Fishbowl vs Sortly
We give Fishbowl a 2.0 GPA and Sortly a 3.0, out of 4.0. Fishbowl grades higher on features. Sortly grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Fishbowl
Inventory and manufacturing software built around QuickBooks and Xero
Sortly
Phone-first inventory app for tracking equipment, tools and supplies
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFishbowlFair | 3.0GPASortlyVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BIt doesn't connect to an online store, so we've set it against the stock-on-hand tools it's listed beside. Advanced is $24 a month for a first year billed yearly ($288), then yearly plans are 20% off the $49 monthly price. Inside the cheaper quarter either way. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial. You book a demo, and there's nothing to try on your own first. | BFree for 100 unique items, 1 user, 2 active jobs and 1 custom field, with scanning, low-stock alerts and offline use. Quantities of one item don't count against the 100, so one person tracking tools or supplies can stay on it. |
| Features | 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. | CPhotos, folders, custom fields, QR and barcode scanning, check-out to people and jobs, and low-stock and date alerts. It does the equipment and supplies job fully, but it's a smaller job: no store or marketplace links, and purchase orders wait for Ultra. |
| Ease of use | 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. | A4.73 from 9,537 App Store ratings, the top band. It's a phone app where you snap a photo, print a label and scan, with very little to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BiPhone, Android and web, with QuickBooks Online, Amazon Business, Slack, Microsoft Teams and AppFolio. No desktop app, and the API, webhooks and single sign-on are Enterprise only. |
| Best for | QuickBooks users who've outgrown its inventory | tracking tools, equipment and supplies |
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: Fishbowl and Sortly. How we grade
Price against what you get
Fishbowl starts at $229 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sortly starts at $49 a month and scores 3.0.
Sortly scores higher and starts $180 a month lower. Of the other inventory management tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Fishbowl for less, and 1 scores higher than Sortly 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
- Fishbowl starts at $229 per month for up to 2 users, billed annually. Sortly starts at $49 per month, billed monthly.
- Sortly has a free plan. Fishbowl does not.
- Only Fishbowl lists Windows and macOS apps.
- Only Sortly lists an iOS app.
- Sortly also covers qR codes.
At a glance
| Fishbowl | Sortly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $229 per month for up to 2 users, billed annually | $49 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 100 unique items, 1 user, 2 active jobs and 1 custom field, with in-app barcode and QR scanning, low-stock alerts and offline mobile access. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of paid plans; a credit card is required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Fishbowl | Sortly Inc. |
| Price read from | fishbowlinventory.com | sortly.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Sortly
- Contractors and facilities teams tracking tools and equipment
- Offices, schools and clinics keeping count of supplies
- Small teams that want inventory on their phones with little setup
Worth knowing
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.
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.
Key features
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.
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.
Plans
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.
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.
Ways to pay less
Fishbowl
No public discounts listed.
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.
