If you’re tracking supplies, tools and equipment that your business uses, start with Sortly. If you sell products through online channels and need orders, stock and shipping in one place, start with Zoho Inventory. If you run a product business where purchasing, sales and fulfillment need to share one system across several staff and locations, look at inFlow Inventory.

Before you buy anything, check what you already pay for. QuickBooks Online Plus includes inventory tracking, and Xero sells an Inventory Plus add-on (see our accounting software comparison). If you sell over a counter, your point-of-sale system may cover stock too.

This guide is desk research from Sortly, Zoho and inFlow pricing pages and help documentation, checked on October 9, 2026. None of the three was used hands-on for this page. Plan prices change and aren’t quoted here.

Sortly vs Zoho Inventory vs inFlow at a glance

Sortly Zoho Inventory inFlow Inventory
Best fit Supplies, tools and equipment Selling across online channels Product businesses with purchasing and fulfillment
Free plan 100 unique items, 1 user 50 orders, 1 user, 1 location None listed; 14-day free trial
Main plan limit Unique items: 500, 2,000 or 5,000 Orders a month: 500, 3,000 or 7,500 Locations: 1, 5 or unlimited
Users on paid plans 2, 5 or 8 (Advanced to Premium) 3, 5 or 10 (Standard to Plus) 2, 5, 10 or 20 (Lite to Max)
Scanning Phone camera; Bluetooth scanners on Ultra and up Barcode scanning in the web app Phone app; most plug-and-play scanners

Sortly: supplies, tools and equipment

Sortly counts unique items, not quantities, so 40 boxes of the same toner cartridge is one item. The free plan covers 100 unique items, 1 user license and 2 active jobs. Advanced raises that to 500 items, 2 users and 5 jobs and adds QR code labels. Ultra covers 2,000 items, 5 users and 10 jobs and adds barcode labels and purchase orders. Premium covers 5,000 items and 8 users and adds custom role permissions and a QuickBooks Online integration for sending invoices and purchase orders.

The features suit an office or a trade business keeping track of what it owns and uses, though availability varies by plan: item photos, check-in and check-out so you know who had what, low-stock alerts, date-based alerts for maintenance and repair schedules, and offline mobile access. Activity history runs from 1 month on the free plan to 1 year on Advanced, 3 years on Ultra and unlimited on Premium. Sortly offers a 14-day free trial on paid plans, and a credit card is required to start one.

Scanning and labels. The Sortly mobile app scans barcodes and QR codes with your phone’s camera, so no hardware is needed to start. Bluetooth handheld scanners work on Ultra, Premium and Enterprise. The one scanner Sortly has tested and officially approved is the ScanAvenger 3-in-1 Wireless Scanner, and that link goes to the same Amazon listing Sortly’s help center links. Sortly notes that a 1D scanner can’t read QR codes; you need a 2D scanner for those. The listing’s title mentions both 1D and 1D&2D versions, so if you’ll scan QR labels, confirm the version you select is 1D&2D before you buy. Scanning on the web app is limited: you can connect barcodes to existing items, but you can’t check items in or out or create items by scanning. For labels, Sortly produces a print-ready PDF that works on a standard office printer with Avery-style sheets or on single-label and thermal printers.

Zoho Inventory: selling across online channels

Zoho Inventory is priced per organization, with users, orders and locations set by plan, and each can be raised with add-ons. The free plan covers 50 orders, 1 user and 1 location and includes composite items, dropshipment and backordering. Standard allows 500 orders a month, 3 users and 2 locations and adds a customer portal. Premium allows 3,000 orders a month, 5 users and 4 locations and adds barcode generation, stock counting, serial number and batch tracking, and a vendor portal. Plus allows 7,500 orders a month, 10 users and 6 locations and adds an online store builder.

Its integration list is where it stands apart for sellers: marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Etsy, shopping carts including Shopify and WooCommerce, accounting with Zoho Books, Xero and QuickBooks Online, and shipping with UPS, USPS and FedEx.

Scanning and labels. Zoho Inventory supports barcode scanning in the web app: you enter each item’s barcode as its SKU, then scanning into an invoice or bill adds the line item automatically, and serial numbers can be scanned the same way. It can generate barcodes and QR codes from identifiers such as SKU, EAN, UPC, ISBN, serial or batch numbers, and print labels one at a time or in bulk. If you use a dedicated label printer, Zoho’s help says to match the template’s paper size and label dimensions to the printer’s settings. Zoho offers a 14-day free trial, after which you can stay on the free plan or subscribe.

inFlow Inventory: purchasing, sales and fulfillment

inFlow’s plans are set by team members and locations: Lite includes 2 team members and 1 location with no sublocations, Core 5 members and 5 locations, Pro 10 members and Max 20, both with unlimited locations. Every plan includes unlimited products, sales, purchases and integrations, and inFlow says it connects with more than 95 integrations. Each team member gets a separate login, and the higher plans add advanced access rights, such as restricting access by location or sales rep and requiring approval for purchase orders. Lot and serial number tracking are add-ons below the top Max plan. inFlow offers a 14-day free trial.

For an office that only needs to count consumables, inFlow also sells Stockroom, a scan-in and scan-out app that works on any phone. inFlow describes it as having no reordering, costing or sales, so it’s a supply log rather than a full inventory system.

Scanning and labels. inFlow says it works with most plug-and-play barcode scanners, whether USB, wireless or Bluetooth, and its mobile app scans barcodes with an iPhone or Android phone’s camera. For labels, its built-in label designer prints to thermal label printers through the inFlow Print Helper, which runs on Windows or Mac. One computer with the Print Helper installed has to stay on, logged in to inFlow and connected to the printer, and inFlow notes that printing its labels on Brother printers works only from Windows.

How to choose

  1. Decide what you’re counting. Supplies and equipment the business uses point to Sortly, or inFlow Stockroom if you only need scan-in and scan-out. Products you sell point to Zoho Inventory or inFlow Inventory.
  2. Find the limit that applies to you. Sortly counts unique items, Zoho counts orders a month, and inFlow counts team members and locations. Estimate yours before comparing plans.
  3. Count the people who need their own login. Every plan on all three includes a set number of users, and Zoho and inFlow sell extra users as add-ons.
  4. Start scanning with a phone. Buy a handheld scanner only when scanning volume justifies it, and pick one from the vendor’s own compatibility guidance. Get a 2D scanner if you’ll use QR labels.
  5. Check the accounting connection. Sortly’s QuickBooks Online integration starts on Premium; Zoho Inventory lists Zoho Books, Xero and QuickBooks Online.
  6. Use the free trial on real items. Load one shelf or one product line, run a count and a reorder, and check what each report shows before you commit.

If you’re tracking equipment rather than stock, pair the software with an asset replacement checklist, and use the consumables spend estimator to see where supply money goes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a barcode scanner to use inventory software?

Not to start. Sortly and inFlow both let you scan with a phone’s camera in their mobile apps. A handheld Bluetooth scanner speeds up repetitive scanning: Sortly supports them on its Ultra plan and above, and inFlow works with most plug-and-play USB, wireless and Bluetooth scanners.

Can inventory software track office supplies and equipment, not just products for sale?

Yes. Sortly is built around items, folders and photos and offers check-in and check-out, low-stock alerts and date-based alerts for maintenance and repair. inFlow also sells Stockroom, a separate scan-in and scan-out app for consumables and internal supplies.

Is there a free inventory app for a small business?

Sortly’s free plan covers 100 unique items and 1 user, and Zoho Inventory’s free plan covers 50 orders, 1 user and 1 location. inFlow doesn’t list a free plan but offers a 14-day free trial.

Sources

Checked October 9, 2026.