We compared Exment with business app and web database services it is often compared with. Exment is chosen because costs do not grow with the number of users, and because you can keep your data in-house.
| Service / plan | Per year |
|---|---|
| Exment license edition | ¥0 |
| kintone Standard | ¥2,160,000 |
| Salesforce Platform Starter | ¥3,600,000 |
The license edition is free (GPL), and the commercial license is priced per site. Because the price does not change with the number of users, you can roll it out company-wide or invite your partners — the cost stays the same.
Install it on your own servers, on rental servers (XServer, Sakura Internet and others), or on AWS or Azure. Data that cannot be stored in an outside cloud can stay inside your company. If you would rather not run a server, choose our cloud service (the AWS edition, coming soon to everyone).
The built-in public form lets customers and partners send applications and inquiries without an account. No paid add-on is needed (the contact form on this site is an Exment public form).
Because Exment is open source, there is no trial deadline. Try it on your own PC or in the demo until you are sure it fits your work.
The open-source edition has been installed more than 40,000 times (Packagist total, November 2026). Since its release in 2018, Exment has had more than 200 version updates, and the source code is public on GitHub.
License and subscription fees only, calculated from each company's published price list in Japan (JPY, excl. tax, as of November 2026). Setup, support and server costs are not included.
| Service / plan | Price | 50 users | 100 users | 300 users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exment license edition (your own server) | Free (GPL) | ¥0 | ¥0 | ¥0 |
| Exment cloud Server plan (XServer edition)Not accepting new orders | ¥30,000 / month, unlimited accounts (new orders temporarily suspended while we move to the AWS edition) | ¥360,000 | ¥360,000 | ¥360,000 |
| Exment cloud (AWS edition)Coming soon | A SaaS edition with enhanced AI features (AI-OCR, AI chatbot). It is invitation-only now and will soon be open to everyone. Pricing will be announced at launch. | |||
| kintone Standard | ¥1,800 / user / month | ¥1,080,000 | ¥2,160,000 | ¥6,480,000 |
| kintone Light | ¥1,000 / user / month (no API or plug-ins) | ¥600,000 | ¥1,200,000 | ¥3,600,000 |
| Pleasanter.net Standard | ¥750 / user / month | ¥450,000 | ¥900,000 | ¥2,700,000 |
| Salesforce Platform Starter | ¥3,000 / user / month (up to 10 custom objects) | ¥1,800,000 | ¥3,600,000 | ¥10,800,000 |
○ = built in, △ = with conditions or a paid option, × = not available (as of November 2026, from each company's public information)
| Exment | kintone | Pleasanter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free edition | ○ Open source (GPL). No limits on users, features or records | × 30-day free trial only | ○ Open source (AGPL). The free cloud plan allows 3 users and 500 records per table |
| Pricing unit | Per site / per server (does not grow with users) | Per user (minimum 10 users) | Per user (cloud) / annual fee by user tier (Enterprise) |
| Your own server (on-premises) | ○ Windows, Mac, Linux | × Cloud only | ○ Windows, Linux, Docker |
| Rental servers | ○ 99% of rental servers in Japan and abroad (PHP, MySQL) | × | × (needs an environment that runs .NET) |
| Build tables and screens without code | ○ | ○ | ○ |
| Workflow (requests and approvals) | ○ Design flows as a diagram (v7) | ○ | ○ |
| Kanban and Gantt chart | ○ Built in (v7) | △ Plug-ins or add-on services | ○ |
| Public forms without login | ○ Built in | △ Paid add-on services (such as FormBridge) | △ Paid option in the cloud |
| Documents in your Excel format | ○ Built in (use an Excel file as the template) | △ Add-on services | △ Extensions or integrations |
| Extend with API and plug-ins | ○ Develop in PHP (Laravel). Developer manual available | ○ JavaScript (Standard or higher) | ○ Server scripts (JavaScript) |
| SSO and two-factor authentication | ○ SAML, LDAP, OAuth, two-factor authentication | ○ | ○ |
| Public source code | ○ On GitHub | × | ○ On GitHub |
kintone's strengths are its ease of use for everyone, kintone AI, and its many add-on services and partners. Pleasanter has a strong track record with large companies. Exment is chosen for its cost and freedom of where to run it, when there are many users, when outside people also use it, or when data cannot leave the company.
Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (IT service management) are large business platforms for big companies. Exment is a good fit for turning the work around them, and the work of departments and small and mid-sized companies, into databases quickly and at low cost.
| Exment | Salesforce Platform | ServiceNow | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From free (GPL). Commercial license ¥300,000 / site; cloud: the AWS edition, coming soon. Prices are published | ¥3,000 / user / month (Starter, up to 10 custom objects) to ¥12,000 (Plus). Annual contract | No published price list (individual quotes) |
| Getting started | Install and start right away. One department can start small | 30-day free trial. Full deployments are often done with a partner | Mainly deployment projects with certified partners |
| Where data lives | Choose your own server, a rental server, AWS, Azure or our cloud | Salesforce's cloud | ServiceNow's cloud |
| Best for | Databases for customers, deals, requests and assets; department work; intake forms used by outside people | Company-wide CRM centered on sales and customer service | Company-wide service management for IT, HR and more (ITSM) |
AI agents, deeply built-in CRM and ITSM processes, and a wide range of integrations are strengths of Salesforce and ServiceNow. You can also use both: keep your company-wide CRM or ITSM, and use Exment for the databases and department work around it. Data integration with Salesforce and ServiceNow is on our roadmap (v8).
We help you move data from the service or Excel files you use today into Exment.
Tell us about your current apps (tables, fields, workflows), number of users and how you use them. We will explain how to build them in Exment and what it will cost.
There is no time limit. Try the demo or install Exment on your PC to check the screens and behavior.
With our setup support (table creation and data migration), we create the tables and move your CSV and Excel data. A tool to move app definitions and data from kintone and other services in one go is on our roadmap.
Tell us how many users you have and what you pay for your current service, and we will estimate what Exment would cost.
Checked on November 3, 2026. Sources: kintone pricing (kintone.cybozu.co.jp/price/), Pleasanter.net pricing (pleasanter.net/Home/Price), Pleasanter Enterprise Edition (pleasanter.org/facts/), Salesforce Platform pricing (salesforce.com/jp/products/platform/pricing/). The Salesforce price list does not state whether tax is included. kintone is a trademark or registered trademark of Cybozu, Inc.; Pleasanter of Implem Inc.; Salesforce of Salesforce, Inc.; and ServiceNow of ServiceNow, Inc.