Best for
Best for Dutch and Belgian organisations that want ERP, HR and payroll on one standardised cloud system.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
ERP Comparison
AFAS Software vs. Katana
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for small manufacturers selling across several channels who need live stock, production planning and shop floor time in one system, with the books left in QuickBooks or Xero.
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | AFAS Software | Katana |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not stated | Free tier; Core from $299 / month The Core plan starts at $299 a month and includes one inventory location; extra locations and the Traceability ($249), Manufacturing Management ($199) and Warehouse Management ($149) modules are billed as monthly add-ons. Monthly and annual billing are both offered, with the annual option carrying a premium. The Advantage plan is quoted. An optional onboarding package costs $2,000. |
| Free trial | Not stated | Free plan with no credit card, limited to 30 SKUs after a 15-day period of unlimited SKUs |
| Users | More than 14,000 organisations | Unlimited users on every plan, including the free one |
| API | Yes, via Get and Update connectors | Yes, a public REST API with its own developer portal, plus a hosted MCP server |
| Hosting | Cloud only, with data stored on servers in the Netherlands | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Made in | Netherlands | Estonia |
| Project costing | Yes, project administration with real-time insight into hours, budgets and project costs | No, costing is per manufacturing order rather than per project; operator time recorded in the Shop Floor app feeds into the production cost |
| Invoicing | Yes, invoices are filled automatically from time registration, purchasing and the project agreements, with configurable work types, hour types and billable costs | No, invoicing runs through the QuickBooks Online or Xero integration, which pushes Katana sales orders across as invoices and purchase orders as bills, with payment status syncing back |
| Digital receipt capture | Yes, Scan & herken reads a PDF supplier invoice that arrives without a UBL file, creates an e-invoice from the recognised creditor and amounts and keeps the PDF attached to it; when a user points at a value the position is remembered for that supplier's next invoice. Invoices in a language other than Dutch or English are recognised less reliably | No, and files cannot even be uploaded: a document is stored in Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive and its share link pasted into the Additional info field of the item or order, so it stays in step with the original. There is no scanning or character recognition of supplier bills |
| Reporting and controlling | Yes, more than 100 pre-built dashboards covering revenue, outstanding invoices, project costs and leave hours, updating automatically | Yes, with custom dashboards and reports available on the Advantage plan |
| Time tracking | Yes, hours recorded in the browser or the AFAS Pocket app and passed straight to invoicing | Yes, the Shop Floor app times each task with start, pause and resume per operator, and the tracked time affects production cost |
| Integrations and API | Yes, Get connectors read data and Update connectors write it, released per application by an AppConnector token; AFAS Connect is the testing tool | Yes, a public REST API with its own developer portal, plus an MCP server that connects Claude and ChatGPT to live Katana data for lookups and changes |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| MCP-ready | No | stated Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk | more entries Email helpdesk, Chat |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Guided onboarding, Live online demos and webinars, Personal consulting, On-site training | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Guided onboarding |
| Company size | more entries Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | Not stated | Shopify, Amazon FBA, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, eBay, QuickBooks Online, Xero, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, ShipStation, Shippo, 2Ship |
Add a tool
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Company size AFAS Software Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Katana Small and mid-sized
- Hosting AFAS Software Cloud only, with data stored on servers in the Netherlands Katana Cloud (SaaS)
- Support AFAS Software Email helpdesk Katana Email helpdesk, Chat
- Made in AFAS Software Netherlands Katana Estonia
- MCP-ready AFAS Software No Katana Yes
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
AFAS Software
Strengths
- ERP, finance, HR, payroll, CRM and projects in one system rather than separate modules
- More than 100 dashboards work out of the box, without custom development
- Data stored on servers in the Netherlands
- Standard product is customised without programming
Limitations
- No published prices, everything is quoted
- Cloud only, there is no on-premise option
- Standardisation is the point, so unusual processes have to bend or move to a connected system
Katana
Strengths
- Free plan with unlimited users, integrations and locations, capped at 30 SKUs
- Live inventory across Shopify, Amazon FBA, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and eBay
- Shop Floor app tracks operator time per task, and that time feeds the production cost
- Public REST API plus an official MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT
Limitations
- No invoicing or bookkeeping of its own; the books stay in QuickBooks Online or Xero
- Traceability, Manufacturing Management and Warehouse Management are paid monthly add-ons on top of the Core plan
- The Core plan includes one inventory location, with further locations billed separately
- Annual billing carries a premium rather than a discount
Plans
Pricing
AFAS Software
- Subscription Not stated A fixed amount per month, set by the number of users or employees on the system. Quoted on request; cancellable monthly after the first year.
Katana
- Free $0 No credit card. Unlimited users, integrations and locations, and access to all features; 30 SKUs after a 15-day period of unlimited SKUs.
- Core From $299 / month Unlimited SKUs, users and integrations, one inventory location, 24/7 support and API access. Extra locations and the Traceability, Manufacturing Management and Warehouse Management modules are add-ons.
- Advantage Not stated Quoted. Everything in Core plus custom integrations, dashboards, reports and automations, a dedicated Solutions Engineer, SLA-backed maintenance and regular check-ins.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
AFAS Software
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Katana
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
AFAS Software https://www.afas.com · no check date recorded yet
Katana https://katanamrp.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-06
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.