Kyle Moloney
Procurement & Operations | 10+ Years
Kyle has spent over a decade managing procurement and operations for manufacturing companies ranging from small food producers to mid-size contract manufacturers. He now writes about practical inventory management, supply chain, and production operations.
Katana MRP is a solid piece of software, and plenty of manufacturers use it happily. But it's also the reason a lot of small manufacturers start shopping around: paid pricing starts at $299/mo flat (as of July 2026), the free plan caps out at 30 SKUs, and add-on modules for traceability, warehouse management, and advanced manufacturing run $149-$249/mo each on top.
That's not a knock on Katana — it's just a pricing shape that doesn't fit every operation. A five-person food producer doing $40K/month in production has different needs than a 200-person contract electronics manufacturer, and the "best Katana alternative" genuinely depends on which one you are. This roundup covers six tools people commonly evaluate as Katana alternatives, what each one is actually good at, where it falls short, and who should pick it. All pricing below is approximate and current as of mid-2026 — always confirm on the vendor's site before you commit. For a deeper breakdown of Katana's own plan structure and add-on costs, see Katana MRP Pricing Explained.
1. Nstock
Nstock is inventory and production management software built specifically for small and mid-size manufacturers, and it's the one we make — so take the "who should pick it" section with that in mind, but the comparison points are accurate. It includes a free tier, with paid plans starting at $49/mo, which makes it realistic to actually test against your own BOMs and inventory before paying anything.
Where it wins against Katana: multi-level bills of materials (intermediate products carry their own SKU and rolled-up cost into finished goods), FIFO lot tracking for traceability, production run tracking, AI-powered demand forecasting, and sales quotes that show your team real-time COGS and margin per line item while buyers only ever see sell prices. For manufacturers who quote wholesale or white-label deals, that last piece alone solves a problem most competitors don't touch.
Honest tradeoffs: Nstock is a newer product than Katana, Cin7, or Fishbowl, so its integration ecosystem is smaller today — if you need a long list of pre-built connectors to niche platforms, check pricing and the integrations list before assuming coverage. It's the right pick for small-to-mid manufacturers who want manufacturing-specific depth (BOMs, lots, production, quoting) without enterprise pricing or setup overhead, and who are comfortable being an earlier adopter of a growing platform.
2. inFlow Inventory
inFlow is general-purpose inventory and distribution software that also handles light manufacturing, priced around $149/mo for its mid-tier plans. It's been around for a long time and has a broad, mature feature set for order management, barcode scanning, and multi-location stock.
Where it beats Katana: if your business is mostly wholesale distribution with manufacturing as a secondary function, inFlow's B2B ordering, sales order workflows, and warehouse features are more complete than Katana's, which is built manufacturing-first. It's also generally easier to onboard a non-technical team onto.
Where it falls short for manufacturers: BOM handling is functional but lighter — multi-level assemblies, work orders, and shop-floor production tracking aren't its focus, and it shows. Pick inFlow if you're a distributor or hybrid distributor/light-assembler who needs strong order and warehouse management more than deep production planning.
3. Cin7 Core
Cin7 Core (formerly DEAR Systems) sits at the higher end, around $349/mo, and it's built for businesses that need enterprise breadth: EDI and B2B integrations, built-in POS, multi-channel retail connections, and manufacturing all in one platform.
Where it beats Katana: if you sell through retail, wholesale, EDI-connected big-box accounts, and your own online store simultaneously, Cin7's breadth of connected sales channels is hard to match, and Katana doesn't try to compete there. For manufacturers who are really "manufacturer plus omnichannel retailer," that consolidation has real value.
Where it falls short: that breadth comes with heavy setup. Cin7 implementations commonly take weeks of configuration, and the manufacturing module, while capable, isn't as fast to get running as a purpose-built MRP tool. Pick Cin7 Core if omnichannel sales complexity is your bigger problem than production planning, and you have the time (or budget for an implementation partner) to set it up properly.
4. Fishbowl
Fishbowl is a long-standing name in manufacturing and warehouse inventory, priced around $349/user/mo, and it's especially popular with businesses already deep in the QuickBooks ecosystem, since it was originally built as a QuickBooks add-on.
Where it beats Katana: if your accounting is fully built around QuickBooks Desktop or Online and you don't want to introduce a separate financial system of record, Fishbowl's QuickBooks integration is more mature and battle-tested than most competitors'. It's also genuinely proven — plenty of manufacturers have run on it for a decade or more.
Where it falls short: the per-user pricing model gets expensive fast as your team grows, and the interface reflects its age — newer cloud-native tools are generally faster to learn and use day to day. Pick Fishbowl if QuickBooks integration is non-negotiable and you're comfortable with legacy software in exchange for a long track record.
5. Craftybase
Craftybase is built for makers and small-batch producers selling on Etsy, Shopify, or similar channels, starting around $29/mo — the cheapest option on this list by a wide margin.
Where it beats Katana: for a solo maker or small studio tracking materials, simple recipes, and COGS for tax and pricing purposes, Craftybase is dramatically simpler to set up and far cheaper than Katana, which is overbuilt for that scale.
Where it falls short: BOM depth is limited — it's designed for straightforward material-to-product recipes, not multi-level assemblies or complex production planning, and it isn't meant to scale much past maker-level volume. Pick Craftybase if you're a solo maker or very small studio and just need clean COGS and material tracking without manufacturing-software complexity.
6. Sortly
Sortly is visual asset and inventory tracking software — free for up to 100 items, with paid plans around $29/mo — built around photo-based item tracking rather than production.
Where it beats Katana: if what you actually need is to know where physical items and equipment are located, with photos and simple quantity tracking, Sortly is far simpler and cheaper to deploy than a manufacturing platform, and the free tier means you can start immediately.
Where it falls short: it isn't manufacturing software. There's no BOM engine, no production run tracking, and no cost rollup from raw materials to finished goods. Pick Sortly if your core need is visual asset or simple stock tracking, not manufacturing — and look elsewhere for anything involving a bill of materials.
How to Choose
Cut through the marketing by asking three questions about your own operation:
- How deep is your manufacturing? If you run multi-level BOMs, lot-traceable production, and need shop-floor visibility, weight tools built manufacturing-first (Nstock, Katana, Cin7, Fishbowl) over general inventory tools (inFlow, Sortly) or maker-scale tools (Craftybase).
- Can you set it up yourself, or do you need an implementation partner? Enterprise-breadth platforms like Cin7 and legacy tools like Fishbowl often need real setup time. If you want to sign up and be running this week, favor self-serve tools with free tiers or trials.
- Does the price match your actual usage? Per-user pricing punishes growing teams; flat per-tier pricing rewards them. Match the pricing model to how many people actually need seats, not just today's headcount.
None of these tools is universally "best" — Katana included. The right one is the one that matches your production complexity, your team size, and how much setup time you're willing to spend before you're live.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the cheapest Katana alternative for manufacturers?
Craftybase, at around $29/mo, is the cheapest option built with manufacturing-style COGS tracking in mind, though it's aimed at maker-scale operations rather than growing production teams. Nstock's free tier is the cheapest option with real BOM and lot-tracking depth.
Is there a free alternative to Katana MRP?
Nstock offers a free tier, and Sortly is free for up to 100 items — though Sortly is asset tracking, not manufacturing software, so it depends on what you need to track.
Which Katana alternative is best for small food or cosmetics manufacturers?
Look closely at lot tracking, expiry handling, and multi-level BOMs, since regulated small manufacturers usually need traceability from day one. Nstock and Fishbowl both cover this; Craftybase and Sortly generally don't have the depth for regulated production.