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ERP & Business Operations · head to head

Fishbowl vs Plex Manufacturing Cloud

Fishbowl logo

Fishbowl

ERP & Business Operations

Manufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks

From
$4395/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

Plex Manufacturing Cloud

ERP & Business Operations

Cloud-native ERP for smart manufacturers

From
$500/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; Plex Manufacturing Cloud the Internet Archive's capture of Plex Systems' homepage on 24 December 2019 named two distinct products, Plex Manufacturing Cloud and Plex Classic, sold only via 'Product Demo' with no price figure published.
  • They diverge on capability: Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Plex Manufacturing Cloud covers Manufacturing execution.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fishbowl and Plex Manufacturing Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Fishbowl and Plex Manufacturing Cloud differ
AttributeFishbowlPlex Manufacturing Cloud
Starting price$4395/one-time$500/month
Pricing modelone-timesubscription
PlatformsWindows, CloudCloud, Mobile, Web
Founded20011995

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (ERP & Business Operations).

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
  • Shopify

Only in Plex Manufacturing Cloud

  • Manufacturing execution
  • Supply chain visibility
  • Quality management
  • Financials
  • Inventory
  • IoT sensors
  • Industry 4.0 devices
  • Mobile applications

Both cover

  • Cloud support

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 Plex Manufacturing Cloud
  • Manufacturing bills of materials, MRP, work orders and job costingnot Plex Manufacturing Cloud
  • Warehouse fulfilment, transfer orders and automated reorderingnot Plex Manufacturing Cloud
  • Multichannel selling with synchronised stock levelsnot Plex Manufacturing Cloud

Plex Manufacturing Cloud

  • Smart factory transformationnot Fishbowl
  • Real-time production monitoringnot Fishbowl
  • Supply chain transparencynot Fishbowl
  • Industry 4.0 implementationnot 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

Plex Manufacturing Cloud

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Plex Systems' homepage on 24 December 2019 named two distinct products, Plex Manufacturing Cloud and Plex Classic, sold only via 'Product Demo' with no price figure published.

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

Plex Manufacturing Cloud

$500/month
  • Standard$500/month
    • Core manufacturing
    • Financials
    • Inventory
  • Enterprise$1500/month
    • Advanced modules
    • IoT integration
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Fishbowl if

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

Choose Plex Manufacturing Cloud if

  • You need manufacturing execution.
  • You work on Cloud, Mobile, Web.
  • You also want supply chain visibility.
Plex Manufacturing Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is Fishbowl or Plex Manufacturing Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Plex Manufacturing Cloud at $500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fishbowl or Plex Manufacturing Cloud?
Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Plex Manufacturing Cloud at $500/month.
Does Fishbowl or Plex Manufacturing Cloud run on more platforms?
Fishbowl runs on Windows, Cloud. Plex Manufacturing Cloud runs on Cloud, Mobile, 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 Plex Manufacturing Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Fishbowl do that Plex Manufacturing Cloud cannot?
Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Manufacturing, Work orders, Barcode scanning. Plex Manufacturing Cloud covers Manufacturing execution, Supply chain visibility, Quality management, Financials. Both handle Cloud support.
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