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7 Best Free Inventory Management Software Solutions of December 2023

Free inventory software and apps can keep track of stock, but watch out for limits on features like user access and integrations.
Last updated on December 5, 2023
Edited bySally Lauckner
Fact checked and reviewed

⏰ Estimated read time: 4 minutes

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Free inventory software can offer small businesses a cost-effective way to manage their stock. But you also get what you pay for. These trackers are typically light on features, so when looking for the right software, make sure it at least supports your current operations — whether you need a mobile inventory app with a barcode scanner, access for multiple employees or low stock alerts.
The best free inventory software provides some combination of these basics, with additional capabilities like multiple sales channel management and point-of-sale (POS) and e-commerce integrations. Most also offer paid inventory management software. Check those plans as well, because as your business scales, you’ll want the ability to upgrade without having to switch providers or break your budget.
Here are some of the best free inventory software products and their standout features.

Our Nerdy picks for

Tracking inventory across multiple locations

SalesBinder

Free inventory tracker with unlimited items and users

Stockpile by Canvus

Best Free Inventory Management Software Solutions

Product
Promotion
Learn more

Zoho Inventory

Learn more

on Zoho Inventory's secure website

Best for Overall free inventory software

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $39, $99, $159, $299.

14-day free trial

Learn more

on Zoho Inventory's secure website

Square Retail POS: Inventory feature

Learn more

on Square Retail POS: Inventory feature's secure website

Best for Free retail inventory software

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $89, custom.

30-day free trial

Learn more

on Square Retail POS: Inventory feature's secure website

Sortly

Best for Free inventory app

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $49, $149, custom.

14-day free trial

SalesBinder

Best for Tracking inventory across multiple locations

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $9, $19, $49, $99.

30-day free trial

Stockpile by Canvus

Best for Free inventory tracker with unlimited items and users

$0

Free.

N/A

Backbar

Best for Free bar and restaurant inventory management

$0

Additional pricing tiers per location (per month): $99, 149.

One-month free trial

of the Essential or Professional plan.

Odoo

3.5/5

Best for Free warehouse inventory management

$0

For use of a single app. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $38.90, $58.40.

Monthly discount

for the first 12 months.

Our pick for

Overall free inventory software

Zoho Inventory

Learn more

on Zoho Inventory's secure website

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $39, $99, $159, $299.

Promotion

14-day free trial

Our pick for

Free retail inventory software

Square Retail POS: Inventory feature

Learn more

on Square Retail POS: Inventory feature's secure website

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $89, custom.

Promotion

30-day free trial

Our pick for

Free inventory app

Sortly

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $49, $149, custom.

Promotion

14-day free trial

Our pick for

Tracking inventory across multiple locations

SalesBinder

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $9, $19, $49, $99.

Promotion

30-day free trial

Our pick for

Free inventory tracker with unlimited items and users

Stockpile by Canvus

Starting at

$0

Free.

Promotion

N/A

Our pick for

Free bar and restaurant inventory management

Backbar

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers per location (per month): $99, 149.

Promotion

One-month free trial

of the Essential or Professional plan.

Our pick for

Free warehouse inventory management

Odoo

3.5
NerdWallet rating 
Starting at

$0

For use of a single app. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $38.90, $58.40.

Promotion

Monthly discount

for the first 12 months.

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Tell our Nerds what you think about the offerings here to help us refine our product evaluations.

Best free inventory management software features comparison

Supported sales channels
Integrations
Barcode scanning
Mobile app
Zoho Inventory
Online sales, plus one physical warehouse.
Accounting and e-commerce.
Yes.
Yes.
Square for Retail
Online and in-store sales across multiple locations.
Accounting, e-commerce and POS.
Yes, but must subscribe to paid plan to print barcodes.
Yes.
Sortly
Supports multiple physical locations, but there are no built-in e-commerce integrations.
No.
Yes, but must subscribe to Ultra plan or higher to generate custom barcodes.
Yes.
SalesBinder
Supports unlimited physical locations, but must subscribe to Bronze plan or higher for e-commerce integration.
Must subscribe to Bronze plan or higher to access integrations for QuickBooks Online, Xero or WooCommerce.
Yes.
Yes, but only for iOS.
Stockpile by Canvus
Supports unlimited physical locations, but there are no built-in e-commerce integrations.
No.
No.
No.
Backbar
In-store sales; paid plan required for multiple locations.
POS.
Yes.
Yes.
Odoo
Supports multiple physical locations; paid plan is required to access e-commerce integrations.
Accounting, purchases, quality control, sales and shipping.
Yes.
Yes.

How to choose free inventory management software

Consider the following factors and weigh them in the context of your business to discover which free inventory software is the right fit for your company’s needs.
Multi-channel management
If you run a retail brick-and-mortar along with an accompanying online shop, you’ll want a free inventory tracker that syncs inventory from both sources. To achieve that, it should integrate with your POS software and e-commerce software. Square is a good free inventory solution for this, but Stockpile by Canvus, for example, is not. 
Other integrations
If your accounting software comes with its own inventory reports, it might be worth selecting a free inventory app that integrates with it. That way, you don’t have to worry about subscribing to a paid inventory management plan to access advanced reporting. There are other reasons your accounting software should be synced up with your inventory software, too: Inventory is an asset and appears on your balance sheet.
Number of users
How many people will need access to your inventory management app? Free software will often have a small cap, sometimes allowing only a single user.
Be sure to include yourself and anyone filling or counting inventory, and maybe even your accountant. Any inventory management system — free or not — can be useless if the right people don’t have access. Additional users typically come at a cost and might require you to upgrade plans. While Stockpile by Canvus is rudimentary compared with some other free options, the fact that it allows an unlimited number of users is unique.
Budget
Free inventory management software can fit into any business’s budget. But if a slightly more expensive inventory tracker saves you time that would otherwise be spent manually tracking your inventory — or prevents costly mistakes in ordering or tracking items — it may be worth the price in the long run.
Features
Free inventory trackers typically come with fewer features than paid options, usually including a combination of the following: basic reporting, low stock alerts, some digital labeling and scanning capabilities and mobile functionality.
Some free products go above and beyond the basics by offering purchase order management, dropshipping options and item bundling. Make a list of the features that are most important to you and find a product that offers at least a majority of them. Don't expect everything for free.
Even plans with many free features also come with limitations. Zoho Inventory’s free plan, for example, puts caps on purchase orders and sales orders. If you know your business will surpass those limits, it’s probably worth subscribing to a paid plan or searching for an alternative. 
Last updated on December 5, 2023

Methodology

All of NerdWallet’s picks for best free inventory management software track inventory counts, offer basic reporting and include at least two of the following features at no cost:
• The ability to sync inventory from multiple sales channels, whether online, offline or both. • A mobile app. • Unlimited users. • Third-party integrations. • Barcode scanning. • Low stock alerts. • Purchase orders.
Some products, like Stockpile by Canvus, have an especially limited feature set but stand out for supporting things its free competitors typically do not, like unlimited items, users and locations.

Frequently Asked Questions

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