Since Community Edition is open-source and separate from Enterprise modules, why can't additional users access only Community modules without triggering an Enterprise user limit?
Odoo Community is 80% of the product and is open-source, so why does Odoo block Community users from accessing only free modules in the same database? If Enterprise is just 20% extra, why does it control 100% of the users?
Odoo is the world's easiest all-in-one management software.
It includes hundreds of business apps:
- CRM
- e-Commerce
- Accounting
- Inventory
- PoS
- Project
- MRP
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There is no scam, you are misunderstanding the offering and assuming you can use both community and enterprise modules at the same time - you can't.
There is no such thing as a "Community User" - there are Users - they either use Odoo Community or Odoo Enterprise.
There is no such thing as "free modules in the same database" - either the database is Community (all modules are community and free) or the database is Enterprise (all modules are enterprise and subject to a subscription) - with the exception of some modules in community that will "convert" the database to an Enterprise database.
There is no such thing as a database that contains community and enterprise modules - the database either contains community modules or enterprise modules. Once you upgrade a single module in your community database to gain enterprise features, all modules are upgraded to the enterprise module equivalent.
It is technically true that some Enterprise modules are 100% identical to some Community modules but this is not always the case - Enterprise in most cases adds features to those modules.
Odoo Community is open-source and free, but Odoo still has costs to cover:
- Hosting & Infrastructure Costs – Even if Community is free, hosting the platform, managing servers, and maintaining uptime costs money. Odoo’s SaaS and SH platforms are part of the Enterprise service, so allowing unlimited Community users on their hosting doesn’t make business sense.
- Software Development & Maintenance – Every year, Odoo introduces new features, fixes bugs, and ensures smooth updates. This ongoing development is not free. The company funds these improvements through Enterprise subscriptions.
- Enterprise Features are Intertwined – While Community is 80% of the product, the extra 20% (Enterprise) includes key features like Studio, Accounting, and advanced permissions.
- You Still Have the Choice – If you want a fully free system, Odoo has given you the Community edition, which you can host yourself with no restrictions.
At the end of the day, Odoo is a business, not a charity. They’ve already provided Community for free, so if someone doesn’t want Enterprise restrictions, they can use Community independently at zero cost.
[answer edited and expanded for clarity]
well said
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Your answer is out of context when discussing on-premise deployments.
1️⃣ "Keeping both versions in the same database without enforcing Enterprise limits would lead to exploitation."
2️⃣ "You still have the choice to use Community separately."
3️⃣ On-Premise = No Hosting Costs for Odoo
The real issue here is that Odoo is not allowing customers to pay for what they actually use—instead, it forces an all-or-nothing licensing model, even when it's technically avoidable.
Wouldn’t a fairer model be to charge for Enterprise users while allowing others to access only Community modules without a license?
There is a technical limitation - a valid Enterprise subscription code is required in an Enterprise database - without the ability to confirm this code with periodic pings to odoo.com, the database will expire.
If you don't agree with (or understand) the business model of Odoo then you are free to use other solutions.
Odoo's approach integrates both versions, but more flexibility would be great!