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Inventory · head to head

Fishbowl Inventory vs Tractian

Fishbowl Inventory logo

Fishbowl Inventory

Inventory

Manufacturing and warehouse inventory built around QuickBooks

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tractian logo

Tractian

Field Service

CMMS with published per-user pricing plus vibration sensors sold as a separate per-asset subscription

From
$60/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fishbowl Inventory pricing is not published and has historically involved a substantial upfront figure, which surprises buyers expecting SaaS monthly pricing; Tractian sensors are excluded from both published CMMS tiers and are quoted per monitored asset, so the transparent rate card covers only the part of the deployment that costs least.
  • They diverge on capability: Fishbowl Inventory covers QuickBooks and Xero integration, Tractian covers Published per-user pricing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fishbowl Inventory and Tractian actually diverge.

Attributes where Fishbowl Inventory and Tractian differ
AttributeFishbowl InventoryTractian
Starting priceOn request$60/month
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
PlatformsWindows, Web, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryInventoryField Service

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

  • QuickBooks and Xero integration
  • Manufacturing orders
  • Multi-location inventory
  • Barcode scanning
  • Purchasing and reorder
  • Order fulfilment

Only in Tractian

  • Published per-user pricing
  • Unlimited requesters
  • Smart Trac sensors
  • Automatic work order creation
  • Mobile execution
  • Preventive maintenance planning
  • Power BI connector
  • ERP integration

What people use each for

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

Fishbowl Inventory

  • Small manufacturers who have outgrown QuickBooks inventory but not the accountingnot Tractian
  • Wholesalers needing barcode-driven warehouse operationsnot Tractian
  • Companies wanting inventory control without replacing their finance systemnot Tractian
  • Businesses preferring a perpetual licence to a per-seat subscriptionnot Tractian

Tractian

  • A mid-market plant replacing spreadsheet maintenance planning where hundreds of operators must report faults but only a dozen plan worknot Fishbowl Inventory
  • Instrumenting critical motors and pumps and having detected faults become work orders without an integration projectnot Fishbowl Inventory
  • A maintenance manager who needs a defensible budget figure before an approval meeting rather than a quote in three weeksnot Fishbowl Inventory
  • A multi-site manufacturer wanting the same CMMS and sensor platform across Brazilian, Mexican and United States plantsnot Fishbowl Inventory

Where each one falls short

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

Fishbowl Inventory

  • Pricing is not published and has historically involved a substantial upfront figure, which surprises buyers expecting SaaS monthly pricing
  • The interface reflects its on-premise origins and looks dated beside cloud-native inventory tools
  • Implementation and data migration are heavier than the marketing implies, and undersized projects are the usual source of complaints
  • The QuickBooks dependency that makes it attractive also caps it: businesses that eventually need real ERP will migrate away
  • Reporting is functional but teams frequently export to a spreadsheet for anything analytical

Tractian

  • Sensors are excluded from both published CMMS tiers and are quoted per monitored asset, so the transparent rate card covers only the part of the deployment that costs least.
  • Smart Trac hardware reports into the Tractian platform, so a plant that later changes analytics vendor writes off the installed sensor base.
  • The five-user minimum on Standard and ten-user minimum on Enterprise put a floor under the cost that small maintenance teams cannot get below.
  • ERP integration, single sign-on and the Power BI connector are Enterprise-only, so an organisation needing SAP integration pays the higher rate for every licensed user including technicians who need none of it.
  • The company is young and venture-funded with rapid product expansion, so enterprise features are newer than the core CMMS and reference sites at large industrial scale are fewer than for established EAM vendors.

Pricing, plan by plan

Fishbowl Inventory

On request
  • Fishbowl Drive$undefined/month
    • Cloud-based
    • Inventory tracking
    • Order management
  • Fishbowl Advanced$undefined/month
    • Manufacturing
    • Multi-location
    • Advanced reporting

Tractian

$60/month
  • Standard$60/month
    • From 60 USD per user per month, billed annually
    • Minimum five users
    • Unlimited assets and unlimited requester accounts
  • Enterprise$100/month
    • From 100 USD per user per month, billed annually
    • Minimum ten users
    • Single sign-on and custom entities
  • Bundle$undefined/year
    • CMMS combined with condition monitoring sensors
    • Priced per monitored asset, quoted rather than published
    • Includes failure detection, root cause analysis and reliability support

Which should you pick?

Choose Fishbowl Inventory if

  • You need quickbooks and xero integration.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want manufacturing orders.
Fishbowl Inventory review

Choose Tractian if

  • You need published per-user pricing.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want unlimited requesters.
Tractian review

Questions people ask

Is Fishbowl Inventory or Tractian better?
Neither clearly leads. Fishbowl Inventory starts at On request and Tractian at $60/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fishbowl Inventory or Tractian?
Fishbowl Inventory starts at On request and Tractian at $60/month.
Does Fishbowl Inventory or Tractian run on more platforms?
Fishbowl Inventory runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Tractian runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Fishbowl Inventory best used for?
Fishbowl Inventory is most often used for small manufacturers who have outgrown quickbooks inventory but not the accounting, wholesalers needing barcode-driven warehouse operations, companies wanting inventory control without replacing their finance system, businesses preferring a perpetual licence to a per-seat subscription. Of those, small manufacturers who have outgrown quickbooks inventory but not the accounting and wholesalers needing barcode-driven warehouse operations are not what Tractian is typically brought in for.
What can Fishbowl Inventory do that Tractian cannot?
Fishbowl Inventory covers QuickBooks and Xero integration, Manufacturing orders, Multi-location inventory, Barcode scanning. Tractian covers Published per-user pricing, Unlimited requesters, Smart Trac sensors, Automatic work order creation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fishbowl Inventory: What does Fishbowl cost?

Not published. It has historically been sold with a significant upfront component rather than a low monthly fee, so budget for a quote well above typical SaaS inventory pricing.

Tractian: What does the CMMS actually cost?

Standard is from 60 USD per user per month with five users minimum, Enterprise from 100 USD with ten minimum, both billed annually.

Fishbowl Inventory: Do I still need QuickBooks?

Usually yes. Fishbowl handles inventory and manufacturing and posts the financial results into QuickBooks or Xero. It is not an accounting replacement.

Tractian: Are the sensors included?

No. Both CMMS tiers explicitly exclude sensors, which are priced per monitored asset under a separate bundle that is not published.

Fishbowl Inventory: Is it cloud or on-premise?

Both. Fishbowl Drive is the cloud product; Fishbowl Advanced can be hosted or run on your own server, which is why it still appeals to companies avoiding subscriptions.

Tractian: Do fault reporters need licences?

No. Requester accounts are unlimited on both tiers, which is the main reason the per-user price is workable for large plants.

Fishbowl Inventory: Who is it wrong for?

Businesses that need genuine ERP, and businesses small enough that a cloud inventory app at a low monthly cost would do. It sits deliberately between those.

Tractian: Can I use the sensors with another platform?

No. Smart Trac hardware reports to the Tractian platform.

Fishbowl Inventory: How hard is implementation?

Harder than a signup. Bills of material and historical stock data need preparation, and companies that treat it as a weekend job are the ones who describe it as difficult afterwards.

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