Akeneo Alternative?
How does OneSila differ from Akeneo? Strengths, weaknesses. Who should pick which system based on your company needs, expectations and culture.
Quick Comparison
Akeneo - a concise description
Akeneo is a structured, role-oriented enterprise PIM that relies on rigid catalogues, families and category trees. It excels at multi-locale attribute management and internal reporting, but is slow to set up, requires technical expertise and offers limited operational agility. Its abstraction layer separates it from real e-commerce channels, resulting in more debugging and weaker control over sales channels. It suits large organisations with stable product structures, but is cumbersome for fast-moving, high-SKU, multi-market sellers.
OneSila - in short
OneSila is a fast, flexible, marketplace-ready PIM built for companies that need real-time channel execution instead of rigid catalogue structures. It automates variation creation, manages prices and currencies natively, tracks EANs and allows direct API publishing to websites and marketplaces without plugins or technical overhead. Its architecture removes the enterprise rigidity found in older PIMs and focuses on agility, speed and operational simplicity, with setup measured in hours rather than months.
Speed to Go Live
What can you expect from each platform from the moment you decide to go forward? How long does it take before you're actually up and running.
Akeneo benefits from a structured setup phase. Families, catalogues and data models are defined upfront, which takes time but gives larger organisations a stable, predictable foundation. Implementations often run longer because of this planning and modelling stage.
OneSila aims for minimal upfront setup. Product creation, variations and channel publishing work out of the box, which allows teams to start using the system quickly. This suits organisations that prefer immediate usability and gradual refinement through product rules whom are adjustable per sales channel.
Akeneo offers a structured runway; OneSila prioritises rapid onboarding.
Channel Execution
How does each PIM decide which products go to which sales channels, and how each PIM communicates with those channels.
Akeneo:
Channels act as catalogues and views rather than as direct publishing endpoints. This separation helps keep product data clean and platform agnostic, though it means publishing relies on connectors and external systems.
OneSila:
Channels can receive product data directly via built-in API integrations. This reduces the need for connectors and gives teams operational control from within the PIM. That means all problems can be detected and solved from within OneSila.
Akeneo separates data from execution; OneSila links them more tightly.
Variation Management
How do the a PIMs handle products that come in variants.
Akeneo:
Variations follow a predefined family and attribute axis model. This creates clarity and consistency, especially in organisations with large catalogues and formal product structures.
OneSila:
Depending on your setup, variations can be created automatically or manually and configured on the fly. The model adapts quickly, which benefits teams working with diverse or frequently changing catalogues.
The models are designed in such a way that the system understands that some products of the same type eg T-Shirts come in sizes only, where others in size and colour.
Akeneo supports controlled, predefined variation structures; OneSila supports flexible, adaptive variation creation.
Flexibility vs Structure
How much the system expects you to design upfront versus how much it lets you adapt as you go.
Akeneo:
Structured frameworks encourage data quality, governance and consistency across teams. This suits companies that prefer clearly defined processes.
OneSila:
A flexible approach allows teams to adjust their data and workflows as needs evolve. This suits companies that prioritise adaptability in fast-moving environments.
Akeneo offers stronger governance; OneSila offers more operational agility.
Ongoing Maintenance Load
How much effort it takes to keep each PIM running once it’s live. Not onboarding, not training, but the day to day cost of ownership: updates, connectors, dependencies and the amount of technical involvement required.
Akeneo:
Akeneo’s ecosystem includes a wide range of connectors and extensions. This is powerful but can require technical involvement during setup or upgrades, particularly for e-commerce integrations.
There is however a significant upfront cost in setup, configuration and training. Updates and upgrades come at the expense of your IT partner - depending if you pick the Community or Saas edition.
OneSila:
With direct API integrations and fewer dependencies, ongoing maintenance tends to be lighter because the technical work is usually the responsibility of the OneSila. Most configuration can be handled by non-technical staff.
Training is minimal, however they do offer real support and training + video academy.
Akeneo provides a broad ecosystem; OneSila reduces technical overhead.
Pricing and Regional Data Handling
How does each PIM manage prices, currencies and regional differences? Something that becomes important the moment a business sells in more than one market/sales-channel.
Akeneo:
Pricing is handled through standard attributes. More complex structures, such as regional price lists or currency conversion, typically rely on external systems.
Attributes are managed per sales channel.
OneSila:
Price lists, currency handling and regional pricing logic are built in. This supports brands selling across multiple markets with varying price structures.
Properties / Attributes are adjustable per sales-channel so you choose which properties are exposed. And also media is configurable per sales-channel.
Akeneo keeps pricing simple and extensible; OneSila embeds multi-region pricing directly.
Media and Asset Management
How can you organise and provides access to images, documents, videos and other product related media?
Akeneo:
Assets are managed at attribute level. The system is designed around structured asset fields and works reliably for organisations with static media workflows.
OneSila:
A central media library stores images, PDFs and videos in one place. This benefits teams with active e-commerce content workflows.
Akeneo uses structured asset fields; OneSila centralises media for easier management.
Final Perspective
Both platforms solve the same core problem, but they approach it with different philosophies:
- Akeneo suits organisations that value structure, governance, predefined processes and a stable data model.
- OneSila suits organisations that prioritise flexibility, rapid deployment, direct channel control and fast operational execution.
TLDR;
Too Long Didn't Read users among us, this is the summary of the entire page.
| Area | Akeneo | OneSila |
|---|---|---|
| Core Approach | Structured, rigid, catalogue-driven enterprise PIM | Fast, flexible, sales-first PIM |
| Setup Speed | Slow; requires upfront modelling, families, catalogues | Live in hours; product creation and publishing work out of the box |
| Channel Execution | Channels are “views”; needs connectors and external systems | Direct API publishing to marketplaces and websites; no connectors needed |
| Variation Management | Predefined family and attribute-axis structures | Automatic or manual variations; adapts on the fly |
| Flexibility vs Structure | High governance and consistency; suits formal processes | High adaptability; suits fast-moving sellers |
| Maintenance Load | Many connectors; upgrades often involve IT teams | Low maintenance; minimal dependencies; business users can manage it |
| Pricing & Regional Handling | Basic attributes; complex pricing needs external tools | Built-in price lists, currencies, regional logic; per-channel overrides |
| Media Management | Asset management at attribute level | Central media library with images, PDFs, videos; per-channel media control |
| Best For | Large organisations with rigid workflows and structures. | Multi-market, multi-channel sellers needing speed and agility. |