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ERP · head to head

Fishbowl vs QuickBooks Enterprise

Fishbowl logo

Fishbowl

ERP

Manufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks

From
$4395/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks Enterprise logo

QuickBooks Enterprise

Inventory

Advanced inventory for QuickBooks users

From
On request
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; QuickBooks Enterprise quickBooks Desktop Enterprise is capped at 1-30 users per company file; Silver, Gold and Platinum are sold as annual subscriptions, not perpetual licenses, and auto-renew until cancelled (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • They diverge on capability: Fishbowl covers Inventory management, QuickBooks Enterprise covers Advanced inventory.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fishbowl and QuickBooks Enterprise actually diverge.

Attributes where Fishbowl and QuickBooks Enterprise differ
AttributeFishbowlQuickBooks Enterprise
Starting price$4395/one-timeOn request
Pricing modelone-timesubscription
PlatformsWindows, CloudDesktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows
CategoryERPInventory
Founded20011983

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
  • Shopify

Only in QuickBooks Enterprise

  • Advanced inventory
  • FIFO costing
  • Serial/lot tracking
  • Multi-location
  • QuickBooks ecosystem
  • Fishbowl
  • TSheets
  • Method CRM

Both cover

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

QuickBooks Enterprise

  • Advanced inventory trackingnot Fishbowl
  • Cost accountingnot Fishbowl
  • Multi-location managementnot Fishbowl
  • Lot trackingnot 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

QuickBooks Enterprise

  • QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is capped at 1-30 users per company file; Silver, Gold and Platinum are sold as annual subscriptions, not perpetual licenses, and auto-renew until cancelled (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • Filing taxes in more than one state costs an additional $12/month per extra state on top of the base subscription (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • Introductory discounts (10 percent off for 1-4 users, 40 percent off for 5-30 users) apply only to the first year; the account is automatically charged the full then-current subscription fee from year two onward until the customer cancels (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)

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

QuickBooks Enterprise

On request
  • Gold$199/month
    • Core features
    • Up to 5 users
    • Standard support
  • Platinum$299/month
    • Advanced inventory
    • Up to 10 users
    • Priority support
  • Diamond$449/month
    • Full features
    • Up to 40 users
    • Premium support

Which should you pick?

Choose Fishbowl if

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

Choose QuickBooks Enterprise if

  • You need advanced inventory.
  • You work on Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows.
  • You also want fifo costing.
QuickBooks Enterprise review

Questions people ask

Is Fishbowl or QuickBooks Enterprise better?
Neither clearly leads. Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and QuickBooks Enterprise at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fishbowl or QuickBooks Enterprise?
Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and QuickBooks Enterprise at On request.
Does Fishbowl or QuickBooks Enterprise run on more platforms?
Fishbowl runs on Windows, Cloud. QuickBooks Enterprise runs on Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows.
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 QuickBooks Enterprise is typically brought in for.
What can Fishbowl do that QuickBooks Enterprise cannot?
Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Manufacturing, Work orders, Barcode scanning. QuickBooks Enterprise covers Advanced inventory, FIFO costing, Serial/lot tracking, Multi-location. Both handle Windows support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fishbowl: How much does Fishbowl Inventory cost per month?

Fishbowl Inventory pricing starts at $229/month (billed annually) for the Essentials tier, $429/month for Growth, and $729/month for Scale. The Advanced Manufacturing tier starts at $675/month and Advanced Warehouse starts at $595/month, though both are quote-based and vary by user count.

Source
Fishbowl: How many users are included in each tier?

Essentials includes 2 users, Growth includes 5 users, and Scale includes 10 users. Advanced Manufacturing and Advanced Warehouse support teams of 2 to 200+ users with pricing confirmed by quote based on your specific deployment.

Source
Fishbowl: Is Fishbowl billed monthly or annually?

Fishbowl Inventory plans require annual billing. The Advanced Manufacturing and Advanced Warehouse plans have variable pricing confirmed by quote and may have different billing arrangements.

Source
Fishbowl: What's included when I sign up for Fishbowl?

All Fishbowl plans include an implementation package with specialist support, data migration services, and 6 to 8 weeks of certification training. Cloud hosting is included with Advanced Manufacturing plans.

Source
Fishbowl: Can I add more users if I exceed my tier's user limit?

You can upgrade to a higher tier which includes additional users. Essentials ($229/mo with 2 users) can upgrade to Growth ($429/mo with 5 users) or Scale ($729/mo with 10 users). Custom team sizes beyond 10 users require Advanced Manufacturing or Advanced Warehouse quotes.

Source
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