Overview

Carbon brings ERP, material requirements planning (MRP), manufacturing execution (MES) and quality management (QMS) into one workflow, alongside actual-cost tracking. Its rule-based configuration can generate bills of materials, routings and quoted prices, with revision control and effectivity dates. That makes it a strong fit where product variants and controlled production changes are central, rather than a general-purpose choice for every business.

It also supports multi-level BOMs, BOM comparison, change workflows and inventory integration. For category context, see Manufacturing ERP Software and Bill of Materials Software.

Key features

Configuration and production

Digital travelers, work instructions, QR and barcode tracking, and finite-capacity scheduling connect production plans to shop-floor activity. Rule-generated BOMs and routings help keep that activity tied to configured products and revisions. These capabilities are particularly relevant to manufacturers managing complex builds; teams seeking only lightweight inventory tracking may not need this breadth.

Quality and traceability

First articles, nonconformances, corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs), and calibrations link to production records. Serial and lot genealogy adds a traceability thread across production, a meaningful advantage for sectors such as medical devices, aerospace and defense where records matter alongside output.

Developer access and controls

Carbon provides a REST API, webhooks and an MCP server, with typed client generation documented for TypeScript, Python, Go, Ruby, C# and PHP. That gives engineering teams several ways to connect internal tools, though self-hosted API keys and MCP access require a commercial license. Carbon describes granular permissions, row-level security and complete record history, and lists controls for ITAR-ready deployment, AS9100, ISO 13485, 21 CFR Part 11 and SOC 2.

Pricing

Carbon advertises a 30-day trial with no sales call required to start. Starter costs 40.00 USD per month, billed per user monthly. It includes automatic updates and backups, basic ERP, MES and QMS functionality, unlimited records, self-onboarding and community support. The per-user billing makes team size a direct cost factor; unlimited records removes a record cap, not the seat-based price.

Business costs 100.00 USD per month, billed per user monthly, with a five-user minimum. That floor makes it a higher-commitment option for small teams, and the plan description does not establish additional included capabilities. Enterprise has custom pricing and can be self-hosted or managed; it includes a forward deployed engineer, customizations, training and integrations, CMMC compliance, setup and migrations, and SSO/SAML.

The Community edition is core ERP, MRP, MES and QMS under AGPL-3.0. It offers a self-hosting route, but Enterprise capabilities require a commercial agreement, and self-hosted API keys and MCP access also require a commercial license.

Platforms

Carbon runs as a managed cloud service, in a customer cloud account, in Docker, on-premises or on an air-gapped network. Air-gapped deployment is an Enterprise feature. Self-hosted deployment is described as supporting CMMC and ITAR requirements; Enterprise BYOC deployments include inputs for an SSP, POA&M and SPRS score. Enterprise engagements can also include architecture, installation, legacy-data migration, training and an SLA.

Its integrations include Onshape, SolidWorks, Slack, Linear, Jira, QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, Stripe, Ramp, Okta and Microsoft Entra. That mix spans design, work tracking, finance and identity, giving teams several routes to fit Carbon into an existing stack.

Who it's for

Carbon is aimed at discrete manufacturers, including defense, aerospace, automotive, medical-device, electronics, robotics, energy, space, semiconductor and industrial-equipment makers. It is most compelling when product configuration, revision control, production execution and quality traceability need to live in a connected system. Teams that need air-gapped operation, implementation help or SSO/SAML should weigh Enterprise; smaller teams can start with Starter, but should account for per-user billing and the narrower basic functionality.

Pros and cons

Pros: ERP, MRP, MES and QMS are combined with actual-cost tracking, reducing the need to bridge separate planning, production and quality workflows.
Pros: Rule-based product generation, revision control and effectivity dates support configured builds and controlled changes.
Pros: REST, webhooks, MCP and typed clients across six languages give developer teams multiple integration paths.
Cons: Self-hosted API keys and MCP require a commercial license, limiting the openness of the Community edition for teams that need those interfaces.
Cons: Business has a five-user minimum, so it is a less natural fit for very small teams.
Cons: Air-gapped deployment is reserved for Enterprise, putting that deployment requirement behind a custom-priced tier.

Alternatives

Choose Epicor Kinetic if Android, iOS or Windows access, concurrent-user licensing, cloud packages or industry bundles better match the deployment and licensing model you need. Cetec ERP is another paid option with a free trial and self-hosted support. Consider QAD Adaptive ERP if Android or iOS access is important; its free-plan status is no.

ERP5 is a free, self-hosted alternative, while Apache OFBiz is free and supports web and Windows. Odoo Manufacturing offers a free One App plan with unlimited users, which may appeal to teams prioritizing a free starting point. Exact Online is a paid, web-based alternative with a free trial. Rootstock ERP is a paid, web-based option with Growth and Advanced plans.

Verdict

Choose Carbon if your discrete-manufacturing operation needs product configuration, production execution and quality traceability in one system, with API and deployment options to connect it to an existing stack. Look elsewhere if you need self-hosted API or MCP access without a commercial license, or air-gapped deployment without Enterprise.

	Carbon	Katana
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$40/mo	$299/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web	Web
Free plan	No	Yes
Paid from	40 /user/mo	—
Revision control	Yes	—
Multi-level BOMs	Yes	—
BOM comparison	Yes	—
Change workflows	Yes	—
Inventory integration	Yes	—
Deployment	hybrid	—

Carbon vs Katana

Carbon

Katana