When you start with Odoo, the hosting looks like a technical detail: you sign up, the database is ready in a minute, and you get to work. A year later, someone asks for an app from the Odoo Apps Store, or a small custom module, and the answer is no. The hosting you choose on day one decides what you can add later. Here is how Odoo Online, Odoo.sh and your own server compare, and how to pick the right one.
The three options in one table
| Odoo Online | Odoo.sh | Your own server | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | Odoo | Odoo, on a platform you configure | You, or your provider |
| Standard Odoo apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apps Store and custom modules | No | Yes | Yes |
| Edition | Enterprise | Enterprise | Community or Enterprise |
| Upgrades | Proposed by Odoo, frequent | You test them on a staging branch | You plan them |
| Backups and security | Odoo | Odoo | You |
Odoo Online: the simplest, within the standard
Odoo hosts and maintains everything. There is no server to watch, backups are taken care of, and new features arrive often: Odoo Online runs intermediate versions, released every few months between the major ones, and invites you to upgrade as soon as your database passes the automatic tests.
The limit is clear: Odoo Online only runs the standard Odoo apps. No module from the Odoo Apps Store, no custom code. Studio lets you add fields, views and simple automations, which covers many needs, but not a feature that requires Python. It is the right choice for a company that works well with Odoo as it is, and wants nothing to maintain.
Odoo.sh: Odoo's cloud, with your own modules
Odoo.sh is a hosting platform run by Odoo where you can add any module: from the Apps Store, from a partner or written for you. Your modules live in a Git repository, and each change is tested on a staging copy of your database before it reaches production. Backups, servers and monitoring stay with Odoo.
It requires an Enterprise subscription on the Custom plan, and the hosting is billed on top, depending on the resources you use. Odoo.sh runs the major versions only. It suits companies that need a few extra modules but do not want to manage a server, provided someone on the team or at a partner is comfortable with Git.
Your own server: full control, full responsibility
You install Odoo on a server you rent or own, or a provider does it for you. Everything is possible: Community or Enterprise, any module, your own network, your own country for the data. In exchange, everything is yours to do: security updates, backups and the test of their restore, monitoring, and the upgrade to each new version. With Enterprise, Odoo's upgrade service migrates the database; with Community, the upgrade is a project for you or your partner.
It suits companies with an IT team or a trusted provider, specific constraints on where the data lives, or a need for Community.
The question to ask before you choose
The real question is not the price of the first month. It is: will we ever need an app that is not in standard Odoo? A connector for your marketplace, a module for your trade, a tool that saves your team an hour a day. If the answer may be yes, start on Odoo.sh or on your own server, and you will not have to move later.
- Moving is possible, but not instant. A database on Odoo Online is on an intermediate version: it must reach the next major version before it can go to Odoo.sh or to your own server.
- The other way round, moving to Odoo Online means uninstalling every module that is not standard first.
- Compare full costs, not only licenses: on your own server, count the time spent on maintenance and upgrades.
The edition matters as much as the hosting: our comparison of Odoo Community and Enterprise explains what each one contains.
Plans, prices and conditions change: check the Odoo pricing page and the Odoo hosting documentation before you decide.
Our apps and your hosting
Like every module of the Odoo Apps Store, our apps run on Odoo.sh and on your own server, Community and Enterprise, and not on Odoo Online. If you are on Odoo.sh or self-hosted, you can install them today; if you are on Odoo Online, they are one more reason to plan the move.
Not sure which hosting fits your case? Write to support@sharqix.com, we answer within one business day.
