Most inventory software is built for warehouses and enterprises, then sold down to small businesses that do not need most of it. A small team wants to know what it has, where it sits, what is running low and who took the last one. That is a different job from running a forty-person warehouse, and the right tool respects the difference.
This guide compares six tools small businesses actually use, with real pricing and what each does best as of June 2026. They do not all solve the same problem. Some track tools and assets, some run sales orders, some handle manufacturing, some power a retail counter. The aim is to match the tool to how you work, not to crown one winner for everyone.
About this comparison
Pricing was verified in June 2026 from each vendor's own site. Vendors change prices often, so confirm on the vendor site before you commit.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Free option | Paid from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomyScan | 15-day trial, no card | $19/mo | Small teams tracking stock, tools and equipment simply |
| Sortly | Free (1 user, 100 items) | $49/mo | Visual, mobile asset and inventory tracking |
| inFlow Inventory | Free trial, no free plan | ~$149/mo | Wholesalers and distributors who run orders |
| Zoho Inventory | Free (50 orders/mo) | $39/mo | Ecommerce and order-driven sellers, Zoho users |
| Katana | Free (30 SKUs) | $299/mo | Small manufacturers and makers |
| Square for Retail | Free, plus processing fees | ~$49/mo per location | Retail and food businesses that take payments on Square |
1 HomyScan
HomyScan keeps inventory simple for teams under about ten people. You scan items with your phone, organize them into folders and locations, and the whole crew sees the same live count. It tracks stock, tools, parts and equipment, which fits trades, field teams, offices and small operations that are not pushing thousands of SKUs a month.
Why it sits first here comes down to focus, for three reasons.
It leaves out what a small team never uses. There is no ERP, no manufacturing engine, no ecommerce order system to wade through. You get scanning, search, reorder alerts and who-has-what, not a screen full of features you will never open. Fewer moving parts means the tool gets used instead of abandoned.
It is built by a team that came from the commerce world, not from enterprise software. That background shows in what made the cut. The product reflects what a small business actually needs to run day to day, rather than a long feature checklist written for big companies.
And it stays focused on purpose. The inventory tool a small team keeps using is the simple one. HomyScan does the core job well and resists the urge to become everything, which is exactly why it sticks.
Key features Phone barcode and QR scanning, Excel and CSV import that turns each row into an item, reorder points with low-stock alerts, sync between the office PC and the phone on site, team roles for who edits and who views, item photos, multi-location tracking, a dashboard with live value and a full movement audit trail, and offline scanning that syncs on reconnect. Data sits on encrypted European servers.
Pricing Free for 15 days with no card, then plans from $19 per month, the lowest entry price in this list.
HomyScan tracks what you own and who has it. It is not an ERP and does not run manufacturing builds or ecommerce fulfilment. If that is your need, read on.
2 Sortly
Sortly is a mobile-first inventory and asset app that small teams like for its visual, folder-based layout and photo-heavy item cards. It covers similar ground to HomyScan, with phone scanning, label generation, custom fields and low-stock alerts, and it has a long track record with field and service businesses.
Key features Mobile barcode and QR scanning, barcode and QR label creation, custom folders, fields and tags, item photos, low-stock alerts, activity reports, offline access and multi-location tracking.
Pricing A free plan covers 1 user and 100 items. Paid plans start at $49 per month for Advanced, with Ultra around $149 per month and higher tiers on custom quotes. Annual billing saves 20%, and paid plans include a 14-day trial.
Reviewers say the cost climbs quickly once you add users, items or higher-tier reporting, so price the plan you will actually need, not the entry tier.
3 inFlow Inventory
inFlow targets small wholesalers, distributors and B2B sellers who need to manage orders, not just count stock. It handles purchase orders, sales orders and a built-in B2B showroom where customers browse your catalog and order, which is where it earns its place.
Key features Inventory and order management, reorder points, purchase and sales orders, a B2B showroom portal, barcode support with a phone or a dedicated scanner, document and label designers, QuickBooks and Xero sync, multi-location, and a manufacturing add-on for basic assemblies.
Pricing No free plan, but a free trial with no card. Plans start at about $149 per month billed annually (around $186 monthly) for Entrepreneur, covering 2 team members and 100 sales orders a month. Small Business runs $436 per month and Mid-Size $999 per month.
It is a step up in price and complexity. The mobile app is weaker than the desktop experience, and costs grow with order volume and extra users.
4 Zoho Inventory
Zoho Inventory is built around orders and ecommerce, and it shines if you already live in the Zoho ecosystem or sell across channels. It connects to Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon and Zoho Books, and its free tier makes it easy to start.
Key features Item and barcode tracking, label printing, purchase and sales orders, serial and batch tracking, multi-warehouse on higher tiers, and integrations with more than 40 tools including the main ecommerce platforms.
Pricing A free plan covers 50 orders a month, 1 user and 2 locations. Paid plans run Standard at $39 per month, Professional at $99, Premium at $159 and Enterprise at $299, with annual billing cutting the entry price to about $29 per month.
Every tier caps your monthly orders, so growing sellers move up the ladder. It fits order-driven and online businesses better than teams that just track tools and assets.
5 Katana Cloud Inventory
Katana is for small manufacturers and makers who build or assemble products. It connects raw materials, production and sales in one view, with bills of materials and manufacturing orders that basic inventory apps do not offer.
Key features Real-time stock and material tracking, bills of materials, manufacturing orders, production scheduling, purchase management, and integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, QuickBooks and Xero.
Pricing A free plan is limited to 30 SKUs, 3 locations and Shopify only. The paid Core plan starts at $299 per month with usage-based pricing and no per-seat fees, and add-ons for traceability and manufacturing raise the total.
It is the most specialized and the most expensive entry here. The value only makes sense if you genuinely run production. If you are not manufacturing, it is more than you need.
6 Square for Retail
Square for Retail pairs inventory with a point of sale, so it suits shops, boutiques, pop-ups and food businesses that take payments at a counter. Inventory updates as you sell, and a free online store comes with every plan.
Key features Inventory tracking, low-stock alerts, bulk item import, barcode scanning with a phone or scanner, stock sync across locations, a free online store, and purchase orders and vendor profiles on higher plans.
Pricing A free plan at $0 per month, with payment processing fees of about 2.6% plus 10 cents per in-person sale. The Plus plan runs about $49 per month per location, and Premium is custom.
The value is tied to taking payments through Square, and the processing fees add up on volume. For pure stock, tool or asset tracking without a checkout, it is the wrong shape.
How to choose
Start from the job, not the brand.
If you want to know what you have, where it is and who took it, and you want it running this afternoon, a focused scan-first tool fits best, and HomyScan is the simplest and cheapest entry at $19 a month. If you run sales and purchase orders for a wholesale or B2B operation, inFlow is built for that. If you sell online or across channels, Zoho Inventory and its ecommerce links make sense. If you manufacture or assemble products, Katana is the specialist. And if you sell at a counter, Square ties inventory to the till.
| Your situation | The fit |
|---|---|
| Track stock, tools and equipment for a small team | HomyScan |
| Visual, photo-heavy asset tracking | Sortly |
| Wholesale or B2B with purchase and sales orders | inFlow Inventory |
| Ecommerce or multi-channel selling | Zoho Inventory |
| Manufacturing or assembly with bills of materials | Katana |
| Retail or food with a checkout | Square for Retail |
The best inventory software for a small business is the one your team actually keeps using, and that is almost always the one without the features you do not need. If your job is tracking stock, tools and equipment for a small team, you can try HomyScan free for 15 days with no card and see if it sticks.
The simplest, cheapest entry for small teams
HomyScan turns your phone into the scanner and leaves out the enterprise weight. Set up your items, locations and minimums this afternoon.
- Scan a barcode to add, find or adjust an item
- One live count everyone shares, no overwrites
- Low-stock alerts before the shelf is empty
- Check-in / check-out so tools come back
- Import your spreadsheet, every row becomes an item
- From $19/month, free for 15 days, no card