Acctivate vs Katana (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Acctivate if

• Fits if your books are in QuickBooks and you run Windows PCs
• Works for small distributors that need costing and assemblies

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use a Mac or want a browser-only tool, as the listing is Windows only
• Not for you if you want a price first, since packages come through a quote form
• Tight if you are one person, as the Starter package covers one user and Professional five
• Watch out: mobile warehouse, EDI, bin-location and web store tools are package modules
• Skip it if you want to try free, as no trial is listed

Pick Katana if

• Fits if you make your own products and need bills of materials and work orders
• Works for food and cosmetics makers who must trace batches for recalls

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to see a price before booking a sales call
• Tight if you're staying free, as the 30 SKUs count every variant and material
• Not for you if your team wants native phone apps rather than a browser app
• Watch out: the paid plan is sold as one yearly contract, with no monthly option on record
• Watch out: the free plan has no live support, only the AI assistant and knowledge base

Acctivate

• No prices are published: packages are quoted through a Get my price form or the sales team.
• The Starter package covers a single user; Professional is described as covering five users.
• The pricing page lists mobile warehouse, EDI, bin-location and web store tools as package modules, so not every feature is in every package.

Katana

• No price is published beyond the free plan: Advantage is quoted after a scoping call and sold as one annual contract.
• The free plan stops at 30 SKUs, counting each product or material variant, and has no live support.
• There are no native phone apps; the warehouse app runs in a mobile browser at wh.katanamrp.com.

Acctivate

Inventory costing and tracing

Unlimited products, landed cost, lot and serial tracking, and average, standard, LIFO, FIFO or actual costing methods.

QuickBooks sync

Two-way integration with QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, so accounting stays in QuickBooks.

Multi-channel orders

Brings in-store, phone, web store and EDI orders into one workflow, with quotes, kitting and drop ship handling.

Warehouse tools

Multiple warehouses, counts and transfers; bin locations, picklists and mobile barcode receiving sit in the higher packages.

Reports and alerts

Over 100 standard reports, a customizable dashboard and alerts for reorders, credit holds and overdue invoices.

Manufacturing and assemblies

Handles discrete, process, refurbish and custom production runs; listed as part of the Professional package.

Katana

Production planning

Multi-level bills of materials, routings and work orders, with materials assigned to orders and finished goods returned to stock when production ends.

Live inventory across locations

Stock for products and materials across warehouses, production sites and partner locations, with transfers and a real-time availability planner.

Batch and serial traceability

Track lot numbers, serial numbers and expiry dates from supplier to customer to answer recalls and audits.

Sales and purchase orders

Orders from Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce and wholesale in one list, purchase orders with landed costs, price lists and multiple currencies.

Warehouse app and barcode scanning

A browser-based warehouse app for receiving, picking, packing and stocktakes with a phone camera or a rugged scanner.

AI replenishment and MCP

AI purchase-order suggestions based on demand history, and an MCP connection to query and update Katana from Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini.

Acctivate

Pricing could not be confirmed. See acctivate.com.

Katana

• Free$0

  Up to 30 SKUs, unlimited users, integrations and inventory locations, all features and API access, with self-serve setup.

• AdvantageCustom

  Unlimited SKUs on one annual contract that includes guided setup, custom integrations and reports, a success manager and 24/7 live support.