Best for
Best for mid-sized and large professional services firms that bill projects and want the ledger, the schedule and the invoice in one system.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
ERP Comparison
Deltek Maconomy vs. ERPNext
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for small and mid-sized businesses that want a full open-source ERP they can self-host or run managed, without per-user fees.
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Deltek Maconomy | ERPNext |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Price on request Deltek publishes no price list for Maconomy; the product page leads to a demo request. | Free (self-hosted, open source); managed Frappe Cloud hosting from $5 / month Self-hosting is free under AGPL-3.0. Frappe Cloud uses compute-based pricing that scales with usage, not per-user fees. |
| Free trial | Not stated | Free and open source to self-host at no cost |
| Team size | Mid-sized and large professional services firms, often across several locations or entities | Not stated |
| Commercial use | Not stated | Yes |
| API | Yes, the Maconomy RESTful API framework, plus a Maconomy connector for Deltek Unionpoint | Yes, REST API |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (Frappe Cloud) or on-premise (self-hosted) |
| Project costing | Yes, project and financial management with work in progress, revenue recognition and profitability tracking, alongside financial budgeting | Yes, via the Projects module with tasks, timesheets and expense tracking |
| Invoicing | Yes, automated billing for hourly, fixed-fee and progress billing models, with revenue recognition and work-in-progress management | Yes, sales orders, invoicing and pricing rules with full accounting |
| Digital receipt capture | Yes, in the Maconomy Touch mobile app: a receipt is attached to an expense sheet or a single expense sheet line either by taking a picture with the camera or by picking an existing photo from the gallery, and Quick Capture photographs a receipt for attaching to a sheet later | No, not in core. The manual creates a Purchase Invoice by hand, from a Purchase Order or a Purchase Receipt, or on a recurring schedule for a supplier that bills the same amount each period; invoice OCR comes from third-party apps on the Frappe Cloud marketplace rather than from ERPNext itself |
| Reporting and controlling | Yes, role-based dashboards, predictive analytics and AI-generated Smart Summaries covering project, customer and financial performance | Yes, general ledger, financial statements and multi-currency reporting |
| Time tracking | Yes, time, expense and absence entry with mobile-first capabilities for remote teams | Yes, timesheets in the Projects module |
| Integrations and API | Yes, the Maconomy RESTful API framework, which Deltek names as the only supported integration route for the Essentials and Flex cloud editions, plus a Maconomy connector for Deltek Unionpoint, the vendor's own integration platform as a service | Yes, REST API with an API-first architecture |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS) | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Phone | Email helpdesk, Community forum |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars, Personal consulting | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars |
| Company size | more entries Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | Deltek Unionpoint, Pagero | more entries Shopify, PayPal, Stripe |
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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
- Starting price Deltek Maconomy Price on request ERPNext Free (self-hosted, open source); managed Frappe Cloud hosting from $5 / month
- Deployment Deltek Maconomy Cloud (SaaS) ERPNext Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise
- Company size Deltek Maconomy Small and mid-sized, Enterprise ERPNext Small and mid-sized
- Hosting Deltek Maconomy Cloud (SaaS) ERPNext Cloud (Frappe Cloud) or on-premise (self-hosted)
- Support Deltek Maconomy Email helpdesk, Phone ERPNext Email helpdesk, Community forum
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Deltek Maconomy
Strengths
- Built specifically for professional services, with project accounting and billing in one system
- People Planner covers staffing and capacity next to the financials
- Billing supports hourly, fixed-fee and progress models with revenue recognition
- Dashboards carry predictive analytics and AI-written summaries
Limitations
- No published pricing; every quote goes through Deltek
- Pitched at mid-sized and large firms, so heavy for a small studio
- Cloud only, with no on-premise option named
ERPNext
Strengths
- Open source under AGPL-3.0, with no per-user or license fees
- Broad module coverage: accounting, invoicing, inventory, manufacturing, CRM and projects
- Self-host for free or run managed on Frappe Cloud
- API-first with a REST API and integrations such as Shopify, PayPal and Stripe
Limitations
- Self-hosting requires technical setup and ongoing maintenance
- Managed hosting and advanced support are paid
Plans
Pricing
Deltek Maconomy
- Custom Not stated Not published; Deltek asks interested firms to request a demo or a quote.
ERPNext
- Self-hosted $0 Open source under AGPL-3.0. Self-host on your own server with no license or per-user fees.
- Frappe Cloud $5 Per month, from. Managed hosting on Frappe Cloud with compute-based pricing that scales with usage, not per user.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Deltek Maconomy
- 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.
ERPNext
- 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
Deltek Maconomy https://www.deltek.com/en/products/erp/maconomy · checked against the official source on 2026-09-10
ERPNext https://erpnext.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.