Best for Work orders tied to live stock

Katana (#3, 7.7/9.4). Strong stock-to-production flow, price hidden above free. It also handles Selling through Shopify and other channels while making to stock, Starting on a free plan.

What is MRP software?

MRP stands for material requirements planning. The software works out what you need to buy or make, how much, and by when. It starts from your sales orders and forecasts, opens each product's bill of materials, subtracts what is on the shelf and on order, and shows the shortages. Then it suggests purchase orders and production orders. In practice a small shop uses it to stop discovering missing parts on the day a job should start. Some products on this list are MRP first, such as MRPeasy and Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing. Others began as inventory tools and added production later, such as Unleashed, Katana, Cin7 Core and inFlow. Ask each vendor to show you a shortage list built from a real order.

How is MRP different from a full ERP?

A full ERP holds the whole business: the general ledger, payroll, sales, purchasing, inventory and production in one database. MRP covers the planning of materials and production, plus the stock and bills of material it depends on. Most small shops keep QuickBooks or Xero for the books and add MRP beside it. MRPeasy, Katana, Fishbowl, Unleashed and Cin7 Core name QuickBooks Online or Xero on their pages. Cetec ERP and ERPNext describe themselves as wider systems with financials and other modules around the production side, and Odoo sells its manufacturing app inside a suite of apps. Unleashed's own page says it is not a full ERP. The question to ask is whether you want one database for everything or a planning tool that talks to your ledger. Our neighbouring list of manufacturing ERP for small business covers the first case.

Is a job shop different from a make-to-stock shop?

Yes, because the planning trigger is different. A make-to-stock shop plans from forecasts and reorder points, builds batches, and cares about finished goods on the shelf. A job shop plans from customer orders, quotes each job, and cares about routing, scheduling and job cost against the quote. Katana, Unleashed, Cin7 Core and Megaventory lean toward stock and sales channels. JobBOSS² describes quoting, drag-and-drop scheduling and job costing for make-to-order and custom metal shops. MRPeasy lists sales forecasting and backward scheduling on Enterprise, and Odoo lists a master production schedule and finite capacity planning. Check which side a product starts from, because the other side is usually the thinner one.

Do I need MRP, or is inventory software enough?

If you build from a short parts list and reorder by eye, inventory software with bills of materials may be enough. inFlow Manufacturing and Megaventory add BOMs and manufacture or work orders to inventory tools, and neither page we read names MRP. You need MRP when a job needs many parts from several suppliers with different lead times, or when you run several jobs against the same stock. Then the shortage list saves real money, because you stop overbuying and stop stalling. A simple test is to ask how many times last month a job waited on a part you could have seen coming.

Why are the prices so hard to compare?

They use different units. MRPeasy and Cetec ERP charge per user. Unleashed, Cin7 Core, Fishbowl and inFlow charge by plan with user caps. Katana's page shows a free plan and a custom contract. ERPNext charges for hosting and not per user. Odoo charges per user, with a free first app. JobBOSS² is quote only. The bigger trap is where MRP sits. Unleashed puts MRP at $149 per month on Core and free on Pro. Cetec ERP charges $1,000 per month for Advanced Manufacturing Planning. Fishbowl's cheaper Inventory plans leave out MRP entirely. Price the plan that includes the planning you want, for your user count, and add onboarding.

What should I check before I commit?

Check four things. First, run one real order through the trial and see the shortage list. Second, ask how it posts to your accounting system, and whether that link costs extra. Cetec ERP lists its QuickBooks Online integration at $300 per month. Third, ask how long go-live took for a shop your size. JobBOSS²'s FAQ says about 3 to 6 months, while Fishbowl's page says an implementation package is required. Fourth, find out what happens to your data if you leave. Ask for a full export of items, bills of material and open orders before you sign.

How to choose

1. 1First, decide whether you plan from forecasts or from customer orders. A make-to-stock shop wants reorder points, batches and finished goods control. A job shop wants quoting, routings and a schedule it can move around.
2. 2Second, count the people who will touch the system. Per-user tools such as MRPeasy and Cetec ERP get dearer as operators join. Plan-based tools such as Unleashed, Cin7 Core and inFlow cap users and orders per plan. Odoo and ERPNext change the maths again.
3. 3Third, find the price of the plan that includes MRP. On Unleashed that is Core plus add-ons or Pro. On Fishbowl it is Advanced Manufacturing by quote. On Cin7 Core it is Pro and Advanced, but confirm with the vendor. Ask for it in writing.
4. 4Fourth, decide where the books live. If you keep QuickBooks or Xero, check the named link and its cost. If you want one database for everything, look at Odoo, ERPNext or the wider ERP list.
5. 5Finally, plan the first 90 days. Set aside time to enter bills of material, stock counts and open orders. A tool with a trial and a printed price lets you test this cheaply. A tool with a required package and a long go-live is a larger bet.

How much does MRP software cost for a small manufacturer?

On the pages we opened, published prices ranged from $0 to $1,199 per month. MRPeasy lists $49 to $149 per user per month. Unleashed lists $99, $399 and $729 per month. Cin7 Core lists $349, $599 and $1,199 per month. inFlow Manufacturing lists $169 to $859 per month billed annually. Cetec ERP lists $50 per user per month with a 5 user minimum. Odoo lists per-user prices from US$24.90 and a free first app. ERPNext hosting starts at $5 per month. Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing starts at $675 per month by quote. Katana shows a free plan and a custom contract, and JobBOSS² shows no price.

Is there free MRP software?

Partly. Katana lists a Free plan at $0 with all features, unlimited users and a cap of 30 SKUs after the first 15 days. Odoo lists One App Free for one app with unlimited users. ERPNext is free open-source software under GPL-3.0 if you host it yourself, and Frappe Cloud offers a 14-day trial. MRPeasy, Unleashed and inFlow offer trials but no free plan. Free software still costs time to set up, so budget for that.

What is the difference between MRPeasy and Unleashed?

MRPeasy is built around production: planning, BOMs, purchasing and a master production schedule on Enterprise, priced per user. Unleashed is built around inventory and orders, with production and MRP priced as add-ons on Core or included on Pro, priced by plan. For a shop of about 10 to 200 people that makes things to order or stock, MRPeasy's page fits more directly. For a product business that sells through many channels and builds simple assemblies, Unleashed's page is a close second.

Can my inventory app do the job?

Possibly, for simple builds. inFlow Manufacturing and Megaventory both list BOMs and manufacture or work orders. Neither page we read names MRP. If your jobs use few parts and short lead times, that may be enough. If a single job pulls many parts from several suppliers, an MRP-first tool will show shortages earlier.

Which of these need a sales call?

JobBOSS² showed no price and points to a demo. Fishbowl's Advanced Manufacturing is confirmed by quote. Katana's Advantage plan is custom. Cin7 Core's Omni plan is custom. Megaventory's Enterprise plan is custom, and Frappe's Enterprise hosting is quoted. MRPeasy, Unleashed, Cetec ERP, inFlow and Odoo print prices, though Odoo's billing basis is unclear.

How often is this list updated?

We re-score every 90 days, and the next review is 2027-01-25. If a vendor changes a price or retires a plan before then, the list may be out of date, so confirm every figure on the vendor's own page before you buy.