Busy vs Zoho Inventory (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Busy if

• Fits if you run a small Indian business and want free GST billing and accounts
• Works for shops that need stock, POS and e-way bills in one program

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you sell outside India, as it is built around GST
• Watch out: paid plans switch to Demo Mode when the subscription expires
• Watch out: cloud access is separate at ₹10,800 or ₹16,800 for 360 days, excluding GST
• Tight if you need the mobile app, because Express has none
• Skip it if you want one price, since older perpetual plans carry yearly renewal fees

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

Busy

• Prices are in rupees, exclude GST, and are shown for India; the page also has South Asia and Global views in dollars.
• Subscription plans switch to Demo Mode when the subscription expires.
• Cloud access is separate: BUSY Online costs ₹10,800 per 360 days for Access or ₹16,800 for SQL, excluding GST.
• The pricing page also sells older perpetual plans (BUSY 21) with a yearly renewal fee for updates and support.

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.

Busy

Accounting and billing

Vouchers, invoices, ledgers, receivables and payables, a balance sheet and P&L, with multiple companies and financial years.

GST compliance tools

The Smart plan and above add GSTR-1 tools, return downloads, GSTIN and HSN validation, e-way bills and e-invoices up to plan limits.

Stock management

Multiple godowns, MRP-wise stock, batch and serial numbers, reorder levels and item parameters such as brand, size and colour on Smart and above.

POS and barcodes

Smart and higher plans list point-of-sale billing and barcode and QR code scanning for fast invoicing.

Mobile app

A mobile app for iOS and Android shows reports, creates orders, quotations and invoices, and checks stock.

Access controls

User-definable access rights, an audit trail and user login scheduling are listed on the higher plans.

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.

Busy

• Express₹0

  Free billing and accounting: vouchers, invoices, ledgers, P&L and balance sheet. No mobile app.

• Start₹5,000

  per 360 days, single user, excluding GST

  Billing, accounting and inventory for non-GST businesses, with Mobile App Lite free for the first 360 days.

• Smart₹8,000

  per 360 days, single user, excluding GST

  Adds GST returns tools, e-way bills and e-invoices up to 10,000, POS, barcode scanning, batch and serial tracking.

• Power₹12,000

  per 360 days, single user, excluding GST

  Adds multiple GSTINs in one company, e-way bills and e-invoices up to 20,000, SQL support and premium voice support.

• Power+₹50,000

  per 360 days, 10 users, excluding GST

  For larger firms: 10 users, 150 companies, e-way bills and e-invoices up to 50,000, email, WhatsApp and voice support.

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.

Busy

• Other savings

  Mobile App Lite free for 360 days

  Every BUSY Magic subscription plan includes Mobile App Lite with 250 credits for the first 360 days.

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.