Softwr

ERP & Business Operations · head to head

Fishbowl vs Katana

Fishbowl logo

Fishbowl

ERP & Business Operations

Manufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks

From
$4395/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Katana logo

Katana

Inventory Management

Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fishbowl the $229 per month Essentials plan includes only 2 users, Growth at $429 includes 5 and Scale at $729 includes 10, all billed annually; Katana limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated
  • They diverge on capability: Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Katana covers Production planning.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fishbowl and Katana actually diverge.

Attributes where Fishbowl and Katana differ
AttributeFishbowlKatana
Starting price$4395/one-time$99/month
Pricing modelone-timeUnknown
PlatformsWindows, CloudWeb
CategoryERP & Business OperationsInventory Management
Founded20012015

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Fishbowl

  • Inventory management
  • Manufacturing
  • Work orders
  • Barcode scanning
  • QuickBooks integration
  • QuickBooks Desktop
  • QuickBooks Online
  • Amazon

Only in Katana

  • Production planning
  • Real-time inventory
  • BOM management
  • Shop floor control
  • WooCommerce
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • BigCommerce

Both cover

  • Shopify

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Fishbowl

  • Inventory and SKU tracking for wholesale and distribution businessesnot Katana
  • Manufacturing bills of materials, MRP, work orders and job costingnot Katana
  • Warehouse fulfilment, transfer orders and automated reorderingnot Katana
  • Multichannel selling with synchronised stock levelsnot Katana

Katana

  • Production schedulingnot Fishbowl
  • Material planningnot Fishbowl
  • Work order managementnot Fishbowl
  • Inventory optimizationnot Fishbowl

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Fishbowl

  • The $229 per month Essentials plan includes only 2 users, Growth at $429 includes 5 and Scale at $729 includes 10, all billed annually
  • A paid implementation package is required as part of purchase and covers a 6 to 8 week training certification
  • Lot tracking, demand forecasting and compliance documentation require the Scale plan at $729 per month
  • Advanced Warehouse from $595 per month and Advanced Manufacturing from $675 per month are quoted on team size and deployment rather than sold at a fixed rate
  • Demand forecasting and custom reports are add ons carrying separate fees
  • All listed plan prices are billed annually rather than monthly

Katana

  • Limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated
  • No native invoicing capability, making it standalone without accounting system integration
  • Limited native integrations, with heavy reliance on Zapier for non-core tools
  • Slow performance with large datasets and high SKU counts

Pricing, plan by plan

Fishbowl

$4395/one-time
  • Fishbowl Warehouse$4395/one-time
    • Inventory tracking
    • Order management
    • QuickBooks sync
  • Fishbowl Manufacturing$5495/one-time
    • Work orders
    • Bill of materials
    • Shop floor control

Katana

$99/month
  • Essential$99/month
    • Core inventory management
    • Production scheduling
    • Stock tracking
  • Pro$299/month
    • Shop floor control
    • API access
    • Advanced reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Fishbowl if

  • You need inventory management.
  • You work on Windows, Cloud.
  • You also want manufacturing.
Fishbowl review

Choose Katana if

  • You need production planning.
  • You also want real-time inventory.
Katana review

Questions people ask

Is Fishbowl or Katana better?
Neither clearly leads. Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Katana at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fishbowl or Katana?
Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Katana at $99/month.
Does Fishbowl or Katana run on more platforms?
Fishbowl runs on Windows, Cloud. Katana runs on Web.
What is Fishbowl best used for?
Fishbowl is most often used for inventory and sku tracking for wholesale and distribution businesses, manufacturing bills of materials, mrp, work orders and job costing, warehouse fulfilment, transfer orders and automated reordering, multichannel selling with synchronised stock levels. Of those, inventory and sku tracking for wholesale and distribution businesses and manufacturing bills of materials, mrp, work orders and job costing are not what Katana is typically brought in for.
What can Fishbowl do that Katana cannot?
Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Manufacturing, Work orders, Barcode scanning. Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control. Both handle Shopify.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Katana: What is Katana's pricing structure?

Katana starts at $99/month for the Essential plan with core MRP features. The Pro plan costs $299/month and adds shop floor control and API access. Add-ons for traceability, manufacturing, and warehouse management cost extra and can reach $747-$1,095 total.

Source
Katana: Does Katana support multi-level bills of materials?

Katana has limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning capabilities. Complex multi-level BOMs with sub-assemblies require manual workarounds, which becomes increasingly problematic as SKU count grows.

Source
Katana: Can Katana integrate with my accounting software?

Katana has no native invoicing capability and limited integrations with accounting systems. It is essentially standalone and requires manual data export or Zapier integration for most accounting workflows.

Source
Katana: Does Katana have an offline mode?

No, Katana is a cloud-only solution requiring internet connectivity. There is no built-in offline mode for production floor access without internet.

Source
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Related pages

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