BoxHero vs Sortly (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 Sortly if

• Fits if you're a contractor or facilities team keeping track of tools and kit
• Works for checking equipment out to people or jobs and getting it back

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you sell online, as there are no store or marketplace connections
• Pricey if you budget on the first-year deal, since the 50% off yearly ends after year one and renewals get 20% off
• Tight if more than two of you need it, as Advanced allows only 2 users and 500 items
• Pricey if you need purchase orders (Ultra, $149 a month), QuickBooks (Premium, $299) or the API (Enterprise only)
• Watch out: the 14-day trial of paid plans needs a credit card

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.

Sortly

• The yearly discount shown on the pricing page is 50% for the first year only; yearly plans then renew with a 20% discount off the monthly rate.
• Each plan caps unique items and users: 500 and 2 on Advanced, 2,000 and 5 on Ultra, 5,000 and 8 on Premium.
• The API, webhooks and single sign-on are on Enterprise only, and QuickBooks Online starts on Premium.
• Its integrations list has no online store or marketplace connections; it is built for tracking stock on hand rather than selling it.

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.

Sortly

Visual item records

Each item has photos, folders, tags, custom fields and units of measure, and quantities of one item do not count against the item limit.

Scan with a phone

Scan barcodes and QR codes in the iOS and Android apps or with a third-party scanner, and keep working offline with automatic sync.

Labels you print yourself

Create QR code labels from Advanced and barcode labels from Ultra for items that arrive without a barcode.

Check-out and jobs

Check items in and out to people, and link them to jobs, projects and work orders to see what was used and what came back.

Alerts and reports

Low-stock and date-based alerts for reorders and maintenance, plus reports on stock value, item moves and user activity.

Purchase orders and reordering

Purchase orders and pick lists from Ultra, and restocking through Amazon Business US with order status shown in Sortly.

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.

Sortly

• Free$0

  100 unique items, 1 user license, 2 active jobs and a month of activity history.

• Advanced$49

  per month, billed monthly

  Advertised at $24 a month for a first year billed yearly ($288). 500 items, 2 users, 5 active jobs and QR code labels.

• Ultra$149

  per month, billed monthly

  Advertised at $74 a month for a first year billed yearly ($888). 2,000 items, 5 users, barcode labels, purchase orders and pick lists.

• Premium$299

  per month, billed monthly

  Advertised at $149 a month for a first year billed yearly ($1,788). 5,000 items, 8 users, custom roles and QuickBooks Online.

• EnterpriseCustom

  10,000+ items, 12+ users, unlimited jobs, API, webhooks, single sign-on, a success manager and payment by invoice.

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.

Sortly

• Other savings

  50% off yearly plans for the first year

  New subscriptions pay half price for the first yearly term, shown as a flash sale with no end date: $288 for Advanced, $888 for Ultra and $1,788 for Premium.

• Annual discount

  20% off yearly plans after the first year

  After the introductory first year, Sortly says a 20% discount applies to all yearly plans.