ProShop is the gold standard for aerospace and medical manufacturers. But for most fabrication shops, it's a Formula 1 car when you need a pickup truck.
FabFlow wins for speed, pricing, and ease of use. ProShop wins for deep compliance. ProShop ERP is a genuinely excellent product — paperless, comprehensive, and the top pick for ITAR/AS9100 shops. But at $15,000–$50,000/year with a 3–6 month implementation, it's overkill for the vast majority of fabrication shops. FabFlow delivers 80% of the core functionality at 3% of the cost, with a 5-minute setup and AI-powered quoting that ProShop doesn't offer. Unless you need aerospace-grade compliance and traceability, FabFlow is the pragmatic choice.
Start Free Trial →| Feature | FabFlow | ProShop ERP |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $99/month | $1,200+/month |
| Free Trial | ✓ 30 days, no CC | ✗ Demo only |
| Setup Time | 5 minutes | 3–6 months |
| AI-Powered Quoting | ✓ Built-in | ✗ Not available |
| Cloud-Based | ✓ Fully web-based | ✓ Cloud + on-premise |
| Shop Floor Kiosk | ✓ PIN-based, any device | ✓ Terminal-based |
| Mobile Access | ✓ Full mobile support | Limited (shop floor terminals) |
| Quality / Compliance | Basic (ISO-ready) | AS9100, ITAR, ISO 13485, NIST 800-171 |
| Paperless Manufacturing | Digital WOs | Fully paperless, digital traveler |
| Implementation | Self-serve | Dedicated consultant, 3–6 months |
| User Interface | Modern, intuitive | Functional, dense |
| Best For | 5–150 person fab shops | Aerospace, defense, medical (50–500+) |
ProShop requires a 3–6 month implementation with a dedicated consultant before you quote your first real job. That's six months of paying for software you can't use, plus thousands in consulting fees. FabFlow is self-serve — you sign up, follow the 5-minute onboarding wizard, and you're describing parts and generating priced quotes immediately with AI. The difference in time-to-value is measured in months vs minutes.
ProShop is comprehensive but manual — estimators build quotes by selecting operations, entering times, and configuring routings one step at a time. It's precise, but slow. FabFlow's AI understands plain English descriptions, automatically routes parts through your shop's operations, estimates cycle times, calculates material, and prices the job at your rates. Shops report quoting 10x faster than any manual ERP, including ProShop.
ProShop pricing typically starts around $15,000/year for a small shop and scales to $50,000+ for mid-size manufacturers — plus implementation consulting ($10,000–$30,000). FabFlow's Professional plan is $249/month ($2,988/year) for unlimited users with everything included. For a 25-person fab shop, that's a $12,000+/year difference. Unless compliance requirements demand ProShop's depth, the math favors FabFlow overwhelmingly.
ProShop's shop floor interface is functional but requires training — operators need to learn terminal-based workflows and navigate dense screens. FabFlow's kiosk mode works on any tablet: employees enter a PIN, see their assigned jobs, and punch operation timers with one tap. Welders and press brake operators who've never used ERP software are productive on day one, without a training session.
ProShop is the right tool for shops that genuinely need enterprise-grade compliance. If you hold AS9100 or ISO 13485 certification, manufacture parts for defense contracts with ITAR requirements, or operate in a regulated environment where full material traceability and digital travelers are non-negotiable — ProShop is purpose-built for your world. Its paperless manufacturing system is arguably the best in the industry. If compliance is the primary reason you're buying ERP, ProShop is hard to beat.
If you're a fabrication shop with 5–150 employees that doesn't need ITAR or AS9100 compliance — FabFlow gives you the core MRP functionality (quoting, work orders, purchasing, inventory, MTRs, shop floor management) at a fraction of the cost and complexity. You get modern AI features ProShop doesn't offer, an interface your team will actually adopt, and you're live the same day. The 30-day free trial means you can test drive it with zero risk — run it alongside your existing process and see the difference.
30-day free trial. No credit card. No consultants. No 6-month implementation.
Start Free Trial →