Katana vs MRPeasy
The short answer
These two are not competing on features so much as on shape. Katana charges one flat platform price with unlimited users and sells capability as add-on modules. MRPeasy charges per user and bundles capability into tiers. So the answer depends less on what you make than on how many people touch the system: a ten-person team pays MRPeasy roughly ten times, and pays Katana once. Below about four users MRPeasy is usually cheaper; above that the lines cross and keep diverging.
Pricing as published on katanamrp.com/pricing and mrpeasy.com/pricing, read July 2026. Vendors change prices; check before deciding.
What each one is better at
Katana
The interface, and pricing that does not punish headcount. Visual drag-and-drop production scheduling is genuinely the best of the two, and unlimited users on the base plan means adding a shop-floor operator costs nothing.
Published pricing
Core from $299/month with unlimited users and integrations, plus usage-based charges for extra locations and sales orders. Traceability is a $249/month add-on, Warehouse Management $149/month, Manufacturing Management $199/month. A free plan covers 30 SKUs.
Pick Katana if
- More than four or five people will use the system, where per-user pricing starts to hurt.
- Visual production scheduling is the thing you will use every day.
- You are under 30 SKUs and the free plan genuinely covers you.
MRPeasy
Depth per dollar for a small team, and a longer track record. Over a decade in the market, a mature planning engine, and QuickBooks and Xero integrations that are often the deciding factor for a business whose accountant is not moving.
Published pricing
Per user per month across four tiers: Starter $49, Professional $69, Enterprise $99, and Unlimited $149 with a two-user minimum. Users 11 and up are bundled at $79 per 10-user block.
Pick MRPeasy if
- Two or three people will use it, where per-user pricing is the cheaper shape.
- Your accounting lives in QuickBooks or Xero and that integration is non-negotiable.
- You want finite-capacity production scheduling rather than a visual planner.
Side by side
| Katana | MRPeasy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat platform fee, unlimited users | Per user, per month |
| Entry price | $299/month (Core) | $49/user/month (Starter) |
| Cost at 10 users | $299/month | roughly $490/month at Starter |
| Batch and lot traceability | $249/month add-on | Included from Professional |
| Warehouse management | $149/month add-on | Tier dependent |
| Free plan | Yes, 30 SKUs | No, trial only |
| Years in market | Since 2017 | Over a decade |
What neither one does
Worth knowing before you choose, whichever way you go. This is where IEMSuite is built differently.
Traceability without paying extra for it
On Katana batch and serial tracking is a $249/month add-on. On MRPeasy it arrives with a higher tier. Either way, the record you would need during a recall is a line item you can decline, which means some operations run without it until the day they need it.
Blocking allocation on a failed inspection
Both record quality results. Neither refuses to allocate stock that has not passed. That distinction only matters the day somebody ships a quarantined lot, and then it matters a great deal.
Katana vs MRPeasy: common questions
Is Katana or MRPeasy cheaper?
It depends entirely on headcount, and the crossover is around four users. At two users MRPeasy Starter runs about $98/month against Katana Core at $299. At ten users MRPeasy is roughly $490 while Katana is still $299. Then check what you need on top: if batch traceability matters, Katana adds $249/month for it, which moves the line again.
Which is better for a small manufacturer with 5 to 10 staff?
At that size Katana usually costs less, because everyone who touches the system on MRPeasy is another seat. The counter-argument is traceability: if you need batch tracking, Katana's add-on brings it to $548/month, at which point MRPeasy Professional for a small team can come out ahead. Price the specific features you need, not the entry tier.
Does either one do proper quality control?
Both let you record quality results. The gap in both is enforcement: recording that a lot failed inspection is not the same as the system refusing to let that lot be allocated to an order. If you work under FDA, GMP or HACCP obligations, ask each vendor specifically whether a failed lot can still be shipped, because the answer determines whether QC is a control or a note.
Can I move from one to the other later?
You can move products, stock levels and BOMs between most systems. What rarely survives is history: lot genealogy, past QC results and the cost snapshots behind old orders. If traceability history matters in your industry, the migration cost is higher than the export button suggests, so it is worth getting the choice right the first time.