Buy the accounting core of an ERP, because a general ledger is the same in every company, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is the easiest one to weigh since it publishes its price. Build the operations side as a custom system, which ranks third here, when the way you quote, schedule or fulfill is specific to you and the ERP would need consultants to imitate it.
Companies that will adopt preset processes without changes
Standard cloud ERP from a large vendor with preset processes
Packages let you start with finance or supply chain and add more
Publishes a per-user rate for its finance and supply chain packages
Minimum of 15 users
Sold as fixed packages that follow SAP preset processes
Plan for an implementation team, from SAP or one of its partners
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Best for companies that want a published price to weigh against a build
A build or buy comparison needs a number on the buy side, and Business Central gives one. Essentials and Premium each carry a published per-user price, paid yearly, and Premium costs more, so the five-year license cost is simple multiplication. It ranks first because finance is the part of an ERP no company should build, and this is the easiest ledger on the list to price. You buy it through a partner, as Microsoft directs.
Watch for. The lower-cost Team Members license cannot run the business. Count how many of your people need a full license before you do the multiplication.
How it charges
Per user, paid yearly, bought through a Microsoft partner
Main limit
Manufacturing needs the Premium plan, and Microsoft sends buyers to a partner
Best for companies that want to buy the base and build on top of it
Odoo ranks second because it is both a product to buy and a base to build on. Standard is billed per user, yearly, at the lowest published price here. The Custom plan costs more, adds Studio and can be hosted on Odoo.sh or on premise, where custom developments run. That is building inside a bought product. You pay for the upkeep of that custom code, since maintenance is outside the plan price.
Watch for. Odoo says companies of more than 50 employees usually work with a partner. Add the partner to the five-year cost before you compare.
How it charges
Per user, billed yearly or monthly, one app free
Main limit
Mid-size firms usually need a partner, and Custom adds multi-company and Studio
Best for operations no ERP models, built around a ledger you keep
Black Badger publishes this guide and will build a custom ERP, so read this entry as our own. Building ranks third on this list, because for most companies the right answer is partly both. Keep or buy the accounting core. Build the operations that are yours alone, such as quoting, scheduling or fulfillment, as a system you own that posts to that ledger. There is no per-seat fee, so everyone in the company can use it.
Watch for. A full custom ERP is rarely the right first step. Discovery and a written scope will show which parts are worth building and which you should buy.
How it charges
One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
Main limit
Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
Best for companies whose case for building rests on seat fees alone
Acumatica ranks fourth. The usual argument for building is that per-seat fees grow with headcount, and Acumatica does not charge by seat. Its price follows the applications you deploy and the resources you use, so that argument does not apply. The remaining question is fit, and if the product fits, buying it is the sound choice. No dollar prices are published, and it is sold only through resellers.
Watch for. Without a published price you cannot run the comparison alone. Ask a reseller for a custom pricing review before you scope a build.
How it charges
Quoted by applications and usage, not by user seats
Main limit
Quote only, sold through resellers, priced by resources and not by users
Best for companies that want one vendor to run everything
NetSuite ranks fifth on a build or buy view. It is the full buy. Accounting, inventory, order management and tax management are in the core platform, and it is vendor-managed, so nobody on your side maintains servers. The drawback is that the cost is hard to see in advance. There is no price list, each added module carries its own fee, and the NetSuite pricing guide lists data migration, implementation, training and support as costs beyond the license.
Watch for. Get five years of license, modules and services in one quote. Put that total beside a build and leave the first-year number out.
How it charges
Quoted annual license by modules and users
Main limit
Quote only, and each module is licensed separately
Best for companies buying finance and deciding operations separately
Sage Intacct ranks sixth, and it pairs naturally with the build route. Sage describes it as designed for scaling and mid-sized businesses with complex accounting needs, and it is a finance system first and not a full operations suite. A company that buys it has answered half of the question and left the other half open. Operations then run in other tools or in a system built for you. Pricing is quoted per customer.
Watch for. Sage publishes no price for Intacct on its US site. Ask for the quote early, since half of your comparison depends on it.
How it charges
Quoted by sales to the size and needs of the organization
Main limit
Quote only, built around accounting for mid-sized firms
Best for companies that will adopt preset processes without changes
SAP S/4HANA Cloud ranks seventh. It is the clearest case of buying a process along with the software. The GROW packages are fixed in scope, Finance Base shows a per-user rate with a 15 user minimum, and it suits a company that will follow SAP preset processes. If your reason for considering a build is that your process is unusual, this is the product furthest from what you need.
Watch for. The published rate applies to 25 to 39 users, and more users get a lower rate. SAP says to request a quote for the exact price.
How it charges
Per user, 15-user minimum, rate varies with user count
Main limit
Sold as fixed packages with a 15 user minimum, rate depends on user count
We did not rank these as ERPs in general. We ranked them by how directly each one answers the build or buy question for a company of 50 or more employees. A published price counted heavily, because without one the buy side of the comparison cannot be worked out. So did how each product charges, and how much room it leaves for a process of your own.
Several of these vendors publish no price. Where that is so, the entry says it and gives no estimate.
Questions buyers ask
Should any company build its own accounting system?
A company should almost never build its own accounting system. Ledgers, payables, receivables and tax rules are the same everywhere and are heavily regulated, so buy that part. The build or buy question in ERP is about operations, meaning the quoting, production, scheduling and fulfillment that differ from company to company.
What does buying the ledger and building the operations of an ERP look like?
Buying the ledger and building the operations means you keep or buy an accounting system and it stays the financial record. A custom system runs the operational work in the way your company does it and posts the results, such as invoices and costs, to the ledger. Each side does what it is good at.
Why does a published ERP price matter in a build or buy decision?
A published ERP price matters because build or buy is a comparison of two totals. When a vendor quotes per customer, you cannot fill in the buy side until you have been through a sales process. On the date we checked, Microsoft, Odoo and SAP published prices. NetSuite, Acumatica and Sage Intacct did not.
Is customizing an ERP the same as building?
Customizing an ERP is building inside a product you rent. You get the vendor's foundation, and you also carry the upkeep of your custom code through every upgrade, usually with a partner. That can be the right decision. It should be priced as a build, because it is one.