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You’re here to pick open source warehouse management software that actually works on the floor. I ran warehouses for a wholesale brand, so this guide centers on what keeps product moving—real-time inventory, reliable barcode scanning, clean put-away and picking, and order management that won’t slow your team.

Operator pains are real: stockouts, overstocking, mis-picks, slow receiving, fragile Wi-Fi with scanners, brittle APIs, weak ERP and ecommerce integrations, and murky data portability.

We cut past vendor fluff to focus on usable modules, stable workflows, and a user interface your crew won’t fight.

You’ll get practical, operator-first guidance on open source WMS options—cloud-based or self-hosted—covering deployment trade-offs, scalability, and pricing realities. We note API depth, plugin ecosystems, and visible GitHub activity where it matters.

If your goal is fewer surprises at receiving, faster picks, tighter inventory levels, and a stack you can actually maintain, this is your map to the right open source warehouse management system.

Comparing the Best Open Source Warehouse Management Systems Side-by-Side

This chart shows pricing, trial/setup, deployment (cloud or self-hosted), best-for use cases, and core modules—inventory, barcode, and order workflows. Skim left to right to narrow your picks fast.

The 10 Best Open Source Warehouse Management System, Reviewed

Quick, operator-first breakdowns of each WMS: who it’s for, standout functionality, integrations (ERP, ecommerce, API), and deployment watchouts. Use these snapshots to judge fit, then move.

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B2B, B2C, and marketplace platform with multichannel capabilities

  • Pricing upon request

Kartopia is a modular ecommerce platform that helps businesses of all sizes grow faster through digital transformation. They built Kartopia to grow and accommodate your growing business while also allowing you to create a unique and rewarding customer experience. The platform’s comprehensive suite of capabilities addresses your store’s product, cart, and order management fulfillment.

The Kartopia platform enables your business to provide an excellent customer experience by using B2B and B2C features, such as support for multiple currencies, languages, and themes. Kartopia also provides features to help provide the best-in-class content management system and multichannel capabilities, such as customer service, mobile, and web. With all these features, the platform also integrates required fraud protection services and SSL, so your customer and business data stay safe.

Kartopia allows for easy extensible integration with third-party applications for payment and shipping gateways.

Kartopia offers custom pricing upon request.

Open source B2B ecommerce software and CRM platform

  • Free demo
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4/5

OroCommerce is an open source B2B ecommerce software and CRM platform used for warehousing, sales enablement, and wholesale. OroCommerce is built on Symfony, a leading high-performance open source PHP framework. They boast a developer community of 20,000+ and a user-powered tools library. 

Key features include a centralized customer database, pipeline and forecast management, granular segmentation options, performance dashboards, and reporting features. OroCommerce bills themselves as a B2B specialty but, being open source and hugely flexible, the platform can be tailored for anything from B2C, multi-brand, goods, services, or even a bookings marketplace. 

OroCommerce offers pricing upon request and comes with a free demo. 

Enterprise-level selling methods for any sized business

  • Pricing upon request

OpenFreeway is great if your ecommerce store is selling products because the built-in SEO tools can help you attract more visitors from search engines and increase your sales. You can also use the platform to sell event tickets, subscriptions, and services. OpenFreeway’s modular architecture allows you to change and extend the platform’s functionality without significantly changing the main code.

OpenFreeway’s features provide you with the functionality that is typically found in enterprise ecommerce systems. These features include CRM functionality, such as order status and history, order tracking from accounts, and customizable order emails. The platform also allows users to fully manage orders, from processing orders through a complete point-of-sale system to auditing customer communication records.

OpenFreeway integrates with PayPal, 2Checkout, Authorize.net, and VirtualPay.

OpenFreeway offers customized pricing upon request.

API-first commerce stake for stores focusing on growth

  • Pricing upon request

They built Reaction Commerce to scale alongside ecommerce businesses and can process tens of thousands of orders each day. Reaction Commerce’s open source platform’s solutions fit your business, and you can host everything on your servers or in the cloud. The platform’s admin dashboard gives you all the data you need to keep all your inventory, product, and customer data updated. You can accept and refund payments, process store orders, and deliver items to customers.

Reaction Commerce’s API-first platform allows for maximum freedom and flexibility for ambitious brands and businesses. You can use Reaction Commerce to implement the services that fit your business and its future alongside your existing tech stack or by replacing it. The software is incredibly fast and promises a guaranteed 100% uptime.

Reaction Commerce can integrate into your current systems by using its API documentation.

Reaction Commerce provides customized pricing upon request.

Create, customize, and manage flexible and scalable online stores

  • Free plan available
  • From $243.93/month (billed annually)

Spree commerce’s features can help businesses of any size create an online shopping experience for customers. It’s an excellent choice if you’re starting or already running an online store or a multi-vendor marketplace. The platform is also great for launching a content-fuelled commerce project or when creating a backend for an ecommerce application.

Spree Commerce’s open source architecture allows users to configure and customize their online stores with a high level of flexibility. The software offers various features, such as an analytics dashboard, inventory management systems, and the ability to manage multiple storefronts from one platform. Spree Commerce also offers an official Slack channel where you can make the most of its active community, which comprises web developers, software houses, Spree contributors, and fellow Spree users.

Spree Commerce integrates with various third-party applications in multiple categories. These integrations include Stripe, Braintree, Optimizely, and Google Analytics.

Spree Commerce offers custom pricing upon request.

Interconnected business applications to replace multiple systems

  • Free trial available
  • From $7.25/user/month

Odoo offers a fully integrated solution to help businesses operate efficiently from one platform. The software is an open source, customizable platform that covers needs such as sales, project management, accounting, and inventory management. The Odoo platform’s intuitive database can meet the requirements of any business regardless of its size.

They interconnected the modules within the Odoo platform to provide an integrated system between all of its apps. With these modules, you can automate many processes that you would otherwise need manual inputs throughout several applications. The communication between Odoo’s apps is seamless across various business departments. This allows your teams to avoid problems such as having extra inventory in your warehouse or connecting accounting to your sales.

Odoo integrates with various third-party software, such as Authorize.net, PayPal, Joomla, and FedEx Ship Manager.

Odoo costs from $31/user/month for all their apps, as well as a 15-day free trial.

Simplify the complexities of multichannel ecommerce management

  • Pricing upon request

Broadleaf Commerce is a fully customizable and extensible platform that provides tailored and highly scalable ecommerce systems. The open source development of the platform provides full flexibility on any on-premise or cloud server. The platform offers assisted online shopping, which allows you to guide customers to find the right products for them. You can identify items your customers prefer with the account management tool. When you combine these two features, you can provide an incredibly personalized shipping experience.

Broadleaf Commerce can help your business no matter whether you manage multiple sites, sub-sites, a stand-alone site, or a vendor marketplace. Through a single platform, you can manage multichannel capabilities. It’s an ideal choice for businesses running multiple franchises, brands, marketplace vendor models, or merchant storefronts.

Broadleaf Commerce integrates with third-party applications, such as Microsoft 365, Stripe, and Rackspace.

Broadleaf Commerce offers customized pricing upon request.

Build a unique online store from scratch with basic ecommerce capabilities

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request

The Magento Open Source Platform is for many types of businesses, including small or medium businesses and even freelancers. Those with intermediate and professional web development experience can use the platform to fulfill their store requirements. Smaller businesses can use the Magento platform to get enterprise-level software with a smaller budget.

When using Magento Open Source, you can create a flexible website that can scale with you as your store grows. You can add almost any type of feature to your sites, such as catalog management, product browsing, site management, and SEO. Magento Open Source also helps businesses curate and design individual product lists to cater to their customer’s requirements.

Magento Open Source’s marketplace provides thousands of free and premium extensions to extend and enhance your stores, such as Mailchimp, Stripe, and Facebook Business Extension.

Magento Open Source offers custom pricing upon request.

Open source ecommerce platform using the Drupal framework

  • Free plan available
  • From $0/month

Drupal Commerce helps small and medium ecommerce stores build websites and applications. The open source platform combines commerce, community, and content to create an engaging and positive experience for your customers. When using Drupal Commerce, it’s not necessary to change your website to align with the software. Instead, you can customize the platform according to your requirements.

Drupal Commerce is an open source platform that provides your store with a significant amount of capabilities and perks. Because they built the platform on the Drupal framework, it can accommodate the constantly changing demands of your website as you start to scale. It also provides easy-to-use administration system capabilities. This means you don’t need to rely on any IT personnel to make any changes or experiment with new concepts or ideas.

Drupal Commerce provides users with access to over 100 integrations, such as PayPal, Authorize.net, and Stripe. The platform also offers its own modules to users, or you can use the API to integrate Drupal Commerce into your existing systems.

Drupal Commerce is free to use for all users.

Create unique and customizable ecommerce stores on a community-centered platform

  • Pricing upon request

Solidus is a free, open source ecommerce platform for fast-growing online organizations, digitally-native brands, and practical developers. The software takes care of the complexity of growth when you scale from a small business to an enterprise organization. The Solidus platform allows businesses to free themselves from limitations and gives them the freedom to change as they grow. You can start small and grow by discovering what makes this change happen.

They built solidus on community knowledge from other brands that revolutionized ecommerce. Solidus lets users choose different modules to format their stores’ functionality and add only the needed features. The platform is fully customizable and uses the Ruby on Rails framework. You can use the platform by combining the front and back end of your website or use its headless architecture maintained by a developer community.

Solidus integrates with many popular third-party applications to save development time, such as PayPal, ShipStation, Google Analytics, and TaxJar. If you’re comfortable working with Ruby on Rails, you can develop a local extension that works with your systems.

Solidus offers customized pricing upon request.

Other Open Source WMS Options

You’ve seen the top 10, now here are the rest.

  1. Linnworks

    For centralizing multiple sales channels and managing inventory

  2. nopCommerce

    Powerful B2B and B2C ecommerce solutions based on Microsoft technologies

  3. Pimcore

    Enterprise open source platform for managing digital data and customer experience on any device

  4. Joomla

    Free open source content management system that enables users to build websites and applications

  5. OpenCart

    Create professional online stores with a store management platform as soon as it’s installed

  6. Auro CRM

    Open source CRM to help teams work together and provide a consistent customer experience throughout their entire lifecycle

  7. WooCommerce for WordPress

    Customizable, open source WordPress ecommerce plugin

  8. Sylius

    Open source ecommerce platform that evolves your tech stack and adjusts to your needs

  9. Ymple Ecommerce

    Create unique mobile and web shopping experience

  10. VirtueMart

    Free solution to create and manage a virtual store using the Joomla framework

  11. OsCommerce

    Self-hosted, open source ecommerce solution to help create customizable and extendable online stores

  12. Zen Cart

    Add powerful ecommerce management to a website or blog

  13. ScandiPWA

    Convenient and efficient software to make a Magento store into a Progressive Web App (PWA)

  14. Odoo

    Family of applications that give businesses the ability to track and automate everything

  15. Square Online

    Accept and manage online and in-store orders from mobile devices and social media

If you still haven't found what you're looking for here, check out these related ecommerce tools that we've tested and evaluated.

Our Selection Criteria for Open Source Warehouse Management Systems

Here’s how I score open-source WMS options—operator-first, focused on real throughput, clean workflows, and a stack you can maintain.

Core functionality (25%)

The must-haves for daily warehouse ops.

  • Real-time inventory and locations. Bin-level accuracy, cycle counts, and stock adjustments without data lag.
  • Barcode and scanning. Native UPC/EAN, GS1-128, and device-agnostic scanning that works on shaky Wi-Fi.
  • Inbound to outbound workflows. Receiving, put-away, replenishment, wave or batch picking, packing, and shipping labels.
  • Order management. Clean handling of allocation rules, backorders, partials, and exceptions across channels.
  • Traceability. Lots, serial numbers, and expiration tracking end to end.

Additional standout features (25%)

Where open source, automation, and flexibility pay off.

  • Automation and rules. Task interleaving, slotting, and pick-path optimization to cut travel time.
  • Forecasting and replenishment. Demand planning that reduces stockouts and overstocking.
  • IoT, RFID, and sensors. Real-time visibility for high-velocity SKUs and cold chain.
  • Returns and refurb flows. RMAs with disposition codes and quality checks.
  • Extensibility. Plugins and modules that don’t break on upgrades, plus webhook and event support.

Usability (10%)

Fast to learn, fast to run.

  • Clean UI and dashboards. Role-based views for leads, receivers, and pickers.
  • Mobile-first. Android and iOS apps with glove-friendly screens and offline tolerance.
  • Config over code. Editable workflows, labels, and put-away rules without touching source code.

Onboarding (10%)

From zero to live without chaos.

  • Guided setup. Product tours, sample data, and template playbooks.
  • Data migration. CSV/XLSX or API imports for items, locations, and on-hand balances.
  • Device rollout. Clear steps for scanners, printers, and label formats.

Customer support (10%)

You’ll need help—make sure it’s there.

  • Responsive channels. Email, chat, and community forums with real SLAs.
  • Docs and GitHub health. Current docs, active contributors, quick issue triage, and merged PRs.
  • Training assets. Videos, how-tos, and admin guides your team will actually use.

Value for money (10%)

Total cost, not just “free.”

  • Transparent costs. Hosting, paid support tiers, and add-ons spelled out.
  • Scalability. Handles more SKUs, orders, and warehouses without surprise refactors.
  • TCO reality. Implementation hours, hardware, and ongoing admin time included.

Customer reviews (10%)

Proof from the floor.

  • Use cases. Evidence it works for ecommerce, wholesale, and 3PLs.
  • Operator feedback. Notes from warehouse leads, not only developers.
  • Reliability trends. Uptime, performance, and bug patterns across releases.

What is an Open Source Warehouse Management System?

Open source warehouse management software is a WMS whose source code you can inspect, modify, and deploy on your terms—self-hosted or cloud.

It coordinates receiving, put-away, replenishment, picking, packing, shipping, and returns while maintaining real-time inventory levels, locations, and lot/serial tracking across one or many warehouses.

Typical modules cover order management, barcode scanning (GS1/UPC), cycle counts, user permissions, reporting, and dashboards, with APIs to connect ERP, ecommerce, shipping, and CRM.

Teams choose it for flexibility, data ownership, and cost control—you can tune workflows, extend with plugins, review GitHub activity, and scale without being locked into a vendor roadmap.

How to Choose an Open Source Warehouse Management System

Pick based on your retail reality—your workflows, data model, and stack. Use this table to build a shortlist, then validate in a sandbox and a small live pilot before rollout.

StepWhat to assessAction tip
Define outcomesTarget metrics like inventory accuracy, lines picked per hour, order cycle timeWrite three measurable goals and baseline current performance
Map workflowsReceiving, put-away, replenishment, picking, packing, shipping, returnsSketch current flows and flag bottlenecks to test in demos
Data and traceabilityLots, serial numbers, units of measure, kitting/bundles, bin locationsConfirm native support in docs and show it working in a demo
Devices and barcodeScanners, label printers, GS1-128, label formats, Wi-Fi toleranceTest with your actual hardware and labels for a full shift
IntegrationsERP, ecommerce, shipping, EDI, API/webhooks, SSOList required endpoints and run a sandbox push/pull test
DeploymentCloud vs self-hosted, backups, uptime, RPO/RTO, access controlChoose hosting and document recovery objectives and owners
ExtensibilityModules, plugins, source code quality, GitHub activity, licenseReview repo issues, contributors, and upgrade path risk
ScalabilitySKU count, orders per day, multi-warehouse, wave/batch pickingRun a volume scenario with your data and peak assumptions
SecurityRBAC, audit logs, encryption at rest/in transit, data exportBuild a role matrix and export a sample audit report
Cost and supportTotal cost of ownership across implementation, hosting, devices, paid support, trainingPrice each line item and open a test support ticket for response time

Features of Open Source Open Source Warehouse Management Systems

Open-source WMS features should cut travel time, tighten accuracy, and play nicely with your stack—without locking you in. Here’s what to look for.

  • Real-time inventory. Bin-level accuracy, allocations, and safety stock update instantly across warehouses and channels.
  • Barcode scanning that works. Android or iOS devices handle shaky Wi-Fi, offline queues, and GS1-128 labels.
  • Receiving to shipping workflows. ASNs, directed put-away, replenishment, wave and batch picking, packing, and labels in one flow.
  • Order allocation logic. Backorders, partials, and priority rules respect SLAs, channels, and customer tags.
  • Traceability. Lots, serial numbers, and expiration control support FEFO, recalls, and audit exports.
  • Returns handling. RMAs, inspection, disposition codes, and auto-restock rules reduce second touches.
  • Multi-warehouse visibility. Network inventory, transfers with in-transit tracking, and site-specific rules without code forks.
  • Integrations that stick. REST API, webhooks, and native connectors for ERP, ecommerce, shipping, and CRM.
  • EDI when needed. Standard docs for POs, ASNs, and invoices plug into your trading partners.
  • Automation and optimization. Task interleaving, slotting, and pick-path logic cut travel time and labor.
  • Forecasting and replenishment. Demand signals drive reorder points and prevent stockouts or overstocking.
  • Configurable workflows. Edit labels, statuses, and steps without rewriting core code or breaking upgrades.
  • Reporting you use. Operational KPIs—inventory accuracy, lines per hour, order cycle time—plus exception views.
  • Security and access. RBAC, audit logs, and encryption protect data while keeping exports portable.
  • Extensible modules. Plugins, clean source code, and healthy GitHub activity ensure longevity and scale.
  • Flexible deployment. Cloud or self-hosted with clear backups, RPO/RTO targets, and performance at peak.

Benefits of Open Source Warehouse Management System

I care about outcomes on the floor—fewer touches, tighter counts, faster turns. Open source gives you that control without vendor handcuffs, whether you’re cloud-based or self-hosted.

  • Lower total cost. Skip license markups and spend on implementation, devices, and training that actually move the needle.
  • Real-time inventory accuracy. Bin-level updates, cycle counts, and clear dashboards cut stockouts and overstocking.
  • Workflows you can tune. Edit receiving, put-away, picking, and returns without waiting on a roadmap.
  • Serious extensibility. Use APIs, webhooks, and plugins to fit ERP, ecommerce, and shipping—without brittle hacks.
  • Data ownership. Control your database, backups, and exports so audits and migrations are painless.
  • Speed to integrate. Connect scanners, label printers, carriers, and payment flows with well-documented endpoints.
  • Traceability that holds up. Lots, serial numbers, and expiration controls support recalls and compliance.
  • Operator-grade usability. Mobile scanning, simple screens, and role-based views your team can learn in a day.
  • Scalability on your terms. Add SKUs, orders, and warehouses without rewriting half the stack.
  • Community momentum. Active contributors and visible GitHub history mean faster fixes and better features.
  • Better forecasting inputs. Cleaner movements and statuses feed demand planning and smarter replenishment.
  • Transparent support options. Choose paid support or community help and match costs to your business needs.

Cost & Pricing for Open Source Warehouse Management System

Open source WMS isn’t “free” once you factor in implementation, hosting, devices, and support—but you control where the dollars go. Use these ranges to budget, then validate with vendor quotes and a pilot.

PlanAverage priceCommon featuresBest for
Enterprise$10,000–$50,000+ one-time plus annual supportAdvanced customization, priority support, dedicated account manager, cloud or self-hosted, training, integrationsComplex operations with IT resources
Professional$3,000–$15,000 one-time plus optional supportCustomization options, standard support, cloud or self-hosted, basic training, some integrationsGrowing teams needing control without heavy spend
CommunityFree–$1,000 optional supportCore WMS features, community docs, self-hosting, forumsSmall teams, pilots, and dev-led rollouts

Caveats to budget for

  • Change management. Pilots, SOP updates, and go-live coverage reduce disruption but cost hours.
  • Implementation hours. Data cleanup, workflow setup, label formats, and device provisioning add real time.
  • Hardware and supplies. Scanners, Wi-Fi upgrades, printers, labels, and spare batteries drive day-one cost.
  • Hosting and backups. Cloud instances, storage, monitoring, and backup/restore testing—plan it, own it.
  • Integrations. ERP, ecommerce, EDI, and carrier setups often need paid connectors or custom work.
  • Support and training. Paid SLAs, admin training, and floor training ensure uptime and adoption.

Open Source WMS FAQs

Let’s bring up the questions and answers around this type of software.

Is open source WMS actually free?

The source code is free; running it isn’t. Budget for implementation, hosting (cloud or self-hosted), devices (scanners, printers, Wi-Fi), integrations, and support. The upside is control—you decide where the money goes.

Start with a pilot: load items and locations, connect one sales channel, run receiving→put-away→pick→ship for a week, then price the gaps (labels, custom fields, API work). Total cost usually tracks complexity—more SKUs, locations, and workflows mean more setup time.

Keep a line item for training and SOP updates; adoption pays the fastest dividends.

Can an open source WMS handle multiple warehouses and 3PLs?

Yes, if the project supports multi-site inventory, transfers, and in-transit states. Look for network-wide, real-time inventory; site-level calendars and carrier cutoffs; and rules that vary by warehouse without forking code.

For 3PLs, confirm role-based access, customer-scoped data, and clean ASN/shipping integrations. Test inter-warehouse transfers, cycle counts by site, and allocation rules that respect stock at the right node. If you run ecommerce plus wholesale, verify channel-specific SLAs and wave/batch picking at scale.

What hardware works with open source WMS?

Most teams run Android scanners or rugged phones with sleds, plus Zebra/Honeywell printers using ZPL. You’ll want GS1-128 label support, camera or laser scanning, and screens your team can use with gloves.

Test Wi-Fi roaming in the aisles; offline queues help if coverage is spotty. Bring your actual labels, SKUs, and serial numbers to the pilot. Standardize charger carts, spare batteries, and a simple device management routine—uptime lives or dies here.

How does it integrate with ERP, ecommerce, and shipping?

Look for REST APIs and webhooks for items, inventory, orders, shipments, and returns. Map flows explicitly: ERP owns item master and POs; WMS owns bin-level inventory and fulfillment; ecommerce owns orders and customer data.

For EDI, confirm 850/856/810 basics. Use an iPaaS or message queue if you have many endpoints. Non-negotiables: idempotent endpoints, retry logic, and clear error logs. Before go-live, run a round-trip test: order in, pick/pack/ship, tracking out, invoice back.

Cloud or self-hosted—how should I deploy?

Choose cloud if you want managed updates, simpler scaling, and predictable SLAs. Choose self-hosted for tight data control, custom modules, or strict compliance. Either way, document backups, recovery objectives (RPO/RTO), access controls, and patch cadence.

Containerize (e.g., Docker/Kubernetes) for cleaner upgrades, and separate prod from sandbox. Price the full picture—compute, storage, monitoring, and on-call. If your team lacks ops bandwidth, cloud wins; if you need deep customization, self-hosted pays off.

Pick, Pilot, Ship Faster

Open source warehouse management software fixes the stuff that bleeds margin—stockouts, mis-picks, slow receiving, brittle integrations. You get real-time inventory, barcode-driven workflows, and a stack you can actually maintain.

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Sean Flannigan
By Sean Flannigan

Sean is the Senior Editor for The Retail Exec. He's spent years getting acquainted with the retail space, from warehouse management and international shipping to web development and ecommerce marketing. A writer at heart (and in actuality), he brings a deep passion for great writing and storytelling to retail topics big and small.