InvenTree vs Sortly (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Sortly: it is second in our ranking of inventory management tools, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
InvenTree grades higher on the free plan and features. Sortly grades higher on value for money 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.
Sortly
Phone-first inventory app for tracking equipment, tools and supplies
Which one is for you
Pick InvenTree if
- Fits if you are comfortable running your own server and want no licence fees
- Works for makers and small manufacturers who track parts and bills of materials
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you do not want to run a server, as the project lists no hosted plan
- Not for you if you need private support, since help comes through public issue trackers and docs
- Watch out: the project says it is built in spare time and has no fixed release timeline
- Tight if you want phone apps or a vendor to call, because the listing shows neither
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
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAInvenTreeGood | 3.0GPASortlyVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree outright but only if you host it yourself, which needs a server and someone to look after it, so it stays at the ordinary grade. The project sells no hosted plan. | 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 | AThe whole system is MIT licensed with no paid tier to hit. The cost is the server and your time. | 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 | BParts in categories, suppliers, stock levels, bills of materials, plugins and several ways to deploy. The listing shows no gap in the core work of stock tracking. | 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 | DYou deploy and maintain it yourself, which means a server, updates and reading the docs. No store rating is on record. | 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 only, with a plugin system and connections to other software. There is no hosted version from the project. | 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 | a free, self-hosted parts and stock system | 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: InvenTree and Sortly. How we grade
Price against what you get
InvenTree has no paid plan and scores 2.3 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 $49 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 InvenTree 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
- InvenTree is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Sortly also covers barcode scanning and qR codes.
At a glance
| InvenTree | Sortly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $49 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | The whole system is open source under the MIT license and free to run on your own server. | 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 | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | InvenTree | Sortly Inc. |
| Price read from | inventree.org | sortly.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
InvenTree
- You deploy and maintain the server yourself; the site lists no hosted plan from the project.
- Support comes through public issue trackers and docs; private questions are generally not answered, and paid support goes through third-party developers.
- The project says it is built in spare time and has no fixed release timeline.
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
InvenTree
- Parts organized in categories
- Parts sit in structured categories so an inventory can be arranged to fit how a business or hobby shop works.
- Supplier management
- Suppliers and supplier items can be created, edited or deleted and linked to any part.
- Stock levels
- Shows current stock for a part, for a particular location, or as required by an individual build.
- Bill of materials
- BOM management lists the sub-parts needed to make a new part.
- Plugins and integrations
- Built to be extended: it offers several ways to connect to outside applications and to add custom plugins.
- Several ways to deploy
- Install with Docker, a one-line installer, AppJail on FreeBSD, a manual bare-metal install, or a 1-click DigitalOcean app.
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
InvenTree
Self-hosted$0
The full open-source system under the MIT license, which you host and maintain yourself.
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
InvenTree
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, InvenTree or Sortly?
As of Nov 13, 2026, InvenTree is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $49 a month for Sortly. InvenTree is free, and Sortly starts at $49 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, InvenTree or Sortly?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both InvenTree and Sortly have a free plan.
Which platforms do InvenTree and Sortly run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Sortly lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.