Best Manufacturing ERP for Small Manufacturers 2026
Small manufacturers need production planning, bills of materials, MRP and inventory in one place, without an enterprise implementation. Pricing models in this category differ more than the features: MRPeasy publishes per-user prices from $49/user/month, Katana offers a permanent free plan for small catalogs, and others like DELMIAworks sell only through quotes.
We checked every vendor's own pricing page in October 2026 and ranked the tools on what a small shop can verify before talking to sales: published prices, free-plan or trial access, and the manufacturing features each plan actually includes.
The best Manufacturing ERP tools in 2026 are MRPeasy ($49–$149/user/mo), Katana (free plan; paid plans by quote), and Fishbowl Manufacturing (from $675/mo). MRPeasy is the best manufacturing ERP for most small manufacturers: it publishes per-user prices from $49/user/month (billed monthly) and includes full MRP on every plan, with a free trial. Katana is the best free option, with a permanent Free plan for up to 30 SKUs; its paid plan is quote-only.
MRPeasy is the best manufacturing ERP for most small manufacturers: it publishes per-user prices from $49/user/month (billed monthly) and includes full MRP on every plan, with a free trial. Katana is the best free option, with a permanent Free plan for up to 30 SKUs; its paid plan is quote-only.
Compare the top 3 side-by-side
Drag the seat slider, lock a tier per product, see Vendr median pricing and hidden costs for MRPeasy, Katana, Fishbowl Manufacturing.
Our Rankings
MRPeasy
MRPeasy publishes per-user prices for a full MRP system (production planning, BOMs, MRP, inventory, purchasing and CRM on every plan), and the per-user rate stops at 10 users before cheaper 10-user bundles take over, so a small shop can predict its cost before signing up.- Cheapest paid
- Starter: $49/user/month billed monthly ($539/user/year billed annually)
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Publishes per-user prices on every plan, billed monthly or annually with one month free
- Every plan includes production planning, BOM management, MRP, inventory and CRM
- From the 11th user, seats come in 10-user bundles rather than at the full per-user rate
- Free trial of 15 days, extendable by another 15 days
- No free plan once the trial ends
- The Unlimited plan requires at least 2 users
- Hands-on onboarding comes through paid support plans or outside consultants
Katana
Katana is the only pick here with a permanent free plan: up to 30 SKUs with unlimited users, inventory locations and integrations, all features and API access. Beyond 30 SKUs you move to Advantage, a custom annual contract whose price is not published.- Cheapest paid
- Advantage: quote-only (custom annual contract); Free plan $0 up to 30 SKUs
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Free plan with unlimited users, integrations and inventory locations
- Free plan includes all features and API access
- Unlimited SKUs for the first 15 days on the Free plan
- Advantage bundles implementation and a customer success manager into one contract
- Free plan is capped at 30 SKUs
- The paid plan is quote-only and sold as an annual contract
- Only Shopify integrates with the Free plan for e-commerce
Fishbowl Manufacturing
Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing adds BOMs, MRP, work orders and job costing with deep QuickBooks Online, Desktop and Enterprise integration, and Fishbowl publishes a starting price. The final price is quoted by users and deployment, and an implementation package is required.- Cheapest paid
- Advanced Manufacturing: from $675/month, quoted by users and deployment
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Publishes a starting price for Advanced Manufacturing
- Deep QuickBooks Online, Desktop and Enterprise integration
- Lot and batch traceability plus job, labor and landed costing
- Cloud hosting included, with a self-managed deployment option
- Final price is always confirmed by quote
- An implementation package is required with every purchase
- Fishbowl's cheaper Inventory plans do not include manufacturing
- No free plan or self-serve trial
DELMIAworks (formerly IQMS)
DELMIAworks (formerly IQMS) is an end-to-end discrete manufacturing ERP that names small manufacturers moving off QuickBooks and spreadsheets as a target customer. It covers quality, scheduling and costing in one system, but pricing is quote-only.- Cheapest paid
- Quote-only; DELMIAworks does not publish prices
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- End-to-end discrete manufacturing ERP with real-time production monitoring
- Integrated quality management and scheduling
- Built to avoid third-party add-ons for core functionality
- Aimed at manufacturers moving off QuickBooks and spreadsheets
- No published pricing
- No free plan or self-serve trial
- Positioned for mid-market manufacturers
Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform
Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform is sold as one annual subscription covering unlimited users and machines with no overage charges, which suits a manufacturer planning several plants. Its price is not published and it is aimed at larger operations than most small shops.- Cheapest paid
- Quote-only annual subscription; Plex does not publish prices
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- One annual subscription with unlimited users and machines
- No overage charges or data-transfer limits
- 24x7 sandbox environment included
- Hosting, support, security monitoring and backups included
- No published pricing
- No free plan or self-serve trial
- Aimed at mid-size and larger manufacturers
Evaluation Criteria
- Published pricing
Per-user or starting prices listed on the vendor site, versus quote-only
- Core MRP features
Production planning, bills of materials, MRP and inventory in the entry plan
- Free plan or trial
Ability to test with your own data before paying
- Scaling cost
How the bill changes as users, SKUs or plants grow
How We Picked These
We evaluated 5 products and ranked the top 5 (last researched 2026-10-20).
Whether the vendor publishes prices, and how they scale with users
BOMs, MRP, production scheduling and inventory included in the entry plan
Permanent free plan or free trial you can start without sales
How cost and features scale past the first 10 users or 30 SKUs
Frequently Asked Questions
01 What's the cheapest manufacturing ERP for small manufacturers?
Katana's Free plan costs nothing for up to 30 SKUs and includes unlimited users. Among paid plans with published prices, MRPeasy's Starter plan is the lowest-priced entry here, charged per user for the first 10 users.
02 Which of these tools offer a free plan or free trial?
Katana has a permanent Free plan for up to 30 SKUs. MRPeasy offers a 15-day free trial that can be extended by another 15 days. Fishbowl, DELMIAworks and Plex are sold through demos and quotes rather than self-serve trials.
03 Do I need a manufacturing ERP if I already use QuickBooks?
QuickBooks handles accounting but not bills of materials, MRP or work orders. Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing integrates with QuickBooks Online, Desktop and Enterprise, and MRPeasy integrates with QuickBooks Online. DELMIAworks targets manufacturers moving off QuickBooks and spreadsheets.
04 How do MRPeasy prices change as my team grows?
MRPeasy charges its per-user rate for the first 10 users. From the 11th user, additional users are added in bundles of 10 at a flat monthly price per bundle, on every plan.
05 Which vendors do not publish prices?
DELMIAworks and Plex are quote-only. Katana's paid Advantage plan is a custom annual contract. Fishbowl publishes a starting price for Advanced Manufacturing but confirms the final price by quote.
06 Are implementation costs included?
It varies. Fishbowl requires an implementation package with every purchase. Katana Advantage includes implementation in its annual contract. MRPeasy is self-serve, with paid support plans and authorized consultants available for hands-on help.
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