Compare shopboss and Part-DB on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both ERP & Business Management tools, Shop Boss is sold on four monthly…
At a Glance
shopboss
Part-DB
Primary category
ERP & Business Management
ERP & Business Management
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Shop Boss is sold on four monthly subscription tiers: Gold ($199/mo), Platinum ($349/mo), Premier ($449/mo), and Premier Plus ($649/mo), with roughly 10% savings on annual billing plus an optional CRM + Online Scheduler add-on ($249/mo).
Open Source
Starting price
$199/Mo
Free
Free plan
Not documented
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Not documented
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Not documented
Yes
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
shopboss
No individual plan breakdown documented yet.
Part-DB
Self-Hosted (Open Source) — Free N/A
Pros & Cons
shopboss
Pros
Purpose-built for auto repair shops by former shop owners, with direct parts and tire ordering from national distributors built into the platform
Digital vehicle inspections (BOSS Inspect) and a real-time KPI dashboard (BOSS Board) give shops visibility into revenue, productivity, and customer satisfaction
Higher tiers bundle marketing CRM, online scheduling, and even website design/maintenance, reducing the need for separate vendors
All plans include unlimited repair orders and users plus two-way customer texting and email
Cons
Pricing starts at $199/month and rises to $649/month, which is a meaningful monthly cost for very small independent shops
Key capabilities like the online scheduler and marketing CRM are gated behind the top Premier Plus tier
Built specifically for the auto repair vertical, so it isn't a fit for other field-service industries
Part-DB
Pros
Completely free and open source (AGPL-3.0) with no paid tiers
Purpose-built for electronic component metadata, unlike generic inventory tools
Supports multiple databases (MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite) and ships as a Docker image
Strong permission system and two-factor authentication for shared or makerspace inventories
Active multi-language support reflecting a strong European maker community
Cons
Requires self-hosting and basic server administration skills; no official managed cloud version
Interface and workflows are utilitarian, aimed at technical users rather than casual consumers
Smaller contributor base than larger open-source inventory projects, which can slow feature development
No built-in e-commerce, procurement automation, or supplier API integrations out of the box
Documentation is comprehensive but assumes familiarity with self-hosted web app deployment
Use Cases
shopboss
Part-DB
Personal electronics parts inventory — Hobbyists track their own component stash across projects.
Makerspace shared inventory — Multi-user, permissioned tracking of shared components across a hackerspace.
Small hardware team component management — Tracking parts, BOMs and suppliers for small hardware builds.