Sortly vs SOS Inventory
We give Sortly a 3.0 GPA and SOS Inventory a 2.4, out of 4.0. Sortly grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. SOS Inventory grades higher on features. 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
SOS Inventory
Inventory, orders and manufacturing add-on for QuickBooks Online
How we grade them
| 3.0GPASortlyVery good | 2.4GPASOS InventoryFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CCompanion is $699.50 a year billed yearly ($69.95 monthly) for 2 users and one location, and an online store connection like Shopify is $25 a month on top. That lands in the middle of this category, and it's built for people already paying for QuickBooks Online. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CNo free plan, just a 14-day free trial to see how it fits with your QuickBooks Online books before you pay. |
| Features | 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. | BSales orders, partial shipments and invoices, pick tickets, serial and lot tracking, unlimited locations, assemblies, work orders and job costing, with FIFO, LIFO or average costing. The whole job, though serials, barcodes, pick tickets and extra locations need Plus. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. It runs alongside QuickBooks Online, so you'll connect that and set up items, locations and forms before it pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb and iPhone or iPad, with no Android app listed. It connects to QuickBooks Online, ShipStation, UPS and Zapier, and to Shopify, BigCommerce and PayPal as $25-a-month connections. |
| Best for | tracking tools, equipment and supplies | QuickBooks Online users who need sales orders |
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: Sortly and SOS Inventory. How we grade
Price against what you get
Sortly starts at $49 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SOS Inventory starts at $69.95 a month and scores 2.7.
Sortly scores higher and starts $20.95 a month lower. Of the other inventory management tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Sortly for less, and 2 score higher than SOS Inventory 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
- Sortly starts at $49 per month, billed monthly. SOS Inventory starts at $69.95 per month for up to 2 users, billed monthly.
- Sortly has a free plan. SOS Inventory does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Sortly lists an Android app.
- Sortly also covers qR codes.
- SOS Inventory also covers invoicing and reports.
At a glance
| Sortly | SOS Inventory | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per month, billed monthly | $69.95 per month for up to 2 users, billed monthly |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of paid plans; a credit card is required | 14-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Sortly Inc. | SOS Inventory Software LLC |
| Price read from | sortly.com | sosinventory.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
SOS Inventory
- QuickBooks Online users who need sales orders and real inventory
- Small manufacturers that need work orders and job costing
- Distributors tracking serial or lot numbers across warehouses
Worth knowing
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.
SOS Inventory
- It is built around QuickBooks Online and lists compatibility with the Essentials, Plus and Advanced plans.
- Extra users cost $25 a month each ($250 a year on annual plans), and external connections such as Shopify cost $25 a month each.
- Companion is limited to one location and has no serial or lot tracking or barcoding.
- The native app is for iPhone and iPad; no Android app is listed.
Key features
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.
SOS Inventory
- Sales orders for QuickBooks
- Create sales orders, full or partial shipments and partial invoices that sync to QuickBooks Online, which has no sales orders of its own.
- Pick, pack and ship
- ShipStation and UPS integrations on every plan, and pick tickets from sales orders or invoices from the Plus plan up.
- Serials, lots and barcodes
- Serial and lot number tracking and barcodes in several formats from the Plus plan, with transfers between unlimited locations.
- Assemblies and manufacturing
- Assemblies on every plan, contract manufacturing from Plus, and work orders, job costing and process manufacturing on Pro.
- Costing and valuation
- FIFO, LIFO or weighted average valuation, multiple currencies and customizable forms and dashboards on every plan.
- Store and app connections
- Connects to Shopify, BigCommerce, PayPal and FTP sites as paid external connections, plus Zapier and an iPhone and iPad app.
Plans
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.
SOS Inventory
Companion$69.95
per month for up to 2 users, billed monthly
$699.50 a year billed annually. Sales orders, assemblies, QuickBooks Online sync and one location, with room for one paid external connection.
Plus$139.95
per month for up to 3 users, billed monthly
$1,399.50 a year billed annually. Adds unlimited locations, serial and lot numbers, barcoding, pick tickets and contract manufacturing.
Pro$194.95
per month for up to 5 users, billed monthly
$1,949.50 a year billed annually. Adds work orders, job cost accounting, process and variable-yield manufacturing and a customer portal.
Ways to pay less
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.
SOS Inventory
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
Paying yearly costs $699.50 for Companion, $1,399.50 for Plus and $1,949.50 for Pro, ten times the monthly price.
