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Comparison · PM
Grocy vs NocoBase
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Grocy and NocoBase — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:self-hosted
Grocy vs NocoBase: at a glance
What is Grocy?
Grocy opened a plugin seam for barcode lookups, then went quiet for a year.
Grocy releases on a slow, maintainer-paced rhythm — a handful of releases across 2024 and 2025, then a single 4.6.0 in March 2026 that makes PHP 8.5 with SQLite 3.40+ the only supported runtime. The functional work concentrates on stock handling: quantity-unit defaults that stay editable until a product has been in stock, automatic 1:1 unit conversions when no default applies, and a long tail of filter and validation fixes across the stock, shopping list and master data pages.
What is NocoBase?
NocoBase runs two release lines at once while the v3 client rewrite absorbs the AI work
NocoBase is shipping a v3.0.0 alpha train alongside maintenance on the 2.2.0 beta line. The newest alpha adds an online AI documentation assistant that cites verified official docs, DeepSeek V4 Flash and V4 Pro through the Responses API with reasoning continuity, native web search and citations, LDAP user synchronisation for the v2 client, and debounced search in the multi-space switchers. Everything else is the v2 client grind - filter forms, export and import, kanban, approval workflows, map blocks - plus renewable lease support in both the local and Redis lock managers.
Grocy vs NocoBase: editorial side-by-side
Grocy
0.0PM
Grocy opened a plugin seam for barcode lookups, then went quiet for a year.
◆ Current state
Grocy releases on a slow, maintainer-paced rhythm — a handful of releases across 2024 and 2025, then a single 4.6.0 in March 2026 that makes PHP 8.5 with SQLite 3.40+ the only supported runtime. The functional work concentrates on stock handling: quantity-unit defaults that stay editable until a product has been in stock, automatic 1:1 unit conversions when no default applies, and a long tail of filter and validation fixes across the stock, shopping list and master data pages.
◆ Where it's heading
The notable structural move was 4.4.0, which introduced external barcode lookup as a product-picker workflow with a pluggable backend and shipped an Open Food Facts plugin on by default. That converted Grocy from a purely self-contained ledger into something that pulls product data from the outside world, and the releases since have mostly been refining that plugin — localized names, empty-name handling, image URLs with query parameters. Beyond it, the direction is consolidation: fewer rough edges, a tighter supported runtime, no expansion of scope.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued single-release years focused on stock and quantity-unit correctness. The barcode plugin interface is the one place where new capability could arrive without new maintainer surface, so additional lookup providers are the most plausible next addition.
NocoBase
6.3PM
NocoBase runs two release lines at once while the v3 client rewrite absorbs the AI work
◆ Current state
NocoBase is shipping a v3.0.0 alpha train alongside maintenance on the 2.2.0 beta line. The newest alpha adds an online AI documentation assistant that cites verified official docs, DeepSeek V4 Flash and V4 Pro through the Responses API with reasoning continuity, native web search and citations, LDAP user synchronisation for the v2 client, and debounced search in the multi-space switchers. Everything else is the v2 client grind - filter forms, export and import, kanban, approval workflows, map blocks - plus renewable lease support in both the local and Redis lock managers.
◆ Where it's heading
The alpha line is doing two jobs simultaneously: porting the entire block and action catalogue to the v2 client, and layering AI employees on top of the plugin model that alpha.7 established. The model work has settled into a pattern of adding providers to an existing surface rather than reshaping it - DeepSeek here, skills-as-plugins earlier - which suggests the extensibility question is considered answered and the remaining risk is the client port. Bug volume weighted heavily toward client-v2 confirms where the effort sits.
◆ Prediction
Expect the alphas to keep trading feature additions for v2 client parity until the port closes, with AI work continuing as provider and tooling breadth rather than another structural change.
Alternatives to Grocy and NocoBase
Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Grocy or NocoBase.
Process Street
Process Street's public feed is an SEO content engine, not a changelog.
Hive
Hive ships in batches, and this one is all planning accuracy and admin control.
Plane
Plane ships a fortnightly digest, and the AI layer is where the real work is going.
Ever Teams
Ever Teams shipped ten tags in twelve hours and one of them touched the product
Asana
Asana's agent left the app — it now answers work questions inside Slack threads.
See all Grocy alternatives → · See all NocoBase alternatives →
Recent activity from Grocy and NocoBase
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoNocoBaseDeepSeek V4 joins AI employees; LDAP sync reaches client v2
- 7d agoNocoBaseCLI accepts JSON arrays for bulk record creation
- 8d agoNocoBaseAI employee skills and LLM service navigation reach 2.2.0
- 9d agoNocoBasePortal cards emit a prompt for connecting a coding agent
- 13d agoNocoBaseAI employee skills become plugins, scoped to Portals ⚡
- 16d agoNocoBaseAlpha 6 fixes CSRF, sequence and Worker exit bugs
- 5mo agoGrocyPHP 8.5 becomes the only supported runtime
- 1y agoGrocyOpen Food Facts lookup fixes and a default-store column
- 1y agoGrocyLocalized product names and shopping list rounding fixes
- 1y agoGrocyBarcode plugin pointed at the production Open Food Facts API
- 1y agoGrocyExternal barcode lookup arrives as a pluggable workflow ⚡
- 1y agoGrocyStock form validation and Scan Mode fixes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Grocy and NocoBase?
Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within PM. NocoBase is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Grocy better than NocoBase?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. NocoBase is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Grocy?
Top Grocy alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Grocy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/grocy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to NocoBase?
Top NocoBase alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "NocoBase alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nocobase for the full list with editorial commentary on each.