The 7 Best Inventory Management Software Apps For 2021

Best for smaller businesses.

If you’re looking for a high degree of control, including the ability to set products to automatically re-order from your suppliers when your inventory falls below your chosen threshold, start your search for the best inventory management software with Zoho Inventory.

Zoho Inventory’s expansive capabilities include warehouse management, in-app barcode management, order management and fulfillment, invoice and purchase order creation, streamlined customer and vendor management, reporting features, and more.

Pros

Easy to use
Reasonable monthly cost
Extensive integrations
Free plan

Cons

Limits on shipping volume
Somewhat limited reporting

Zoho Inventory Pricing

Zoho offers a free plan that maxes out at 20 shipping labels per month. You can also choose among three paid plans that range from $39-$199 per organization per month (if you pay annually) and $49-$249/organization/month (if you pay monthly). Each plan comes with limits on the numbers of online and offline orders, shipping labels, and tracking.

Additionally, Zoho offers the following add-ons:

Orders & Shipping Labels: $5/month for 50 additional orders and 50 shipping labels.
Additional Warehouses: $9/month for an additional warehouse (or $90/per year).

You can activate a free 14-day trial to test how well Zoho’s inventory management software matches your business needs. And if you happen to run a nonprofit, you can take advantage of a 15% discount on Zoho Inventory.

Zoho Inventory Features

Zoho Inventory comes with a rich set of built-in features, including inventory management tools that allow you to create listings, kit items together, and even set products to automatically reorder from suppliers when inventory falls below a set threshold.

Here are some other features you’ll find with Zoho Inventory:

Manage multiple warehouses
Barcode scanning
Multi-channel order management & fulfillment
Invoice and purchase order creation
Streamlined customer and vendor management
Sales order creation
Dropshipping
Multilingual & multi-currency
Backorders
eCommerce
CRM software
Accounting features
Returns
Inventory reports

When To Use Zoho Inventory

Zoho Inventory is built to be scalable. That means you can start with the free plan and sign up for a higher subscription tier as your business grows. However, large businesses may find the limited number of shipping labels on each plan and the relatively simple reporting to be too constraining. While Zoho Inventory is a worthwhile tool, it may be best suited for smaller businesses.

2. Square Inventory

Square Inventory

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Best for small retailers, restaurants, and businesses that already use Square.

Square is well known for its payment processing and POS services. Its inventory management function may be less well known, but that should change since Square offers a decent set of features at a price anyone can afford: free.

Although Square’s free inventory features won’t be sufficient for larger, multilocation businesses, many others will find just what they need. Especially for small businesses already in Square’s target audience, Square’s stock management features and integrations with Shopventory and Stitch Labs are well suited to fill their needs.

Pros

Free
Easy setup
Unlimited items

Cons

Some features are lacking
Not suited for large businesses

Square Inventory Pricing

Square offers basic inventory and reporting features for free. It’s hard to find a better deal than that. Of course, if you’re looking for additional features, such as employee management, you’ll need to purchase add-ons.

Square Inventory Features

Although it’s not the most feature-rich inventory management software, that lack of advanced functionality is more than offset by the program’s affordability. That’s not to say Square Inventory is inadequate; its feature set includes the basic tools you’ll need. You’ll find the following inventory features in Square’s free program:

Unlimited items
Print bar code labels
Low-stock notification
Item categories
Manage vendors
Bulk transfer across locations

When To Use Square Inventory

If you’re running a small retail establishment or quick-service eatery, Square’s free inventory features should be enough to satisfy the needs of your business. If your business grows to the point where you need something more robust, you can always upgrade to Square for Retail or Square for Restaurants if you intend to remain in Square’s business ecosystem.

3. Cin7

Cin7 Inventory

Best for mid- to large-sized businesses with complex inventory needs.

New Zealand-based Cin7 is business inventory management software offering an all-in-one solution with countless robust features. The software’s relatively high cost may put Cin7 out of the reach of startups and most smaller outfits, but that’s okay, because Cin7 delivers more than small businesses typically will need. It’s a scalable solution that’s ideal for complex businesses selling on multiple channels or in more than one location.

Cin7 is one of the few companies operating in this space whose user reviews are almost entirely positive and enthusiastic. With amazing feature depth, supreme customizability, and a long list of big-name integrations, Cin7 packs quite a punch.

Pros

Feature-rich
Strong customer service
Generous limits
Includes eCommerce

Cons

Expensive
Slightly buggy

Cin7 Pricing

Cin7 is a premium product, and the pricing reflects that — though there is a 10-day free trial period. Users can choose from three subscription plans: eCommerce ($295/month), Wholesale ($295/month), and Multichannel ($450/month). All prices listed apply for the first 12 months and presumably will rise after that.

Each of these plans can be upgraded to Plus level, unlocking even more features and functions. Plus pricing for the eCommerce and Wholesale plans starts at $495/month, though you’ll need to contact Cin7 for a custom quote. Pricing for Multichannel Plus is available only by contacting Cin7 directly. Cin7 does not offer a free trial, although you can schedule a free demo.

Cin7 Features

Cin7’s advanced features will take some time to find your way around. Inventory management experience is definitely a plus here. Thankfully, you can schedule an appointment with a company representative to walk you through the system if you need some one-on-one assistance.

Let’s go through just some of the tools Cin7 gives you. Some of these features are not available on all plan levels:

Cloud-based inventory management
Inventory planning
Accurate costing
Barcode inventory
Batch, FIFO (first in, first out), and serial tracking
Consignment, dropshipping, and return inventory management
Real-time reporting and insights
Customizable reports
Custom inventory fields
Automated inventory management
Preorder and backorder management
Multiple warehouses
Sales order entry
POS
eCommerce order management

When To Use Cin7 Inventory

Many Cin7 users note in their reviews that the software seemed tailored for their own type of business. In truth, any mid- or large-sized retailer would stand to benefit from Cin7’s advanced business features. From inventory management to POS, warehouse management, third-party logistics, and eCommerce, Cin7 has it all.

4. Shopify

Shopify

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Best for eCommerce inventory management.

You probably know Shopify for its SaaS eCommerce software. It’s one of our favorite online store providers, and for good reason. However, Shopify’s inventory management system is well-developed enough to warrant attention on its own.

Shopify’s inventory features place it at the top of the heap when it comes to eCommerce inventory. Combine that with Shopify’s POS, payment processing, gateway, and marketing features, and you have one formidable package for merchants.

Pros

Easy to use
Numerous integrations
Attractive templates

Cons

Add-ons often necessary
Variable customer support

Shopify Pricing

Shopify offers three subscription plans: Basic Shopify ($29/month), Shopify ($79/month), and Advanced Shopify ($299/month). Discounts are offered for annual and biennial subscriptions, and you can test out the software with a free 14-day trial period.

Shopify Features

Shopify’s list of features could fill a whole article. We’ll pay particular attention to the inventory features here.

List unlimited products and unlimited images
Product variations
Bulk import/export
Multilingual and guest checkout
Automatic shipping rates
Customer segmentation
Dropshipping
Point of sale
Marketing and SEO features
Web hosting

Shopify also integrates with Stocky, an inventory management product for brick-and-mortar retailers. It’s available for free to users who have Shopify POS enabled and use Shopify POS Pro for at least one store location.

When To Use Shopify Inventory

If you’re already using Shopify, you’ll want to take advantage of the inventory management features. Also, if you’re looking to set up an online store and you anticipate having considerable inventory management needs, the Shopify platform warrants your strong consideration.

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5. QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online

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Best for businesses looking for a great inventory + accounting combo.

Intuit QuickBooks has long been a powerhouse in the accounting software arena. QuickBooks Online, Intuit’s cloud-based accounting solution, boasts 2.2 million users and a host of great accounting features and integrations. But while QuickBooks Online is best known for accounting, it also offers strong support for inventory management.

Let’s go through what QuickBooks Online provides from an inventory perspective.

Pros

Easy to use
Advanced invoicing features
Numerous integrations
Good tax support

Cons

Occasionally unintuitive
Expensive

QuickBooks Online Pricing

QuickBooks Online offers four subscription plans that start at $25/month and go up to $150/month, depending on the number of users and the features you access. To access the inventory features, you’ll want to sign up for one of the top-tier plans: QuickBooks Plus ($70/month) or QuickBooks Advanced $150/month).

QuickBooks Online frequently offers a discount on its website, so be sure to check for promotions before you sign on to a QuickBooks plan. You can also sign up for a free 30-day trial before you purchase, although if you access the free trial you will not be eligible for discounts.

QuickBooks Online Features

Here’s what QuickBooks Online has to offer in terms of inventory management, at the Plus and Advanced levels:

Save default sales prices, purchase prices, SKU numbers, images, and item descriptions
Create item bundles for easy invoicing
Set re-order points and see current stock level when creating invoices
Invoicing
Estimates
Client portal
Contact management
Expense tracking
Bank reconciliation
Chart of accounts
Accounts payable
Order and print checks
Project management
Time tracking
Reports
Budgeting

When To Use QuickBooks Online

It’s true that businesses requiring advanced inventory capabilities may not find what they need with QuickBooks Online. However, if you’re a small- to mid-sized businesses looking for inventory management features in your SaaS accounting software, QuickBooks Online should serve your business well.

6. Vend

Vend by Lightspeed

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Best for businesses looking for a great inventory and POS combo.

Vend was launched in 2010, making it one of the first cloud-based point of sale systems. It’s one of our highest-rated POS solutions, and it also includes a very capable inventory management system.

When considering all the robust and scalable retail management features provided, Vend is a great fit for small stores and large enterprises alike.

Pros

Loyalty program
eCommerce integrations
Multistore capability
Free trial & free plan available

Cons

Basic reporting tools
Expensive monthly cost

Vend Pricing

Vend offers various subscription levels, so you don’t have to pay for more features than you need. Before you buy, you can test Vend with a free 14-day limited trial. In addition to the free plan, Vend offers these plans: Lite ($99/month), Pro ($129/month), and Enterprise (contact the company for a custom quote).

Vend Features

Vend’s inventory management system allows you to do the following:

Add, remove, and edit inventory items
Track stock levels and any special taxes, costs, or prices for your products
Import/export your inventory to/from a CSV file
Import, create, and print barcode labels
Purchase order management
Multi-channel inventory management
eCommerce integration (Pro and Enterprise plans only)
Loyalty program
Customer management
Price books
Flexible interface
Transaction options
Reporting

When To Use Vend

Businesses looking for strong inventory management features in their accounting software have good reason to consider Vend. Users like it for its intuitive simplicity, its relative affordability, and, indeed, its robust inventory management system.

7. TradeGecko

TradeGecko

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Best for international businesses.

QuickBooks Commerce is a cloud-based inventory management system for small- to medium-sized businesses. Formerly known as TradeGecko, QuickBooks Commerce’s international focus continues to make this software stand out from the competition. The company counts a total of 24,000 users in 104 countries, and to those users, QuickBook Commerce offers a strong inventory management system along with reporting, support for multiple users, seamless integration with top eCommerce platforms, and much more.

Pros

Good for a variety of business sizes
Advanced features
Good value for the cost
Free trial available

Cons

Number of users and orders tied to plan level
Limited features on lower-tier plans

QuickBooks Commerce Pricing

QuickBooks Commerce offers five subscription plans, each with limits on users and orders as well as increasing access to advanced features. That allows you to customize the price you’ll pay for your specific business needs. The plans include Founder ($39/month). Lite ($79/month), Small Business ($199/month), Business ($599/month, and Premium ($799/month). You can test the software with a free 14-day trial, no credit card needed. Prices listed are for annual subscriptions; if you choose to pay monthly, add 20% to the total.

While it’s not unusual to find limits on orders and users on lower-level plans, it’s worth noting that the base plan, Founder, allows only 10 sales orders per month. That limit increases to 100 monthly orders on the next plan up and tops out at 5,000 monthly orders on the Premium plan.

QuickBooks Commerce Features

QuickBooks Inventory offers a basic feature set on its entry-level plans, with increasing access to advanced features as plans go up in level. Here is the starting feature set:

Multiple currencies
Zonal shipping rates
24/7 email support
Mobile sales app
B2B commerce platforms
Custom inventory, order, invoice, payment, and manufacturing reports
Automation

Advanced features on the Small Business plan and higher include:

Multiple warehouses
Batch & expiry tracking
Production orders and bills of materials
Setup assistance & account manager
Demand forecasting
API access
FBA integration
Warehouse management apps
Multi-language documents

When To Use QuickBooks Commerce

Limitations on lower level plans may make QuickBooks Commerce unsuitable for smaller businesses. However, large organizations doing international businesses will find a lot to like about QuickBooks Commerce, as will wholesale and direct-to-consumer businesses.