Best inventory software for small business: eight options with real entry prices

The best inventory software for small business depends on what you do with stock

The best inventory software for a small business is the cheapest product that covers your daily stock jobs without workarounds: Sortly or BoxHero if you only count and locate items, Zoho Inventory if you sell online on a tight budget, inFlow Inventory if you buy from vendors and sell to trade customers, and Katana, Fishbowl or SOS Inventory if you build what you sell.

Every price below was read on the vendor's own pricing page on 3 October 2026 and can change. This site has not used these products hands-on. The comparison is based on published plans and documentation.

Inventory software for small business price: entry plans side by side

Four of these also have a free tier. Sortly Free allows 100 unique items and 1 user. BoxHero's Personal plan allows 1 member, 100 items and 1 location. Zoho Inventory's free plan allows 50 orders a month, 1 user and 1 location. Katana's free plan is capped at 30 SKUs.

Easy to use inventory app for small business: Sortly, BoxHero and inFlow Stockroom

If the search is really for an inventory app, meaning a phone-first tool for counting and finding things, the simplest products are the right ones. Sortly is built around items, folders, photos and phone scanning, and its pricing page lists purchase orders only from the Ultra plan ($149 per month billed monthly). BoxHero includes phone or scanner barcode scanning even on its free plan. Both suit a shop, a trades van or a supply closet.

inFlow's equivalent is inFlow Stockroom, a scan-in and scan-out app that starts at $69 per month billed annually ($89 month to month) with unlimited scanning users. The vendor states plainly that Stockroom has no reordering, costing or sales, so it is for internal supplies, not for a business that sells stock. The Inventory versus Stockroom comparison covers that split.

The limitation of all three: once you need vendor purchase orders, customer orders and cost of goods in one place, an item tracker becomes a second system next to your order paperwork.

Where inFlow Inventory fits and where it does not

inFlow Inventory fits a small wholesaler, distributor or field service business that needs sales orders, purchase orders, receiving, barcode scanning and a QuickBooks Online or Xero link in one product. All plans include unlimited products, sales and purchases, and the mobile app is included with every plan. The Lite plan covers 2 team members and 1 location. Core, at $299 per month billed annually, covers 5 team members and 5 locations.

It is the wrong pick in four cases:

• Budget under $50 a month: Zoho Inventory Standard or BoxHero Business costs far less, and Zoho includes orders.
• Counting only: Sortly or BoxHero is simpler.
• Real production: bills of materials need the separate inFlow Manufacturing product, from $169 per month billed annually. Katana and Fishbowl Advanced go deeper on production planning.
• Lot or serial tracking on a small plan: each is a $39 per month add-on on the lower inFlow plans. SOS Inventory Plus ($139.95 per month) includes both.

Also budget for setup: inFlow lists a $499 onboarding package that is required on most plans. The inFlow Inventory pricing breakdown shows the full bill, and the alternatives page goes deeper on each rival.

Which inventory software to shortlist by type of small business

• Retail shop or trades business tracking supplies: Sortly or BoxHero. Limitation: item caps on every plan.
• Online seller starting out: Zoho Inventory. Limitation: monthly order caps, and barcode generation, serial and batch tracking are listed from the Premium plan ($79 per month billed annually).
• QuickBooks Online user who wants inventory bolted on: SOS Inventory. Limitation: it is built as an extension of QuickBooks Online, so it is not a standalone choice.
• Wholesaler or distributor with purchasing and trade customers: inFlow Inventory. Limitation: team member and location caps on Lite.
• Finished-goods reseller that wants a larger system: Fishbowl Inventory or Cin7. Limitation: higher entry price, and Fishbowl requires an implementation package.
• Small manufacturer: Katana, or inFlow Manufacturing for lighter assembly. Limitation: Katana prices manufacturing management ($199 per month) and traceability ($249 per month) as add-ons.

Before booking demos, write down your own must-haves with the requirements worksheet so each vendor is judged on the same list.