Odoo, explained without the jargon
What is Odoo and what is an ERP
Odoo is open source business management software: accounting, sales, purchasing, inventory, HR and your website in one system. More than 28 million people use it worldwide, and Roomdoo is its hotel vertical. Here we give short answers to the questions we hear most.
Figures from odoo.com, checked on 4 November 2026.
- 28M+
- users worldwide
- 21,000+
- partners who implement Odoo
- 8,000+
- people work at Odoo S.A.
- 2005
- the year it was founded, in Belgium
In a nutshell
Six things worth knowing before you talk about Odoo.
- What is an ERP
- Software that brings the whole business together: sales, purchasing, inventory, accounting, HR. Instead of one program for each job and spreadsheets to join them up, everything shares the same data.
- What is Odoo
- An open source ERP built from apps: you switch on the ones you need and they all work on the same database. It is developed by Odoo S.A., a Belgian company founded in 2005.
- Community
- The free, open edition, under the LGPLv3 licence. It is maintained by Odoo S.A. and the community, which contributes thousands of free modules through the OCA, including Spanish tax compliance.
- Enterprise
- The paid edition from Odoo S.A. It adds its own apps and features, such as Studio, plus hosting, version upgrades and support from Odoo. You pay per user per month.
- Versions
- A new one comes out every year at Odoo Experience in Brussels: 18 in 2024, 19 in 2025 and 20 in 2026.
- Roomdoo
- Works on both Community and Enterprise. Today, the stable version in production is Odoo 16; by early 2027 Roomdoo will be compatible with Odoo 17, 18, 19 and 20.
Community and Enterprise, side by side
Both are Odoo and share the same core. The difference lies in the licence, some of the apps and who gives you support.
| Community | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | ||
| Type of licence | Open (LGPLv3) | Owned by Odoo S.A. |
| Licence cost | None | Per user per month |
| Source code | Open | Closed for the Enterprise apps |
| Features | ||
| Sales, purchasing, inventory, CRM, POS and invoicing | Included | Included |
| Full accounting with Spanish tax compliance | With the OCA modules | Included |
| Studio: customise without coding | Not included | Custom plan |
| Community modules (OCA) | Included | Included |
| Hosting and support | ||
| Where it runs | On your server or your partner's | Odoo Online, Odoo.sh or your server |
| Support | Your partner or the community | Odoo S.A., included in the subscription |
| Moving to a new version | Your partner does it | Odoo service included |
| With Roomdoo | ||
| Roomdoo works | Included | Included |
| Who supports your hotel | Roomdoo | Roomdoo |
IncludedPartlyNot included
Prices published on odoo.com/pricing as of 4 November 2026: one app free; Standard plan €14.90, and Custom plan (with Studio, multi-company and API) €27.90 per user per month, billed annually.
An Odoo rollout, our way
We are Odoo partners, we have a very good relationship with Odoo S.A. and we work with both Community and Enterprise, with hundreds of users on Odoo Enterprise. But our model is not the custom project: it is a recurring fee with no lock-in contract, where we earn the hotel's trust every month with support, continuous improvement and innovation, at an affordable cost.
| Typical Odoo rollout | Roomdoo | |
|---|---|---|
| How you sign up | A consultancy project: analysis, configuration and custom development, billed by the hour | A fee per room, with no lock-in contract |
| Getting started | Weeks or months, depending on the scope | Included in your sign-up and ready in 7 days at most |
| Users | On Enterprise, a licence per user | Unlimited users |
| Support | A pack of hours or a maintenance contract | Included, from people who know hotels |
| Improvements | Every new development, a new quote | Continuous improvement included: what we improve reaches every hotel |
| Upgrading Odoo | A migration project | We do it for you |
For areas outside the hotel itself, such as full accounting or HR, we offer hours from our team or work with specialist Odoo partners. See pricing.
Quick questions about Odoo
Another question? Write to usWhat is an ERP?
Management software that brings the areas of a business into one system: sales, purchasing, inventory, accounting or HR. The advantage is that everything shares the same data: what you sell is already in your accounts and already in your reports.
Is Odoo free?
The Community edition is: it is free software with no licence fee. The Enterprise edition is paid per user per month to Odoo S.A. Either way, you pay for hosting and for whoever implements and maintains it.
Is Odoo only for large companies?
No. It is used by everyone from sole traders with a single user to groups with thousands. Because it is built from apps, each business switches on only what it needs.
Where is Odoo from?
Belgium. Odoo S.A. was founded in 2005 and today has more than 8,000 employees, its own team in Spain and more than 21,000 partners worldwide.
What is the OCA?
The Odoo Community Association: a non-profit organisation that develops Odoo in the open, with thousands of free modules. We wrote the OCA's hotel PMS. Read more here.
What are Odoo Online, Odoo.sh and on-premise?
Three ways to run Odoo. Odoo Online is Odoo hosted by Odoo S.A., with no third-party modules. Odoo.sh is its platform for Odoo with your own modules. On-premise means installing it on your server or your partner's. Roomdoo runs on its own managed platform.
Can I start on Community and move to Enterprise?
Yes. It is common to start on Community and move to Enterprise when you need its apps. Going the other way is harder.
Do I need to know Odoo to use Roomdoo?
No. The front desk works in the Roomdoo app, which you can learn in an afternoon. Odoo sits underneath for whoever needs it: management, administration or your accounting firm. How it works.
Which version of Odoo does Roomdoo use?
Today, the stable version in production for most customers is Odoo 16. We are migrating over the coming months: by early 2027 Roomdoo will be compatible with Odoo 17, 18, 19 and 20.
Is Roomdoo the same as Odoo Hotel?
No. Odoo Hotel is an Odoo Enterprise package built with its Rental and Planning apps. Roomdoo is a complete PMS inside Odoo. Comparison.