Softwr

ERP · head to head

Fishbowl vs Zycus

Fishbowl logo

Fishbowl

ERP

Manufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks

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

Zycus

ERP

Source-to-pay suite with heavy AI positioning, priced by module and quoted throughout

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; Zycus implementations run long and are consultant-led, so the gap between the sales demonstration and a configured live system is measured in quarters, during which the licence is already being paid.
  • They diverge on capability: Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Zycus covers Spend analysis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fishbowl and Zycus actually diverge.

Attributes where Fishbowl and Zycus differ
AttributeFishbowlZycus
Starting price$4395/one-timeOn request
Pricing modelone-timequote
PlatformsWindows, CloudWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2001Unknown

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

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 Zycus

  • Spend analysis
  • eSourcing
  • Contract management
  • Supplier management
  • Procure-to-pay
  • Invoice processing
  • Merlin AI agents
  • Savings tracking

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

Zycus

  • A manufacturer with several ERP instances that cannot answer what it spends with a given supplier group-widenot Fishbowl
  • A procurement function running frequent reverse auctions that needs award scenario optimisation rather than a spreadsheetnot Fishbowl
  • An organisation that priced Coupa and Ariba, found the licence unaffordable, and needs comparable module coveragenot Fishbowl
  • A regulated business needing supplier risk monitoring and contract obligation tracking in one audited systemnot 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

Zycus

  • Implementations run long and are consultant-led, so the gap between the sales demonstration and a configured live system is measured in quarters, during which the licence is already being paid.
  • The AI capability is marketed well ahead of what is typically enabled in a customer instance, and buyers should insist on seeing agentic features running on their own data before valuing them in a business case.
  • A large share of engineering and support capacity sits in India, so North American and European customers need coverage windows and escalation paths written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • The user interface across modules is inconsistent, reflecting different development eras, which raises training cost and reduces adoption among occasional requisitioners.
  • Pricing is entirely quoted and structured around spend under management, so a business whose spend grows faces increases unrelated to how much it uses the software.

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

Zycus

On request
  • Zycus Source-to-Pay$undefined/year
    • Modules licensed individually or as a suite
    • Priced by spend under management, users and modules
    • Annual subscription, multi-year terms common

Which should you pick?

Choose Fishbowl if

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

Choose Zycus if

  • You need spend analysis.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want esourcing.
Zycus review

Questions people ask

Is Fishbowl or Zycus better?
Neither clearly leads. Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Zycus at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fishbowl or Zycus?
Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Zycus at On request.
Does Fishbowl or Zycus run on more platforms?
Fishbowl runs on Windows, Cloud. Zycus runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Zycus is typically brought in for.
What can Fishbowl do that Zycus cannot?
Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Manufacturing, Work orders, Barcode scanning. Zycus covers Spend analysis, eSourcing, Contract management, Supplier management.

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
Zycus: Is it cheaper than Coupa or Ariba?

Usually on licence, and that price gap is the most common reason organisations shortlist it. Compare total cost including implementation, where the gap narrows.

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
Zycus: Which module is strongest?

Spend analysis. Classifying dirty purchase data across multiple ERPs is where Zycus consistently performs well against alternatives.

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
Zycus: How long is an implementation?

Plan for several quarters for a multi-module deployment. Phase it so one module delivers value before the rest go live.

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
Zycus: What about support coverage?

Much of the delivery and support organisation is in India. Get the coverage hours, response times and escalation route into the contract explicitly.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Fishbowl

More on Zycus

Keep looking

Other head to heads