Carbon vs OpenBOM
Carbon
carbon.ms
OpenBOM
openbom.comSide by side
| Figure | Carbon | OpenBOM |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $40/mo | $2.50/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 14 |
| Spec score · Bill of Materials Software | 8.6 (#7) | 8.9 (#3) |
| 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. | OpenBOM's security page states that it has achieved SOC 2 Type II compliance. |
| Integrations | The site lists Onshape, SolidWorks, Slack, Linear, Jira, QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, Stripe, Ramp, Okta and Microsoft Entra among its integrations. | Listed integrations include SolidWorks, Onshape, Autodesk Fusion and Inventor, Altium, KiCad, NetSuite, QuickBooks, Xero, Odoo, Dynamics 365 Business Central and Katana. |
| Product | Carbon combines ERP, MRP, MES and QMS to plan materials, run production, manage quality and track actual costs. | OpenBOM describes itself as a cloud product data platform connecting CAD, BOM, PDM, PLM, engineering change, procurement, and ERP workflows. |
| Security | Self-hosted deployments use a Postgres database with row-level security, and the customer controls the network, encryption, backups and retention. | OpenBOM describes AWS hosting, VPC isolation, encrypted communications and SOC 2 Type II compliance; the report is available under NDA. |
| Self-hosting | Carbon can run in a customer cloud account, on-premises or air-gapped; air-gapped deployment and licensing are Enterprise features. | Private and custom hosting are listed as Enterprise options. |
| Support | Enterprise engagements can include architecture, installation, legacy data migration, training and an SLA. | The company page states that OpenBOM provides 24/7 online support and monthly releases. |
Plans
OpenBOM
- Data records (up to 2,000)Free
- Data records up to 2,000Free
- CAD add-in$25 a month
- Professional Team$30 a month
- Professional Team (yearly)$30 a year
- Professional Team (monthly)$55 a month
- Company$90 a month
- Company (yearly)$90 a year
- Company (monthly)$165 a month
- Data records (up to 5,000)$180 a month
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.
OpenBOM
OpenBOM is a cloud product data platform that connects CAD, BOM, PDM, PLM, engineering change, procurement and ERP workflows. Its cloud PDM centralizes CAD files and supports locking, versions, revisions, releases, SmartSync and automatic BOM extraction. The digital xBOM can represent EBOM, MBOM, SBOM and other views as single-level, multi-level or flattened structures. Engineers can work on shared data in real time, attaching comments, tasks and mentions to items. Procurement workflows include inventory, RFQs, purchase orders and supplier or contractor collaboration. Listed CAD integrations include SOLIDWORKS, Altium Designer, Onshape, Autodesk Fusion, PTC Creo, Siemens NX and Autodesk Inventor; ERP examples include QuickBooks, NetSuite and SAP. Free access covers up to 2,000 data records, and the service lists a 14-day trial. Professional Team is $30 a year (billed yearly; $30 per seat per month). Only users who edit or manage data need paid seats; CAD add-ins require an active Team or Company subscription and a license for each user needing integration.