Softwr

Inventory · head to head

Katana vs Phocas

Katana logo

Katana

Inventory

Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Phocas logo

Phocas

Business Intelligence

Pre-built BI and FP&A for wholesale distributors and manufacturers running mid-market ERPs

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Katana limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated; Phocas the value is the pre-built vertical content, so a company outside distribution, manufacturing or retail pays premium prices for dashboards it must build itself anyway.
  • They diverge on capability: Katana covers Production planning, Phocas covers ERP connectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Katana and Phocas actually diverge.

Attributes where Katana and Phocas differ
AttributeKatanaPhocas
Starting price$99/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryInventoryBusiness Intelligence
Founded2015Unknown

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 Katana

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

Only in Phocas

  • ERP connectors
  • Pre-built distribution content
  • Grid-first analysis
  • Financial statements
  • Budgets and forecasts
  • Rebates module
  • Alerts and subscriptions
  • Mobile apps

What people use each for

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

Katana

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

Phocas

  • A wholesale distributor on Prophet 21 whose sales reps need per-customer margin and stock availability without waiting on a report writernot Katana
  • A manufacturer that wants budgeting on the same data as its sales analysis rather than in a separate spreadsheetnot Katana
  • A multi-branch retailer comparing branch and product performance daily without an internal BI teamnot Katana
  • A private equity owner standardising reporting across several acquired distributors on different ERPsnot Katana

Where each one falls short

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

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

Phocas

  • The value is the pre-built vertical content, so a company outside distribution, manufacturing or retail pays premium prices for dashboards it must build itself anyway.
  • If your ERP is not on the maintained connector list you fall back to generic database extraction and lose the fast time to value that justifies the price.
  • The visualisation library is thin next to Power BI or Tableau, and analysts who want fine control over chart design will find it constraining.
  • Pricing is quoted per user and never published, and buyers routinely report large gaps between initial and renewal quotes with limited comparison leverage.
  • Modules are licensed separately, so a customer who bought Analytics and later wants Financial Statements or Rebates faces a new negotiation rather than an upgrade.

Pricing, plan by plan

Katana

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

Phocas

On request
  • Phocas$undefined/year
    • Annual subscription quoted by user count and modules
    • Analytics, Financial Statements, Budgets and Rebates licensed separately
    • One-off implementation and ERP connector setup fee

Which should you pick?

Choose Katana if

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

Choose Phocas if

  • You need erp connectors.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want pre-built distribution content.
Phocas review

Questions people ask

Is Katana or Phocas better?
Neither clearly leads. Katana starts at $99/month and Phocas at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Katana or Phocas?
Katana starts at $99/month and Phocas at On request.
Does Katana or Phocas run on more platforms?
Katana runs on Web. Phocas runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Katana best used for?
Katana is most often used for production scheduling, material planning, work order management, inventory optimization. Of those, production scheduling and material planning are not what Phocas is typically brought in for.
What can Katana do that Phocas cannot?
Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control. Phocas covers ERP connectors, Pre-built distribution content, Grid-first analysis, Financial statements.

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
Phocas: What does Phocas cost?

Nothing is published. It is quoted annually by user count and module, with a separate implementation fee, and varies by region.

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
Phocas: Is it worth it over Power BI?

Only if you are in its target verticals on a supported ERP. Power BI is far cheaper per seat but you supply the data model.

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
Phocas: Does it replace my ERP reporting?

It replaces day-to-day analysis and sales reporting. Transactional and statutory reporting stays in the ERP.

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
Phocas: Can it do budgeting?

Yes, through a separately licensed Financial Statements and Budgets module on the same warehouse.

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