Stocksmith vs Fishbowl
We give Stocksmith a 2.4 GPA and Fishbowl a 2.0, out of 4.0. Stocksmith grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Fishbowl grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Stocksmith
Materials, recipes and costing for makers and small manufacturers
Fishbowl
Inventory and manufacturing software built around QuickBooks and Xero
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAStocksmithFair | 2.0GPAFishbowlFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro's 25 order lines and one sales channel won't stretch to a shop and an online store, so the figure is Studio: $41 a month billed yearly ($490 a year), with 250 order lines and unlimited channels, users and locations. Inside the cheaper quarter of this category. | CEssentials is $229 a month billed yearly for 2 users, a store connection is $50 a month on some plans, and multichannel selling is listed from Growth at $429. Every purchase also needs an implementation package with no published price, so with the real total unknown we've left it in the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day free trial on any plan with no credit card required. Long enough to enter your materials and see a real cost per product. | FNo free plan and no trial. You book a demo, and there's nothing to try on your own first. |
| Features | CMaterials with unit conversion, single and multi-level recipes, cost of goods from materials and labour, and channel imports that deduct materials. It does the maker's costing job fully, but the listing shows no barcode scanning, batch tracking starts on Indie and automatic stock sync on Business. | BStock and SKU tracking with reorder points, barcode scanning, picking and shipping, lot and serial traceability, and in Fishbowl Advanced, bills of materials, MRP, work orders and EDI. Together that's the whole job, but manufacturing is only in Advanced, a separate quoted product. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You'll enter materials, unit conversions and recipes before the cost figures mean anything, which is real setup for a busy maker. | CNo store rating on record. An implementation package is required with every purchase, so setup is a project with Fishbowl's team rather than a sign-up form. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, WooCommerce, Square, Faire, Wix, Squarespace, QuickBooks and Xero. No phone or desktop app is listed. | BWeb, Windows, Mac and Android, but no iPhone app is listed. It links to QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Xero, Amazon, Walmart, WooCommerce, HubSpot and Zebra, with an open API in Fishbowl Advanced. |
| Best for | makers costing materials and recipes | QuickBooks users who've outgrown its inventory |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Stocksmith and Fishbowl. How we grade
Price against what you get
Stocksmith starts at $20 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Fishbowl starts at $229 a month and scores 2.7.
Fishbowl scores higher, and starts $209 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other inventory management tools on the chart, none scores higher than Stocksmith for less, and 3 score higher than Fishbowl for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Stocksmith starts at $20 per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly). Fishbowl starts at $229 per month for up to 2 users, billed annually.
- Only Fishbowl lists Windows, macOS and Android apps.
- Stocksmith also covers reports and expense tracking.
- Fishbowl also covers barcode scanning.
At a glance
| Stocksmith | Fishbowl | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $20 per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly) | $229 per month for up to 2 users, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial on any plan, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Stocksmith Pty Ltd | Fishbowl |
| Price read from | stocksmith.io | fishbowlinventory.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Stocksmith
- Etsy and Shopify makers who want to know what each product costs to make
- Small-batch makers that need batch and lot traceability
- Small manufacturers that sell direct and wholesale through Faire
Fishbowl
- QuickBooks or Xero users who have outgrown their built-in inventory
- Small manufacturers that need BOMs, work orders and MRP
- Food, chemical and other regulated businesses that must trace lots
Worth knowing
Stocksmith
- The plan you need is set by order lines a month, and each product in an order counts as a separate line.
- Pro allows 1 user and one sales channel; a second, different channel needs Studio or higher.
- Batch tracking and traceability start on Indie, and production scheduling and Amazon start on Business.
Fishbowl
- An implementation package is required with every purchase, and its price is not published.
- Fishbowl Inventory plans do not include manufacturing; bills of materials, work orders and MRP need Fishbowl Advanced.
- Fishbowl Advanced prices are starting points quoted by users and deployment, and the vendor calls them illustrative.
- Standard ecommerce and marketplace integrations cost $50 a month on some plans, and the B2B portal and custom reports are add-ons.
Key features
Stocksmith
- Materials and recipes
- Track raw materials and components, convert purchase units to the units you use, and build single or multi-level bills of materials.
- Cost of goods and labor
- Works out COGS from material and internal labor costs on every plan, with pricing guidance and expense records with attachments.
- Sales channel imports
- Pulls orders from Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, Etsy, Square, Faire, Wix and Squarespace and deducts the materials behind each sale.
- Production runs
- Automated production assemblies from Indie and production scheduling from Business, with production reports.
- Batch tracking and compliance
- Batch and lot tracking with traceability, compliance and audit reports from the Indie plan.
- Accounting connections
- Sends expenses, supplier invoices and COGS to Xero or QuickBooks, with full QuickBooks inventory sync on Growth.
Fishbowl
- Accounting sync
- Posts inventory movements, COGS and landed costs to QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop or Xero.
- Barcode scanning and labels
- Mobile barcode scanning on every plan, with an Android warehouse app for handheld scanners, barcode printing and cycle counts.
- Reordering and forecasting
- Reorder points on every plan, automated reordering from Growth, and demand forecasting included on Scale or as an add-on.
- Lot and serial traceability
- Lot, serial number and expiry tracking with forward and backward traceability for recalls and regulated goods.
- Manufacturing in Fishbowl Advanced
- Multi-level bills of materials, sub-assemblies, MRP, production scheduling, work orders and made-to-order builds.
- Warehousing and EDI
- Multi-warehouse, 3PL and EDI-driven distribution with tiered pricing rules, RMAs and audit trails in Fishbowl Advanced.
Plans
Stocksmith
Pro$20
per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
$240 a year. Up to 25 order lines a month, 1 user and 1 sales channel, with single-level bills of materials and COGS.
Studio$41
per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
$490 a year. Up to 250 order lines a month, unlimited users and sales channels, locations and daily order imports.
Indie$83
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
$990 a year. Up to 1,000 order lines a month, multi-level BOMs, automated production assemblies, batch and lot tracking and traceability reports.
Business$166
per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
$1,990 a year. Up to 5,000 order lines a month, hourly imports, automatic stock sync, production scheduling and Amazon.
Growth$291
per month, billed annually ($349 billed monthly)
$3,490 a year. Over 5,000 order lines a month, QuickBooks inventory sync with automatic COGS and priority support.
Fishbowl
Essentials$229
per month for up to 2 users, billed annually
Fishbowl Inventory, sold after a demo. QuickBooks Online and Xero sync, real-time stock and SKU tracking, reorder points and mobile scanning.
Growth$429
per month for up to 5 users, billed annually
Adds picking, receiving and shipping, automated reordering, multichannel selling, sales-tax automation, AI insights and unlimited warehouses.
Scale$729
per month for up to 10 users, billed annually
Adds demand forecasting, lot traceability, audit trails, compliance documents for GMP, FDA and ISO, and advanced AI automations.
Advanced Warehouse$595
per month and up
Fishbowl Advanced, quoted by users and deployment. Multi-warehouse, 3PL and EDI workflows, transfer orders, payment processing and audit trails.
Advanced Manufacturing$675
per month and up
Fishbowl Advanced, quoted by users and deployment. Bills of materials, MRP, scheduling, work orders, job and labor costing, lot tracking and an open API.
Ways to pay less
Stocksmith
- Annual discount
Save about 17% with annual billing
Paying yearly saves about 17%: Indie is $990 a year instead of $99 a month, and every plan's yearly price equals ten months.
Fishbowl
No public discounts listed.
