5 Best Free Inventory Management Apps in 2026 (Which Inventory Application Is Free?)
Published · Updated · 8 min read
"Free inventory management" often means a trial, a 100-item cap or a plan that wants your card after a week.
This 2026 roundup looks at five inventory management apps people actually search for. We checked each maker's public pricing page. The question is simple: which inventory application stays free?
Hoardo is the free home inventory app in this set with no paid plan. Stockpile is also free, as a basic web inventory system. Sortly and Zoho Inventory still publish limited free plans. inFlow no longer publishes a free plan.
What free inventory management looks like in 2026
A warehouse wants orders, SKUs and stock counts. A house wants to know which box the tent is in.
For a household, a useful free inventory management app should:
- Let you add unlimited items and users
- Organise by rooms and boxes, not only by product category
- Keep photos and QR labels
- Let you search (or ask) from your phone
- Export your list when you want a copy
If an inventory application is free only up to 100 items, it will run out in a normal garage.
1. Hoardo: the inventory management app that stays free
Hoardo is built for storage boxes at home. You make rooms, number your boxes, list what goes in (type it, say it or snap a photo) and print a QR label so the real box matches the list. Search, or ask Hoardo in plain words, and it tells you the box and the room.
There is no paid plan. Rooms, boxes, items and users are free. Image recognition, voice recognition and AI chat are included. CSV export is there whenever you want your data.
Why it fits home storage
- 100% free, with no premium tier
- Rooms, boxes, items and users, all free
- QR labels you print yourself
- Image and voice recognition, plus AI chat (including an AI photo scan of box contents). See how Hoardo uses AI. You can also ask from Claude and ChatGPT via MCP.
- Sharing by room, packing lists, lending lists, selling lists
- CSV export
Best for: households, moving, insurance lists, anyone who stores things in numbered boxes.
2. Sortly: a visual inventory management app with a small free plan
Sortly is a visual inventory management app aimed at businesses and teams. On its pricing page (checked October 2026) the Free plan is $0 and includes:
- 100 unique items (quantities of the same item do not count toward that limit)
- 1 user license
- 2 active jobs
- Item photos and in-app barcode and QR scanning
QR label creation is listed from the paid Advanced plan, not on Free. Paid plans start at $49 a month on monthly billing, or $24 a month in the first year when billed yearly (Sortly's own introductory offer).
If you only track a tiny visual catalogue and one person will ever open it, the free plan can be enough. A house full of boxes will hit 100 unique items quickly.
Free plan in 2026
- Visual folders and item photos
- 100 unique items, 1 user
- QR label creation not listed on Free
3. Zoho Inventory: free inventory management for shops, not attics
Zoho Inventory is stock software for selling: orders, channels, locations. Its forever-free plan (checked October 2026) lists:
- 50 orders
- 1 user
- 1 location
Paid Standard starts at $29 per organisation per month when billed annually (500 orders per month, 3 users, 2 locations). Barcode generation is listed on the Premium plan, not on Free.
This is the right shape of tool if you run a small shop. It is a poor fit as a home inventory app. You do not have 50 Amazon orders in the garage. You have boxes.
Free plan in 2026
- 50 orders, 1 user, 1 location
- Built for selling, not for household boxes
- Paid plans add users, locations and order volume
4. Stockpile: an inventory application free of item and user limits
Stockpile from Canvus Applications still publishes a free online inventory system. Their site (checked October 2026) says it is free, with unlimited users, items and locations. You can add stock, record sales, returns and damaged goods, and run turnover reports.
It is built as a small-business stock list in the browser, not around numbered boxes and QR labels. If you want a simple web ledger with no item cap, it is one of the few inventory applications that are free without that cap.
What they publish
- Free to use, with unlimited users, items and locations
- Online, in the browser
- Sales, returns and location tracking
5. inFlow Inventory: not a free inventory management app in 2026
inFlow no longer belongs on a free-app list. inFlow's pricing page (checked October 2026) lists paid plans only.
inFlow Inventory is business software for wholesale and distribution. Plans start at $99 a month when billed annually (Lite: 2 team members, 1 location, unlimited products, sales, purchases and integrations). There is no free plan on that page.
If you need purchase orders, picking and a long integrations list, inFlow is in that category. It is not an inventory application free for a household.
In 2026
- No free plan on the public pricing page
- From $99 a month billed annually
- Built for selling and shipping, not for home boxes
Which free inventory management app actually stays free?
| App | Free plan in 2026 | 100% free? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoardo | Free | Yes | Home storage, moving, rooms and boxes |
| Sortly | 100 unique items, 1 user, 2 jobs | No | Small visual inventories |
| Zoho Inventory | 50 orders, 1 user, 1 location | No | Small shops that sell |
| Stockpile | Unlimited items, users and locations | Yes (web stock list) | Small-business stock ledgers |
| inFlow | No free plan | No | Wholesale and distribution |
Home inventory apps we also compared
The five above are the inventory management names people search for as "free". These home inventory apps sit closer to Hoardo's job (rooms, boxes, household stuff). We checked each maker's own site in October 2026.
| App | What they publish | 100% free? | Full comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Itemtopia | Free to try. Paid plans sold in the app (no dollar price on their site) | No | Hoardo vs Itemtopia |
| HomeZada | Essential free (inventory and news). Premium $99/year or $15.95/month. Deluxe $189/year | No | Hoardo vs HomeZada |
| Encircle | Restoration software from $285/month. Not a consumer home inventory product on their public site | No | Hoardo vs Encircle |
| Under My Roof | $34.99/year or $4.99/month, one-week trial. iPhone, iPad and Mac | No | Hoardo vs Under My Roof |
| Everspruce | 50 entries free, then $5.99/month or $44.99/year | No | Hoardo vs Everspruce |
New to the topic? Start with what an inventory app actually is, or see how to set up free inventory management at home.
Free inventory management
Free inventory management at home is rooms, numbered boxes and a list you can search from your phone. You add a room, give each box a number (the name is optional), then list what goes in by typing, saying it or taking a photo. Open Prints in the room menu, print a QR label and stick it on. Search finds the thing later. Scanning the label opens that box without unpacking it.
Hoardo does that job for free: rooms, boxes, items and shared members, one photo per item, and CSV export whenever you want a copy. There is no paid plan. Warehouse apps on this page still call a capped shop plan free. If you want rooms and boxes, pick the app that stays free.
Free inventory tracking
Free inventory tracking is knowing what you have, which box or shelf it sits on, and how many are left, then updating that as things move. In Hoardo you add a room, give each box a number (the name is optional), and list what goes in by typing, saying it or taking a photo. Stick a QR label on the real box. Search finds the thing later. Scanning the label opens that box without unpacking it.
Hoardo does free inventory tracking with rooms, boxes, items and shared members, one photo per item, and CSV export whenever you want a copy. There is no paid plan. For the habit itself (number, list, label, search), see free inventory tracking. If you want to track boxes and shelves, pick the app that stays free.
Final verdict
If you want free inventory management for a house, you want rooms, numbered boxes, photos, QR labels and a search that works on your phone. You do not want an order cap.
Hoardo is the inventory management app in this list built for that job, and it stays 100% free. Stockpile is the other fully free option, as a basic online stock list. Sortly and Zoho Inventory still help you start, then they cap you. inFlow is paid.
Hoardo also works as a salon inventory app and a tool tracking app, and there are guides for a bar inventory app, a restaurant inventory app, a vinyl record collection app, a comic book collection app, a barcode inventory system, an AI photo scan for box contents and free inventory tracking.
Questions about free inventory apps
Is there an inventory application free for home and small business use?
Yes. Hoardo is free, with every feature included. Stockpile is also free, as a basic web inventory system. Sortly and Zoho Inventory still publish limited free plans. inFlow has no free plan.
