Sortly vs Zoho Inventory
We give Sortly a 3.0 GPA and Zoho Inventory a 3.4, out of 4.0. Sortly grades higher on the free plan. Zoho Inventory grades higher on value for money, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
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
Zoho Inventory
Online inventory and order management from Zoho, with a free plan
How we grade them
| 3.0GPASortlyVery good | 3.4GPAZoho InventoryVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AStandard covers a shop plus an online store at $29 a month billed yearly ($39 monthly): 500 orders a month, 3 users, 2 locations and 1 Shopify store. That's well under what this category usually charges, though barcodes and stock counts need Premium at $79. |
| 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. | CFree for 50 orders a month, 1 user and 1 location, with composite items, dropshipping and one Shopify store. Fine for a side hustle, but a shop and an online store will pass 50 orders a month quickly, and there are no barcodes. |
| 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. | BMarketplace and store sync, several warehouses with bins, sales and purchase orders, backorders, dropshipping, shipping labels, and barcodes with serial and batch tracking. That's the whole job, though barcodes, stock counts and batches start on Premium. |
| 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. | A4.75 from 1,029 App Store ratings, just into the top band. It also works with Zoho Books and Zoho CRM if you already use them. |
| 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. | AWeb, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online, Xero and carriers like UPS, USPS and FedEx. That's the full spread. |
| Best for | tracking tools, equipment and supplies | small online sellers on a budget |
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 Zoho 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. Zoho Inventory starts at $29 a month and scores 3.7.
Zoho Inventory scores higher and starts $20 a month lower. Of the other inventory management tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Sortly for less, and none scores higher than Zoho 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. Zoho Inventory starts at $29 per organization / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
- Only Zoho Inventory lists a Windows app.
- Sortly also covers qR codes.
- Zoho Inventory also covers online store and shipping labels.
At a glance
| Sortly | Zoho Inventory | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per month, billed monthly | $29 per organization / month, billed annually ($39 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. | 50 orders a month, 1 user and 1 location, with composite items, dropshipping and backorders. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of paid plans; a credit card is required | 14-day free trial of the paid plans |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Sortly Inc. | Zoho |
| Price read from | sortly.com | zoho.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
Zoho Inventory
- Small online sellers on Amazon, eBay, Etsy or Shopify
- Businesses already using Zoho Books or Zoho CRM
- Very small shops that want a free plan to start
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
