Carbon
by Carbon Manufacturing Systems Corp.
A modern, API-first manufacturing platform covering quoting through shipping, with rule-based BOM and routing generation, finite capacity scheduling, serial and lot genealogy, and an unusually large public API.
Why it is classified this way
We call this a Manufacturing ERP product. A broad business system (accounting, sales, purchasing) with a substantial manufacturing or planning module attached.
It is not labeled Full MRP because we have not verified that it explodes requirements through at least one level of the bill of materials; and produces dated buy, make, transfer, release, or reschedule recommendations. That is a statement about the evidence we found, not a claim that the product is weak, see the capability table and the sources below.
The six Full MRP tests, and how Carbon does on each (4 of 6)
- YesIt represents a bill of materials, recipe, or formula.Evidence: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)
- YesIt accepts dated demand, sales orders, a forecast, or a master production schedule.Evidence: docs.carbon.ms › Planning(opens in a new tab); github.com › Mrp(opens in a new tab)
- YesIt nets that demand against stock on hand and orders already incoming.Evidence: docs.carbon.ms › Planning(opens in a new tab); github.com › Mrp(opens in a new tab)
- UnknownIt explodes requirements through at least one level of the bill of materials.Not established. No evidence found yet.
- YesIt uses lead times or required dates.Evidence: docs.carbon.ms › Planning(opens in a new tab); docs.carbon.ms › Suppliers and customers(opens in a new tab); github.com › Mrp(opens in a new tab)
- PartialIt produces dated buy, make, transfer, release, or reschedule recommendations.Not established. Backed only by a limited source (a vendor video from before 2023, source code, an old blog post or a single marketing line), which can fill the table but cannot pass this test.
These rules are applied identically to every product and enforced at build time, a record cannot be published as Full MRP unless all six pass with a source attached. Read the methodology.
Best for
- Engineering-led shops in regulated sectors needing serial genealogy and NCR-to-CAPA workflows
- Teams that intend to build on top of the system rather than only use its screens, on the Business plan, which is where the API and webhooks are
- Shops that want an AI assistant wired into live manufacturing data via MCP
Not a fit when
- Small makers. The design assumes engineering rigour and an engineering team
- Anyone who needs to know the MRP price before a sales conversation: cloud seats are priced, but which plan includes planning is not stated
- Shops planning to self-host without a lawyer reading the license restrictions first
Pricing facts
What it costs to do manufacturing in this product.
Advertised from
$40/user/month
Billing basis
Per user
Free trial: 30 days.
What moves the real bill
- Priced per user. The monthly figure multiplies by every person who needs an account.
Plans
| Plan | Price | Add-ons and setup |
|---|---|---|
| StarterCarbon CloudBilled monthly | $40 per user/mo | — |
| "Basic ERP, MES, and QMS functionality". The pricing page does not say which plan includes MRP; counting it on Starter rests on the vendor's developer notes, which say MRP is not plan-gated. The free self-hosted core is not modeled: MRP sits in the commercial packages/ee code. | ||
| BusinessCarbon CloudBilled monthly | $100 per user/mo · minimum 5 users | — |
| "API, webhooks, and integrations", "Accounting" and "All advanced features available"; "5 user minimum". | ||
Cheapest paid plan that manufactures, by paid users
- 1 user: Starter, $40 a month (billed monthly); first year $480.
- 5 users: Starter, $200 a month (billed monthly); first year $2,400.
- 10 users: Starter, $400 a month (billed monthly); first year $4,800.
Pricing detail
Carbon Cloud: Starter $40 per user per month ("Basic ERP, MES, and QMS functionality"), Business $100 per user per month with a 5-user minimum ("All advanced features available", plus support, API, accounting and audit logging), Enterprise on quote. Billed monthly per user, 30-day free trial. We have not confirmed which cloud plan includes MRP planning, which lives in Carbon's commercial code. If it is Business only, the entry price is $500 a month for five users. The self-hosted open-source core is free but ships without MRP, and the commercial license fee is not published. The vendor's developer notes say MRP is not a plan-gated feature ("It enumerated `companyPlan` until 2026-08-26. MRP is not in `FEATURE_PLANS`,"), which suggests Starter includes planning; manual forecasts need Business. This comes from the repository, read 2026-09-18, not from a customer-facing page.
Price history
- First archived prices: Starter $30 and Business $90 per user per month. Archived page, August 4, 2025(opens in a new tab)
- Starter rose to $35 per user per month; Business stayed at $90. Archived page, December 5, 2025(opens in a new tab)
- Starter $33 and Business $92 per user per month. Archived page, April 15, 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Starter rose to $40 and Business to $100 per user per month, the prices still shown in September 2026. Archived page, June 5, 2026(opens in a new tab)
From copies of the vendor's pricing page kept by the Internet Archive.
Checked on October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab). Prices change. Check before you buy.
Manufacturing capability
23 of 25 fields resolved. "Unknown" means we have not found first-party evidence. It is not a No.
Planning
Working out what to buy or make, and when.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Accepts dated demandYou can tell it what is due and when, sales orders with dates, a forecast, or a production schedule. | Yes | Carbon's planning reference lists customer demand as: "Open sales-order lines, by promised date." Weekly demand projections can be added as a second source. Planning is part of Carbon's commercial packages/ee code, so the self-hosted Community edition does not include it; Carbon Cloud or a commercial license does.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.carbon.ms › Planning(opens in a new tab); github.com › Mrp(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Nets against stock on handIt subtracts what you already have before telling you to buy more. | Yes | Carbon says: "The engine explodes demand through bills of material, nets it against on-hand plus open jobs and purchase orders, and writes period-bucketed demand forecasts (plus the demand and supply actuals it read)." Planning is part of Carbon's commercial packages/ee code, so the self-hosted Community edition does not include it; Carbon Cloud or a commercial license does.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.carbon.ms › Planning(opens in a new tab); github.com › Mrp(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Counts incoming ordersIt knows about purchase orders and production orders already placed, so it does not tell you to order twice. | Yes | Carbon's planning reference lists open supply as: "Open jobs and open purchase-order lines." Planning is part of Carbon's commercial packages/ee code, so the self-hosted Community edition does not include it; Carbon Cloud or a commercial license does.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.carbon.ms › Planning(opens in a new tab); github.com › Mrp(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Uses lead timesIt works backwards from when you need something to when you must order or start it, using supplier and production lead times. | Yes | Carbon says: "MRP nets demand against supply across the whole bill of materials, so a shortfall on a top-level satellite surfaces as the right quantity of every component, offset for its lead time — before you're caught short." The suppliers reference adds that "purchasing lead time is set per item, not per supplier-part", and it can be set on CSV import. In the source code a blank lead time defaults to 7 days. Planning is part of Carbon's commercial packages/ee code, so the self-hosted Community edition does not include it; Carbon Cloud or a commercial license does.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.carbon.ms › Planning(opens in a new tab); docs.carbon.ms › Suppliers and customers(opens in a new tab); github.com › Mrp(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Produces dated buy/make suggestionsThe output is an actionable list with dates, order this much by this date, start this batch on this date. | Yes | Planning suggestions are dated: each suggested job or purchase order gets a due date at the start of the shortfall week and an order date worked back by the item's lead time, "const startDate = dueDate.subtract({ days: leadTime });" (from the vendor's source code, read 2026-09-18; no customer-facing page states it, so it does not count toward the Full MRP label).Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: Source code, read 2026(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Capacity planningChecks whether your people and machines can do the work in the time available. | Yes | "Finite capacity scheduling that reacts." The scheduling engine sits in Carbon's commercial packages/ee code (packages/ee/src/planning/scheduling in the project's source code), so a self-hosted Community install cannot use it without a commercial license. On Carbon Cloud scheduling is on every plan, except the Forecast (Gantt) page, which is Business only.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab); github.com › Scheduling(opens in a new tab); github.com › Plan.ts(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Production
Recipes, bills of materials, and running the work.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Bill of materialsA list of the parts and quantities needed to make one of something. | Yes | "Rule-based BOM and routing generation". Parts are parameterised rather than hand-maintained.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Multi-level BOMSub-assemblies inside assemblies, a part that is itself made from other parts, nested as deep as you need. | Yes | From Carbon's build guide: "Job J000001's method expanded: the SAT-1000's subassemblies — structural frame, power subsystem, ADCS and the rest — each with its own materials and operations." Planning also explodes demand across the whole bill of materials.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.carbon.ms › Build(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Recipes & formulasBatch-style production by weight, volume, or percentage, including scaling a batch up or down. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of recipe or formula records, ideally with batch scaling.Know the answer? |
| Work / manufacturing ordersA record authorising and tracking the making of a specific quantity. | Yes | Production is organized as jobs, with digital travellers and work instructions on the floor.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Routings & operationsThe ordered steps a product goes through, and which machine or station does each one. | Yes | Routing and work instructions are part of the engineering stage, generated by the same rule engine as the BOM.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Shop-floor trackingOperators report progress, time, and completions as the work happens. | Yes | "Digital travelers with work instructions" on the shop floor.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Quality controlsChecks, tests, holds, and non-conformance records tied to production or receiving. | Yes | "NCR to CAPA workflow with sign-off", with certificates generated from live data.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Inventory & traceability
Knowing what you hold and being able to trace it.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Batch & lot traceabilityWhich incoming material lots went into which finished batch, and where those finished goods went. | Yes | "Serial and lot genealogy, forwards and back."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Expiry & shelf lifeBest-before dates on materials and finished goods, with warnings before they lapse. | Yes | Carbon says: "Shelf life is how Carbon decides when a batch or serial of an item expires, and what happens when someone tries to use it after that." It applies only to batch- or serial-tracked items, and issuing expired stock is blocked.Source: docs.carbon.ms › Shelf life(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Serial numbersUnique identifiers on individual units, for warranty or field service. | Yes | Serial genealogy is tracked in both directions alongside lots.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Commerce & accounting
Costs, purchasing, storefronts, and the books.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Product costing & COGSWhat it costs you to make one, and the cost of the goods you sold. | Yes | "Rolled-up cost at any configuration" plus job costing.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| PurchasingRaising and tracking purchase orders to suppliers from inside the system. | Yes | Purchase orders and receipts are a documented stage.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Accounting connectionSends financial data to bookkeeping software, or includes its own general ledger. | Yes | Carbon keeps its own general ledger with journals and periods: "shipping, receiving, finishing a job, depreciating an asset each post to the general ledger". The ledger is switched off by default in the company settings. Syncing to Xero, QuickBooks Online or Rillet is an Enterprise integration: "Integrations are an Enterprise capability. On Carbon Cloud they're included with the Business plan; self-hosted, they require a commercial (Enterprise) license".Source: docs.carbon.ms › Accounting(opens in a new tab); docs.carbon.ms › Integrations(opens in a new tab); docs.carbon.ms › Accounting(opens in a new tab); carbon.ms › Developers(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Ecommerce connectionPulls orders and pushes stock levels to a storefront or marketplace. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of a named storefront or marketplace integration.Know the answer? |
Openness & your data
Getting data in, out, and away if you leave.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| APIA documented programming interface so other software can read and write your data. | Partial | A REST API with webhooks and first-party connectors; the developers page describes "Event-driven integrations, webhook payloads, and the first-party connectors" and an MCP server "that reach more than 1,400 ERP operations across 15 modules". Partial because it is gated: the developers page says "the API, webhooks and the MCP server are Business features", the pricing page lists "API, webhooks, and integrations" under Business ($100 per user per month, 5-user minimum), and the source code limits API keys to the Business and Partner plans, so Starter has no API. (Until 2026-09 the site advertised "381 resources and 1,641 endpoints"; that count is no longer published.)Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms › Developers(opens in a new tab); carbon.ms › Pricing(opens in a new tab); carbon.ms(opens in a new tab); github.com › Plan.ts(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| WebhooksThe system can notify other software the moment something changes. | Partial | Webhooks are documented for insert, update and delete events on records such as customers, quotes, sales and purchase orders, invoices, jobs, receipts, items and employees. Partial only because they are a Business-plan feature on Carbon Cloud; the source code's plan list reads "WEBHOOKS: [Plan.Business, Plan.Partner],".Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: github.com › Plan.ts(opens in a new tab); docs.carbon.ms › Webhooks(opens in a new tab); carbon.ms › Developers(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| MCP supportA Model Context Protocol server, letting an AI assistant read or act on this data. Useful, but it has nothing to do with whether the product plans materials. | Yes | A first-party MCP server with 1,374 operations. Worth noting that this makes an AI assistant able to read and act on the data. It says nothing about whether the product plans materials.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: carbon.ms(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| CSV exportYou can get your lists out as spreadsheet files. | Yes | Carbon says: "Every data table can export its current view to a file with one click, and a set of core entities can be bulk imported from a CSV you upload, map, and submit." The export covers the rows on the current page and the visible columns, as a CSV file.Source: docs.carbon.ms › Import export(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Full data exportYou can take everything, including history and relationships, not just a few screens' worth of rows. | Yes | Carbon says: "A backup captures the company's business data across the whole app: sales, purchasing, items, production, accounting, quality and people." The backup downloads as data only or data plus files. Carbon calls it "not a full database dump", and credentials, integration tokens and webhooks are left out.Source: docs.carbon.ms › Backups(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Deployment, licensing and your data
- Deployment
- Cloud (hosted for you), Self-hosted, On-premise (vendor-supported)
- Licensing
- Source availableAGPL-3.0 with added terms
- Team sizes
- 6–20 people, 21–50 people, 51+ people
- Manufacturing styles
- Countable assembled products, Custom or job-shop work, Kits & bundles
About the licence
Not plain AGPL-3.0, so we do not list it as open source or open core. The license file puts the core under AGPL-3.0 and then adds restrictions: everything under packages/ee and any file containing.ee "require the purchase of a commercial license", reselling it as a hosted service is prohibited, and "any use of this software for internal production use is strictly prohibited unless the modifications are made open-source in accordance with the AGPLv3 license or a commercial license is obtained". Read that last clause before planning a self-hosted deployment. It is stricter than most people expect from AGPL. The MRP engine is in that directory (packages/ee/src/planning/mrp), along with the finite-capacity scheduling engine, SAML SSO and the QuickBooks, Xero and other integrations. Carbon's licensing page says a commercial license is needed if "You use anything under packages/ee or any .ee file.", so a self-hosted Community install has no MRP, finite-capacity scheduling or integrations.
Licence: github.com(opens in a new tab)
Jobs this product qualifies for
Derived from the capability table above, not hand-assigned.
Editorial notes and cautions
Things we would want a friend to know before buying.
- The license is the thing to look at hardest. Carbon is AGPL-3.0 with commercial-only enterprise directories and an explicit clause restricting internal production use unless your modifications are open-sourced or you buy a commercial license. Calling this "open source" without that context would mislead you.
- MRP is not in the free self-hosted edition. The planning engine lives in Carbon's commercial packages/ee code, and the licensing page says community mode ships without those features. You get MRP on Carbon Cloud or with a commercial license, and we have not confirmed whether the cheaper Starter cloud plan includes it. The same applies to finite-capacity scheduling and the accounting and other integrations, and on Cloud the API, webhooks and integrations need the Business plan ($100 per user, 5-user minimum).
- The MCP server is a genuinely useful differentiator, and also a good illustration of why this site separates MCP from MRP. They share three letters and nothing else.
- The project has 2,358 GitHub stars with commits within a day of our check, which is respectable for a young platform but small relative to the incumbents.
Alternatives to Carbon
An alternative is always an alternative for a reason. There is no universal replacement.
- FulcrumBetter for job shops
Both target precision shops with scheduling at the center; Fulcrum is a conventional hosted product, where Carbon offers a source-available core and a documented public API.
Evidence and verification
License read directly from the repository file, which is essential here. The marketing page says "source available" and "self-host the open source core", and only the license file explains the restrictions.
Sources we checked (23)
github.com
docs.carbon.ms
- Planning(opens in a new tab)
- Plan(opens in a new tab)
- Build(opens in a new tab)
- Shelf life(opens in a new tab)
- Import export(opens in a new tab)
- Backups(opens in a new tab)
- Licensing(opens in a new tab)
- Forecast(opens in a new tab)
- Accounting(opens in a new tab)
- Integrations(opens in a new tab)
- Accounting(opens in a new tab)
- Webhooks(opens in a new tab)
- Architecture(opens in a new tab)
- Suppliers and customers(opens in a new tab)
What we still want to confirm
We publish our gaps rather than hiding them. If you can point us at a first-party page for any of these, we will update the record and credit the correction.
- Still open: the fee for the commercial license. The licensing page describes per-user yearly or perpetual licenses on 1, 3 or 5-year terms but gives no figure, and Enterprise is "Contact us" on the pricing page, so it needs a sales conversation.
- Get a customer-facing statement of which cloud plan includes MRP planning. The repository's developer notes (read 2026-09-18) say it is not plan-gated, and manual forecasts need Business.
Still unknown: recipes & formulas, ecommerce connection.