BoxHero vs Zoho Inventory (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 Zoho Inventory if

• Fits if you sell on Amazon, eBay, Etsy or Shopify and want stock kept in sync
• Works for businesses already on Zoho Books or Zoho CRM

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you need barcodes or stock counts, which start on Premium at $79 a month
• Not for you if you make products from raw materials, as there are composite items but no production planning
• Skip it if you run several Shopify stores and want Standard's price, as it connects just one
• Tight if you stay free, as it stops at 50 orders a month, 1 user and 1 location
• Pricey if you grow past a plan, as each extra user or 500 orders is $7.50 a month and each location $10

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.

Zoho Inventory

• Each plan caps orders a month, users and locations; more users or 500 extra orders cost $7.50 a month each billed annually ($9 monthly).
• Extra locations cost $10 a month billed annually ($12 monthly), and advanced warehousing is $124.17 a month billed annually.
• Barcodes, stock counts and serial and batch tracking start on Premium; Standard has none of them.
• The Free and Standard plans connect only one Shopify store; Premium and higher allow up to five.

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.

Zoho Inventory

Marketplace and store sync

Syncs orders and stock with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Etsy, Shopify and WooCommerce, with Shopify stores capped per plan.

Multiple warehouses

Stock across locations with transfer orders and bins, plus an advanced warehousing add-on for larger operations.

Sales and purchase orders

Sales orders, invoices, purchase orders, backorders and dropshipments, with customer and vendor portals.

Shipping

Pick, pack and ship from one place, generate shipping labels and connect carriers such as UPS, USPS, FedEx and Easyship.

Barcodes, serials and batches

Barcode generation, stock counts and serial and batch tracking from the Premium plan up.

Zoho apps and accounting

Works with Zoho Books, Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics, and also connects to QuickBooks Online and Xero.

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.

Zoho Inventory

• Free$0

  50 orders a month, 1 user and 1 location, with composite items, dropshipments and backorders.

• Standard$29

  per organization / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)

  500 orders a month, 3 users and 2 locations, with a customer portal and 1 Shopify store.

• Premium$79

  per organization / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)

  3,000 orders a month, 5 users and 4 locations, adding barcodes, stock counts, serial and batch tracking, and up to 5 Shopify stores.

• Plus$129

  per organization / month, billed annually ($159 billed monthly)

  7,500 orders a month, 10 users and 6 locations, adding an online store builder, WhatsApp selling and abandoned cart recovery.

• Enterprise$249

  per organization / month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)

  15,000 orders a month, 10 users and 10 locations, adding Zoho Analytics and multi-currency transactions per contact.

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.

Zoho Inventory

• Annual discount

  Save up to 26% with yearly billing

  Yearly billing cuts Standard from $39 to $29 a month, Premium from $99 to $79, Plus from $159 to $129 and Enterprise from $299 to $249.

• Nonprofit

  15% off for nonprofits

  Zoho offers nonprofits a 15% discount on Zoho Inventory, arranged by writing to its presales team.