BoxHero vs InvenTree (2026): which should you pick?

Pick BoxHero if

• Fits if you run one small stockroom and scan items with a phone
• Works for a team of three that wants cheap inventory

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you stay free, as it stops at 1 member, 100 items and 1 location
• Pricey if you grow, since extra members are $5 each, 1,000 items $10 and 10 locations $10 a month
• Not for you if you need a warehouse system, as it is barcode counting for small teams
• Watch out: the monthly-billing price was not readable on the page, only the $24 annual rate

Pick InvenTree if

• Fits if you are comfortable running your own server and want no licence fees
• Works for makers and small manufacturers who track parts and bills of materials

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you do not want to run a server, as the project lists no hosted plan
• Not for you if you need private support, since help comes through public issue trackers and docs
• Watch out: the project says it is built in spare time and has no fixed release timeline
• Tight if you want phone apps or a vendor to call, because the listing shows neither

BoxHero

• The free Personal Plan is limited to 1 member, 1 location and 100 items.
• Business covers 3 members, 1,000 items and 3 locations; extra members cost $5 each per month, 1,000 items cost $10 per month and 10 locations cost $10 per month.
• Add-ons are available only on the Business plan.
• The monthly-billing price was not readable on the page; the $24 figure is the annual-billing rate.

InvenTree

• You deploy and maintain the server yourself; the site lists no hosted plan from the project.
• Support comes through public issue trackers and docs; private questions are generally not answered, and paid support goes through third-party developers.
• The project says it is built in spare time and has no fixed release timeline.

BoxHero

Barcode scanning

Uses a phone camera or a barcode scanner to add, remove and adjust stock, with custom barcode printing on the Business plan.

Multiple locations

The Business plan tracks and moves inventory across warehouses and stores; the free plan has one location.

Purchases, sales and returns

Business plan users can manage purchase and sales orders with invoicing, record returns against the original order and create bundles.

Alerts, counts and reports

Safety stock levels trigger low-stock alerts, and counts, past quantity lookups and custom reports are included on the paid plan.

Sharing and permissions

Team members get role-based permissions, and an inventory link shares data securely with outside partners.

InvenTree

Parts organized in categories

Parts sit in structured categories so an inventory can be arranged to fit how a business or hobby shop works.

Supplier management

Suppliers and supplier items can be created, edited or deleted and linked to any part.

Stock levels

Shows current stock for a part, for a particular location, or as required by an individual build.

Bill of materials

BOM management lists the sub-parts needed to make a new part.

Plugins and integrations

Built to be extended: it offers several ways to connect to outside applications and to add custom plugins.

Several ways to deploy

Install with Docker, a one-line installer, AppJail on FreeBSD, a manual bare-metal install, or a 1-click DigitalOcean app.

BoxHero

• Personal$0

  1 member, 100 items, 1 location, barcode scanning, custom attributes, Excel import and export and API access.

• Business$24

  per team / month, billed annually ($288 a year)

  3 members, 1,000 items and 3 locations. Adds reports, low-stock alerts, purchase and sales orders, bundles, inventory counts and unlimited history.

InvenTree

• Self-hosted$0

  The full open-source system under the MIT license, which you host and maintain yourself.

BoxHero

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  The pricing page marks its annual option as saving 20% and shows the Business plan at $288 a year.

InvenTree

No public discounts listed.