Carbon vs Katana
Carbon
carbon.ms
Katana
katanamrp.comSide by side
| Figure | Carbon | Katana |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $40/mo | $299/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 5 |
| Spec score · Bill of Materials Software | 8.6 (#7) | 8.7 (#5) |
| Compliance | Carbon describes self-hosted deployment as supporting CMMC and ITAR requirements, and says Enterprise BYOC deployments include inputs for an SSP, POA&M and SPRS score. | Katana states that it complies with GDPR and has completed an independent SOC 2 Type II audit. |
| Integrations | The site lists Onshape, SolidWorks, Slack, Linear, Jira, QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, Stripe, Ramp, Okta and Microsoft Entra among its integrations. | Native, partner and community integrations include Xero, Shopify, ShipStation, WooCommerce and ChatGPT, with additional tools available through the ecosystem. |
Plans
Katana
- FreeFree
- Core$299 a month
- AdvantagePrice not published
- Core (Capterra listing)$299 a month
- AdvantagePriced on request
In their own words
Carbon
Carbon combines ERP, MRP, MES, and QMS functions for manufacturers planning materials, running production, managing quality, and tracking actual costs. Product rules can generate bills of materials, routings, and quoted prices, with revision control and effectivity dates. Shop-floor tools include digital travelers, work instructions, QR and barcode tracking, and finite-capacity scheduling. First articles, nonconformances, CAPAs, and calibrations can be linked to production records, serials, and lots. Carbon is aimed at discrete manufacturers, including makers in defense, aerospace, automotive, medical devices, electronics, robotics, energy, space, semiconductors, and industrial equipment. Integrations include Onshape, SolidWorks, Slack, Jira, QuickBooks, Xero, and others. It provides REST endpoints, webhooks, an MCP server, and typed client generation for several languages. Deployment options include managed cloud, customer cloud accounts, Docker, on-premises, and air-gapped networks; air-gapped deployment is an Enterprise feature. Community includes core functionality under AGPL-3.0. Starter costs $40 a month, billed per user monthly, and a 30-day trial is listed.
Katana
Katana is web-based inventory and order management software with barcode scanning, purchase orders, sales orders and stock alerts. Its permanent Free tier costs nothing, requires no credit card and has no expiry date. Free includes 30 SKUs, unlimited users, unlimited integrations and unlimited inventory locations. Core starts at $299 a month, scales with usage and add-ons, and includes unlimited SKUs, users and integrations with one inventory location. Advantage has no listed price and offers custom integrations, custom dashboards and reports, custom automations and workflows, a dedicated Solutions Engineer, SLA-backed maintenance and regular CSM check-ins. Katana is available on the web, with no mobile apps listed. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia. The tiers create a clear capacity trade-off: Free allows unlimited inventory locations but limits SKUs to 30, while Core removes the SKU limit and provides one location.