Compared honestly · published prices as of July 2026
ItemTally vs Zoho Inventory
Zoho Inventory is a good product - for a different job. The honest summary: Zoho manages orders; ItemTally keeps a register of what you own. If you sell across channels and ship parcels, you likely want Zoho. If you want to know what you have, where it is, and who's holding it - order machinery is pure overhead.
What Zoho Inventory does well
- A real commerce stack. Sales orders, purchase orders, shipping integrations, marketplace sync - if the job is selling, Zoho covers it end to end.
- The Zoho suite around it. Books, CRM, Desk - the integrations are first-party and the bundle pricing is genuinely competitive.
- Variants and bundles. If you sell one t-shirt in nine sizes, Zoho models that properly.
The structural difference
Zoho Inventory is priced and shaped per order - the free tier is 50 orders a month, and the ladder climbs with your order volume. Its world is SKUs, warehouses, and shipments.
ItemTally has no orders at all - deliberately. No invoices, no purchasing, no carts. What it has instead is the register Zoho doesn't: check-outs to people with due dates and signatures, offline stock counts, van folders, possession checks, and a movement ledger anyone on the crew can read. €19/mo flat, items and movements never metered.
The numbers, side by side
| Aspect | Zoho Inventory | ItemTally |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Selling & shipping across channels | Knowing what you own - crews, vans, studios |
| Pricing model | Per orders/month (free: 50 orders) | €19/mo flat - orders don't exist here |
| Sales & purchase orders | Yes - the core | Never - pledged scope boundary |
| Check-out to people | No | Yes - due dates, signatures, custody report |
| Offline mode | No - online SaaS | Every plan - the van has no signal |
| Stocktake counts | Adjustment-based | Frozen count sheets, walk the shelf, post variances |
| Assistant access (MCP) | No | Yes - first-party, every plan |
| Unique gear with serials | Partial (serial/batch for sales) | Yes - custody-first, alongside quantity stock |
Zoho Inventory figures from zoho.com/inventory pricing as of July 2026. Prices change - check their page for today's numbers.
Switching is an afternoon, not a project
Whatever you're coming from, the move is the same three steps - and nothing is written to your new register until you've seen the preview.
- Export a CSV from Zoho Inventory. Any export works - the importer maps your columns to fields, and Sortly/BoxHero exports have one-click presets that keep folders, custom fields and quantities.
- Preview the dry run. ItemTally shows exactly what will be created - items, folders, fields, photos fetched from your export's image links - before a single row is written. Fix mappings, run it again, no harm done.
- Print fresh labels, or don't. Old QR labels can re-attach as codes so existing stickers keep scanning. New QR identities are generated automatically either way - the full walkthrough is here.
Questions every switcher asks
How do I move my data from Zoho Inventory to ItemTally?
Export a CSV from your current tool and import it - the importer maps columns, previews everything as a dry run, and writes nothing until you confirm. Sortly and BoxHero exports have one-click presets (folders, custom fields, quantities, and photos fetched automatically). A typical register moves in an afternoon.
Is there really a free plan, or is it a trial?
Free forever, for one writer, with unlimited items, offline, exports and API read keys - no card, no trial clock. Paid plans exist for crews: €19/month flat for up to five writers, €49/month flat for unlimited.
What happens to my data if I leave ItemTally?
Full CSV export on every plan, any day, no questions. Data freedom is mechanical, not a promise - ItemTally's own export re-imports cleanly, and that round-trip is tested.
Will the price rise on me later?
Not on you: your joining price is locked, and items are never metered on any plan. Both are part of a signed, dated public pledge - written after watching other tools ambush their customers with re-pricing.
Try the flat-priced way
Import your CSV in minutes. One writer is free forever - unlimited items, every feature, no card, no trial clock. And your CSV exports back out any day you like.