Best Inventory Management Software in 2026

Why Inventory Management Software Matters in 2026

If you sell physical products, your stock count is the number everything else depends on. It decides what you can promise on Shopify, what you reorder from suppliers, what you can ship to a wholesale buyer and what your accountant books as cost of goods sold. When that number lives in a spreadsheet, or in three different sales channels that do not talk to each other, you get overselling, dead stock and month-end surprises.

The market has also shifted. Several vendors in this guide changed their pricing model in the last year. Katana dropped its public tiers for a free plan plus a custom annual contract. Fishbowl now publishes cloud plan prices but still quotes its manufacturing platform. inFlow requires a paid onboarding package on most plans. Headline prices tell only part of the story, so this guide lists the limits that actually drive your bill: users, orders, locations, integrations and setup fees.

We compare seven tools for small and mid-sized product businesses that sell online, sell wholesale or do light manufacturing: Zoho Inventory, Cin7, Katana, inFlow, Odoo, Fishbowl and Sortly. All prices are in US dollars and were checked on each vendor's own pricing page in October 2026.

Zoho Inventory review

What it is: Zoho Inventory is a cloud inventory and order management app from Zoho, the company behind Zoho Books and Zoho CRM. It covers purchasing, sales orders, multi-warehouse stock, shipping and marketplace sync, and it sits naturally next to Zoho's accounting app.

Pricing (per organization, not per user):

• Free: 1 user, 50 orders/month, 1 location
• Standard: $29/month billed annually or $39 billed monthly. 3 users, 500 orders/month, 2 locations
• Premium: $79/month annually or $99 monthly. 5 users, 3,000 orders/month, 4 locations, 500 bins per location
• Plus: $129/month annually or $159 monthly. 10 users, 7,500 orders/month, 6 locations, adds an online store builder
• Enterprise: $249/month annually or $299 monthly. 10 users, 15,000 orders/month, 10 locations, 5,000 bins per location

Add-ons billed annually: $7.50/month per extra user, $7.50/month per 500 extra orders and $10/month per extra location. There is a 14-day free trial, and you can stay on the free plan afterward. Zoho offers a 15% nonprofit discount.

Key features:

• Native sales channels: Shopify, Amazon, Etsy and eBay, plus Zoho Commerce
• Shopify store connections: 1 on Free and Standard, 5 on Premium and above
• Composite items (kits and simple assemblies) on every plan, including Free
• Barcode generation, serial and batch tracking from Premium up
• Accounting with Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online or Xero
• Shipping carriers including UPS and USPS, plus Easyship

Pros: The free plan is genuinely usable for a tiny shop. Paid plans are priced per organization, so adding a second or third person does not multiply the bill. The ecommerce connections most small sellers need are native.

Cons: Barcode generation and serial or batch tracking start at Premium ($79/month annually). Composite items handle kits and simple builds, but there are no manufacturing orders, routings or shop floor tools. Order caps are monthly, so a holiday spike can push you into add-ons.

Who should use it: Shopify and marketplace sellers, small wholesalers and anyone already using Zoho Books who wants solid inventory without a big contract.

Who should avoid it: Manufacturers who need real production planning, and businesses doing more than 15,000 orders a month.

Cin7 review

What it is: Cin7 sells two products. Cin7 Core has published tiered plans and is aimed at small to mid-sized brands. Cin7 Omni is described by Cin7 as a custom solution for larger businesses with niche or advanced needs, and it is quoted.

Pricing (Cin7 Core, USD, excluding tax, new customers):

• Standard: $349/month. 5 users, 6,000 sale orders per year, 2 ecommerce and app integrations, unlimited locations
• Pro: $599/month. 10 users, 24,000 sale orders per year, 4 integrations, adds material requirements planning (MRP)
• Advanced: $1,199/month. 15 users, 120,000 sale orders per year, 6 integrations, adds advanced warehouse management
• Cin7 Omni: custom pricing. Cin7's plan table lists 8 users and unlimited locations as the base

Extra users, order volume and integrations can be bought, but Cin7 does not publish those prices. The pricing page does not say whether the monthly price requires an annual term. There is a 14-day free trial.

Key features:

• Standard Assembly Manufacturing on every Core plan: BOMs, kits and bundles, batch and expiry tracking
• MRP is an add-on on Standard and included on Pro; Advanced Production Manufacturing is an add-on on Pro and Advanced
• Barcode scanning through the Standard Warehouse Management mobile app
• Xero and QuickBooks Online accounting integration on every plan
• Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce and ShipStation among its top integrations, out of 700+ partners
• Add-ons: POS, B2B portal, ForesightAI demand forecasting, advanced automations, API

Pros: Unlimited inventory locations on every plan. Assembly and BOMs are included from the start. Strong fit for brands selling through Shopify, Amazon and wholesale at the same time.

Cons: The entry price is more than ten times Zoho Inventory's Standard plan. The integration count is tight: 2 ecommerce and app connections on Standard can be used up by one storefront and one marketplace. Many useful pieces (POS, B2B portal, forecasting, API) are add-ons with unpublished prices.

Who should use it: Brands doing roughly 500 to 10,000 orders a month across several channels who need wholesale, light assembly and accounting sync in one system.

Who should avoid it: Small sellers on a tight budget, and anyone who wants to see the full price before talking to sales.

Katana review

What it is: Katana is a cloud inventory and manufacturing platform for product makers. It leans hardest into production: bills of materials, manufacturing orders, routings and a shop floor app.

Pricing: Katana retired its public Standard, Professional and Professional Plus plans. It now has two options:

• Free: $0, no card required. Up to 30 SKUs, with unlimited SKUs for the first 15 days. Unlimited users, integrations and locations, all features and API access. Shopify is the only ecommerce integration on Free.
• Advantage: custom pricing on an annual contract. Unlimited SKUs, users and integrations, guided implementation, an assigned customer success manager, 24/7 live support and custom integrations built by Katana's team.

Key features:

• Manufacturing management with routings and production insights
• Kits and bundles handled with bills of materials, so components are deducted as you build or sell
• Batch and serial number traceability
• Barcode scanning for receiving, stocktakes and material consumption
• Warehouse management with bin locations, pick and pack
• Integrations: Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Amazon, eBay, QuickBooks Online and Xero

Pros: The best production tools in this group short of a full ERP. Unlimited users means your shop floor team does not add cost. The Free plan lets you test real workflows before talking to sales.

Cons: No published price for anything beyond 30 SKUs, so you cannot budget without a sales call. An annual contract is required for Advantage. If you do not manufacture, you are paying for depth you will not use.

Who should use it: Makers and light manufacturers selling on Shopify or wholesale who need material planning and cost tracking per batch.

Who should avoid it: Pure resellers, and anyone who wants month-to-month billing.

inFlow review

What it is: inFlow is an inventory app aimed at wholesale, distribution and small manufacturing, with in-house support based in Toronto and Lisbon. It sells two editions: inFlow Inventory and inFlow Manufacturing, plus a scan-only app called Stockroom.

Pricing (inFlow Inventory, USD):

• Lite: $99/month billed annually or $129 monthly. 2 team members, 1 location
• Core: $299/month annually or $379 monthly. 5 team members, 5 locations
• Pro: $499/month annually or $629 monthly. 10 team members, unlimited locations
• Max: $699/month annually or $879 monthly. 20 team members, unlimited locations

Every plan includes unlimited products, sales, purchases and integrations. A one-time $499 onboarding package is required on most plans. Extra team members cost $29/month each, with volume discounts. Add-ons at $39/month each include lot numbers, serial numbers, the Showroom B2B portal and the Stockroom app; API access is $49/month.

inFlow Manufacturing costs $169, $399, $629 or $859/month billed annually (Start Up, Growth, Scale, Expansion) and adds manufacture orders, bills of materials and production operations with labor cost tracking. There is a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Key features:

• Ecommerce: Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce and Squarespace, plus 34 more sources through Extensiv Integration Manager
• Accounting: push invoices and inventory value to QuickBooks Online or Xero
• Shipping: ShipStation and EasyPost, compare carrier rates and print labels
• Barcode generation, scanning and custom label design
• Showroom B2B portal with custom domain and abandoned cart emails

Pros: No order caps and no per-integration fees, which makes costs predictable as you grow. Strong B2B tools for wholesalers. A separate, clearly priced manufacturing edition.

Cons: The $499 onboarding fee adds to year one. Lite allows only 1 location with no sublocations. Lot and serial tracking cost extra on lower plans.

Who should use it: Wholesalers and distributors with steady order volume, and small manufacturers who want published prices.

Who should avoid it: Very small sellers who would be fine on Zoho Inventory's free or $29 plan.

Odoo review

What it is: Odoo is a business suite with dozens of apps: Inventory, Manufacturing (MRP), Barcode, Purchase, Sales, Accounting, POS, eCommerce and more. You can start with one app and add the rest later.

Pricing (per user per month, USD):

• One App Free: $0 for one app with unlimited users on Odoo Online
• Standard: $24.90 billed yearly or $31.10 billed monthly. All apps, Odoo Online hosting
• Custom: $49.00 billed yearly or $61.10 billed monthly. All apps, plus Odoo.sh or on-premise hosting, Odoo Studio, multi-company and external API

Those are discounted rates valid for 12 months for the initial users ordered. The regular rates are $31.10 (yearly) or $38.90 (monthly) for Standard and $61.00 or $76.20 for Custom. Hosting, support and upgrades are included. Implementation is not; Odoo sells Success Packs for small companies and works through partners for larger ones. A Light User license is listed at $8.90, by quote.

Key features:

• Full warehouse management: multi-warehouse, routes, lots, serials and expiry dates
• Barcode app for receipts, deliveries and batch transfers
• Manufacturing app with bills of materials and work orders
• Native Amazon connector; Odoo's own docs list no native Shopify connector, so Shopify links come from third-party apps on the Odoo Apps store
• Built-in Accounting app, so no separate QuickBooks or Xero is needed
• Shipping connectors including UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, EasyPost and Sendcloud

Pros: Inventory, manufacturing, accounting and ecommerce in one database. Low per-user cost for small teams. The One App Free plan is a cheap way to start.

Cons: Per-user pricing grows fast with a larger team. Odoo is broad, and getting it right usually needs paid implementation help. Shopify sellers depend on third-party connectors, and external API access is only on the Custom plan.

Who should use it: Businesses that want to replace several tools, including accounting, with one system, and have the time or a partner to set it up.

Who should avoid it: Shopify-first brands that want a plug-and-play stock sync this week.

Fishbowl review

What it is: Fishbowl builds much of its pitch around QuickBooks integration. It sells two products: Fishbowl Inventory, a cloud app for businesses that buy and resell finished goods, and Fishbowl Advanced, a manufacturing and warehouse platform.

Pricing: Fishbowl is not fully quote-only. Inventory plans have published prices; Advanced shows starting prices and is confirmed by quote.

• Essentials: $229/month billed annually. 2 users, QuickBooks Online and Xero sync, reorder points, mobile barcode scanning
• Growth: $429/month billed annually. 5 users, adds pick, receive and ship, automated reordering, multichannel ecommerce and unlimited warehouses
• Scale: $729/month billed annually. 10 users, adds lot traceability, audit trails, compliance documents and demand forecasting
• Advanced Manufacturing: from $675/month, priced by users and deployment. BOMs, MRP, work orders, job and landed costing, QuickBooks Online, Desktop and Enterprise integration
• Advanced Warehouse: from $595/month, priced by users and deployment. Multi-warehouse, 3PL and EDI workflows

Fishbowl requires an implementation package with every purchase. Its price is not published.

Key features:

• Mobile barcode scanning on every plan
• Ecommerce: Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, eBay and Walmart, among others
• Accounting: QuickBooks (Desktop, Online, Canada), Xero, plus Avalara for sales tax
• Shipping: ShipStation, UPS, FedEx, USPS and others

Pros: Deep QuickBooks integration, including Desktop and Enterprise on Advanced. Advanced Manufacturing covers full BOMs, sub-assemblies and MRP. Teams from 2 to 200+ users.

Cons: Fishbowl Inventory plans do not include manufacturing at all. Advanced is quoted. The required implementation package adds an unknown upfront cost. Several features on the plan table are marked as coming soon.

Who should use it: Manufacturers and distributors who run on QuickBooks and want to keep it.

Who should avoid it: Small online sellers who need something live in days, not weeks.

Sortly review

What it is: Sortly is a simple, mobile-first inventory app for tracking items, supplies and equipment with photos, folders, barcodes and QR codes. It is not an order management system.

Pricing (USD):

• Free: 1 user, 100 unique items, 1 custom field
• Advanced: $49/month billed monthly, or $288/year ($24/month) for the first year. 2 users, 500 items, QR label creation
• Ultra: $149/month monthly, or $888/year ($74/month) first year. 5 users, 2,000 items, barcode labels, purchase orders
• Premium: $299/month monthly, or $1,788/year ($149/month) first year. 8 users, 5,000 items, custom roles, QuickBooks Online
• Enterprise: quote. 12+ users, 10,000+ items, API and webhooks

The 50% yearly discount applies only to a new customer's first year. After that, yearly plans are 20% off the monthly price. Paid plans have a 14-day free trial.

Key features:

• In-app barcode and QR scanning from a phone
• Check-in and check-out, pick lists and stock counts
• QuickBooks Online on Premium (invoices and purchase orders)
• Restocking through Amazon Business

Pros: The easiest tool here to learn. Good for tracking supplies, tools, spare parts or a small stockroom.

Cons: Sortly's pricing page lists no Shopify or Amazon seller integration, no sales orders and no bills of materials. Item caps are low for the price compared with Zoho Inventory or inFlow.

Who should use it: Businesses tracking internal stock or equipment rather than selling it online.

Who should avoid it: Ecommerce, wholesale and manufacturing businesses. Pick any other tool on this list.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Ease of use

Sortly is the simplest, followed by Zoho Inventory and inFlow. Katana is approachable for makers, since it is built around production. Cin7 Core, Fishbowl and Odoo do more and take longer to learn. Cin7, Fishbowl Advanced and inFlow all sell or require onboarding, which tells you something about the setup effort.

Features

For ecommerce sync, Zoho Inventory, Cin7, Katana, inFlow and Fishbowl all connect natively to Shopify and Amazon. Odoo has a native Amazon connector but relies on third-party apps for Shopify. Sortly has neither.

For manufacturing and BOMs, Katana, Fishbowl Advanced, inFlow Manufacturing and Odoo offer real production tools. Cin7 Core includes assembly and BOMs on every plan, with MRP on Pro. Zoho Inventory stops at composite items. Fishbowl Inventory plans exclude BOMs, and Sortly's plans list none.

For barcodes, every tool scans. Zoho Inventory limits barcode generation to Premium and up; Sortly limits barcode label creation to Ultra and up.

Pricing value

Integrations

Cin7 has the largest ecosystem (700+ partners) but caps the number of connections per plan. inFlow includes unlimited integrations. Katana includes unlimited integrations on both plans, with only Shopify for ecommerce on Free. Zoho Inventory limits Shopify store connections by plan (1 or 5).

For accounting, Cin7, Katana, inFlow, Fishbowl and Zoho Inventory all connect to QuickBooks Online and Xero. Sortly connects to QuickBooks Online only, on Premium. Odoo replaces your accounting software with its own.

Learning curve

Expect days with Sortly or Zoho Inventory, a few weeks with inFlow or Katana, and weeks to months with Cin7 Omni, Fishbowl Advanced or a full Odoo rollout.

Fees

Watch for setup fees (inFlow's $499 onboarding on most plans, Fishbowl's required implementation package, Odoo implementation if you need it), overage add-ons (Zoho Inventory orders and users, Cin7 users, orders and integrations) and first-year discounts (Odoo and Sortly prices rise after year one).

How to Choose: Decision Framework

1. Do you manufacture? If you build products from raw materials, shortlist Katana, inFlow Manufacturing, Fishbowl Advanced or Odoo. If you only kit or bundle, Zoho Inventory's composite items or Cin7 Core's assembly may be enough.
2. Where do you sell? Shopify plus Amazon points to Zoho Inventory, Cin7, Katana or inFlow. If Shopify is central, be careful with Odoo, which needs a third-party connector.
3. How many orders? Count orders per month. Zoho Inventory caps run from 50 to 15,000 per month; Cin7 Core runs from 6,000 to 120,000 per year. inFlow has no order caps.
4. How many people need a login? Per-user pricing (Odoo) is cheap for 3 people and expensive for 30. Unlimited users (Katana) or included team members (inFlow, Cin7) can be better for larger teams.
5. What is your accounting system? On QuickBooks or Xero, every tool except Odoo fits. If you are ready to switch accounting too, Odoo becomes much more attractive.
6. What can you spend in year one? Add the setup fees and check whether discounts expire after year one.

The Verdict: Final Recommendations

Zoho Inventory is our pick for most small product businesses. It is the only tool here that combines a usable free plan, $29/month entry pricing, per-organization billing and native Shopify, Amazon, Etsy and eBay sync. When you outgrow it, the step up is clear.

Choose Cin7 Core when you sell across several channels plus wholesale and need BOMs and unlimited locations, and the $349/month entry price fits.

Choose Katana if manufacturing is the heart of your business and you are fine with an annual contract.

Choose inFlow for wholesale and B2B with unlimited orders and predictable prices.

Choose Odoo if you want one system for inventory, manufacturing and accounting and can invest in setup.

Choose Fishbowl if you manufacture and want to keep QuickBooks.

Choose Sortly only for internal stock and supplies, not for selling.

Conclusion

The right inventory tool depends on three numbers: how many orders you process, how many people need access and whether you build products. Start with the free plans where they exist (Zoho Inventory, Katana and Odoo) or a 14-day trial (Cin7, inFlow and Sortly), load a real slice of your catalog and run a week of actual orders through it. Then add up year-one cost including setup fees and add-ons, not just the headline price. For most small sellers that test will point to Zoho Inventory first, with Cin7, Katana or inFlow as the step up when volume, wholesale or manufacturing demands it.