Sortly alternative: build your own inventory tracker with AI

Sortly is inventory software for small businesses: items with photos in folders, barcode and QR scanning on a phone, alerts, purchase orders, stock counts and reports, priced by plan with limits on items, user licenses and history. A team that keeps supplies in a store room and a few vans or sites can build the core and set its own limits.

Pricing checked October 2026 on sortly.com/pricing

What is a good Sortly alternative for a small team?

If more than 8 people need to record stock, or you want purchase orders and stock counts without the Ultra plan, build an inventory tracker from this blueprint: quantities per location, QR labels, low stock alerts, purchase orders and blind counts, with no plan limits on items, users or history. Sortly is free for 100 items and 1 user, and costs $49, $149 or $299 a month billed monthly for 2, 5 or 8 user licenses (checked October 2026). Keep Sortly if you need offline scanning, pick lists or accounting integrations.

Sortly compared with building your own

Compared	Sortly	Build from the blueprint
Price	Free (100 items, 1 user); $49, $149 or $299 a month billed monthly, half that billed yearly in the first year; Enterprise by quote.	Free blueprint. You pay for your AI builder and hosting.
Users and items	2, 5 or 8 user licenses and 500, 2,000 or 5,000 items on Advanced, Ultra and Premium.	No limits beyond your hosting.
Scanning and labels	Barcode and QR scanning on every plan; QR labels from Advanced, barcode labels from Ultra; offline mobile access.	QR labels for items and locations; camera and keyboard-scanner input in the browser; no offline mode.
Alerts	Low stock and email alerts from Advanced; date-based alerts from Ultra.	Low stock emails that count stock on order; overdue purchase order reminders.
Purchase orders and counts	From Ultra.	Included, with partial receiving, reorder suggestions and blind counts approved by an admin.
History	1 month (Free), 1 year (Advanced), 3 years (Ultra), unlimited (Premium and Enterprise).	Every movement kept permanently.
Integrations	Slack, Microsoft Teams and Amazon Business from Ultra; QuickBooks Online from Premium; API, webhooks and SSO on Enterprise.	CSV export; add your own.
Who maintains it	The vendor.	You.

Which should you choose?

Build your own if

More than 8 people need to record stock, beyond what Sortly's published plans include.
You want purchase orders and stock counts without paying for Ultra or Premium.
Your stock sits in a store room and a few vans or sites, and you want each location's numbers right.
You want every movement kept permanently with a reason, whatever your plan.

Pay for Sortly if

You need to scan offline, in places without signal.
You want pick lists, jobs, or tool check-in and check-out in the same product.
You need QuickBooks Online, Amazon Business ordering or an API without building them.
You have one person and fewer than 100 items: Sortly's free plan may be enough.

What the blueprint covers

Items with photos, SKUs, barcodes, units, costs and reorder points; quantities per location; recording use, deliveries, moves between locations and adjustments, each as a permanent movement; low stock alerts that count what is already on order; reorder suggestions grouped by supplier; purchase orders with partial receiving; blind stock counts with variances approved by an admin; QR labels for items and locations; scanning with the phone camera; stock value, low stock and usage reports; a CSV export of every movement.

What you give up

An offline mobile app, pick lists, jobs and work orders, checking tools in and out to people (see the Equipment Tracker blueprint), serial numbers, lots and expiry dates, several units of measure per item, sales orders and online store sync, accounting integrations, Amazon ordering, and accounting-grade costing (FIFO or weighted average). USB and Bluetooth barcode scanners that type like a keyboard work in the scan box; dedicated scanner hardware does not get special support.

Read the Inventory Tracker blueprint

Sortly alternatives: questions people ask

What does Sortly do that this blueprint doesn't?

Offline mobile access and mobile apps, pick lists, jobs, item check-in and check-out, date-based alerts, Amazon Business ordering, Slack, Microsoft Teams and QuickBooks Online integrations, an API and webhooks, and SSO.

Is Sortly free?

Yes, for up to 100 unique items, 1 user license and 2 active jobs (checked October 2026). Low stock alerts start on Advanced, and purchase orders and stock counts on Ultra.