Published October 6, 2026

Best inventory management apps for Shopify: what to pay for after Stocky closed

Stocky closed on August 31, 2026, and Shopify's native admin now covers purchase orders, receiving transfers, and stock counts, with Sidekick reorder suggestions added in October 2026. For most small merchants, the native tools are enough. EZStock is the cheapest real step up, free to start and 19 or 49 dollars a month, with demand forecasting, purchase orders, and low-stock alerts.

The app that closed, and the gap it left

Stocky closed on August 31, 2026, and the merchants who used it had to find a replacement in a hurry. Stocky was Shopify's own inventory app, and it handled purchase orders, demand forecasting, and stock counts in one place. When it closed, the question was whether Shopify's native admin could cover the gap, or whether a paid app was needed. The answer, as of late 2026, is that the native admin covers more than it used to, and the paid apps start at a price that makes sense for a merchant who has outgrown it.

Shopify's native inventory now includes purchase orders, receiving transfers, and stock counts in the admin, and Sidekick reorder suggestions arrived in October 2026. That covers the basics: a merchant can order stock, receive it, count it, and get a suggestion about what to reorder. What the native tools do not do is demand forecasting across seasons, multi-warehouse planning, or a bill of materials for products that are assembled from parts.

The cheap tier, and what 19 dollars buys

EZStock is the cheapest real step up. It starts free, then runs 19 or 49 dollars a month, and it adds demand forecasting, purchase orders, and low-stock email alerts to the native tools. The forecasting is the feature that matters: it looks at sales history and suggests how much to order and when, rather than leaving the merchant to guess from a spreadsheet. For a merchant with a few hundred SKUs and one warehouse, EZStock is usually enough, and the 19 dollar plan is the one to start on.

The next tier is Prediko at 49 dollars a month, and Fabrikator at 99 dollars a month. Prediko adds better forecasting and a cleaner purchase order workflow, and Fabrikator adds multi-warehouse support and a bill of materials, which matters for a merchant who assembles products from components. Both are worth the money when the inventory gets complicated, and both are overkill when it does not.

The enterprise tier, and the apps that sync stock

Inventory Planner by Sage is the enterprise option, priced on quote, with multi-warehouse support and a bill of materials. SKULabs starts at 299 dollars a month, Cin7 Core at 349 dollars, and Linnworks is custom quoted. Those are for merchants with multiple warehouses, multiple sales channels, and a team that manages inventory full time. A merchant who is not there yet should not pay for them, because the features sit unused and the price does not come down.

The other category is stock sync, which is a different problem from forecasting. Trunk starts at 35 dollars a month and syncs stock across stores and channels, and syncX has a free plan for the same job. A merchant who sells on Shopify and Amazon, or who runs two Shopify stores, needs a sync app before they need a forecasting app, because the stock counts have to agree before the forecast means anything.

What to buy, in order

Start with the native admin, and use it until it hurts. When the pain is forecasting, buy EZStock at 19 dollars. When the pain is multi-warehouse or a bill of materials, move to Fabrikator at 99 dollars or Prediko at 49. When the pain is syncing stock across channels, buy Trunk at 35 dollars or syncX free, before anything else. And when the inventory operation has a team and multiple warehouses, get a quote from Inventory Planner or Cin7 Core. The rule is to buy the app that fixes the pain you have, not the app that fixes the pain you might have next year.

Frequently asked questions

What happened to Stocky?

Stocky, Shopify's own inventory app, closed on August 31, 2026. Shopify moved the core features into the native admin: purchase orders, receiving transfers, and stock counts are now in the admin, with Sidekick reorder suggestions added in October 2026. Merchants who need forecasting beyond that should look at EZStock, Prediko, or Fabrikator.

Do I need an inventory app if Shopify has native tools now?

Not necessarily. The native admin covers purchase orders, receiving transfers, stock counts, and Sidekick reorder suggestions, which is enough for a small merchant with one warehouse. You need a paid app when you want demand forecasting, multi-warehouse planning, or a bill of materials, and EZStock at 19 dollars a month is the cheapest step up.

What is the cheapest good inventory app for Shopify?

EZStock. It starts free, then runs 19 or 49 dollars a month, with demand forecasting, purchase orders, and low-stock email alerts. Trunk at 35 dollars a month is the cheapest stock sync app, and syncX has a free plan for the same job. Start with EZStock for forecasting, or Trunk for syncing stock across channels.

When should I pay for an enterprise inventory app?

When the operation has multiple warehouses, multiple sales channels, and a team that manages inventory full time. Inventory Planner by Sage is priced on quote, SKULabs starts at 299 dollars a month, and Cin7 Core at 349 dollars. Before that point, the features sit unused and the price does not come down, so stay on EZStock or Fabrikator until the complexity forces the move.