Odoo is a modular suite of business apps for sales, inventory, accounting, websites and more. Learn how it works, which edition and hosting to pick, who it fits, and what a first project involves.
Odoo is a suite of business apps that run on one shared database: sales, CRM, inventory, accounting, a website and online shop, point of sale, manufacturing, HR and more. You switch on only the apps you need and add others later. If you are asking what Odoo is in plain terms, think of one system that replaces a pile of separate tools and spreadsheets, built so that a sales order can flow on to a delivery and an invoice without anyone retyping it.
In short
Odoo is business software of the kind usually called an ERP, short for enterprise resource planning. An ERP holds the day-to-day records of a company: customers, products, stock, orders, invoices and employees. Odoo keeps all of them in one PostgreSQL database, so the sales team, the warehouse and the accountant work from the same records instead of from three exports that never quite match.
Odoo groups its apps into areas, and the Odoo 19.0 user documentation has a guide for each one. These are the main areas with a few example apps.
| Area | Example apps |
|---|---|
| Finance | Invoicing, Accounting, Expenses |
| Sales | CRM, Sales, Point of Sale, Subscriptions, Rental |
| Websites | Website, eCommerce, Blog, eLearning, Forum, Live Chat |
| Supply chain | Inventory, Purchase, Manufacturing, Quality, Maintenance |
| Human resources | Employees, Recruitment, Time Off, Payroll, Fleet |
| Marketing | Email Marketing, SMS Marketing, Events, Surveys |
| Services | Project, Timesheets, Helpdesk, Planning, Field Service |
| Productivity | Discuss, Documents, Sign, Knowledge, Appointments |
Not every app exists in both editions. Payroll, Helpdesk, Sign and Subscriptions, for example, are Enterprise apps. The guide on Odoo Community vs Enterprise shows where the line falls.
Every Odoo app is a module, and many modules depend on other modules. You open the Apps menu, activate an app, and its menus and fields appear in the same database as everything else. Odoo's documentation warns that adding or removing apps can affect other apps and, on a paid plan, your subscription cost, so try changes on a duplicate database first.
That design lets you start with the two or three apps that solve your biggest problem and grow from there. It also lets other developers extend Odoo, from a small report to a full industry add-on. Such modules are written for specific Odoo versions and may depend on other apps, so read how to choose an Odoo module before you buy one, and browse Odoo modules when you know what you need.
Odoo Community is free and open source under the LGPL version 3. Odoo Enterprise is built on top of Community and, in Odoo's words, is the shared-source version with more functionality, plus functional support, upgrades and hosting. Enterprise code is used under the Odoo Enterprise Edition License, which requires a valid subscription for the right number of users.
Odoo's documentation says you can switch from Community to Enterprise later, but the features differ, so the choice still matters at the start. The licences, the feature gaps and the effect on third-party modules are in Odoo Community vs Enterprise.
| Option | What it is | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Odoo Online | Databases hosted and managed by Odoo, used through a browser | The easiest start. No custom modules or Odoo Apps Store modules |
| Odoo.sh | Odoo's cloud platform with GitHub integration, staging and development branches | Needs an Enterprise subscription that includes Odoo.sh. Custom modules go in your Git repository |
| Your own server | You install and run Odoo on a server, a VPS or in Docker | Community or Enterprise. You handle updates, security and backups |
For your own server, our guide to installing Odoo on Ubuntu covers a safe setup. Each route has a different cost profile, broken down in how much Odoo costs.
Odoo tends to fit a company that runs sales, stock, accounting and a website in separate tools and wants them connected, whose processes standard apps can cover with configuration, and that can name an owner for the project. It also suits teams that want a choice of hosting or want their code and data on their own server.
It is usually a weaker fit when:
Its strengths are a wide range of connected apps, flexible hosting, a large ecosystem of modules and, for Community, open source code. Its limits are that depth varies from app to app, per-user fees add up, a new major version arrives every year, and third-party modules need review. Odoo lists implementation partners by country on its partners page, including Saudi Arabia.
Good first projects are small. A sensible order:
Odoo's pricing page says implementation is not part of the subscription. It points smaller companies to Odoo's own packages and larger ones to partners, so ask for a written scope and a list of exclusions.
Odoo Community is free to use. Enterprise is paid per user, and the pricing page includes a plan that starts with one app free. Hosting, setup and support cost something in both cases, as how much Odoo costs explains.
Both, and more. CRM is one app, and it shares customers and products with Sales, Inventory and Accounting. That sharing is what makes the suite an ERP.
Odoo can run in Arabic, and a self-hosted server needs the rtlcss package for right-to-left layouts. The documentation describes a Saudi Arabia localisation with VAT taxes and a ZATCA e-invoicing module. Read the Saudi Arabia page and confirm the details with a partner.
Yes. Studio is a no-code toolbox for fields, views and automation, and it belongs to Enterprise. Developers can write modules in Python and XML on a self-hosted or Odoo.sh database, but not on Odoo Online.
Odoo's version table lists 20.0 as the newest major version, released in September 2026, and 19.0 in standard support until September 2028 (planned). Check the support table, and make sure the modules you need support the version you pick.
To choose an edition, read Odoo Community vs Enterprise, then build a budget with how much Odoo costs. To compare Odoo with other systems, see Odoo vs ERPNext vs SAP Business One. When you start looking for add-ons, the Odoo modules section lists items with their supported versions, support period and update policy.
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