How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Dedicated BOM platforms start cheap: Ciiva's Pro plan is $20/user/month, OpenBOM's Team tier is $30/seat/month, and both offer free tiers.
- MRP tools with BOM features (Katana, MRPeasy, Unleashed) cost more per month but bundle production planning, inventory and purchasing.
- Enterprise PLM (Arena, Duro) is quote-only; budget for onboarding time as well as licenses.
- Revision control and change orders are the real differentiator, not the BOM editor itself; every tool below handles multi-level BOMs.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 OpenBOM | Engineering teams wanting cloud BOM with CAD add-ins | $30/seat/month (Team, billed annually) | Yes |
 Aligni | Electronics manufacturers wanting BOM plus MRP without full ERP | $187/month (MRP Basic) | Free trial (30 days) |
 Ciiva | Hardware teams wanting cheap, focused BOM management | $20/user/month (Pro) | Yes |
 Katana | Makers and small manufacturers selling online | $299/month (Core) | Yes |
 MRPeasy | Small manufacturers wanting affordable full MRP | $49/user/month (Starter) | Free trial (30 days) |
 Unleashed | Product businesses wanting inventory plus BOM in one system | $410/month (Medium, 1-5 users) | Free trial (14 days) |
 PDXpert | Engineering teams wanting published, simple PLM licensing | $588/user/year (subscription, published) | Free trial |
 Arena PLM | Mid-market and enterprise OEMs needing modular PLM | See website (quote-based) | No |
 Duro | Hardware startups wanting modern cloud PLM with fast setup | See website (quote-based) | Free trial |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best bill of materials software
A bill of materials is two documents pretending to be one. Engineering maintains the EBOM, the design as drawn. Manufacturing maintains the MBOM, the product as built. Every costly BOM disaster, a wrong revision ordered, a substitute part nobody approved, an obsolete component still on the purchasing list, comes from those two documents drifting apart. The nine tools below exist to stop the drift, and the differences that matter are in revision control, change orders and integrations, not in the parts list itself. Prices were checked against vendor pricing pages and current third-party reporting in October 2026.
#1
OpenBOM
Best for: Engineering teams wanting cloud BOM with CAD add-ins
Visit openbom.com
Starting price$30/seat/month (Team, billed annually)
Free planYes
OpenBOM is the cloud-native product data platform most small and mid-size engineering teams reach for first. It manages parts, multi-level BOMs, revisions, suppliers and purchasing in a spreadsheet-like interface, with CAD add-ins for SolidWorks, Altium and others that pull BOMs straight from design files. The free Design tier covers individuals, Team runs $30 per seat per month on annual billing, and Company runs $90, with read-only collaborators free.
The pricing model has teeth worth understanding. Only people who edit data consume paid seats, CAD add-ins are $25 per seat per CAD system, ERP integrations carry flat fees, and data records beyond the included 2,000 are charged in tiers. OpenBOM published all of this on its own pricing page for 2026, which is more transparency than most of the category offers. It is the strongest pick for engineering-led teams that want CAD-to-BOM without enterprise PLM weight.
What we like- Free Design tier
- Published 2026 pricing with seat-based Team ($30) and Company ($90) tiers
- Broad CAD add-ins and ERP integrations
Watch out for- CAD add-ins cost $25 per seat per CAD tool on top
- Data-record tiers beyond 2,000 records add another dimension to price
#2
Aligni
Best for: Electronics manufacturers wanting BOM plus MRP without full ERP
Visit aligni.com
Starting price$187/month (MRP Basic)
Free planFree trial (30 days)
Aligni is MRP built for electronics and hardware manufacturers, with the BOM as the controlled product record underneath. Multi-level BOMs carry revision control, change orders flow through the same data, and material planning shows live shortages by build with vendor quoting and purchase orders running against the same item master. Multi-warehouse inventory, safety stock and demand forecasting round out the production side.
Pricing is published monthly: MRP Basic starts at $187 a month and MRP Pro at $240, with a 30-day trial and free onboarding and data import. Seats are split between collaborators who edit and cheaper viewers who only see data, which keeps technicians and leadership out of full-price seats. Aligni fits hardware teams that have outgrown spreadsheets but are not ready to buy, or pay for, a full ERP.
What we like- Revision-controlled multi-level BOMs with live shortage reporting by build
- Published monthly pricing with a 30-day trial and free onboarding
- Keeps your existing accounting system instead of replacing it
Watch out for- No free plan
- Collaborators and viewers are sold in blocks, so pricing grows with team size
#3
Ciiva
Best for: Hardware teams wanting cheap, focused BOM management
Visit ciiva.com
Starting price$20/user/month (Pro)
Free planYes
Ciiva does one job, managing electronic component BOMs, and prices it aggressively. The free plan covers 2 users and up to 10,000 components with a single-level BOM, and the Pro plan costs $20 per user per month (or $200 per user per year) with unlimited components, unlimited users and multi-level BOMs. Few tools in this category come close on price per seat.
The differentiator is live distributor data: real-time pricing, availability, lifecycle states and alternate part suggestions built into the BOM, which helps electronics teams catch obsolete or at-risk components before they reach purchasing. Ciiva is less of a platform than OpenBOM and less of a system than Aligni. For a hardware team that mainly needs controlled, current BOMs for electronics at minimal cost, it is hard to beat.
What we like- Free plan for 2 users and up to 10,000 components
- Pro at $20 per user per month is the cheapest paid tier in this roundup
- Real-time component pricing and lifecycle data from distributors
Watch out for- Single-level BOM on the free plan
- Integration story is thin beyond Microsoft Office
Starting price$299/month (Core)
Free planYes
Katana is manufacturing software for product businesses that sell online, and the BOM lives inside a wider system of inventory, orders and production. The Core plan starts at $299 a month with unlimited users and SKUs, one inventory location and basic BOM support, synced to Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Amazon plus QuickBooks and Xero. A permanent free plan covers 30 SKUs for evaluation.
The honest math is in the add-ons. Multi-level BOMs with sub-assemblies, production scheduling and manufacturing costing live in the $199-a-month Manufacturing Management add-on; traceability, warehouse management and the shop floor app are separate charges too. Katana suits makers and small brands where ecommerce integration matters more than deep engineering change control. Pure BOM teams will find the dedicated tools above cheaper and more focused.
What we like- Permanent free plan for testing with 30 SKUs
- Real-time inventory synced with Shopify, WooCommerce and Amazon
- Unlimited users on every plan
Watch out for- The $299 Core plan includes only basic BOMs, multi-level BOMs need the $199/month Manufacturing Management add-on
- Add-ons and sales-order volume push the real cost well above the headline
#5
MRPeasy
Best for: Small manufacturers wanting affordable full MRP
Visit mrpeasy.com
Starting price$49/user/month (Starter)
Free planFree trial (30 days)
MRPeasy is cloud manufacturing ERP built for small manufacturers, and its BOM handling is genuinely deep: multi-level BOMs, matrix BOMs with parameters, co-product BOMs, serial and lot tracking, and revision control on the Enterprise tier. Plans run Starter at $49, Professional at $69, Enterprise at $99 and Unlimited at $149 per user per month, with annual billing earning a free month.
The trade-off is the per-user model in a headcount-heavy operation. Every operator, purchaser and shop-floor worker who logs in adds to the bill, and users beyond the tenth are priced in blocks of ten. MRPeasy still undercuts NetSuite-class systems by an order of magnitude at comparable manufacturing scale. It fits small manufacturers that want one system from BOM to production planning to purchasing, with pricing they can read on the website.
What we like- Published per-user pricing from $49 with annual billing saving a month
- Strong BOM features including matrix BOMs, co-product BOMs and revision control
- 30-day trial with no credit card
Watch out for- Per-user pricing compounds as headcount grows
- Unlimited API access requires the $149 Unlimited tier
Starting price$410/month (Medium, 1-5 users)
Free planFree trial (14 days)
Unleashed is inventory management software where BOMs support production, not engineering. The Medium plan at $410 a month covers 1 to 5 users with up to 1,500 orders, Large at $785 covers 6 to 12 users, and Large Plus at $1,188 covers 12-plus, all published on Unleashed's own pricing page with a 14-day trial. Batch and serial tracking, kitting, multi-warehouse stock and a B2B portal cover the operational side well.
This is a different animal from OpenBOM or Ciiva. There is no CAD integration, no engineering change workflow, no revision-controlled design record; the BOM here is an assembly recipe for stock and costing. Unleashed fits product businesses, wholesale and food manufacturing where inventory accuracy and purchasing matter more than engineering control. Engineering teams should look elsewhere.
What we like- Fully published pricing on its own page with clear order-volume tiers
- Strong batch and serial traceability plus demand forecasting
- 14-day free trial
Watch out for- BOM is inventory-side, not engineering-side, with no CAD integration or engineering change control
- Advanced inventory manager and B2B ecommerce are paid add-ons
#7
PDXpert
Best for: Engineering teams wanting published, simple PLM licensing
Visit buyplm.com
Starting price$588/user/year (subscription, published)
Free planFree trial
PDXpert is the anti-enterprise-PLM: simple, flexible engineering data management with BOMs, revisions, change orders and document control, from a vendor that has been selling it since the 1990s. The remarkable thing is the pricing page, which publishes everything: subscription at $588 per full-function user per year with volume discounts down to $264, read-only at $144, and a perpetual license option at $996 per user with optional annual maintenance.
PDXpert runs on Windows servers or in the cloud, and reviewers consistently rate its support and ease of implementation highly. It lacks the glossy modern UI and deep CAD ecosystem of OpenBOM or Duro, and the user base is smaller. For a growing engineering company that wants honest PLM pricing and a tool it can run for a decade, PDXpert deserves a serious look.
What we like- Fully published pricing, subscription at $588 per user per year with volume discounts to $264
- Perpetual license option for teams that want to own the software
- Free trial available
Watch out for- Read-only seats still cost $144 per user per year
- Smaller user community and fewer native integrations than cloud-first rivals
Starting priceSee website (quote-based)
Free planNo
Arena, now part of PTC, is the established cloud PLM for original equipment manufacturers. Multi-level BOMs sit alongside engineering change management, document control, quality processes and supplier collaboration, with modules that can be used independently or combined. Compliance tracking for safety and environmental standards is a genuine strength for regulated hardware.
The buying process is fully sales-led: no published pricing, no free trial. Third-party estimates suggest roughly $10,000 to $20,000 a year in licenses for ten users plus onboarding fees, but those are unverified. Arena fits mid-market and enterprise OEMs that need a proven, auditable PLM and can staff the configuration effort. Smaller teams will find OpenBOM or Duro cheaper and faster to stand up.
What we like- Mature, modular cloud PLM with BOM, change, quality and sourcing in one system
- Strong compliance and supplier collaboration features
- PTC backing
Watch out for- Quote-only pricing with no free trial
- Third-party estimates put ten-user first-year cost around $12,000 to $25,000
- Configuration can be heavy
#9
Duro
Best for: Hardware startups wanting modern cloud PLM with fast setup
Visit durolabs.co
Starting priceSee website (quote-based)
Free planFree trial
Duro is the modern cloud PLM for hardware companies that found legacy systems too heavy. BOM management, change orders, sourcing and CAD integrations come in a system designed for fast go-live, with Slack and Jira integrations that fit how product teams actually work. Reviewers rate it well for ease of setup and cost-effectiveness against enterprise PLM.
Pricing is quotation-based with Team, Business and Enterprise tiers differentiated by user counts and features, and a free trial to evaluate. Third-party listings report a $200-a-month starting point, but Duro publishes no numbers itself. Duro fits hardware startups and growing teams that want real PLM discipline, revision control, change management, supplier collaboration, without hiring a PLM administrator.
What we like- Cloud-native PLM with minimal setup and no complex workflows
- CAD integrations that keep engineers in their tools
- Free trial available
Watch out for- Pricing is quote-based despite third-party reports of a $200/month starting point
- Advanced customization is thinner than legacy PLM
How we chose
We built the longlist from manufacturing and PLM review sites, G2 and Capterra ratings, and analyst coverage, then checked each vendor's own pricing page in October 2026 for current tiers, free plans and minimums. We included dedicated BOM platforms, BOM-centric MRP tools, and PLM systems with strong BOM management, because real buyers shop across those categories. We excluded generic ERP suites without meaningful BOM workflows and discontinued products. No vendor paid for placement, and we did not run hands-on trials; the write-ups reflect published facts and reviewer consensus.
If you are an engineering team managing designs and changes, start with the dedicated BOM and PLM tools: OpenBOM, Ciiva, PDXpert or Duro. They speak CAD, control revisions, and keep purchasing aligned with the design. If you are a manufacturer planning production and buying material, start with the operations tools: Aligni, Katana, MRPeasy or Unleashed. They turn BOMs into purchase orders and production schedules.
The middle ground is electronics hardware, where both jobs matter. Aligni covers both sides for small teams; OpenBOM plus your accounting system covers both sides with more engineering depth. Do not buy an engineering tool and expect MRP, and do not buy an MRP tool and expect change control.
Budget the implementation, not just the license. OpenBOM and Ciiva can be running in days; Aligni includes onboarding and data import; Arena-class PLM is a project measured in weeks with training, configuration and data migration. Ask every vendor what a typical customer your size spends in year one, all in, and get the answer in writing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best bill of materials app for a small team?
For engineering teams, OpenBOM ($30/seat/month with a free tier) or Ciiva ($20/user/month with a free tier) are the strongest value picks. For manufacturers that also need production planning, MRPeasy ($49/user/month) or Katana (free plan, Core from $299/month) cover more of the operation. All four publish their pricing, so you can compare without a sales call.
How much does bill of materials software cost?
Dedicated BOM platforms run roughly $20 to $90 per user per month, with free tiers available. BOM-capable MRP and inventory tools run $70 to $490 per month flat or $49 to $149 per user per month. Enterprise PLM like Arena is quote-only, with third-party estimates around $12,000 to $25,000 for ten users in year one. Implementation and onboarding can add thousands more on enterprise tiers.
What is the difference between an EBOM and an MBOM?
The engineering BOM (EBOM) describes the product as designed, usually structured by the CAD assembly. The manufacturing BOM (MBOM) describes the product as built, including consumables, packaging and process-specific items. Good BOM software keeps both views linked to one controlled record so engineering changes flow into manufacturing without re-entry errors.
Do we need PLM or just a BOM tool?
If your pain is controlled parts lists, revisions and change orders, a BOM tool like OpenBOM, Ciiva or PDXpert is enough. If you also need quality processes, compliance tracking, supplier collaboration and portfolio management, PLM like Arena or Duro earns its keep. Many small manufacturers do fine with a BOM-centric MRP like Aligni or MRPeasy and never need full PLM.
Can BOM software integrate with our CAD and ERP?
The engineering tools can: OpenBOM offers CAD add-ins ($25/seat per CAD), Duro and Arena integrate with major CAD systems, and OpenBOM and Aligni connect to ERP and accounting tools. The operations tools integrate more with ecommerce and accounting: Katana, MRPeasy and Unleashed all connect to QuickBooks, Xero and Shopify. Check your specific CAD and ERP versions during the trial, since connector coverage varies.
Is there a free bill of materials tool?
Yes. OpenBOM's Design tier is free, Ciiva is free for 2 users and 10,000 components, and Katana has a permanent free plan capped at 30 SKUs. Duro, PDXpert, Aligni, MRPeasy and Unleashed offer free trials but no permanent free plans. The free tiers work well for evaluation and very small teams; multi-level BOMs and change control usually require paid plans.
Sources we checked (16)
- https://www.openbom.com/blog/product-feature-updates/openbom-pricing-model-2026
- https://www.g2.com/products/openbom/pricing
- https://www.capterra.com/p/92710/Aligni/
- https://www.aligni.com/free-trial/
- https://reviews.financesonline.com/p/ciiva-bom-manager/
- https://www.discovercloud.com/products/ciiva-bom-management-system
- https://www.brahmin-solutions.com/blog/katana-pricing
- https://softwareconnect.com/reviews/katana-mrp/
- https://ecommerceparadise.com/mrpeasy-review-2026/
- https://www.g2.com/products/mrpeasy/pricing
- https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/en-za/pricing/
- https://buyplm.com/general-info/pdxpert-plm-software-license-price?s=grtnr&d=plm
- https://www.itqlick.com/arena-plm/pricing
- https://www.spotsaas.com/compare/duro-vs-arena-plm
- https://durolabs.co/blog/bill-of-materials-software/
- https://www.softwareworld.co/bill-of-materials-software/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.