InvenTree
by InvenTree (community project)
An MIT-licensed parts and stock system with a strong bill-of-materials model and build orders that allocate component stock. It executes production well; it does not plan it.
Why it is classified this way
We call this a BOM & inventory product. Tracks product structure, parts, costs, and purchasing without a complete plan-and-execute production loop.
It is not labeled Full MRP because we have not verified that it nets that demand against stock on hand and orders already incoming; explodes requirements through at least one level of the bill of materials; uses lead times or required dates; and produces dated buy, make, transfer, release, or reschedule recommendations. That is a statement about the evidence we found, not a claim that the product is weak, see the capability table and the sources below.
The six Full MRP tests, and how InvenTree does on each (2 of 6)
- YesIt represents a bill of materials, recipe, or formula.Evidence: docs.inventree.org › Stable(opens in a new tab)
- YesIt accepts dated demand, sales orders, a forecast, or a master production schedule.Evidence: docs.inventree.org › Sales order(opens in a new tab)
- PartialIt nets that demand against stock on hand and orders already incoming.Not established. Only partly shown: the evidence covers some of this but not all of it, so the test is not established.
- UnknownIt explodes requirements through at least one level of the bill of materials.Not established. No evidence found yet.
- UnknownIt uses lead times or required dates.Not established. No evidence found yet.
- PartialIt produces dated buy, make, transfer, release, or reschedule recommendations.Not established. Only partly shown: the evidence covers some of this but not all of it, so the test is not established.
These rules are applied identically to every product and enforced at build time, a record cannot be published as Full MRP unless all six pass with a source attached. Read the methodology.
Best for
- Electronics and hardware shops that need rigorous part, stock-location and BOM control
- Technical owners who want an MIT license and a real REST API with no vendor in the middle
- Labs and prototype shops tracking serialized units and test results
Not a fit when
- Anyone who came looking for MRP, build orders are execution, not planning
- Shops with nobody to run a server
- Batch and recipe producers needing full lot genealogy, since only tracked BOM items are linked into the finished build output
Pricing facts
What it costs to do manufacturing in this product.
Free to self-host
The software is free under MIT with no feature gating and no user limits. Your cost is a server and your own time.
Free to self-host
$0/month
No published price
This vendor does not publish pricing, so you cannot compare it against anything here without contacting them. We will not estimate a figure.
What moves the real bill
- No published price. You have to contact the vendor, which usually means a sales call.
Plans
| Plan | Price | Add-ons and setup |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hostedInvenTree (MIT) | Free | — |
| You install, host, back up and upgrade it yourself. | ||
Pricing detail
No commercial pricing to report. This is a community project you host yourself. We show no monthly figure rather than pretending the honest answer is zero, a small VPS and your setup time are real costs.
Checked on August 13, 2026. Source: github.com(opens in a new tab). Prices change. Check before you buy.
Manufacturing capability
15 of 25 fields resolved. "Unknown" means we have not found first-party evidence. It is not a No.
Planning
Working out what to buy or make, and when.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Accepts dated demandYou can tell it what is due and when, sales orders with dates, a forecast, or a production schedule. | Yes | Sales orders carry a due date: "The Target Date of the sales order is the date on which the order is scheduled to be completed and shipped". Build orders have target dates too. Nothing uses these dates in a netting calculation.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Sales order(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Nets against stock on handIt subtracts what you already have before telling you to buy more. | Partial | Build orders allocate existing stock against requirements, which is netting at the build level. There is no netting of future demand across the catalog.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Build(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Counts incoming ordersIt knows about purchase orders and production orders already placed, so it does not tell you to order twice. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation showing open purchase or production orders included in the supply picture.Know the answer? |
| Uses lead timesIt works backwards from when you need something to when you must order or start it, using supplier and production lead times. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation showing lead time fields that shift a suggested order or start date.Know the answer? |
| Produces dated buy/make suggestionsThe output is an actionable list with dates, order this much by this date, start this batch on this date. | Partial | Builds support optional start and target dates and the system flags overdue builds. That is scheduling of work you have already decided on. It does not tell you what to order.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Build(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Capacity planningChecks whether your people and machines can do the work in the time available. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of work-center or resource capacity being compared against load.Know the answer? |
Production
Recipes, bills of materials, and running the work.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Bill of materialsA list of the parts and quantities needed to make one of something. | Yes | "Intelligent BOM (Bill of Material) management provides a clear understanding of the sub-parts required to make a new part."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Stable(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Multi-level BOMSub-assemblies inside assemblies, a part that is itself made from other parts, nested as deep as you need. | Yes | The BOM documentation says: "Multi-level (hierarchical) BOMs are natively supported by InvenTree. A Bill of Materials (BOM) can contain sub-assemblies which themselves have a defined BOM. This can continue for an unlimited number of levels."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Bom(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Recipes & formulasBatch-style production by weight, volume, or percentage, including scaling a batch up or down. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of recipe or formula records, ideally with batch scaling.Know the answer? |
| Work / manufacturing ordersA record authorising and tracking the making of a specific quantity. | Yes | "A Build Order is used to create new stock by assembling component parts, according to a Bill of Materials (BOM)." Allocation signals intent, and stock is subtracted when the build completes.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Build(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Routings & operationsThe ordered steps a product goes through, and which machine or station does each one. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of operation sequences or routings attached to production.Know the answer? |
| Shop-floor trackingOperators report progress, time, and completions as the work happens. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of a shop-floor, operator, or terminal interface for reporting production.Know the answer? |
| Quality controlsChecks, tests, holds, and non-conformance records tied to production or receiving. | Partial | Test templates and results are recorded against stock items and build outputs; stock items "can have associated test data - this is particularly useful for tracking unit testing / commissioning / acceptance data against a serialized stock item". No non-conformance or quality hold workflow is documented, so this is partial.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Test(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Inventory & traceability
Knowing what you hold and being able to trace it.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Batch & lot traceabilityWhich incoming material lots went into which finished batch, and where those finished goods went. | Yes | Stock items carry batch codes: "Batch codes can be used to specify a particular "group" of items, and can be assigned to any stock item without restriction. Batch codes are tracked even as stock items are split into separate items." For tracked BOM items, "the allocated stock item is automatically installed into the completed build output", which links input stock to the finished item. Untracked consumption is only logged as a stock history entry, so the link to the output is weaker there.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Tracking(opens in a new tab); docs.inventree.org › Traceability(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Expiry & shelf lifeBest-before dates on materials and finished goods, with warnings before they lapse. | Yes | The vendor states: "InvenTree can automatically notify users when stock items are approaching their expiry dates. This feature helps prevent stock from expiring unnoticed by providing advance warning." Stock expiry and stale-stock notifications have to be switched on in settings. Checked 2026-09-14.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Expiry(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Serial numbersUnique identifiers on individual units, for warranty or field service. | Yes | "Stock items can be serialized for tracking of individual items, and test results can be stored against a serialized stock item."Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Stable(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Commerce & accounting
Costs, purchasing, storefronts, and the books.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Product costing & COGSWhat it costs you to make one, and the cost of the goods you sold. | Partial | The pricing docs say "the Bill of Materials (BOM) can be used to determine the price of the assembly", rolling component prices up, and purchase and sale price history is kept. Nothing documents actual production costing or cost of goods sold, so this is partial.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Pricing(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| PurchasingRaising and tracking purchase orders to suppliers from inside the system. | Yes | Suppliers and supplier parts are first-class objects, linked to any part in inventory.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Stable(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Accounting connectionSends financial data to bookkeeping software, or includes its own general ledger. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of a named accounting integration or a built-in ledger.Know the answer? |
| Ecommerce connectionPulls orders and pushes stock levels to a storefront or marketplace. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of a named storefront or marketplace integration.Know the answer? |
Openness & your data
Getting data in, out, and away if you leave.
| Capability | Finding | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| APIA documented programming interface so other software can read and write your data. | Yes | A RESTful API with a native Python binding library, plus a plugin system for extending base functions.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Stable(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| WebhooksThe system can notify other software the moment something changes. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: documentation of outbound webhooks or event subscriptions.Know the answer? |
| 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. | Unknown | Not yet researched. We would need: a first-party mcp server, or documentation of one.Know the answer? |
| CSV exportYou can get your lists out as spreadsheet files. | Yes | Tables export through the export dialog or the API, and CSV is one of the listed formats: "Comma-separated values. Portable plain-text format, compatible with most tools." Excel and TSV are also offered.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: docs.inventree.org › Data export(opens in a new tab)Question this |
| Full data exportYou can take everything, including history and relationships, not just a few screens' worth of rows. | Yes | Self-hosted under MIT. The database is yours, with no license restriction on what you do with it.Reviewed October 9, 2026. Source: github.com › InvenTree(opens in a new tab)Question this |
Deployment, licensing and your data
- Deployment
- Self-hosted, On-premise (vendor-supported)
- Licensing
- Open sourceMIT
- Team sizes
- Just me, 2–5 people, 6–20 people, 21–50 people
- Manufacturing styles
- Countable assembled products, Kits & bundles, 3D printing
About the licence
MIT confirmed against the repository on 13 August 2026. MIT is about as permissive as it gets, no copyleft obligations if you modify it.
Licence: github.com(opens in a new tab)
Jobs this product qualifies for
Derived from the capability table above, not hand-assigned.
Editorial notes and cautions
Things we would want a friend to know before buying.
- InvenTree is frequently listed as open-source MRP. Its own documentation describes build orders that assemble components according to a BOM, with no time-phased planning, no lead times, and no forecasting. We classify it as BOM & inventory for that reason, and we think the project's own docs are more honest than the listicles.
- If you need planning on top of this, the usual pattern is to pair a parts system like this with a planning layer such as frePPLe rather than expecting one tool to do both.
- Repository activity is healthy. 7,300 stars and commits within a day of our check.
Alternatives to InvenTree
An alternative is always an alternative for a reason. There is no universal replacement.
Both target electronics inventory and BOM control; InvenTree is free and self-hosted where PartsBox is hosted, with a free single-user plan and paid tiers from 49EUR a month, and the trade is your server time against their uptime.
- Part-DBSimpler for makers
Part-DB is the lighter of the two open-source electronics options, closer to a catalog with BOM support, where InvenTree adds a full build-order workflow.
Compared on FilaOps's page, where we wrote: "InvenTree is MIT-licensed with no use restrictions at all, but knows nothing about printers or filament weight. You would be building the additive parts yourself."
Evidence and verification
License verified via the GitHub API. The build-order documentation is unusually clear about what the system does and does not do, which made classification straightforward.
Sources we checked (11)
docs.inventree.org
github.com
What we still want to confirm
We publish our gaps rather than hiding them. If you can point us at a first-party page for any of these, we will update the record and credit the correction.
- Find first-party evidence for the fields still marked unknown: counts incoming orders, uses lead times, capacity planning, recipes & formulas, routings & operations, shop-floor tracking, accounting connection, ecommerce connection, webhooks and mcp support.
Still unknown: counts incoming orders, uses lead times, capacity planning, recipes & formulas, routings & operations, shop-floor tracking, accounting connection, ecommerce connection, webhooks, mcp support.