Softwr

Inventory Management · head to head

Katana vs SOS Inventory

Katana logo

Katana

Inventory Management

Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SOS Inventory logo

SOS Inventory

Inventory Management

Inventory management for QuickBooks Online

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; SOS Inventory the Companion plan at $69.95 per month is limited to a single location and 1 custom field
  • They diverge on capability: Katana covers Production planning, SOS Inventory covers Lot tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Katana and SOS Inventory actually diverge.

Attributes where Katana and SOS Inventory differ
AttributeKatanaSOS Inventory
Starting price$99/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Cloud-based
Founded20152011

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

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
  • WooCommerce
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • API access support

Only in SOS Inventory

  • Lot tracking
  • Serial numbers
  • Manufacturing
  • Multi-location
  • QuickBooks Online
  • ShipStation

Both cover

  • Shopify
  • BigCommerce
  • Web support
  • Cloud-based support

What people use each for

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

Katana

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

SOS Inventory

  • Adding inventory, assembly and manufacturing tracking on top of QuickBooks Onlinenot Katana
  • Tracking serial and lot numbers across warehouse locationsnot Katana
  • Managing sales orders, work orders and job costing for small manufacturersnot 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

SOS Inventory

  • The Companion plan at $69.95 per month is limited to a single location and 1 custom field
  • Serial and lot number tracking, barcoding and unlimited locations require the Plus plan at $139.95 per month
  • Phone support is excluded from the Companion plan
  • Job costing, advanced manufacturing and the customer portal require the Pro plan at $194.95 per month
  • Each plan includes only 2 to 5 users and additional users cost $25 each per month
  • The 2 months free discount requires paying a year up front

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

SOS Inventory

On request
  • Companion$49/month
    • Basic features
    • 2 users
    • Email support
  • Plus$99/month
    • Full features
    • 5 users
    • Priority support
  • Pro$199/month
    • Advanced manufacturing
    • 10 users
    • Premium support

Which should you pick?

Choose Katana if

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

Choose SOS Inventory if

  • You need lot tracking.
  • You work on Web, Cloud-based.
  • You also want serial numbers.
SOS Inventory review

Questions people ask

Is Katana or SOS Inventory better?
Neither clearly leads. Katana starts at $99/month and SOS Inventory at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Katana or SOS Inventory?
Katana starts at $99/month and SOS Inventory at On request.
Does Katana or SOS Inventory run on more platforms?
Katana runs on Web. SOS Inventory runs on Web, Cloud-based.
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 SOS Inventory is typically brought in for.
What can Katana do that SOS Inventory cannot?
Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control. SOS Inventory covers Lot tracking, Serial numbers, Manufacturing, Multi-location. Both handle Shopify, BigCommerce, Web support, Cloud-based support.

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
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
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
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
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Related pages

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