PIM comparison
Akeneo vs Stibo Systems
A PIM-first suite with open-source roots and a multi-domain MDM platform that includes PIM. How Akeneo and Stibo Systems differ on scope, data model, channels, AI, architecture and pricing, from public sources only.
Same category, two different emphases
Akeneo
In its own words “The Product Experience (PX) company”5
A French PIM vendor with open-source roots. It sells a SaaS suite it calls the Product Cloud: the PIM at the centre, with digital asset management, supplier onboarding and channel activation around it, and since the PricingHUB acquisition in 2026, pricing as well.
Stibo Systems
In its own words “A leading provider of AI-powered master data management”30
A Danish master data management vendor, founded in 1976 and owned through the Stibo group by the Stibo Foundation. Its STEP platform manages product, customer, business partner, supplier and location data, with PIM, supplier onboarding and syndication packaged as the Product Experience Data Cloud. STEP runs as multi-tenant SaaS on Microsoft Azure, and on-premises releases continue.
“Decide first whether you are buying a PIM or starting an MDM programme. That answer narrows the choice more than any feature list.”
What they have in common
Read the differences below against this common ground. Both are credible options for the same broad job.
- Both sell PIM as SaaS, with digital asset management, supplier onboarding and syndication around the product record.
- Both still release software you can run yourself: Akeneo's open-source Community Edition and Stibo Systems' on-premises STEP.
- Both offer REST and GraphQL APIs, and both run an MCP server for outside AI tools.
- Both announced Leader placements in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for PIM.
- Both hold ISO 27001 certification and a SOC 2 report, and neither publishes the unit the price is based on.
When to look beyond both
You want a fully MACH, composable PIM with AI built in.
Bluestone PIM
Ergonode
You run retail or wholesale with many suppliers and want a PIM built around retail.
ConnectingTheDots
inriver
You need multi-domain PIM and MDM, or GDSN and retailer compliance drive the project.
Syndigo
Viamedici
You need multi-domain PIM and MDM with AI features.
ViamediciInformatica Product 360
You want commerce and PIM in one platform, with AI built in.
Crystallize
Pimcore
At a glance
The basic facts side by side. Every cell links to the public page it comes from.
| Akeneo | Stibo Systems | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 20131 | 1976, as part of the Stibo group, which dates back to 1794.25 |
| Headquarters | Registered office in Nantes, France. Offices in eight cities, including Boston and Sydney.21 | Headquarters in Aarhus (Højbjerg), Denmark. Offices include Atlanta, Reading, Hamburg, Utrecht, Bengaluru and Sydney.2526 |
| Ownership | Venture-backed. A $135M Series D in March 2022, led by Summit Partners with Alven and Partech, took total funding to $196M.3 | A subsidiary of Stibo Software Group, part of the Stibo group, which is 100% owned by the Stibo Foundation.6127 |
| Chief executive | Romain Fouache4 | Adrian Carr, since December 202128 |
| Size, in the vendor's own words | 400+ employees, 900+ enterprise customers, 200+ partners1 | 600 employees in 18 offices; 14 of the Fortune 100 and 42 of the Fortune 500 as customers. Revenue of DKK 1.31 billion in FY 2025-26.2529 |
| Delivery | SaaS on Google Cloud. The open-source Community Edition is still released for self-hosting.1417 | Multi-tenant SaaS on Microsoft Azure. On-premises STEP is still released.3248 |
| Published pricing | Growth shows “starting at $0” a year next to a free trial. Advanced and Premium are quote only.8 | No prices published on stibosystems.com.24 |
| Security certifications | ISO/IEC 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type I14 | ISO 27001, certified by DNV, and a SOC 2 attestation. The page does not state the SOC 2 type.31 |
Factor by factor
Eight factors, each with how the two approaches differ. Open a factor for the sourced facts and the questions to ask both vendors. Nothing here is scored.
How a capability is deliveredDescribes packaging, not quality.
- In the platform
- Separate module
- Apps or partners
- Not offered
- Not publicly documented
01 · How they differProduct scope and packaging
Akeneo keeps to product data, with supplier onboarding and shared catalogues as add-ons and PricingHUB as a separate business unit. Stibo Systems runs PIM as one Data Cloud on its STEP platform, next to customer, business partner, supplier, location and sustainability data, and adds STEP Publisher for print in InDesign.
What each vendor sells around the product record, and how it is packaged. Packaging decides what is in the licence, what costs extra, and who you call when something breaks.
Core PIM
PIM is part of the Product Experience Data Cloud, built on the STEP platform.33
Master data beyond products
Product data only: no customer, supplier or location domains in the Product Cloud line-up.7
Customer, business partner, supplier and location data run on the same STEP platform, each as its own Data Cloud.32
Supplier onboarding
Supplier Data Manager, with templates and approval workflows. An add-on in every package.78
Product Data Onboarding, with a supplier portal, validation rules and AI-driven data mapping.35
Digital assets
Syndication
Product Data Syndication, a service in the Product Experience Data Cloud.36
Channel performance analytics
Sharing with partners
PDX Digital Catalog for sharing authorised content with retailers, and API delivery to global partners.37
Print and publishing
STEP Publisher, a plug-in that places product data and assets in Adobe InDesign, including whole catalogues.42
Ask both vendors
- Which of our requirements are in the base subscription, and which are separate modules, add-ons or partner apps?
- Who supports a partner app when it breaks: you, the partner or us?
- Can we add a module later without a new implementation project?
02 · How they differData model and governance
Akeneo organises products into families of attributes, with variants, associations and reference entities, and offers industry family templates. Stibo Systems models object types for products, entities, assets and classifications linked by references, and supports standards such as TecDoc, BMEcat, ETIM and ECLASS.
How products, variants and relationships are modelled, and how each platform keeps data complete and approved. This decides how much of your catalogue fits without workarounds.
Modelling approach
Families of attributes, variants, categories, associations and reference entities, with industry family templates.9
Ask both vendors
- Model our three hardest products live: a configurable item, a bundle and a spare part with fitment data.
- How do completeness rules differ per channel and per locale?
- What does a change to the data model cost once we are live?
03 · How they differSyndication and channels
Akeneo sells Activation as a product of its own, with a stated reach of 500+ retailers and marketplaces, and connector apps for Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Commerce and Shopify. Stibo Systems syndicates through Product Data Syndication, 1WorldSync and a partnership with NIQ Brandbank, and its connector gallery lists Intershop, Sitecore, VTEX and Salesforce B2B.
How product content leaves the PIM: to your own webshop, to marketplaces and retailers, and to commerce platforms. If the number of channels is your bottleneck, this factor weighs more than the editing screens.
Delivery to retailers and marketplaces
Activation, which Akeneo says reaches 500+ retailers and marketplaces.7
Product Data Syndication reaches retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and The Home Depot, and data pools through 1WorldSync. A partnership with NIQ Brandbank covers 700 retailers and wholesalers in 39 markets, as stated by Stibo Systems.36
Ask both vendors
- Show a live feed to one marketplace we use, including what happens when the channel rejects an item.
- Which channel connectors do you maintain yourselves, and which do partners maintain?
- When a retailer changes its template, who updates the mapping, and at what cost?
04 · How they differAI features
Both use AI in supplier onboarding and run an MCP server for outside AI tools. Akeneo's agents, the Data Architect Agent and Agentic Ziggy, are released; Stibo Systems announced its AgentWorkx agent platform in September 2026, and its platform page lists it as coming soon.
What AI does inside each product, as announced by the vendor. Vendors ship AI features several times a year, so read this as a snapshot and test on your own data.
Agents in the platform
AI in onboarding
AI extraction of product data from images and PDFs, from July 2025.11
Ask both vendors
- Which AI features are in the subscription, and which are priced per use or per credit?
- Run the enrichment on ten of our real products and show what a reviewer still has to correct.
- Where is our data processed, and is it used to train models?
05 · How they differArchitecture and integrations
Akeneo runs on Google Cloud, on PHP and Symfony, and connects to SAP S/4HANA through prebuilt iFlows that the customer runs in SAP Integration Suite. Stibo Systems runs on Microsoft Azure, is extended with Java plug-ins, and builds its own IDoc connectors for SAP R/3, ECC and S/4HANA.
How each platform is hosted, built, extended and connected to ERP, commerce and DAM systems. This is where IT teams spend most of their evaluation time.
Hosting
Technology
PHP and Symfony, with MySQL and Elasticsearch.16
Java. Custom extensions are Java plug-ins built with the Extension API.53
APIs
REST (OpenAPI), GraphQL and an Event Platform for change events.19
Extensibility
Apps and custom apps through the App Store, plus UI extensions.19
Ask both vendors
- Which connectors for our ERP and commerce platform are yours, and which are built by partners?
- What are the API rate limits, and how long does a bulk import of our full catalogue take?
- Where is our data hosted, and can we choose the region?
06 · How they differPricing and licensing
Neither publishes the unit the price is based on. Akeneo shows an entry point for its Growth package and keeps a free open-source edition; Stibo Systems publishes no prices, splits its offer into Data Clouds per domain, and still releases on-premises STEP.
How each vendor packages its offer and what moves the price. Compare offers over three to five years, including modules, connectors, partner work and your own team, not on the first-year licence.
Published prices
Growth shows “starting at $0” a year next to a free trial. Advanced and Premium are quote only.8
None published on stibosystems.com.24
Packages
Growth, Advanced and Premium. Supplier Data Manager and Shared Catalogs are add-ons in all three.8
No named tiers. The offer is split into Data Clouds per domain: Product Experience, Customer Experience, Business Partner, Supplier, Location and Sustainability.32
Pricing unit
Not published: no statement on whether price follows products, users or channels.
Not published: no statement on whether price follows records, domains, users or environments.
Open source
Community Edition, free under the OSL-3.0 licence. The latest release, v2026.4, came out in August 2026.17
Ask both vendors
- Which metrics drive the price: products, users, channels, locales, API calls or modules?
- How are renewals priced, and is there a cap on increases?
- What does year three cost if our catalogue doubles?
07 · How they differPartners and implementation
Akeneo states 200+ partners and lists partner apps in its App Store, without published tiers. Stibo Systems' directory listed 70 partners when we checked, in Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze tiers, and partners sell their own tooling for STEP; the two partner figures are counted differently.
Who implements the platform, and with what. The partner you pick shapes the project as much as the software does.
Partner network
200+ partners, as stated by Akeneo.1
70 partners in the partner directory when we checked, in implementation and referral roles across four regions.60
Partner tiers
Not described on the pages we checked.
Ask both vendors
- Which certified partners in our region have delivered a project like ours in the last two years?
- What does your own team do during the implementation, and what is left to the partner?
- Can we speak to two customers in our industry?
08 · How they differAnalyst coverage
Both announced Leader placements in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for PIM and in IDC MarketScape reports for PIM. Stibo Systems also cites Leader placements in MDM reports from Gartner and Forrester, while Akeneo's latest Forrester mention is a Strong Performer placement in the Q2 2021 PIM Wave.
Where analyst firms placed each vendor in recent editions, as announced by the vendor or the analyst. Analysts weigh criteria you may not share, so read this as a map of the market, not a ranking for your project.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for PIM, 2026
Leader, as announced by Akeneo.6
Leader, as announced by Stibo Systems.61
IDC MarketScape, latest PIM or MDM edition
Leader in the IDC MarketScape for PIM for Commerce 2024-2025, as announced by Akeneo.22
Ask both vendors
- Which of the analyst's criteria match our requirements, and where did you score lowest?
Where each tends to fit
Teams tend to shortlist Akeneo when
- product content is the whole scope, and other master data domains are handled elsewhere
- developers want GraphQL and change events, or already work in PHP and Symfony
- an open-source edition matters, for a pilot or for a self-hosted setup
- the team wants to start on a published entry package and add modules such as supplier onboarding later
Teams tend to shortlist Stibo Systems when
- product, customer, supplier and location data should run on one platform
- the catalogue relies on standards such as TecDoc, BMEcat, ETIM or ECLASS
- SAP R/3, ECC or S/4HANA exchanges material, customer and vendor master data through IDocs
- print catalogues in Adobe InDesign should come from the same record as the webshop
Expert view
Akeneo or Stibo Systems: it depends on your requirements
Akeneo and Stibo Systems share more than their origins suggest: both sell PIM as SaaS with DAM, onboarding and syndication around it, both run an MCP server, and both announced Leader placements in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for PIM. The real differences show up in scope and landscape: how many data domains you want on one platform, which cloud and ERP you run, and how you want to deploy.
Akeneo's Product Cloud and open-source edition suit teams that want a product record of their own, with modules added as needs grow. Stibo Systems' STEP platform suits organisations that want product data mastered next to customer, supplier and location data, on SaaS or on premises. Neither strength matters unless it answers a requirement you can name.
What works best for you depends on your unique requirements. Decide first whether you are buying a PIM or the start of an MDM programme, then test both with your own products and ERP data. We are happy to help you run that test, vendor-neutral.
Independent advice that starts from your requirements, not from a platform.
Recent moves
Releases, deals and leadership changes from both vendors, newest first, each with its source.
- Stibo Systems
Stibo Systems says it is a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for PIM.
Stibo Systems - Akeneo
Akeneo says it is a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for PIM.
The page cites the Gartner report dated 12 October 2026.
Akeneo - Akeneo
Akeneo appoints customer success, marketing and centre of excellence leaders
Jean Lethuillier joins as vice president of customer success, Carole Offredo as chief marketing officer, and Edouard Dewulf as senior director of the global centre of excellence.
Akeneo - Stibo Systems
Stibo Systems releases STEP 2026.3, including a self-service MCP server
Administrators can switch on the Consumer MCP Server from the self-service UI, and the new interface gains AI assistance. Stibo says 2026.3 is available on SaaS only.
Stibo Systems - Stibo Systems
Stibo Systems launches AgentWorkx for governed MDM agents
The first release includes an Upload Anything agent and a Content Optimizer agent inside STEP.
Stibo Systems - Akeneo
Akeneo Summer Release adds Agentic Ziggy
The release adds an agent layer so teams can coordinate agents that enrich and govern product data.
Akeneo - Stibo Systems
Stibo Systems launches an MCP server for master data
The server lets AI agents query governed master data through the Model Context Protocol.
Stibo Systems - Stibo Systems
Stibo Systems reports DKK 1.31 billion in revenue
For fiscal 2025/26 revenue reached DKK 1.31 billion, up 6 percent, and SaaS revenue rose 17 percent.
Stibo Systems
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between Akeneo and Stibo Systems?
Akeneo is PIM-first: its Product Cloud keeps to product data, runs on Google Cloud and has an open-source Community Edition beside it. Stibo Systems is a master data management vendor whose STEP platform runs product, customer, business partner, supplier and location data, with PIM packaged as the Product Experience Data Cloud, on Microsoft Azure or on premises. Which difference matters depends on how many data domains you want on one platform and on your IT landscape.
Do Akeneo and Stibo Systems publish their prices?
Partly. Akeneo's package page shows the Growth package starting at $0 a year next to a free trial, and Advanced and Premium are quote only. Stibo Systems publishes no prices on stibosystems.com and splits its offer into Data Clouds per domain. Neither publishes the unit the price is based on, so ask both which metrics drive cost and compare offers over three to five years.
Can you self-host Akeneo or Stibo Systems?
Both still release software you can run yourself, in different forms. Akeneo releases its open-source Community Edition, while support for the self-hosted Enterprise Edition 7 ended on 30 September 2026. Stibo Systems still releases on-premises STEP, with change logs up to release 2026.3, next to multi-tenant SaaS on Microsoft Azure, which it says 77% of its customers had adopted in FY 2025-26.
How do the AI features of Akeneo and Stibo Systems compare?
Both use AI in supplier onboarding and run an MCP server that gives outside AI tools access to their data. Akeneo's agents sit under Agentic Ziggy and its Data Architect Agent. Stibo Systems announced AgentWorkx in September 2026, starting with Upload Anything and Content Optimizer agents, and its platform page lists it as coming soon. Release cycles are short on both sides, so test them on your own products.
Which one fits if customer and supplier data are in scope too?
Akeneo's Product Cloud covers product data only, with no customer, supplier or location domains. Stibo Systems runs customer, business partner, supplier and location data on the same STEP platform, each as its own Data Cloud. If other domains are in scope, decide whether they belong on the same platform as product data or in a separate MDM next to the PIM.
How do you choose between Akeneo and Stibo Systems?
Write down your requirements first, and decide whether you are buying a PIM or the start of an MDM programme. Then run a scripted demo in which both vendors model your own products, import a real supplier file and connect to your ERP. Compare the offers over three to five years, including modules, connectors and partner work.
Read next
How this comparison was built
We compared the two vendors on public information only: their own websites, documentation and press releases, plus reporting that names its source. We did not run either product for this page and we do not score or rank. Where a vendor does not publish something, the page says so instead of guessing.
We have a relationship with every vendor on our platform. None gets preferential treatment: all are compared in the same way, on the same factors, for our customers.
Spotted something out of date? Email info@pimvendors.com and we will check it against the source.
Sources
- Akeneo About us
- Pappers Akeneo SAS company record (RCS 790 672 588)
- Akeneo Akeneo announces $135 million Series D Published 15 Mar 2022
- IT Brief UK Akeneo names three leaders to drive AI commerce push Published 9 Oct 2026
- PR Newswire via Yahoo Finance Akeneo named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for PIM Solutions Published 15 Oct 2026
- Akeneo 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management Solutions Published 12 Oct 2026
- Akeneo Akeneo Product Cloud
- Akeneo Compare packages
- Akeneo Akeneo PIM
- Akeneo Akeneo announces acquisition of PricingHUB Published 11 Jun 2026
- IT Brief Australia Akeneo unveils first AI agent and analytics tools for product data Published 30 Jul 2025
- Akeneo Akeneo introduces the first truly agentic product experience platform Published 8 Jul 2026
- Akeneo MCP server overview
- Akeneo Security
- Akeneo Akeneo available on Google Cloud Marketplace
- GitHub akeneo/pim-community-dev
- GitHub Akeneo PIM Community Edition v2026.4 Published 28 Aug 2026
- Akeneo Help Center Everything you need to know about our PIM versions
- Akeneo Akeneo API documentation
- Akeneo Akeneo App Store
- Akeneo Akeneo accelerators for S/4HANA
- PR Newswire IDC and Gartner recognize Akeneo as a global leader in PIM Published 4 Feb 2025
- Akeneo The Forrester Wave: PIM, Q2 2021
- Stibo Systems Homepage
- Stibo Systems About Stibo Systems
- Stibo Systems Locations
- Stibo The Stibo group
- Stibo Systems Leadership: Adrian Carr
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems reports record fiscal year as demand for trusted, AI-ready data accelerates Published 25 Jun 2026
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems celebrates 50 years Published 5 May 2026
- Stibo Systems Security and compliance
- Stibo Systems STEP, the Trusted Intelligence Platform
- Stibo Systems Product Experience Data Cloud
- Stibo Systems Product information management
- Stibo Systems Product data onboarding
- Stibo Systems Data sharing
- Stibo Systems Data quality
- Stibo Systems Data modeling
- Stibo Systems Data integration
- Stibo Systems Connectivity gallery
- Stibo Systems Connector: Adobe InDesign
- Stibo Systems Connector: Intershop
- Stibo Systems Connector: SAP material master (MATMAS)
- Stibo Systems Connector: SAP DEBMAS
- Stibo Systems Connector: SAP CREMAS
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems launches solution on Microsoft Azure Marketplace Published 15 May 2023
- Stibo Systems documentation Stibo Systems product documentation
- Stibo Systems documentation STEP on-premises change logs
- Stibo Systems documentation STEP Workflow Designer (STEP 2026.3)
- Stibo Systems documentation REST API V2 enhancements and changes (release 2026.1)
- Stibo Systems documentation Configuring extensions on SaaS environments (STEP 2026.1)
- Stibo Systems Academy DEV 253: Extension API
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems rolls out new AI capabilities Published 23 Jul 2025
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems launches MCP Server to connect enterprise master data to AI agents Published 29 Jun 2026
- Stibo Systems MCP Server
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems announces agentic AI engine, AgentWorkx Published 29 Sept 2026
- Stibo Systems Partners
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems launches Partner 360 program Published 13 May 2025
- Stibo Systems Find a partner
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management Solutions Published 15 Oct 2026
- Stibo Systems Stibo Systems named a Leader in The Forrester Wave for MDM, Q2 2025 Published 5 Jun 2025
- Stibo Systems IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Retail Product Information Management Applications 2025
- Stibo Systems IDC MarketScape: Worldwide PIM Applications for Commerce 2024-2025