Epicor alternatives and an Epicor Kinetic alternative for small plants that need the schedule fixed before the ERP
ProductionPlanning.ai is an Epicor Kinetic alternative for small and mid sized make to order plants whose real problem is orders shipping late, not a missing ERP. Epicor Kinetic is a full manufacturing ERP sold per user on a quote. Third party estimates put it at 100 to 200 USD per user a month, often with a 10 user minimum, plus implementation from about 50,000 USD, so a 15 user plant pays roughly 117,000 to 262,000 USD over three years. We do one job: load every machine and work center against its real shifts and setups and show which orders will be late, for a flat 149 USD per plant a month with unlimited users. The comparison below is honest, including where Epicor is the better buy.
Free for 14 days on your own orders and machines. No card.
Machine shop, This week's schedule, finite capacity per work center
- On time
- Late
- Changeover
On time
0%
Bottleneck
0%
Shortages
0
What Epicor Kinetic is, and who it is built for
Epicor Software is an Austin, Texas company that has sold ERP to manufacturers since the 1990s. Kinetic is the current name of its flagship manufacturing ERP, the product many plants still call Epicor ERP, E10 or Vantage. Epicor describes it as built for discrete and make to order manufacturing, and it runs in Epicor's cloud, on premise or as a hybrid.
The scope is the whole business. Quoting and CPQ, sales orders, purchasing, inventory, MRP, Advanced Planning and Scheduling, MES and shop floor data collection, quality, financials and eCommerce sit on one platform, with a twice yearly release train. Epicor sells directly and through a large partner network, and the partner usually runs the implementation.
Why plants look for an Epicor alternative
Kinetic is a mature ERP with real depth, and plenty of plants run it well. The ones who start pricing something else usually hit one of these first.
- The price is a quote. Epicor's Kinetic pages offer a demo and a product tour, and no third party source we checked found a price list
- The minimum is large for a small shop. top10erp reports a 10 user minimum, and ERP Research adds a platform fee of about 1,500 USD a month on top of users
- The implementation is the bigger number. Estimates start around 50,000 USD and ERP Research puts a typical rollout at 5 to 10 months
- Scheduling is a module. Advanced Planning and Scheduling is priced as an add on to the core, so the part a late shipping plant actually needs is not in the entry quote
- Every planner, shift lead and buyer who needs the schedule is a seat, so the bill grows with the people who read the plan
- The usual complaints in reviews are a busy interface, long implementations and costs that climb as modules, services and customization pile up
If most of that list fits, you are not really choosing between two ERP systems. You are choosing between a months long ERP project and a schedule you can run this week.
What Epicor Kinetic costs, according to the sites that track it
Epicor publishes no price for Kinetic, so every figure below is a third party estimate. Read each line as a range to test on the sales call.
| Source | What it says about Epicor Kinetic pricing |
|---|---|
| top10erp | 125 USD per user a month, 10 user minimum, implementation from 50,000 USD |
| ERP Research | 100 to 200 USD per user a month plus a platform fee of about 1,500 USD a month, implementation 50,000 USD and up, 5 to 10 months |
| SoftwareConnect | At least 2,100 USD a month to start, cloud subscriptions of 4,000 to 20,000 USD a month |
| SoftwareConnect, on premise | Perpetual license of 150,000 to 1,000,000 USD, plus about 20 percent a year in maintenance |
| Epicor | Demo request and a quote, no public figure |
Shop floor data collection users are usually priced below full users, and modules such as APS, MES and quality move the number more than the seat count does. Our Epicor Kinetic pricing article walks through every source and the questions that change a quote.
Epicor Kinetic vs ProductionPlanning.ai, side by side
| What matters | ProductionPlanning.ai | Epicor Kinetic |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Finite capacity production scheduling software | Full manufacturing ERP for discrete and make to order plants |
| Pricing model | Flat per plant | Per user, plus modules, quoted |
| Published price | Yes, on the pricing page | No, demo and quote |
| Entry price | 149 USD per plant a month | Estimates from 100 USD per user a month, 10 user minimum |
| Users | Unlimited on every plan | Each user licensed, shop floor users priced lower |
| Finite capacity on every machine and shift | Yes, the whole product | Yes, through the Advanced Planning and Scheduling module |
| Late order warnings with projected finish dates | Yes, for every open order | Yes, once APS is configured and fed clean routings |
| Quoting, purchasing, MRP and accounting | No, keep your books where they are | Yes, built in |
| MES and quality | No | Yes, as modules |
| Time to first schedule | An afternoon, from a spreadsheet import | After implementation, 5 to 10 months per ERP Research |
| Best for | 5 to 60 person plants that ship late and keep their current systems | 50 to 500 person manufacturers replacing several systems with one ERP |
Epicor facts come from its product pages and the listings named above. Our plans are on the pricing page.
What Epicor Kinetic would cost a 15 user plant over three years
Take a 60 person machining and assembly plant where 15 people work in the ERP: the owner, two estimators, two buyers, a planner, four shift leads, a quality lead, an engineer and three people in the office. The sketch uses the published estimates. It is arithmetic, not an Epicor quote.
| Cost line | Low, top10erp | Middle, ERP Research low | High, ERP Research high |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per user per month | 125 USD | 100 USD plus 1,500 USD platform fee | 200 USD plus 1,500 USD platform fee |
| Subscription for three years | 67,500 USD | 108,000 USD | 162,000 USD |
| Implementation, one time | 50,000 USD | 50,000 USD | 100,000 USD |
| Three year total | 117,500 USD | 158,000 USD | 262,000 USD |
ProductionPlanning.ai for the same plant is 894 USD a year on Line or 2,574 USD on Plant, so 2,682 or 7,722 USD over three years, with all 60 people included and no implementation fee.
The caveat matters. Epicor money buys quoting, MRP, purchasing, MES, quality and the general ledger as well as the schedule. If all of that needs replacing, comparing it with a scheduler on price is the wrong test. Price decides it only when the schedule is the part you are short of.
The Epicor alternatives buyers usually shortlist
Directories such as ERP Research, Gartner Peer Insights, Capterra and SoftwareConnect name a fairly stable set of Epicor competitors. They split by what you are replacing.
| If you need | Alternatives buyers compare with Epicor | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Another mid market manufacturing ERP | Infor CloudSuite Industrial, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Acumatica, IFS Cloud, SYSPRO, QAD | Similar scope and similar quote driven pricing; ERP Research lists 9 to 18 months for Infor CloudSuite and 4 to 8 for Acumatica |
| A larger enterprise suite | SAP S/4HANA, Oracle NetSuite | Multi entity and multi currency strength, priced for that |
| A lighter MRP for a small plant | MRPeasy, Fishbowl, Katana | Published per user prices, inventory and MRP first, lighter scheduling |
| Only the schedule fixed | A finite capacity scheduler such as ProductionPlanning.ai | Runs next to QuickBooks, Sage or your current ERP, flat per plant |
We publish the same honest comparison for several of these: the Acumatica alternative, the SYSPRO alternative, the Infor VISUAL alternative, the Plex ERP alternative and the MRPeasy alternative.
Where Epicor Kinetic is the better choice
We would rather you buy the right system than the wrong one from us. Choose Epicor if any of these applies.
- Your accounting package, inventory system and quoting spreadsheets are all failing at once, and you want one database for the whole business
- You need MES, lot and serial traceability and quality records tied to the same work orders the schedule runs
- You run several plants or legal entities and need consolidated financials
- You configure products to order and want CPQ feeding the job directly
- You have the budget and an internal owner for a rollout measured in months, and a partner you trust to run it
For a 100 to 500 person discrete manufacturer replacing a patchwork of legacy systems, Kinetic is one of the most proven choices on the market.
Where a per plant scheduler wins
- A published price, 149 USD per plant a month on Line and 429 USD on Plant, monthly and cancellable, or six months' price for a year (50 percent off)
- Unlimited users, so every shift lead, operator and estimator sees the plan without a seat count
- Finite capacity on every machine and shift, with holidays and maintenance windows, on every plan, not as an add on module
- Setup times per product family and automatic grouping of similar jobs on Plant, so changeovers stop eating machine time
- Projected finish dates for every open order, and the week's bottleneck named with the orders it will make late
- Nothing to install, and live the same afternoon from a spreadsheet of open orders and routings
- It sits next to what you already run, including an Epicor system you keep, so nothing has to be migrated
The clearest fit is a 5 to 60 person plant that has outgrown the whiteboard and does not want an ERP project to fix it. Make to order shops can see how we schedule on the job shop software page, and the manufacturing ERP alternative page explains when a scheduler next to your books beats a new ERP.
How to compare the two on your own orders
1. Export open orders and routings
Pull open jobs with part number, quantity and due date, and each operation with its work center, setup and run time, from Epicor, your current system or the spreadsheet you schedule in today. An Epicor demo and our import both start from this list.
2. Enter work centers and shifts
Add each machining center, lathe, press, weld cell and assembly bay with the shifts it runs, holidays and planned maintenance. For a plant with 20 work centers this takes about an hour, and it is what makes the schedule finite.
3. Run a week next to your current plan
Publish the schedule and compare the late order list and the bottleneck with what the floor sees today. Ask Epicor or its partner to schedule the same orders in the APS demo and check how much configuration that took.
4. Decide what you are really buying
If the schedule is the only thing missing, a scheduler next to your books is the cheaper and faster fix. If quoting, MRP, MES and the ledger all need replacing, Kinetic belongs on the shortlist and the scheduling question is answered inside it.
Questions people ask before choosing Epicor
What is comparable to Epicor ERP?
Infor CloudSuite Industrial, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Acumatica, IFS Cloud, SYSPRO and QAD are the mid market ERPs most often compared with Epicor Kinetic, with SAP S/4HANA and NetSuite at the larger end. Small plants also look at MRPeasy and Fishbowl. If only the schedule is broken, a finite capacity scheduler such as ProductionPlanning.ai costs 149 USD per plant a month.
What is the best alternative to Epicor Kinetic for a small manufacturer?
It depends on what you need replaced. A 10 to 50 person plant that wants a whole ERP usually lands on Acumatica, MRPeasy or Fishbowl, which cost less and roll out faster. If quoting and the books already work and late orders are the problem, a dedicated scheduler is the cheapest fix. Our best production scheduling software roundup compares eleven tools with real prices.
How much does Epicor Kinetic cost?
Epicor does not publish Kinetic pricing. Third party estimates run 100 to 200 USD per user a month, with top10erp at 125 USD and a 10 user minimum and ERP Research adding a platform fee of about 1,500 USD a month. Implementation starts around 50,000 USD, so a 15 user plant should budget roughly 117,000 to 262,000 USD over three years.
Does Epicor Kinetic have production scheduling?
Yes. Kinetic includes job scheduling and an Advanced Planning and Scheduling module that schedules to finite capacity across resources. ERP Research notes that advanced pieces such as APS, MES and quality are priced as add ons to the core, so check whether APS is in your quote. ProductionPlanning.ai includes finite capacity on every plan.
Is Epicor Kinetic good for small business?
It can be, but it is sized for mid market plants. A 10 user minimum, a platform fee and an implementation from about 50,000 USD make it a heavy purchase for a shop under 30 people. Small plants that only need the schedule fixed usually get there faster with a scheduler next to QuickBooks or their current system.
Can I keep Epicor and add a scheduler?
Yes. Export open jobs and routings from Epicor, import them, and the board shows projected finish dates and the bottleneck the same afternoon. On the Plant plan the schedule exports back to your ERP, and Group adds an API. Epicor keeps quoting, purchasing and accounting.
Fix the schedule this week, before you sign an Epicor quote
Start on the Line plan at 149 USD a month with the whole plant included, or run the demo on a sample week of orders first. You will see your own bottleneck the same afternoon.
Your data stays yours. Export or delete it any time. No card to try the demo.