# Carbon vs. Tulip

> Tulip is a no-code app builder for the shop floor — powerful for digitizing work instructions, but not a system of record. You still bring an ERP and wire it in. Carbon is the system of record: ERP, MRP, MES and QMS on one model, with the whole backend on an open API.

## Scope & fit

| | Carbon | Tulip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | Unified ERP + MRP + MES + QMS | No-code frontline app builder |
| System of record | Yes — Carbon is the system of record | No — requires a separate ERP |
| Accounting, costing & purchasing | Yes | No |
| MRP & live capacity planning | Built in; updates as the floor reports | Not included (build or integrate) |

## Capabilities

| | Carbon | Tulip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Work instructions / operator apps | Yes | Yes |
| Quality (QMS) | Native QMS | Build quality apps; GxP on regulated tier |
| Serial & batch traceability | Full genealogy, built in | Weak natively |
| Product configurator (CPQ) | Yes | No |
| 3D CAD / STEP viewer | Yes | No |

## Platform & ownership

| | Carbon | Tulip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Data model | One unified Postgres schema | App-scoped Tables + connectors to your systems |
| Full ownership of the code | Yes — the entire codebase is yours | No — proprietary |
| API coverage | Full backend over REST — every table | HTTP API over app-layer objects |
| AI / agent-ready (MCP) | Hosted MCP over the full backend | Frontline Copilot + MCP over Tulip objects |
| Deployment | Cloud or self-host (open source) | Cloud SaaS; on-prem/edge (proprietary) |

## Getting started

| | Carbon | Tulip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pricing | $40–$100 / user / mo, published | $100–$250 / mo per interface (per station) |
| Free trial | 30 days | 30 days |

## Where Tulip still fits

Tulip is excellent at what it's for: standing up flexible operator apps and connecting machines fast, especially in regulated frontline work. But it's a layer, not a system of record — you still run an ERP behind it. Carbon is the whole system on one model, so there's nothing behind it to buy.

## You may be outgrowing Tulip if…

- **You still need an ERP behind it.** Tulip builds the app; your orders, inventory and ledger live somewhere else. Carbon is that somewhere else — on the same model as the floor.
- **You're maintaining apps, not running a factory.** Composable means you build and maintain it. Carbon ships the manufacturing model finished, and you extend it by API when you want to.
- **Per-station pricing adds up.** Tulip bills per interface. Carbon is per user, published, with the ERP included.

## Why manufacturers choose Carbon

- **A complete system, not a layer.** Carbon is the system of record — ERP, MRP, MES and QMS on one model — so the floor, inventory, orders, costing and ledger are the same data, not apps wired to someone else's ERP.
- **Open and API-first.** Tulip builds frontline apps and connects out to your systems. Carbon is the system of record itself, with the whole backend — every table — on an open REST API and MCP, self-hostable and pointed at the best agents.
- **Live capacity planning.** Tulip digitizes work instructions but doesn't run MRP or capacity. Carbon plans capacity and demand on the same model, updating the moment the floor reports progress.
- **Published pricing, ERP included.** With Tulip you still buy and wire in an ERP. Carbon includes ERP, MRP, MES and QMS — start free for 30 days on published, per-user pricing.

Start a 30-day free trial at https://app.carbon.ms, see pricing at https://carbon.ms/pricing, or read the source at https://github.com/crbnos/carbon.