Multichannel ERP 2026: the ultimate comparison
A multichannel ERP system is the heart of any successful e-commerce business. It connects Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shopify and other sales channels on one central platform. Order processing, inventory management, invoicing and shipping are automated – saving time, reducing errors and making growth possible.
While Billbee and Afterbuy mainly appeal to small and medium-sized sellers, JTL-Wawi, PlentyONE (called plentymarkets until November 2024) and Xentral offer plans all the way up to the enterprise segment. Descartes pixi is included as a warehouse management (WMS) specialist. In this comparison we set the six providers' current pricing models side by side – we checked all prices against the official pricing pages in October 2026.
Four pricing models – not directly comparable
The providers charge in very different ways: per order (Billbee), edition + order package (JTL, Xentral Launch), base fee + transaction (Afterbuy) or by revenue/GMV (PlentyONE). Always compare the total price for your own order volume – see the cost examples. Almost all prices are net prices for business customers, plus 19% VAT (Umsatzsteuer, "USt.").
Why do I need a multichannel ERP?
Beyond a certain size, managing orders across several platforms by hand becomes impossible:
- Central order management: All orders from all channels in one interface
- Stock levels: Automatic synchronisation prevents overselling
- Invoicing: Invoices that comply with the GoBD (Germany's rules for proper digital bookkeeping) in one click
- Shipping: Integration with DHL, DPD, Hermes, UPS and more
- Accounting: DATEV export (DATEV is the accounting software most German tax advisers use) and automatic tax calculation
- Reporting: Revenue and profit analysis across all channels
Choosing the right ERP system
The choice depends on several factors: order volume, budget, complexity and growth plans. The budget ranges are rough guides based on list prices (net, monthly), not quotes:
| Orders/month | Suitable solutions | Budget (net) |
|---|---|---|
| < 200 | Billbee Starter, JTL Start + order package, Afterbuy Starter | approx. €25–75/mo |
| 200 – 1,000 | Billbee Growth, Afterbuy Growth, JTL Start/Advanced + order package, PlentyONE Lite/Lite+ | approx. €60–250/mo |
| 1,000 – 5,000 | JTL Advanced/Pro, Afterbuy Pro, Xentral Starter/Business, PlentyONE Expand/Scale | approx. €170 to over €800/mo |
| > 5,000 | JTL Pro/Enterprise, Xentral Pro, PlentyONE Ultimate, Descartes pixi (warehouse) | from approx. €400/mo, often on request |
Marketplace integrations at a glance
The marketplace integration is one of the most important factors when choosing an ERP. Not every system supports every marketplace equally well:
| Provider | Amazon | eBay | Kaufland | Otto | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billbee | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| JTL-Wawi | ✅ (order package) | ✅ (order package) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (order package) |
| PlentyONE | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Xentral | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ✅ |
| Afterbuy | ✅ | ✅✅ | ✅ | ✅ | – |
| Descartes pixi | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ✅ |
✅ = natively integrated, ⚠️ = via third-party provider, ✅✅ = particularly strong, – = not listed as a channel on Afterbuy's pricing page (which lists: eBay, Amazon, Kaufland, OTTO, Hood, Ricardo, Temu). JTL: orders via marketplaces, Shopify and Shopware 6 run through paid order packages.
What does a multichannel ERP cost?
Costs range from €0 (JTL Start) up to individual enterprise quotes. All figures are list prices per month with monthly payment, as of October 2026:
| Provider | Entry | Mid | Large | Extra costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billbee | €9 (minimum fee) | approx. €125 (500 orders) | 8.4 cents/order | none – everything included |
| JTL-Wawi | €0 (Start) | €119 (Advanced)* | €369 (Pro)*, Enterprise on request | Order packages from €25 |
| PlentyONE | €59 (Lite) | €149 (Expand) | €229 (Scale), Ultimate on request | Surcharge above €10,000 revenue/mo |
| Xentral | €99 (Launch) | €349 (Starter) | €649–849 (Business/Pro) | Launch: €0.30/order; onboarding optional |
| Afterbuy | €23 (Starter)* | €71 (Growth)* | €179 (Pro)*, Partner on request | €0.10–0.25/transaction |
| Descartes pixi | €850 (Basic) | Growth on request | Enterprise on request | depends on volume & tech stack |
*Cheaper with an annual contract: JTL Advanced €99, JTL Pro €329; Afterbuy on a 12-month term €19/59/149, on a 24-month term €18/55/139. Billbee, PlentyONE and Afterbuy state their prices explicitly as net plus VAT; JTL, Xentral and pixi give no VAT note on their pricing pages (business-customer prices). Xentral: "prices depend on revenue & shipping volume" (our translation).
Avoiding the cost trap
The base fee is often only half the story: with JTL, order packages are added for marketplace, Shopify and Shopware orders (shop and POS orders are free); with Afterbuy, transaction fees; with Xentral Launch, €0.30 per order; and with PlentyONE, a higher base fee or surcharge as soon as monthly revenue exceeds the booked GMV limit. Billbee is the easiest to budget: the price depends only on the number of orders and all features are included – although credit notes and cancellation invoices also count as orders.
Cost examples: what do you pay for 100, 500 and 2,000 orders?
We worked out the list prices (net, cancellable monthly or paid monthly) for three typical seller sizes. Assumption: all orders come through marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay. Billbee figures come from the price calculator on billbee.io.
| Provider | 100 orders/mo | 500 orders/mo | 2,000 orders/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billbee | approx. €48 | approx. €125 | approx. €229 |
| JTL | €25 (Start + 100-order package) | €79 (Start + 500-order package) | €378 (Advanced €119 + 2,500-order package €259) |
| Afterbuy | €48 (Starter €23 + 100 × €0.25) | €116 (Growth €71 + 500 free transactions €45) | €268 (Pro €179 + 2,000 free transactions €89) |
| Xentral | €129 (Launch €99 + 100 × €0.30) | €349 (Starter incl. 500 orders) | on request (Business/Pro) |
| PlentyONE | from €59 (Lite) as long as monthly revenue stays ≤ €10,000 – above that, the price depends on the booked GMV limit | ||
All amounts net plus 19% VAT, excluding add-on modules, hosting, shipping labels or partner set-up. JTL Start only includes a basic shop of up to 500 items; if you need more, you end up at Advanced (€119). Afterbuy counts transactions, not orders – the figures are approximate.
For small sellers with up to 500 marketplace orders, JTL Start is the cheapest on paper, provided the basic feature set is enough and you handle the set-up yourself. Billbee and Afterbuy are close together at 500 orders (approx. €116–125), although Billbee needs no contract term and no add-on modules. At 2,000 orders Billbee becomes the cheapest – Billbee only switches to 8.4 cents per order from approx. 3,300 orders.
What should sellers look out for when choosing?
- What counts as an order? Billbee also counts refunds, credit notes and cancellation invoices, Afterbuy charges by transaction, and JTL only counts orders from marketplaces, Shopify and Shopware 6 (your own JTL shop and POS are free). With a high return rate this can noticeably change the price.
- Net vs. gross: All providers target businesses and quote net prices. Small businesses that are exempt from VAT (Kleinunternehmer) and cannot reclaim input VAT effectively pay 19% more.
- Contract term: Billbee can be cancelled monthly; Afterbuy offers monthly billing with a one-month term or cheaper 12/24-month contracts; JTL gives up to 17% off with an annual contract. For contract terms PlentyONE refers to its terms and conditions – read them before signing.
- Limits per plan: PlentyONE limits marketplaces, SKUs, users and warehouses per plan; Xentral Launch allows a maximum of 100 orders/month and €500,000 annual revenue; JTL Start only 500 items in the basic shop.
- Deployment: Billbee, PlentyONE, Xentral and Afterbuy run in the cloud. JTL-Wawi is traditionally Windows software installed locally; according to JTL, every deployment type (local, hosting, cloud) is now possible.
- Use the trial: PlentyONE and Afterbuy offer 30 days free, Billbee a free trial without payment details. Import real orders to estimate fees realistically.
The main providers in detail
Billbee – for getting started
Billbee is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized sellers. The cloud software charges purely by number of orders – from a €9 net minimum fee, with all features and integrations included, cancellable monthly and with unlimited users. From 200 orders (three months in a row) Billbee automatically moves you to the Growth plan, which also includes the inventory tool VentoryOne and the helpdesk Replyco at no extra cost. Particularly strong: the rule-based automations and the service promise for email support.
JTL-Wawi – the power tool
JTL has switched its pricing model to editions: JTL Start costs €0 (basic ERP and basic shop up to 500 items), Advanced €119/month (€99 on an annual contract), Pro €369/month (€329), Enterprise on request. Orders from your own JTL shop and the till are free; for orders via Amazon, eBay, Shopify or Shopware 6 you book order packages (e.g. 100 orders €25, 500 orders €79, 1,000 orders €129). The learning curve is steep, but the large partner community helps with set-up.
PlentyONE (formerly plentymarkets) – the all-in-one platform
Since November 2024 plentymarkets has officially been called PlentyONE. The cloud platform bundles ERP, PIM, order management, warehouse, CRM and POS and, according to the manufacturer, connects more than 150 marketplaces. The Lite (€59), Lite+ (€99), Expand (€149) and Scale (€229) plans are net; the starting price applies up to €10,000 monthly revenue – above that the base fee rises depending on the booked GMV limit. Large sellers can opt for the individual Ultimate plan.
Xentral – modern ERP for D2C brands
Xentral starts with the Launch plan from €99/month plus €0.30 per order (max. 100 orders/month and €500,000 annual revenue). Starter (from €349) includes 500 orders, a service package and unlimited users; Business (from €649) and Pro (from €849) add automation, API and finance features. According to Xentral, AI features are included at no extra cost until 31 December 2026; from 2027 they will be billed by credits.
Afterbuy – the eBay specialist
Afterbuy offers four plans with net prices: Starter €23, Growth €71, Pro €179 per month with monthly billing (€19/59/149 on a 12-month term), Partner on request. Transaction fees of €0.25 (Pro: €0.15, Partner: €0.10) or bookable free-transaction packages are added. Integrations include eBay, Amazon, Kaufland, OTTO, Hood, Ricardo and Temu.
Descartes pixi – warehouse pro for high volumes
Descartes pixi is above all a warehouse management system with ERP add-ons. The Basic package starts at €850/month (2 concurrent users, Shopify & Shopware, 1 carrier); Growth and Enterprise are available on request. pixi pays off for sellers with their own warehouse and high shipping volumes – marketplaces are typically connected via an upstream system or integrators such as Tradebyte and ChannelEngine.
Implementation & migration
Switching to a new ERP system is a critical project. How long it takes depends mainly on the number of items, the number of channels and special processes. The providers offer different levels of support:
- Billbee: Self-service with manual, tutorials and webinars; optional set-up service
- JTL-Wawi: Set-up with a service partner from the JTL partner network is usually recommended
- PlentyONE: Self-service with step-by-step documentation or expert support; data migration when switching is offered
- Xentral: Assisted onboarding (project plan, academy, expert sessions) or partner onboarding
- Afterbuy: 30 days free trial, support in German
Last updated: October 2026 | Sources: official pricing pages of Billbee, JTL, PlentyONE, Xentral, Afterbuy and Descartes pixi (retrieved October 2026). kosten.org does not test the software itself; the assessment is an editorial evaluation.
Transparency note: This comparison offers an overview of the multichannel ERP market. Links marked with an asterisk are affiliate/advertising links: if you sign up via one, we may receive a commission. This costs you nothing extra.