In 2026, ERP software for a small business in India costs 22,500 rupees once for TallyPrime Silver or 67,500 for Gold, 749 to 2,999 a month for Zoho Books, about 1,499 per user per month for Odoo Enterprise, and 3 to 12 lakh to implement SAP Business One before licences of 60,000 to 3.5 lakh per user. A custom ERP costs 20 to 60 lakh to build.
Those numbers are not comparable as printed, because one is a licence, one is a subscription, one is per user and one is mostly implementation. Put them over five years for the same 10-user company and they line up: about 1.4 lakh for Tally, 1.8 lakh for Zoho Books, 10 lakh for Odoo, 20 to 60 lakh for SAP Business One, and 40 lakh to 1.2 crore for a custom build. The gap between the first two and the rest is the whole decision.
What does each option cost?
| Option | List price | Pricing shape |
|---|---|---|
| TallyPrime Silver | 22,500 once, 26,550 with GST; renewal 4,500 a year | One user on one machine |
| TallyPrime Gold | 67,500 once, 79,650 with GST; renewal 13,500 a year | Unlimited users on a local network |
| Zoho Books | 749, 1,499 or 2,999 a month billed annually, for 3, 5 or 10 users; 150 per extra user | Per organisation; free under 25 lakh turnover |
| Odoo Enterprise | About 1,499 per user per month from Indian partners; implementation from about 75,000 | Per user; the Community edition is free |
| SAP Business One, cloud | 3,000 to 8,000 per user per month, plus implementation | Per user plus a project |
| SAP Business One, on premises | Professional licence about 1.6 to 3.5 lakh, limited user 60,000 to 1 lakh, plus 3 to 12 lakh implementation for 5 to 10 users, plus 16 to 22 percent annual maintenance | Licence plus project plus maintenance |
| Custom ERP | 20 to 60 lakh to build, 15 to 25 percent a year after | A project you own |
Prices are 2026 list prices before 18 percent GST, which is claimable as input credit. SAP figures vary widely between partners, so take them as the band.
Five years, ten users, one trading or manufacturing business
| Option | Five-year cost | What is in it |
|---|---|---|
| TallyPrime Gold | About 1.4 lakh | Licence with GST and four renewals |
| Zoho Books Premium | About 1.8 lakh, plus 15,000 to 50,000 implementation | Ten users included |
| Odoo Enterprise | About 10 lakh | Ten users for 60 months plus implementation |
| SAP Business One, cloud | 18 to 48 lakh, plus 3 to 12 lakh implementation | Ten users |
| SAP Business One, on premises | About 10 lakh in licences, plus 5 to 12 lakh implementation, plus maintenance | Two professional and eight limited users |
| Custom ERP | 40 lakh to 1.2 crore | Build plus 20 percent a year |
Read the first two rows against the rest. For a business whose books, stock and invoicing fit a standard package, the difference between Tally and SAP over five years is twenty times, and the difference between Tally and a custom build is thirty to eighty times. The question is only whether your process fits.
Why the licence is the wrong number to compare
Implementation is the price. SAP Business One's licences for 10 users are about 10 lakh; the implementation is another 5 to 12 lakh and the maintenance 16 to 22 percent of the licence every year. Odoo's licence is modest; a serious implementation with inventory and manufacturing is not. Even Zoho Books, the simplest of the paid options, needs 15,000 to 50,000 of setup if someone else migrates your chart of accounts, GST settings and opening balances.
Migration is where projects fail. Opening stock, pending orders, customer ledgers and three years of invoices have to land correctly on one date. Budget your own team's time as a real cost, because it is: a fortnight of your accountant and your stores manager, at minimum.
Users cost more than software. A system nobody enters data into on time is worthless at any price. The common failure in small-business ERP is not the product, it is that the warehouse keeps a notebook and the system lags it by a week.
Which option fits which business?
- Under about 10 users, standard books and stock: Tally or Zoho Books. Tally if your accountant lives in it and you want a one-time cost; Zoho Books if you want cloud access, bank feeds and app integrations. Most Indian small businesses belong here and overbuy.
- 10 to 50 users with inventory, manufacturing or several branches: Odoo or SAP Business One. Odoo when you want modules switched on gradually and a lower bill; SAP Business One when you need the control and the partner ecosystem, and can fund the implementation.
- Over 50 users with a process no package expresses: a custom build, maybe. The test is the same one we use for custom CRM: build only when the process is genuinely yours, not when the seat count crosses a line.
When is a custom ERP worth it?
Rarely, and never for the modules every business shares. Accounts, GST, payroll and standard inventory are solved problems that the packages maintain through every rule change. What some businesses legitimately build is the piece that is theirs: a quoting engine for made-to-order products, a dealer portal with credit limits, a production scheduler for a particular plant, a quality workflow a regulator requires. That piece costs 5 to 15 lakh and should sit beside a packaged ERP, reading and writing through its API, rather than replace it.
A full custom ERP at 20 to 60 lakh is right when all three are true: more than about 50 users, a process the packages cannot express without crippling customisation, and the appetite to run a software product for a decade. Two of three is a package with a custom layer.
What moves the price
- Users, on every option except Tally Gold, which is why it stays popular.
- Modules: manufacturing, multi-warehouse, quality and planning each step the price and the implementation.
- Branches and entities, each with its own GST registration.
- Data quality, which decides whether migration is a week or a quarter.
- Customisation, the line that turns a 5 lakh SAP implementation into a 15 lakh one.
How to read an ERP quote
- Ask for the five-year total, licences, implementation, maintenance and the extra users you will add.
- Ask what is customisation and what is configuration. Customisation is what you pay for again at every upgrade.
- Ask who migrates the data and what they need from your team.
- Ask for a reference customer of your size and industry, and ask them about month-end, not the demo.
- Ask what you can export if you leave.
Questions people ask
How much does ERP software cost for a small business in India?
TallyPrime costs 22,500 rupees once for a single user or 67,500 for unlimited users on a network, with annual renewals of 4,500 or 13,500. Zoho Books costs 749 to 2,999 a month for 3 to 10 users. Odoo Enterprise runs about 1,499 per user per month, and SAP Business One costs 3 to 12 lakh to implement plus 60,000 to 3.5 lakh per user in licences. All before 18 percent GST, which is claimable.
What is the Tally Prime price in 2026?
Silver, for one user on one machine, is 22,500 rupees plus GST, or 26,550 all in, with a 4,500 annual renewal for updates. Gold, for unlimited users on a local network, is 67,500 plus GST, or 79,650, with a 13,500 renewal. Rental plans run from about 750 a month for Silver.
How much does SAP Business One cost in India?
Professional licences are about 1.6 to 3.5 lakh per user and limited licences 60,000 to 1 lakh, implementation is 3 to 12 lakh for a 5 to 10 user business and 15 to 35 lakh for 10 to 50 users, and annual maintenance is 16 to 22 percent of the licence value. Cloud subscriptions run 3,000 to 8,000 per user per month plus implementation. Figures vary between partners.
Is Zoho Books free?
For businesses with annual revenue under 25 lakh rupees, yes. Above that the paid plans are 749, 1,499 and 2,999 a month billed annually for 3, 5 and 10 users, with extra users at 150 a month each.
How much does a custom ERP cost to build in India?
Twenty to 60 lakh to build and 15 to 25 percent of that a year to maintain, so 40 lakh to 1.2 crore over five years. It is justified only above about 50 users with a process no package can express. Most businesses that think they need one need a package plus a 5 to 15 lakh custom layer.
Tally or Zoho Books for a small business?
Tally if your accountant works in it, you want a one-time cost and your team is on one network. Zoho Books if you want cloud access from anywhere, bank feeds, and integrations with other apps. Over five years for a 10-user business they cost about the same, 1.4 against 1.8 lakh.
Getting a real number
If you have under 10 users and standard books, buy Tally or Zoho Books this week and stop reading ERP quotes. If you are between 10 and 50 users with stock or manufacturing, the choice between Odoo and SAP Business One deserves a proper comparison on your own process. If there is a piece of your operation no package handles, that custom layer is what we build, beside the package rather than instead of it. What that looks like is on our web and SaaS development page.