Katana vs Zoho Inventory
Comparison last checked October 10, 2026. Every figure comes from the two product records, each with its own sources and check dates.
The short answer
Pick Zoho Inventory if you assemble kits or simple products and want orders, stock and storefronts in one low-cost tool: a free plan covers 50 orders a month, and paid plans start at $29 a month billed annually. Pick Katana if you need routings, a shop-floor app and dated order suggestions; Zoho's replenishment has no dates.
Choose Katana if
- You route work through operations and want a shop-floor app; a Zoho assembly is a single step.
- You want a date to order by: Katana suggests one from each item's lead time.
- You have many people who need a login, because Katana does not charge per user.
Choose Zoho Inventory if
- You want a low published price: Standard is $29 a month billed annually with three users.
- You already use Zoho Books or QuickBooks Online and need composite items, purchase orders and storefront syncing.
- You can live with the gating: serial and batch tracking start at Premium, $79 a month billed annually.
Key differences
The rows that separate these two. Unknown means we have not found evidence; it is not the same as No.
| Attribute | Katana | Zoho Inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Useful entry priceWhat you pay to get the manufacturing capability, not the cheapest nominal tier. | No paid price publishedSource: katanamrp.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Checked October 9, 2026 | Free plan, then from $29 a monthSource: zoho.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Checked October 10, 2026 |
| Billing basis | Quote only | Mixed |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan: YesUp to 30 SKUs, with unlimited users, integrations and inventory locations, all Katana features and API access.Free trial: 15 days | Free plan: Yes"50 orders", "1 user", "1 location" a month, with composite items, dropshipment and backordering.Free trial: 14 days |
| Produces dated buy/make suggestionsThe output is an actionable list with dates, order this much by this date, start this batch on this date. | YesThe Replenishment tab lists a "Suggested order by" date, "Latest date to place an order based on the item's lead time to avoid a stockout", with Buy and Make buttons that create a pre-filled purchase or manufacturing order.Source: support.katanamrp.com › Understanding replenishment and order suggestions(opens in a new tab) | PartialReplenishment lists items below their reorder level and lets you raise the order, with no suggested date: "It lists low-stock items under the Pending Replenishments section in the Replenishments module.Source: zoho.com › Replenishments(opens in a new tab) |
| Routings & operationsThe ordered steps a product goes through, and which machine or station does each one. | YesIn a 2026 vendor live training, the product recipe carries production operations in sequence: "Each one has a resource assigned whether that's ...Source: Vendor video, 2026, at 12:24(opens in a new tab) | Unknown |
| Lot and batch traceabilityWhich incoming material lots went into which finished batch, and where those finished goods went. | YesIncluded from the Free plan"End-to-end traceability for materials and products with batch tracking", with auto-generated batch and internal barcodes.Source: katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab) | YesIncluded from the Premium planBatches are recorded on receipt ("you will be able to record the items you receive as batches along with its manufactured date and expiry date") and on both sides of an assembly: "If you have enabled serial or batch number tracking for your composite item, you'll be able to enter the serial or batch numbers for the assembly quantity", and for components, "If the associated items are tracked by serial or batch numbers.Source: zoho.com › Batch tracking(opens in a new tab) |
| Product classWhat kind of system it is. | Full MRP | Light manufacturing |
| Best-fit team sizes | 2–5 people, 6–20 people, 21–50 people | Just me, 2–5 people, 6–20 people |
What it costs at your size
Entry prices leave out users, add-ons, order limits and extra locations. Put in your own numbers and both products are worked out the same way, from each vendor's published prices.
Full comparison
Every sourced field, side by side. It opens on the rows where the two differ.
Unknown means we have not found evidence. It is not the same as No.
| Attribute | KatanaKatana · record checked October 9, 2026 | Zoho InventoryZoho Corporation · record checked October 10, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Product classWhat kind of system it is. | Full MRP | Light manufacturing |
| One-line fit | Strong production control with documented MRP planning; paid pricing is quote-only since 2026-10, last published at $299 plus $199 for manufacturing. | Sellers who assemble kits or simple products from parts and want orders, stock and storefronts in one tool, with a free tier to start. |
| Real cost | ||
| Pricing | Free plan availableSource: katanamrp.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Checked October 9, 2026 | Free plan · From $0/moSource: zoho.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Checked October 10, 2026 |
| Billing basis | quote | mixed |
| Openness & data | ||
| Deployment | Cloud (hosted for you) | Cloud (hosted for you), Mobile app |
| Evidence | ||
| Verification | Verified | Partially verified |
| Last checked | 2026-10-09 | 2026-10-10 |
| Planning | ||
| Accepts dated demandYou can tell it what is due and when, sales orders with dates, a forecast, or a production schedule. | YesThe Planning tab monitors expected stock from "Sales orders (SOs)", "Purchase orders (POs)", "Manufacturing orders (MOs)" and "Outsourced purchase orders (OPOs)", and "Katana projects anticipated stock levels by week or month"; forecast demand can be calculated from sales history or entered by hand. Requires the Planning and forecasting add-on. Suggested manufacturing orders that have not been created yet do not appear to be exploded into material demand. For a subassembly with no history the help center suggests a workaround: "Example: Increase the manual forecast for a subassembly without historical data to align stock levels with expected requirements." That is our inference from the workaround, not a direct statement.Source: support.katanamrp.com › Planning and anticipating stock levels(opens in a new tab); support.katanamrp.com › How to use forecast demand(opens in a new tab); katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab) | PartialSales orders carry a date to ship by: "Using the Expected Shipment Date field, you can set the date by which the product should be shipped to the customer." Confirmed orders commit stock ("Committed Stock: Quantity of item that you have promised for sale"). No page says the date feeds any calculation, and there is no forecast.Source: zoho.com › Sales order creation(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Item details(opens in a new tab) |
| Nets against stock on handIt subtracts what you already have before telling you to buy more. | YesThe projected stockout date is "Based on your current stock levels and open demand (sales + manufacturing orders)", and the suggested quantity "Considers your demand forecasts, MOQ, and any open supplier orders." Requires the Planning and forecasting add-on.Source: support.katanamrp.com › Understanding replenishment and order suggestions(opens in a new tab); support.katanamrp.com › Planning and anticipating stock levels(opens in a new tab) | PartialNetting is per threshold and per order, not a plan. Replenishments: "When stock levels fall below a set threshold, replenishments will lists low-stock items under the Pending Replenishments section", against a Reorder Level and a Maximum Stock Level. In a sales order: "Whenever the quantity in demand is greater than the quantity available, you can use the Assemble Item option inside a sales order or an invoice to generate the required quantity of composite items on the fly." The Replenishment module is marked for the Enterprise plan only; reorder levels are on every plan.Source: zoho.com › Replenishments(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Assemblies(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing comparison(opens in a new tab) |
| Counts incoming ordersIt knows about purchase orders and production orders already placed, so it does not tell you to order twice. | YesOpen purchase orders, manufacturing orders and outsourced purchase orders are all inputs to the projected stock level, and the suggested quantity accounts for "any open supplier orders". Requires the Planning and forecasting add-on.Source: support.katanamrp.com › Basics of the planning and forecasting add on(opens in a new tab); support.katanamrp.com › Understanding replenishment and order suggestions(opens in a new tab) | PartialOpen purchase orders are tracked to receipt ("For orders that you haven't received yet, click Save as In Transit") and the item page shows Accounting Stock, Physical Stock, Committed Stock and "Available for Sale: The remaining uncommitted quantity (Stock on Hand - Committed Stock)". No page says incoming purchase orders are added into an availability figure or a replenishment check.Source: zoho.com › Purchase receive(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Item details(opens in a new tab) |
| Uses lead timesIt works backwards from when you need something to when you must order or start it, using supplier and production lead times. | YesEach SKU carries a lead time, "the number of days it takes to replenish stock (either from a supplier or internal production)". The order-by date is the projected stockout date offset backwards by that lead time: "If a product has a lead time of 7 days and is forecasted to run out on July 21, Katana will suggest placing an order by July 14." Requires the Planning and forecasting add-on.Source: support.katanamrp.com › Sku lead time and minimum order quantity moq(opens in a new tab); support.katanamrp.com › Understanding replenishment and order suggestions(opens in a new tab) | Unknown |
| Produces dated buy/make suggestionsThe output is an actionable list with dates, order this much by this date, start this batch on this date. | YesThe Replenishment tab lists a "Suggested order by" date, "Latest date to place an order based on the item's lead time to avoid a stockout", with Buy and Make buttons that create a pre-filled purchase or manufacturing order. Requires the Planning and forecasting add-on.Source: support.katanamrp.com › Understanding replenishment and order suggestions(opens in a new tab); support.katanamrp.com › Sku lead time and minimum order quantity moq(opens in a new tab) | PartialReplenishment lists items below their reorder level and lets you raise the order, with no suggested date: "It lists low-stock items under the Pending Replenishments section in the Replenishments module. From there, you can manually create the necessary orders to replenish stock." A Frequency setting decides how often the check runs. Enterprise plan only per the comparison table.Source: zoho.com › Replenishments(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing comparison(opens in a new tab) |
| Capacity planningChecks whether your people and machines can do the work in the time available. | Yes"Plan capacity, allocate resources, and ensure materials are ready when needed", with schedules adjustable on the fly.Source: katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab) | Unknown |
| Production | ||
| Bill of materialsA list of the parts and quantities needed to make one of something. | Yes"Create and manage bills of materials, including subassemblies, to ensure accuracy in production."Source: katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab) | YesA composite item is the bill of materials: "A Composite item in Zoho Inventory is a single commodity that is made up of two or more items and/or services." Of its two types, "Assemblies (formerly known as Bundles) is used when you physically assemble a single item from individual components", and when creating one you "Associate the items and services that you want to configure as a composite item and enter its quantity." Available on every plan, including Free.Source: zoho.com › Composite items(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab) |
| Routings & operationsThe ordered steps a product goes through, and which machine or station does each one. | YesIn a 2026 vendor live training, the product recipe carries production operations in sequence: "Each one has a resource assigned whether that's ... a person, a station, a work area, a cost per hour, and an estimated time." Operations flow into every manufacturing order and the Shop Floor app. Until 2026-10 the pricing page put this behind the Manufacturing Management add-on ($199/mo on Core): "Access manufacturing routings, and manufacturing insights".Source: Vendor video, 2026, at 12:24(opens in a new tab); katanamrp.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab) | Unknown |
| Shop-floor trackingOperators report progress, time, and completions as the work happens. | Yes"Give your production team clear task lists, priorities, and instructions directly on the shop floor with no limits on the number of users." Note the pricing page also lists a separate Shop Floor app.Source: katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab); katanamrp.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab) | Unknown |
| Inventory & traceability | ||
| Batch & lot traceabilityWhich incoming material lots went into which finished batch, and where those finished goods went. | Yes"End-to-end traceability for materials and products with batch tracking", with auto-generated batch and internal barcodes. Until 2026-10 this was sold as a $249/month Traceability add-on; the pricing page read on 2026-10-09 lists traceability inside the Advantage contract and "All Katana features" on the Free plan.Source: katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab); katanamrp.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab) | YesBatches are recorded on receipt ("you will be able to record the items you receive as batches along with its manufactured date and expiry date") and on both sides of an assembly: "If you have enabled serial or batch number tracking for your composite item, you'll be able to enter the serial or batch numbers for the assembly quantity", and for components, "If the associated items are tracked by serial or batch numbers. Click the Add Serial Number or Add Batch Number option and enter the serial and batch details for the specified quantity." The Batch Transaction History page lists invoices, transfer orders, bills and adjustments, not assemblies. Premium plan and above.Source: zoho.com › Batch tracking(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Assemblies(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab) |
| Expiry & shelf lifeBest-before dates on materials and finished goods, with warnings before they lapse. | Yes"Track the expiry date of items and stay in control of expiring stock."Source: katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab) | YesEach batch has a "Manufactured Date" and an "Expiry Date: The date until which the item is consumable." The batch tracking page lists "Track the expiration of items." and "Trace defective items back to the batch that it belonged." Premium plan and above.Source: zoho.com › Composite items(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Batch tracking(opens in a new tab) |
| Serial numbersUnique identifiers on individual units, for warranty or field service. | Yes"Use serial numbers to identify individual products for warranty claims, maintenance, and customer support."Source: katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab) | Yes"Serial Number Tracking is a system with which you can track individual units of an item right from its creation through to its sale. Each unit will possess a unique identification code which will help you find out which unit was sold to whom." Serial numbers can also go on composite items and on assembled quantities. Premium plan and above; an item is tracked by serials or by batches, not both.Source: zoho.com › Serial number tracking(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Composite items(opens in a new tab) |
| Commerce & accounting | ||
| Product costing & COGSWhat it costs you to make one, and the cost of the goods you sold. | Yes"Automatically calculate manufacturing costs based on your BOMs, operations, and material usage. Compare planned and actual consumption."Source: katanamrp.com › Manufacturing(opens in a new tab) | YesItems are valued by FIFO or weighted average: "The average cost is then used to determine the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and the value of your remaining inventory." Reports include a FIFO Cost Lot Tracking report, an Inventory Valuation Summary and a Landed Cost Summary that "shows the total landed cost incurred per vendor, and the amount allocated to each item in your bills." On assembled items, "COGS will only be posted during sales (invoicing)" and components sit under the Inventory Asset account. A composite item carries its own Cost Price field; no page says that cost is rolled up from the components.Source: zoho.com › Items overview(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Inventory valuation reports(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Composite items enhancement guide(opens in a new tab) |
| PurchasingRaising and tracking purchase orders to suppliers from inside the system. | YesPurchase orders can be created pre-filled from a replenishment suggestion with the Buy button, and received in parts. The help center: "Keep your inventory accurate by receiving items from a purchase order in multiple shipments," after which "The PO is updated to Partially received". No plan restriction is stated on the receiving article. Checked 2026-09-19.Source: support.katanamrp.com › How to partially receive a purchase order po(opens in a new tab); support.katanamrp.com › Understanding replenishment and order suggestions(opens in a new tab) | YesPurchase orders carry a vendor and an "Expected Delivery Date", and "A purchase receive in Zoho Inventory is a document that is used to record the items that are delivered or yet to be delivered by your vendor to your warehouses." Receives can be partial and convert to bills; items have a Preferred Vendor. Purchase orders a month are capped by plan: 20 on Free, 300 on Standard.Source: zoho.com › Purchase order creation(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Purchase receive(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing comparison(opens in a new tab) |
| Accounting connectionSends financial data to bookkeeping software, or includes its own general ledger. | YesThe help center has a Xero integration overview, which lists "Send purchase orders (POs) to Xero as bills". QuickBooks Online is shown in a 2026 vendor walkthrough: "To connect the QuickBooks Online integration to Katana, you first need to make sure that you have the integrations permission."Source: support.katanamrp.com › Xero integration overview(opens in a new tab); Vendor video, 2026, at 0:07(opens in a new tab); Vendor video, 2026, at 0:29(opens in a new tab) | YesQuickBooks Online: "Automatically sync invoices, credit notes, bills, vendor credits, customer and vendor details from Zoho Inventory to QuickBooks Online", with optional journal entries that "update the Inventory Asset and Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) accounts in QuickBooks Online." Xero: "Sync invoices, credit notes, bills, and vendor credits from Zoho Inventory to Xero." Zoho Books shares the organization: "all the data - settings, contacts, items, sales orders, purchase orders, bills and common reports are synchronized". The comparison table marks Accounting on every plan.Source: zoho.com › Quickbooks online(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Xero(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Accounting integrations(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing comparison(opens in a new tab) |
| Ecommerce connectionPulls orders and pushes stock levels to a storefront or marketplace. | YesShopify is shown in a 2026 vendor walkthrough, and the help center has overviews for WooCommerce ("Once connected, products, customers, and sales orders are automatically pulled into Katana."), BigCommerce and Amazon FBA and FBM. The pricing page FAQ says only Shopify is available on the Free plan.Source: support.katanamrp.com › Woocommerce integration overview(opens in a new tab); support.katanamrp.com › Bigcommerce integration overview(opens in a new tab); support.katanamrp.com › Amazon fba integration overview(opens in a new tab); Vendor video, 2026, at 0:09(opens in a new tab) | YesAmazon, Etsy, eBay US, Shopify and Zoho Commerce, plus WooCommerce: "Your stock on hand will be automatically updated across all the online sales channels that you are integrated with" and "A sales order will be automatically generated for an unfulfilled sale made in any of the channels." Items must already exist in the store with matching SKUs. One Shopify store on Free and Standard, five from Premium.Source: zoho.com › Sales channel(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing comparison(opens in a new tab) |
| Openness & your data | ||
| APIA documented programming interface so other software can read and write your data. | YesThe pricing page read on 2026-10-09 lists "API access" on the Free plan. Before 2026-10 it was listed as included with the Core plan.Source: katanamrp.com › Pricing(opens in a new tab) | YesA public REST API at zohoapis.com/inventory/v1 with OAuth, covering items, composite items, assemblies ("Create Assemblies", "Mark Assembly as Assembled"), sales orders, purchase orders, batches and replenishment tasks. "You can make 100 requests per minute per organization", with daily caps by plan; the API page lists "Free Plan - 1000 API requests/day" and the pricing comparison lists 1,000 to 10,000 calls a day.Source: zoho.com › Introduction(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Compositeitems(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing comparison(opens in a new tab) |
| WebhooksThe system can notify other software the moment something changes. | YesThe vendor states: "Webhooks offer an easy way to receive programmatic notifications from Katana regarding changes to your data as they occur." From Katana's developer documentation. Checked 2026-09-14.Source: developer.katanamrp.com › Getting started with katana webhooks(opens in a new tab) | Yes"Webhooks facilitate communication with third-party applications by sending instant web notifications every time an event occurs in Zoho Inventory." They fire from workflow rules and take custom parameters and headers. The comparison table gives webhooks and custom functions to Premium, Plus and Enterprise only; the home page lists them as a feature without that caveat.Source: zoho.com › Automation(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Pricing comparison(opens in a new tab) |
| MCP supportA Model Context Protocol server, letting an AI assistant read or act on this data. Useful, but it has nothing to do with whether the product plans materials. | YesIn a 2026 vendor live training, Katana staff connect the first-party Katana MCP server to Claude and ChatGPT: "you can using the MCP read create update any data that you have in Gatana. We have ... not allowed deleting your data this time." The trainer says it is free to connect, and non-owner users need an MCP permission.Source: Vendor video, 2026, at 10:03(opens in a new tab) | Unknown |
| CSV exportYou can get your lists out as spreadsheet files. | YesA 2023 vendor tutorial exports the serial-number list from the Stock screen: "exporting that we can export as an a CSV file or an Excel file". The same list can be brought back in through Settings, Data import.Source: Vendor video, 2023, at 4:38(opens in a new tab) | YesEvery module exports: "Select a format in which you want to export the data: CSV (Comma Separated Value), XLS (Microsoft Excel 1997 - 2004) or XLSX (Microsoft Excel)." Export templates pick and reorder fields, and serial and batch numbers export for items, invoices, bills, adjustments and transfer orders. Composite items and assemblies have their own export actions.Source: zoho.com › Export(opens in a new tab); zoho.com › Assemblies(opens in a new tab) |
| Full data exportYou can take everything, including history and relationships, not just a few screens' worth of rows. | Unknown | YesData Backup: "You can export your complete organizational data as a single compressed file from Zoho Inventory. The compressed file will consist of CSV files that belong to various modules of Zoho Inventory." Admins only, the link arrives by email, expires after 30 days, and "you can't initiate another backup within the next 15 days."Source: zoho.com › Data backup(opens in a new tab) |
Common questions
- Is Katana cheaper than Zoho Inventory?
- Katana publishes no paid price beyond its free plan, so you have to ask for a quote. Zoho Inventory's free plan covers manufacturing, and its paid plans start from $29 a month. Put your own users, orders and locations into the cost calculator to see what each comes to.
- Does Katana or Zoho Inventory have a free plan or a free trial?
- Katana has a free plan and a 15-day free trial. Zoho Inventory has a free plan and a 14-day free trial.
- Which has lot traceability, Katana or Zoho Inventory?
- Katana has batch and lot tracking, from the Free plan. Zoho Inventory has batch and lot tracking, from the Premium plan.
- Does Katana or Zoho Inventory tell you what to order and when?
- That is the test for material requirements planning: a dated recommendation to buy or make. Katana does. Zoho Inventory partly does.
- Do Katana and Zoho Inventory work with QuickBooks, Xero or Shopify?
- Katana: an accounting integration and an e-commerce integration. Named integrations: QuickBooks Online, Shopify, Xero, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Amazon. Zoho Inventory: an accounting integration and an e-commerce integration. Named integrations: Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Shopify, WooCommerce, Zoho Commerce, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart, Zoho CRM, Zoho Analytics, UPS, USPS, FedEx, Easyship, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Slack, Twilio, Avalara and SPS Commerce.
- Is Katana or Zoho Inventory open source, and can you host it yourself?
- Katana is proprietary SaaS, deployed as cloud (hosted for you). Zoho Inventory is proprietary SaaS, deployed as cloud (hosted for you) and mobile app.
Related
How this comparison was made
The short answer and the two lists were written by an editor for this pair. Every other row and answer is read from the two product records, which cite the vendor pages behind each claim. Nobody paid to appear here or to be placed first; the order is alphabetical. How we classify and verify.
Report a correction to KatanaReport a correction to Zoho Inventory