The Best Zoho Inventory Alternatives in 2026

Zoho Inventory is online inventory and order-management software, strong on multiple warehouses, sales and purchase orders, shipping and online-store integrations. The books of accounts live in Zoho Books, Xero or QuickBooks Online, and Zoho's point of sale and payroll are separate products. That suits plenty of businesses — and it's also why many go looking for an alternative.

Some want stock, the counter and the accounts in one system. Others make their own products and need bills of materials, sell mainly from a shop, or only need to keep track of tools and supplies. This guide compares seven Zoho Inventory alternatives and says honestly which kind of business each one suits.

Zoho Inventory alternatives at a glance

How to choose a Zoho Inventory alternative

Four questions narrow the list before you look at features:

• Where do you sell? At a counter, on invoice, through online stores, or a mix. Counter sales need a point of sale tied to stock; online selling needs channel integrations.
• How many stock locations do you run? One shop or warehouse, or several with transfers between them.
• Do you make what you sell? If so, you need bills of materials, production orders and the real cost of each batch.
• Do you want the books in the same system? Most inventory tools sync with a separate accounting app. An ERP keeps stock and the ledger in one place.

Our Zoho Inventory alternative page has a fuller six-question checklist and a head-to-head comparison of Zoho Inventory and ERP Nexl.

1. ERP Nexl: stock, POS and accounts in one system

ERP Nexl is a cloud ERP for shops, wholesalers, distributors and small manufacturers. Inventory is worked out from every sale, purchase, return, stock adjustment and production order, so stock is never typed in. A built-in cash point of sale with barcode scanning and 80 mm receipts, sales and purchase invoices, double-entry accounting, HR & payroll and production all use the same records. It runs in the browser, in English, Arabic or Urdu.

• Choose it if you trade from one shop or warehouse, sell at the counter and on invoice, and want stock, the counter, the books and payroll to agree without connecting several apps.
• Look elsewhere if you need several warehouses, sales and purchase orders, shipping labels, online-store integrations or native mobile apps — ERP Nexl doesn't do those. It also has no low-stock alerts or reorder levels.
• How it's priced: per company, by module, with unlimited team members on every plan. See pricing.

2. Odoo Inventory: free for one app, part of a bigger platform

Odoo Inventory is Odoo's warehouse-management app: multiple warehouses with routes and storage locations, barcode scanning, reordering rules that create purchase orders, delivery orders from sales orders, and shipping labels from carriers such as FedEx, DHL and UPS. Point of sale, eCommerce, Manufacturing and Accounting are separate Odoo apps on the same platform.

• Choose it if you want stock control for any number of users on Odoo's free one-app plan, or you expect to grow into Odoo's other apps later.
• Look elsewhere if you want a POS and accounting alongside your stock without moving to per-user pricing: adding a second app takes you onto a paid plan.
• How it's priced: Odoo's free plan covers one app for unlimited users; with more apps, the Standard and Custom plans are priced per user, per month.

Sources: Odoo Inventory, Odoo Inventory features, Odoo pricing.

3. Cin7 Core: for multichannel product businesses

Cin7 Core, formerly DEAR, is inventory software for manufacturers, retailers, e-commerce sellers and wholesalers. It covers unlimited stock locations, barcode scanning, purchasing and order management, bills of materials, kits and bundles, and batch and expiry tracking. It integrates with Shopify, Amazon and WooCommerce, and with QuickBooks and Xero for the accounts. A point of sale and a B2B portal are paid add-ons.

• Choose it if you sell wholesale, in a shop and online, keep stock in many places, or do light manufacturing with kits and batches.
• Look elsewhere if you want the books of accounts in the same system rather than a connected accounting app.
• How it's priced: three tiers set by the users included, yearly sales-order volume and the number of integrations, with add-ons for extras such as POS, more users and advanced warehouse or production features. There's a free trial.

Sources: Cin7 Core, Cin7 pricing, Cin7 warehouse management.

4. inFlow Inventory: desktop and phone apps for growing teams

inFlow Inventory is aimed at small and mid-size businesses, from solo operators to teams of around 50. It covers multiple locations, barcode generation and scanning, and sales and purchase orders, with assemblies and bills of materials in its Manufacturing edition. It runs on Windows, the web, iPhone and Android, and integrates with Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce and Squarespace, with QuickBooks Online and Xero for the accounts.

• Choose it if your team wants a Windows desktop app as well as phone apps, and you're happy to keep the books in QuickBooks Online or Xero.
• Look elsewhere if you need a counter point of sale and the accounts in the same system as your stock.
• How it's priced: separate plan families for Inventory and Manufacturing, set by team members and locations; inFlow says most plans need a one-time onboarding package. There's a free trial.

Sources: inflowinventory.com, inFlow pricing, inFlow integrations.

5. Katana: for businesses that make what they sell

Katana is built for product businesses selling across several channels and locations, with manufacturing at its centre: multi-level bills of materials with subassemblies, MRP, batch, lot and serial tracking, bin locations and barcode scanning. Sales orders sync from Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Amazon and eBay, and the accounts are kept in QuickBooks Online or Xero.

• Choose it if you manufacture, sell mainly online, and need production planning tied to your sales channels.
• Look elsewhere if you sell over a counter or want the books in the same system.
• How it's priced: a free plan for a small catalogue, and a custom-scoped plan for larger businesses.

Sources: katanamrp.com, Katana pricing, Katana features, Katana integrations.

6. Lightspeed Retail: for shops with an online store

Lightspeed Retail is point-of-sale software for retailers, with inventory across stores, transfers, barcode labels, purchase orders, serial numbers and bundled products. Its own eCom online store is included, it connects to other e-commerce platforms, and the accounts are kept through integrations such as Xero and QuickBooks. It runs on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Windows and Android devices.

• Choose it if you run one or more physical shops and want the counter, stock and an online store from one vendor.
• Look elsewhere if you mainly sell wholesale on invoice, make your own products, or want accounting built in.
• How it's priced: a base plan, plus extra locations and registers; there's a free trial.

Sources: Lightspeed Retail, Lightspeed Retail pricing, Lightspeed inventory management.

7. Sortly: simple tracking for tools, equipment and supplies

Sortly is simple inventory software for keeping track of supplies, materials, tools and equipment, used in fields such as construction, medical, events and property management. It's phone-first, with iOS and Android apps that sync to the cloud and work offline, and it covers folders by location, barcode and QR scanning, labels, pick lists and, on higher plans, purchase orders and a QuickBooks Online integration.

• Choose it if you track things you use rather than goods you sell, and want something your team can pick up on their phones in minutes.
• Look elsewhere if you sell goods and need invoicing, sales orders or a point of sale.
• How it's priced: a free plan, then paid tiers set by the number of items, users and the features you need.

Sources: sortly.com, Sortly pricing, Sortly features.

If you'd rather start from accounting software

• QuickBooks Online is accounting software first, with inventory on its Plus and Advanced plans and no built-in point of sale. See ERP Nexl vs QuickBooks.
• TallyPrime is accounting and inventory software you install on your own computers, with GST and VAT compliance built in and multiple godowns. See ERP Nexl vs TallyPrime.

Which Zoho Inventory alternative fits which business

• A shop, wholesaler or distributor with one location that sells at a counter and on credit invoices: ERP Nexl, with stock, POS, accounts and payroll in one system.
• A business already thinking about a full app platform that wants free stock control to start: Odoo Inventory.
• A multichannel seller with wholesale, retail and online orders across several locations: Cin7 Core.
• A growing team that wants a Windows desktop app and keeps its books in QuickBooks Online or Xero: inFlow Inventory.
• A maker selling online that needs bills of materials and production planning: Katana.
• A retailer with one or more shops and an online store: Lightspeed Retail.
• A team tracking tools, equipment or supplies rather than stock for sale: Sortly.

Still deciding what to look for? Our guide on how to choose inventory management software goes through the questions in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Zoho Inventory?

It depends on how you sell. For a business trading from one location that wants POS, accounting and payroll with its stock, ERP Nexl puts them in one system. For multichannel selling across several warehouses, Cin7 Core or Odoo Inventory fit better; for manufacturing, Katana; for retail shops with an online store, Lightspeed Retail.

Is there a free alternative to Zoho Inventory?

Odoo's free plan covers one app, such as Inventory, for unlimited users. Katana has a free plan for a small catalogue, and Sortly has a free plan for simple tracking. ERP Nexl has a free trial with no credit card, not a free plan.

Which Zoho Inventory alternative includes accounting?

ERP Nexl's Accounting module keeps a double-entry ledger in the same system as your stock, so every sale, purchase and return posts automatically. Odoo has a separate Accounting app on the same platform. Cin7 Core, inFlow, Katana, Lightspeed Retail and Sortly connect to accounting apps such as QuickBooks or Xero.

Which Zoho Inventory alternative has a built-in POS?

Lightspeed Retail is a point of sale first. ERP Nexl includes a cash POS with barcode scanning, held sales and thermal receipts in its base module. Odoo's Point of Sale is a separate app, and Cin7 offers POS as a paid add-on.

Does ERP Nexl support multiple warehouses?

No. ERP Nexl keeps one stock figure per item, for a single shop or warehouse, and doesn't connect to online stores. If you need several warehouses or channel sync, Zoho Inventory or one of the multichannel tools above is a better fit.