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Progress OpenEdge

Features
Ease of use
Ease of management
Quality of support
Affordability
Market presence
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Pricing from
$39 per user per month
Free Trial
Free version
User corporate size
Small
Medium
Large
User industry
  1. Retail and wholesale
  2. Manufacturing
  3. Transportation and logistics

What is Progress OpenEdge

Progress OpenEdge is an application development platform that combines a 4GL/ABL development environment, an application server, and an integrated relational database for building and running business applications. It is primarily used by ISVs and enterprise teams that develop and maintain OpenEdge-based line-of-business systems, including client/server and web-enabled applications. The platform emphasizes an integrated stack (language, runtime, database, and tooling) and supports deployment on common server operating systems and cloud infrastructure. It is typically adopted where long-lived applications require stable runtime behavior and tightly coupled data access.

pros

Integrated app and database stack

OpenEdge provides a cohesive stack that includes the ABL language, development tools, application server components, and the OpenEdge RDBMS. This reduces the number of third-party components required to build and operate applications compared with assembling separate frameworks, servers, and databases. The tight integration can simplify performance tuning for data-intensive business logic because the language and database are designed to work together.

Mature platform for LOB apps

The product is widely used for long-running line-of-business applications where backward compatibility and predictable runtime behavior matter. It supports multi-tier architectures and includes server-side components for scaling application workloads beyond a single client/server deployment. Organizations with existing OpenEdge estates can standardize development and operations on a single vendor-supported platform.

Operational tooling and administration

OpenEdge includes administrative utilities and monitoring/management capabilities for the database and runtime environment. These tools support routine operations such as backup/restore, configuration management, and performance troubleshooting. For teams that prefer a single-vendor toolchain, this can reduce reliance on separate monitoring products for core OpenEdge components.

cons

Niche skills and ecosystem

OpenEdge development commonly relies on ABL expertise, which is less prevalent than mainstream programming languages used in many modern application stacks. Hiring and onboarding can be harder for teams without prior OpenEdge experience. The surrounding ecosystem of libraries, community examples, and third-party integrations is typically smaller than for more broadly adopted development platforms.

Not a full CI/CD suite

While OpenEdge can be integrated into automated build, test, and deployment pipelines, it is not primarily delivered as a standalone CI or continuous delivery tool. Teams usually need to integrate external source control, pipeline orchestration, and artifact management to implement end-to-end DevOps workflows. This can increase implementation effort compared with platforms that provide more native CI/CD capabilities.

Modern low-code expectations vary

OpenEdge supports rapid application development patterns, but it is not primarily positioned as a drag-and-drop, citizen-developer low-code environment. Organizations seeking extensive visual app composition, prebuilt workflow automation, or non-developer-friendly UX design tooling may find gaps. As a result, it often fits best where professional developers own the full application lifecycle.

Plan & Pricing

Plan Price Key features & notes
Classroom Free Includes OpenEdge Developers Kit Classroom edition (latest innovation-supported release shown as 12.8 LTS), OpenEdge Personal Database, community & knowledgebase access; intended for learning. cite
Basic $39 per month / user Access to Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge (latest), OpenEdge Personal/Workgroup DB and developer/testing tools; monthly per-user subscription shown on official OpenEdge Developers Kit page. cite
Corporate $123 per month / user Expanded testing environments and additional features (per Developers Kit comparison); monthly per-user subscription shown on official OpenEdge Developers Kit page. cite
Premier $230 per month / user Includes broader platform tooling and management features (listed in Developers Kit comparison); monthly per-user subscription shown on official OpenEdge Developers Kit page. cite
Innovator $430 per month / user Top-tier Developers Kit edition for R&D/modernization; official Progress materials indicate this edition bundles additional toolsets (e.g., Telerik Platform for OpenEdge and Rollbase private cloud in Progress communications). Monthly per-user subscription shown on official OpenEdge Developers Kit page. cite

Additional official pricing published on Progress site (not part of Developers Kit table):

  • Instructor-led OpenEdge training courses: $750 per day (official course pages list $750/day). cite
  • OpenEdge learning-path subscriptions (documentation): OpenEdge 11 Developer learning path listed at $1,500 USD for a 12-month subscription per student; OpenEdge 11 Administrator listed at $900 USD for a 12-month subscription per student. cite

Notes:

  • The OpenEdge Developers Kit page shows "Request a Quote" / "Contact sales" for purchase flow and more details; production (server/database) license pricing is not published publicly on the site and requires contacting Progress sales or customer portal for quotes. cite
  • A free evaluation/trial of OpenEdge (e.g., downloads/evaluation) is available via Progress trial page. cite

Seller details

Progress Software Corporation
Burlington, Massachusetts, USA
1981
Public
https://www.progress.com/
https://x.com/ProgressSW
https://www.linkedin.com/company/progress-software/

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