Tally is the default choice for Indian SME accounting — and for pure bookkeeping, it earns that reputation. But the moment your business needs inventory, HR, CRM or manufacturing modules, Tally becomes a patchwork of workarounds.
₹0ERPNext software cost
₹18kTally/user/year
₹5L+avg 3-yr saving
When to stay with Tally
- Your team only needs GST-compliant accounting and basic reporting
- Fewer than 10 users with no scale plans in the next 2 years
- Your CA is deeply familiar with Tally and migration cost isn't justified yet
- You have minimal or no inventory requirements
When to switch to ERPNext
- You want inventory, purchase orders, sales orders and accounting in one system
- You need role-based access across multiple departments
- Manufacturing, HR, payroll or project management is part of your operations
- You want to stop paying ₹18,000+/year per Tally licence as you scale
Cost comparison over 3 years (10-user team)
ERPNext self-hosted on Frappe Cloud starts at ₹0 for the software — you pay hosting (~₹3,000/month) and one-time implementation. Tally Prime at ₹18,000/year per licence = ₹5.4 lakh over 3 years for 10 users. ERPNext total cost of ownership is typically 40–60% lower for teams of 5 or more.
Our recommendation: if more than one department uses the same data (sales, purchase, accounts) and you're growing, ERPNext will pay for itself within 18 months.
