Softwr

Inventory Management · head to head

Katana vs Prospect

Katana logo

Katana

Inventory Management

Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Prospect logo

Prospect

Proposal & Quote

VR for architectural visualization

From
$225/month
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; Prospect no longer available as a standalone product; has been discontinued and replaced by other solutions
  • They diverge on capability: Katana covers Production planning, Prospect covers BIM visualization.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Katana and Prospect actually diverge.

Attributes where Katana and Prospect differ
AttributeKatanaProspect
Starting price$99/month$225/month
PlatformsWebVR Headsets (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Meta Quest)
CategoryInventory ManagementProposal & Quote
Founded20152014

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), 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 Prospect

  • BIM visualization
  • Real-scale viewing
  • Collaboration
  • Annotations
  • Revit
  • SketchUp
  • Rhino
  • Navisworks

What people use each for

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

Katana

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

Prospect

  • VR Gamingnot Katana
  • AR Marketingnot Katana
  • Virtual Trainingnot Katana
  • 3D Visualizationnot Katana
  • Immersive Experiencesnot 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

Prospect

  • No longer available as a standalone product; has been discontinued and replaced by other solutions
  • Acquisition by The Wild in 2021 resulted in product discontinuation and transition to Workshop XR
  • No ongoing development, bug fixes, or feature updates since acquisition

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

Prospect

$225/month
  • Team$350/month
    • Multiuser VR collaboration
    • Design review tools
    • Voice communication

Which should you pick?

Choose Katana if

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

Choose Prospect if

  • You need bim visualization.
  • You work on VR Headsets (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Meta Quest).
  • You also want real-scale viewing.
Prospect review

Questions people ask

Is Katana or Prospect better?
Neither clearly leads. Katana starts at $99/month and Prospect at $225/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Katana or Prospect?
Katana starts at $99/month and Prospect at $225/month.
Does Katana or Prospect run on more platforms?
Katana runs on Web. Prospect runs on VR Headsets (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Meta Quest).
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 Prospect is typically brought in for.
What can Katana do that Prospect cannot?
Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control. Prospect covers BIM visualization, Real-scale viewing, Collaboration, Annotations.

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
Prospect: What is Prospect by IrisVR?

Prospect was an immersive VR application that converted 3D design files from Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, and Navisworks into virtual reality walkthroughs with one click. It enabled AEC teams to conduct design reviews, collaborate in VR, and present projects to clients immersively.

Source
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
Prospect: Is Prospect still available?

No. Prospect by IrisVR was acquired by The Wild in February 2021 and has been discontinued. Autodesk Workshop XR is now the recommended successor for AEC teams migrating from Prospect.

Source
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
Prospect: How was Prospect priced?

Prospect's Team plan cost approximately $350 per workstation per month when billed annually. Earlier pricing information from 2020 showed starting prices around $225. Custom enterprise pricing was available.

Source
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
Prospect: What VR headsets did Prospect support?

Prospect was compatible with major VR headsets including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and later Meta Quest. Support depended on the runtime and connection method available.

Source
Prospect: What was Prospect's biggest advantage?

Prospect's one-click conversion from native design files (Revit, Rhino, SketchUp) into immersive VR experiences was its primary value proposition, enabling non-VR specialists to easily create compelling design reviews and client presentations.

Source
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