Softwr

Inventory · head to head

Katana vs Quartzy

Katana logo

Katana

Inventory

Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Quartzy logo

Quartzy

Inventory

Lab inventory and ordering software funded by the supply marketplace attached to it

From
$50/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; Quartzy the vendor earns margin on supplies bought through its own Shop, so the recommended purchasing path is not necessarily the cheapest one for a university that already holds negotiated supplier contracts.
  • They diverge on capability: Katana covers Production planning, Quartzy covers Inventory tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Katana and Quartzy actually diverge.

Attributes where Katana and Quartzy differ
AttributeKatanaQuartzy
Starting price$99/month$50/month
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by user tier
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2015Unknown

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

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 Quartzy

  • Inventory tracking
  • Request and approval
  • Quartzy Shop
  • Order tracking
  • Spend reporting
  • Barcode scanning
  • PunchOut
  • Vendor catalogues

What people use each for

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

Katana

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

Quartzy

  • An academic lab of three postdocs replacing a shared freezer spreadsheet that nobody updates after a reagent runs outnot Katana
  • A small biotech that wants requests approved by a lab manager before any money is committednot Katana
  • A principal investigator tracking consumable spend against separate grant codes for reportingnot Katana
  • A growing company standardising ordering across two lab sites so duplicate reagent purchases stopnot 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

Quartzy

  • The vendor earns margin on supplies bought through its own Shop, so the recommended purchasing path is not necessarily the cheapest one for a university that already holds negotiated supplier contracts.
  • Seat limits are tight, at three users on Academia and five on Industry, and exceeding them pushes you into a quoted Enterprise contract rather than a predictable per seat increment.
  • It is not a LIMS: there is no sample workflow, instrument integration, electronic lab notebook or 21 CFR Part 11 audit trail, so a lab moving toward regulated work will need a second system.
  • Prices are billed annually, so the USD 250 Industry plan is a USD 3,000 upfront commitment for a five-person team, which is significant for an early-stage company.
  • Supplier catalogue coverage and pricing accuracy vary by region, and labs outside the United States frequently find their usual distributors missing or their contract pricing not reflected.

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

Quartzy

$50/month
  • Academia$50/month
    • Billed annually
    • Up to 3 users
    • Inventory tracking and request workflow
  • Industry$250/month
    • Billed annually
    • Up to 5 users
    • Everything in Academia
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Quoted pricing
    • Unlimited users
    • PunchOut integration with institutional procurement

Which should you pick?

Choose Katana if

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

Choose Quartzy if

  • You need inventory tracking.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want request and approval.
Quartzy review

Questions people ask

Is Katana or Quartzy better?
Neither clearly leads. Katana starts at $99/month and Quartzy at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Katana or Quartzy?
Katana starts at $99/month and Quartzy at $50/month.
Does Katana or Quartzy run on more platforms?
Katana runs on Web. Quartzy 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 Quartzy is typically brought in for.
What can Katana do that Quartzy cannot?
Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control. Quartzy covers Inventory tracking, Request and approval, Quartzy Shop, Order tracking.

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
Quartzy: How much does Quartzy cost?

USD 50 per month billed annually for up to three users on Academia, USD 250 per month for up to five users on Industry, and quoted pricing for unlimited users on Enterprise.

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
Quartzy: Do I have to buy supplies through Quartzy?

No, you can record orders placed elsewhere. But the Shop is how Quartzy earns beyond the subscription, and supplier credits are tied to it.

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
Quartzy: Is Quartzy a LIMS?

No. It handles inventory and purchasing. It does not do sample workflow, instrument data or regulated electronic records.

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
Quartzy: What happens when we exceed the user limit?

You move to Enterprise, which is quoted rather than listed, so budget for a step change rather than an extra seat charge.

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