Zoho Books vs Zoho Inventory
We give Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory the same GPA: 3.4 out of 4.0. Zoho Books grades higher on the free plan. Zoho Inventory grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Zoho Books
Online accounting from Zoho, with a free plan and six paid tiers
Zoho Inventory
Online inventory and order management from Zoho, with a free plan
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAZoho BooksVery good | 3.4GPAZoho InventoryVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStandard is $15 a month billed yearly ($20 monthly) for the whole business with 3 users, right at the cheaper quarter of this category. It already has bank feeds, sales tax, 1099 e-filing and API access. | 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 businesses under $50K revenue a year: 1 user plus an accountant, 1,000 invoices a year, bank reconciliation, 1099s and 50+ reports. One person could live on it, though automatic bank feeds need Standard. | 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 | BInvoices, bills, bank feeds, sales tax, 1099s, projects, multiple currencies, inventory up to warehouses and batch tracking, budgets, custom modules and AI that answers questions about the books. That covers the whole job. | 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 | A4.81 from 5,247 App Store ratings, the top band for accounting apps. Receipt autoscans work on every plan, the free one included, which saves typing. | 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 | AWeb, Windows, iPhone and Android, with an API from Standard up and links to Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy and the rest of Zoho. That's the full spread. | 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 | a real free plan with room to grow | 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: Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory. How we grade
Where they differ
- Zoho Books starts at $15 per organization / month, billed annually. Zoho Inventory starts at $29 per organization / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
- Zoho Books also covers invoicing, reports, bookkeeping and expense tracking.
- Zoho Inventory also covers inventory, barcode scanning, online store and shipping labels.
At a glance
| Zoho Books | Zoho Inventory | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per organization / month, billed annually | $29 per organization / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free plan for businesses with under $50K revenue a year: 1 user plus 1 accountant, invoices, quotes, expenses, bank reconciliation, 1099s and 50+ reports, with email support. | 50 orders a month, 1 user and 1 location, with composite items, dropshipping and backorders. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the paid plans | 14-day free trial of the paid plans |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Zoho | Zoho |
| Price read from | zoho.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Zoho Books
- Very small businesses that want a free plan with real double-entry books
- Companies already using other Zoho apps
- Growing product businesses that will need inventory and warehouses later
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
Zoho Books
- The free plan stays free only while revenue is under $50K a financial year, and paid add-ons other than autoscans cannot be added to it.
- Each plan caps users at 3, 5, 10, 10 or 15; more cost $3 per user a month, or $2.50 billed annually.
- Every plan caps invoices and bills a year: 1,000 on Free, 5,000 on Standard, 10,000 on Professional and 25,000 on Premium.
- These are US prices; Zoho lists separate editions for 18 countries plus a global one, including the UK, Canada, India and Australia.
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
Zoho Books
- Invoicing and online payments
- Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, retention payments and automatic reminders, with a customer portal for paying online.
- Banking and reconciliation
- Reconcile accounts on every plan. Automatic bank feeds start on Standard, along with recurring expenses and period locking.
- US tax and 1099s
- Track sales and use tax, manage W-9s and 1099 contractors, and e-file 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms from Standard up.
- Projects and inventory
- Professional adds timesheets, project profitability and basic inventory. Elite adds warehouses, serial and batch tracking and shipping labels.
- Automation and customization
- Workflows, approvals and custom roles from Professional; custom modules, buttons and functions from Premium; Blueprints on Elite.
- AI in accounting
- Ask questions about the books in plain English, spot anomalies and automate collections, plus receipt autoscans on every plan.
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
Zoho Books
Free$0
Revenue under $50K a year. 1 user and 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices a year, recurring invoices, payment reminders and 1099 filing.
Standard$15
per organization / month, billed annually
$20 billed monthly. 3 users, bank feeds, sales and use tax, 1099 e-filing, custom reports, API access and 5,000 invoices a year.
Professional$40
per organization / month, billed annually
$50 billed monthly. 5 users, sales and purchase orders, multiple currencies, timesheets, project profitability, retainers and inventory.
Premium$60
per organization / month, billed annually
$70 billed monthly. 10 users, fixed assets, budgets, cash flow forecasting, a vendor portal and custom modules.
Elite$120
per organization / month, billed annually
$150 billed monthly. 10 users, advanced inventory with warehouses and batch tracking, Etsy, eBay and Amazon channels, and up to 2 Shopify stores.
Ultimate$240
per organization / month, billed annually
$275 billed monthly. 15 users and built-in business intelligence with 50+ prebuilt visualizations, KPI tracking and embeddable reports.
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
Zoho Books
- Annual discount
Save up to 25% with yearly billing
Yearly billing cuts Standard from $20 to $15 a month, Professional from $50 to $40, Premium from $70 to $60, Elite from $150 to $120 and Ultimate from $275 to $240.
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.
