We know all too well that every company has budget constraints. But that shouldn’t stop you from exploring inventory management software options that can, ultimately, save you money in other areas — and if free inventory software can meet your needs, all the better.
In this article, we’ll cover our analyst-picked list of the five best free inventory management systems, along with their features, benefits and limitations, then break down how to choose the right one.
Compare Top Inventory Management Software Leaders
For the scope of this article, we only considered the freemium version of a product or solutions that are completely free to use. We haven’t included products that only offer a free trial. Using that starting point, our analysts used an in-depth research process to understand the market. They then recommended the best 5 products based on a range of criteria.
We looked at the following criteria: feature comprehensiveness, product popularity, user reviews and ratings, SelectHub in-house data, hands-on experience, market analysts’ reports, thought leaders’ opinions and information availability in the public domain.
Products with better user reviews were given preference, provided they adequately met the other criteria listed.
Best Free Inventory Management Systems
At its core, inventory management software is all about digitally organizing, replenishing and tracking your stock, and there are free options out there to help.
We’re not just talking about your typical two-week free trial, either. These are forever-free solutions, meaning you can use them as long as you don’t outgrow their limitations and need something more robust.
But free inventory software comes with limitations, too. So let’s explore the good and bad of some of the best free inventory apps available today.
| Product |  |
 |
 |
 |
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| Analyst Rating | 76 | N/A | 58 | N/A | N/A |
| User Sentiment Score | 90% | N/A | N/A | N/A | 100% |
| Free Trial | 14 days | 15 days | N/A | 30 days | 14 days |
| Company Size | S M | S M L | S M L | N/A | S M |
| Starting Price (premium plans) | $59 | N/A | N/A | $9 | $0 |
Compare Top Inventory Management Software Leaders
Zoho Inventory
Zoho Inventory is a cloud-based solution for inventory management that serves businesses of all sizes. It offers a free plan that lets you manage your stock, sales and purchases. The platform can also integrate with existing tools.
While the free tier provides limited automation (only five scheduled reports per month), it’s a great option to get started. If your business expands, you can easily upgrade to one of their paid plans — Standard, Professional, Premium or Enterprise — for more features.
You can check out Zoho’s pricing page for a detailed breakdown of what the free plan offers.
View sales activity, inventory summaries, purchase orders, product details and more on web and mobile dashboards. Source
What Users Love About Zoho Inventory
- Stock Adjustment
- Automated Reordering
- Bundling and Kitting
Top Benefits
- Centralize Data: Link to payment gateways and integrate various types of business software, including:
- Customize Workflows: Design invoices in different languages and personalize them. Plus, save time by creating email templates to quickly draft communication with clients and suppliers.
- Manage Shortages: Keep sales going and avoid shortages with dropshipping (suppliers ship directly) and backorder (customers wait for restock) capabilities.
- Automate Reporting: Set up reports (up to five per month) to get automatic updates on your inventory delivered directly to your inbox.
- Modify Inventory Data Anywhere: Use the free mobile app (Android or iPhone) to see your inventory dashboard, manage orders and stock, scan barcodes and more.
Primary Features
- Product Listing: Easily list your products with details like price, availability and SKU. You can even create item variations based on size, color or quantity.
- Stock Adjustment: Manually adjust stock levels to account for shrinkage or set the system to do it automatically for damaged or expired items.
- Automated Reordering: Automate ordering by setting custom reorder points, low-stock reminders and preferred vendors.
- Bundling & Kitting: Group related items together by brand, type or size to create attractive bundles for your customers.
- Streamlined Fulfillment: Fulfill orders by shipping directly from suppliers to customers to reduce on-hand inventory needs.
Limitations
- Limited to one user and location.
- Limited to 50 orders, 50 invoices, 20 purchase orders and 20 bills per month.
Features Not Available in the Free Version
- Pricing List
- Barcode Generation
- Purchase Approval
- Multi-Currency Transactions
- Serial and Batch Number Tracking
Platform:
Company Size Suitability: S M L
Odoo Inventory
Odoo offers a unique deal on free software. You get a single product loaded with features, including inventory and MRP software absolutely free, forever. But there’s a catch: if you need other business tools, like finance or HR, you’ll need their paid subscription.
If you haven’t used a free Odoo app yet, their inventory software is a steal. It handles unlimited users and locations, with features to manage your stock, value items, track movement and generate reports.
Visit Odoo’s inventory features page to learn more about the application, or check out the highlights below.
Use a real-time kanban board for an inventory overview of data like receipts, transfers, orders and more. Source
What Users Love About Odoo Inventory
- Operation Management
- Replenishment Management
- Inventory Valuation
Top Benefits
- Improve Productivity: Scan barcodes, get low-stock alerts and search products by location or code to go through inventory jobs. Manage reservations to keep things organized.
- Organize Products: Sort products as “storable,” “can’t be stocked” or “services.” Set automatic reminders to pick expiring items first. Customize product variations based on customer preferences and buy what sells best.
- Enhance Traceability: Create custom fields for warehouse transfer documents and product details. Use unique serial numbers to monitor your inventory more closely.
- Cater to Customers: Customers can use unique portals to track orders, invoices and deliveries in one location.
- Create Vendor Catalogs: Upload vendor product lists with details directly into the system. Manage all your buying needs in one place.
Primary Features
- Storage Management: Manage locations from rooms and aisles down to specific shelves and pallet racks. Define storage and picking strategies, including FIFO, LIFO, nearest zone and more.
- Operation Management: Create role-based to-do lists and priority deadlines to keep projects on track. View a dedicated dashboard for all inventory tasks, including:
- Returns: Set predefined routes for return condition assessment, refurbishing, restocking and disposal.
- Pick & Pack: Create batches automatically based on shipping carriers, serial numbers, quantities and weights. Create barcodes for sealed packages to track their contents, including location updates.
- Scrap: Generate reports with scrapped products’ details, such as costs, reasons and volumes.
- Inventory Adjustment: Adjust inventory counts on various levels, like zones, lots, products and pallets.
- Advanced Routes: Set advanced routes for shipping (dropshipping) and receiving (cross-docking). Specify custom routes for multiple warehouses and subcontract materials as needed.
- Replenishment Management: Use real-time demand forecasting to determine needs. Define reordering rules to automatically create purchase orders when a stock falls below a certain threshold. Use lead times to drive just-in-time inventory management.
- Inventory Valuation: Choose from continental or Anglo-Saxon accounting. Use FIFO, average cost or standard price product costing methods to monitor inventory. Add in landed costs for products. Set up a perpetual inventory system for real-time insights into any product.
Limitations
- It lacks inventory tracking for bundled items.
Features Not Available in the Free Version
- Stock Movement Correction
- Automated Scheduling
- QR Code Support
Platform:
Company Size Suitability: S M L
Sortly
Just like Zoho, Sortly is an online inventory management system that helps you manage your stock, whether you’re a one-person show or a growing company. The best part? They offer a free plan forever! Paid plans include advanced, ultra and enterprise.
With this free plan, you get a one-user license and can store up to 100 items using folders and tags. Plus, it comes with handy features like working offline on your phone, automatic syncing across devices and helpful guides to get you started.
Note: The free plan doesn’t let you connect Sortly with other apps or use APIs.
Create and edit stock profiles and category profiles with images of specific items. Source
What Users Love About Sortly
- Barcodes and QR Codes
- Activity Reports
- Inventory Summary Report
Top Benefits
- Sync Inventory Data: Update inventory information using any device to sync details across the system in real time.
- Customize Tracking & Categorization: Create custom folders for product categorization. Include unique product detail fields to tailor your inventory tracking. Further segment items using tags, no matter which folder you store them in.
- Control Access: Customize role-based permissions to control who has access to what information, such as only allowing procurement teams to manage purchase orders.
- Go Offline: Track and edit inventory data offline to automatically update the system when you reestablish a connection.
- Import & Transfer Data: Import and transfer your existing inventory data into the system, minimizing manual migration needs and costs.
Primary Features
- Item Photos: Create a visual inventory to easily track your items’ appearance and condition.
- Inventory Lists: Maintain detailed inventory lists for auditing, budgeting and forecasting purposes.
- Barcodes & QR Codes: Create unique barcodes or QR codes. Use your phone to scan and update product info on the go.
- Activity Reports: You can track who made changes to products, folders and tags.
- Inventory Summary Report: Get a quick summary of your entire inventory value and quantity. Filter for specifics!
Limitations
- It lacks role-based permission customization.
- The platform doesn’t provide low-stock alerts.
- No activity summary reports — users have to comb through full activity reports.
Features Not Available in the Free Version
- QR Code Label Generation
- Barcode Label Generation
- Data-Based Alerts
- Item-Flow Reports
- Slack Integration
Platform:
Company Size Suitability: S M L
SalesBinder
SalesBinder also offers a free plan that lets one user track up to 100 items in their inventory. The bonus? With CRM capabilities, you can also manage your customer information, like names and contact details.
SalesBinder also offers paid plans with more features, so you can pick what you need and avoid paying extra. However, there’s a heads-up for Android users: right now, their mobile app is only compatible with iPhones.
Filter inventory by location, category, in stock and more for a quick overview of select items. Source
What Users Love About SalesBinder
- Bundling and Kitting
- Stocks Replenishment
- Dropshipping
Top Benefits
- Automate Shipping Updates: Stay informed about your deliveries by setting up automatic shipping notifications from over 60 major carriers like FedEx, UPS and USPS.
- Enhance Estimating & Invoicing: Create estimates and invoices using real-time inventory data. Set estimates to automatically expire if not accepted and convert approved ones to invoices with a single click.
- Operate Globally: Use any currency for sales, invoices, estimates and purchase orders. No more currency conversions!
- Manage Customer Relationships: Use built-in CRM tools to create individual customer profiles. Add notes, view billing histories and include multiple contacts per profile. Access an automated activity feed, including information like invoices created or payments logged.
- Customize Workflows: Create custom categories and fields for all inventory items. Set up accounts with tailored permissions to customize employee workflows.
Primary Features
- Bundling & Kitting: Group items together to sell as a single unit. Receive automatic quantity updates for each product in sold kits. Create nested kits, up to three levels, to automatically assemble multiple kits for a single order.
- Stock Replenishment: Mark purchase orders as received to automatically add items to inventory. Receive automatic weighted average cost calculations for changes in price per unit.
- Unit of Measure: Set up and view custom units of measure for any logged inventory item, such as average cost per unit, latest cost per unit and selling price.
- Dropshipping: Use dropshipping purchase orders to have your vendors ship items directly to customers, limiting your need for on-hand inventory.
- Purchase Orders: Create and track purchase orders with real-time status updates, such as partially received, received in full, dropshipped and more.
Limitations
- No native Android mobile app.
- It offers only one user license.
Features Not Available in the Free Version
- Active Integrations
- Barcode Scanning
- Mobile Management
Platform:
Company Size Suitability: S M L
Boxstorm
Boxstorm is a cloud-based free inventory management system. While the free plan includes one user license and location, it limits the number of items you can track to 25 and transactions to 100. The platform offers only one paid plan if you need to upgrade later.
The good news is that, unlike other applications on our list, Boxstorm integrates directly with QuickBooks Online.
Autofill purchase order details, like vendor number and payment terms, based on the vendor profiles you create in Boxstorm. Source
What Users Love About Boxstorm
- Barcode Scanning
- Reports and Analytics
- Product Search
Top Benefits
- Expand Inventory: Create up to 15,000 items in the system, allowing you to purchase, track and sell a vast catalog of materials and products.
- Integrate Accounting: Integrate QuickBooks Online to facilitate two-way data exchange between inventory and accounting departments.
- Transfer Data: Use CSV file format to import and export data, including cycle counts, orders, customers, vendors, products, locations, reports and more.
- Become an Expert: Make the most of your free software through an online help center and training videos. Access free online training webinars to further advance your expertise with the platform.
- Reduce & Correct Errors: Audit every part of the inventory system to identify errors automatically.
Primary Features
- Barcode Scanning: Use your smartphone or other mobile device to scan barcodes and add, remove, move or count your inventory items. Plus, take action on whole groups of items, like moving them to a new location with a single scan.
- Item Cost Tracking: Track item costs from the moment you order them until they reach your customers.
- Reports and Analytics: You can generate different reports to view the total value of your inventory, cycle counts and current stock levels.
- Product Search: Search for inventory items on various levels, including sub-locations, aisle numbers and bins.
- Min or Max Levels: Set minimum and maximum stock levels for your items. This helps you make informed purchasing decisions and receive automatic alerts when it’s time to reorder.
Limitations
- Limited to one person and location.
- No expiration date tracking and purchasing report generation capabilities.
Features Not Available in the Free Version
- API Access
Platform:
Company Size Suitability: S M L
Best Free Inventory Management Software Features Comparison
| Zoho Inventory | Odoo Inventory | Sortly | SalesBinder | Boxstorm | |
| Product Management | Up to 50 orders and product listings based on size, availability and SKUs | Unlimited products with unique customization and SKUs | Up to 100 product items | Unlimited product listings and tracking up to 100 items along with unique SKUs, invoices, estimates and purchase orders | Create up to 15000 items but track 25 product items and 100 transactions |
| Inventory Visibility | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integration Capabilities | Accounting and eCommerce | Limited (includes Odoo purchase and sales app) | None in the free version | No | Accounting and eCommerce |
| Reporting | Automated stock level reporting (up to five per month). | Basic stock level and sales reports | Activity and inventory summary reports. No activity summary reports in the free plans. | Basic stock levels reporting | Inventory values, cycle counts and stock level reporting |
| Barcode Scanning | Yes | Yes | Yes (but QR and barcode label generation require paid plans) | No | Yes |
| Mobile App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (only for iOS) | Yes |
What Is Free Inventory Software?
Free inventory software, as the name suggests, is a no-cost tool that helps businesses manage their stock. It lets you track what you have on hand, from raw materials to finished products. Some solutions even warn you when it’s time to restock.
These free tools are perfect for small businesses or those just getting started. They’re easy to use — just download the app, enter some business details, add your products and connect it to your existing systems.
Connecting your inventory app to other tools you use, like CRM software, eCommerce solutions and accounting software, can help streamline inventory management. However, not all free inventory solutions offer these integration capabilities, so make sure you look for these features in your software.
Compare Top Inventory Management Software Leaders
How To Choose the Right Free Inventory Software
Unlike other software selection decisions, choosing free software is low-risk. You may lose time and energy, but you won’t waste a chunk of your budget on a failed implementation.
That doesn’t mean you should go in blind, though. You can still strategize to minimize time and effort losses.
After all, you don’t gamble with your business, right? You make strategic investments and decisions. How you choose a free system — or cheap inventory management software, if you decide a free solution won’t cut it — shouldn’t be a gamble, either.
Here’s what you need to know to choose free inventory software.
Feature Needs
First and foremost, you need to consider your needs and resources.
Free solutions are great, but they generally won’t be able to meet robust inventory management software requirements. They typically have capability and user limitations.
For example, you likely won’t get advanced reporting with free inventory management. You may get basic reporting (valuation, cycle count, on-hand, traceability), but you won’t get advanced reporting (custom, financial, age).
Determine your must-have vs. nice-to-have features so you can compare free platforms and see which are able to meet your requirements. Some capabilities that may or may not come with free inventory software include:
- Vendor and customer portals
- Barcode generation
- Automation
- Purchase and sales approvals
- Serial and batch number tracking
- Picklists
- Price lists
Your needs extend beyond features. You should also consider who needs access to the system and how many locations you need to track inventory at. If the answer is more than one for either, chances are you’ll need to pay for software (unless you haven’t chosen your free Odoo software yet).
Growth Potential and Goals
The flip side of your needs is your resources. While budget may not be a critical up-front consideration for free software, it’ll come into play down the road.
For example, if you outgrow the solution, what’s it going to cost to upgrade to a paid tier from the same vendor or migrate everything to a completely new platform?
Look into vendor pricing while exploring free solutions to see if you’d eventually be willing to upgrade for that price — after all, migrating to a completely new paid system will cost you more.
Integrations
Data silos are costly and problematic in their own right, so integration is a key consideration. If your business systems can’t communicate effectively, you could end up spending hours transferring data manually, leaving you more vulnerable to errors.
Integrations can be hit-or-miss with free inventory management applications, though.
For example, Zoho Inventory’s free product integrates with various types of other business tools. On the other hand, SalesBinder’s free product doesn’t include active integrations.
If you have other critical business applications — chances are you do — you have to decide how important it is to you that they can exchange information. If you’re willing and have the capacity to transfer data manually, you may not need integrations. But that won’t be the case for many.
Vendor Shortlist
Once you’ve nailed down those previous considerations — feature needs, growth potential and integrations — you can start comparing and shortlisting vendors.
Don’t get stuck looking for a perfect fit. We’re talking about free software, after all. But you should be able to find some products that meet your highest priorities.
From there, it’s a matter of testing them out. Like we mentioned above, you’re only losing time and effort to try out a few and see which one clicks.
Compare Top Inventory Management Software Leaders
FAQs
Yes, Zoho Inventory has a free plan, but it provides fewer features, customization options and automation. If you need robust features, it has paid plans (Standard, Professional, Premium or Enterprise) for different business needs.
Sure! Spreadsheets like Excel can help you manage your stock. You can use them to label, track, categorize and even budget for your inventory. However, Excel is better for small businesses with a limited inventory. Managing a large inventory with spreadsheets can get difficult.
The easiest way to track inventory is with pen and paper. You can just count your stock regularly, like every week or two. But as your business expands, it can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
Similar to Excel, Google Sheets lets you track inventory with templates. It’s a free option, but like spreadsheets, it might not be ideal for managing large or complex inventories.
Compare Top Inventory Management Software Leaders
Next Steps
Knowing about some of the top free inventory software available is a great starting point — but don’t stop there. You need to compare these with other available solutions to be sure you’re getting a product that meets your needs.
If you’re ready to start comparing, check out our free comparison report. It’s interactive, so you can see these and other key players stack up against your requirements, how users reviewed them and what our analysts have to say about them.
What do you think sets a free inventory system apart from its competitors? Let us know in the comments below.