Inventora Alternative for Makers
Craftybase is a Inventora alternative designed specifically for small makers. Here's why you should consider us first…
Craftybase connects everywhere you sell
Import orders automatically and sync stock levels across all your channels — so you never oversell or run out of stock.
Why choose Craftybase over Inventora?
Everything in one place
Stock levels and financial data are all in the one place and accessible from any internet enabled device (our industry standard backups ensure your data is extremely safe).
Daily Imports
Stop manually copying over numbers to spreadsheets - there is a now an easier and better way! We automatically import of all your products and orders each night ready for the start of your day.
Pricing Guidance
Know exactly how much it costs to produce your products - our pricing guidance feature means you'll always be on top of your margins and profits.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Track your cost of goods sold in real time using the data you enter. We'll even generate the numbers you need for your Schedule C at the touch of a button.
Reports & Charts
Keep your finger on the pulse and know how well your store is doing, with our extensive and detailed reports. Charts and graphs show you your vital stats in an easy to understand way.
Low Stock Alerts
Track your exact material and product stock levels, so you know exactly when you need to order more supplies or make more product. Don't run out of stock ever again and keep those sales rolling in!
Craftybase helped us make sure we were accounting for everything in our prices, and helped us quickly test what would happen if we changed suppliers to upgrade some of our materials.
| Feature * | Craftybase | Inventora |
|---|---|---|
| Works in any browser | Yes | Yes |
| Invoicing | Yes | No |
| Recipes / Bill of Materials (BoMs) | Yes | No |
| Expense Tracking | Yes | No |
| Product Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Material Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Time Tracking | Yes | No |
| Vendor and Customer Lists | Yes | No |
| Automatic stock calculations | Yes | No |
| Reporting | Yes | Yes |
| Tax Worksheets inc. Schedule C | Yes | No |
| Real time costing calculations | Yes | No |
| Pricing Guidance | Yes | Yes |
| Consignment Tracking | Yes | No |
| Stocktaking | Yes | Yes |
| Compliance & Lot Tracking | Yes | No |
| Multiple User Accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Support | Yes | Yes |
See why our customers love Craftybase
I'm impressed with the ability to track minute quantities of essential oils and other materials used in multiple products. I love the conversion from purchase to tracking units, and love the ability to make components and recipes.
Elise Wishlow
Elise Wishlow
Craftybase has given me the tools amp; resources to accurately track my materials, recipes, and inventory. I love that I can build out my recipes and make adjustments to see my cost in real time.
Tiffany Jensen
Tiffany Jensen
My favourite feature is the software's ability to calculate the cost of our products in real-time, taking into account the increase in the costs of raw materials.
Lina Andreas
Lina Andreas
Craftybase allows us to be lean with our materials inventory so we won't have any overage of inventory. It provides a great easy-to-use analysis of COGS to help us better manage our margins.
Duke Ahrens
Duke Ahrens
Craftybase makes it easy to create my formulas and automatically calculates what I need to use, when to re-order, how much it costs me to make my products, and so much more. I literally could not function without it!
Samantha
Samantha
We do not know what we would do without this application. Spreadsheets and confusing documents is a thing of the past now!
Kahne
Kahne
Craftybase is an instrumental part of our bookkeeping. Having a business that manufactures products with countless raw materials, Craftybase keeps us organized and helps us have a clear picture of the health of our business.
Bri
Bri
Craftybase helps me keep my sales automatically entered into my system so that I can get on with doing the fun part: the creative products I make!
Kitty
Kitty
This report makes tax time almost enjoyable. No more lists and spreadsheets — I just run the report for the time I need, and it's done!
Kelly Arias
Kelly Arias
I love that the app keeps track of how much material I have on hand and how much it costs me exactly… This allows me to really know how much my products cost me to make and how much I should charge.
Janna
Janna
I love that Craftybase keeps track of the cost of materials over time including shipping. As costs creep up I can make sure my product prices reflect that reality.
Arrowyn
Arrowyn
It's super important that we can record and trace ingredient lots and production batches. Craftybase has made this process streamlined and easy to stay organized.
Angie Flickinger
Angie Flickinger
Features correct as of July 2021
Evaluating other options too? See our full Craftybase alternatives guide for a side-by-side overview of the most common tools makers consider.
Quick decision
Should you choose Craftybase or Inventora?
The short answer: pick Craftybase if you make products from raw materials and need real cost data. Pick Inventora if you only need finished-product stock counts.
Choose Craftybase if you...
- ✓Need accurate COGS for tax time and Schedule C reports
- ✓Build products from raw materials using recipes or BOMs
- ✓Sell across Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, Square, or WooCommerce
- ✓Need lot tracking and traceability for MoCRA, GMP, or food safety
- ✓Want pricing guidance based on real landed material costs
- ✓Need expense tracking and bookkeeper-ready financial reports
Choose Inventora if you...
- →Only need basic finished-product stock counts
- →Don't track raw materials, recipes, or per-batch costs
- →Don't need COGS, Schedule C, or accountant-ready reports
- →Sell mainly through Etsy and don't connect other channels
- →Aren't ready to track expenses or material lot numbers
Inventora vs Craftybase
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Craftybase and Inventora?
Craftybase tracks raw materials, recipes, batches, and full COGS for makers who manufacture products; Inventora tracks finished-product stock counts only, with no recipe-level costing or tax reporting.
Inventora positions itself as a simple stock counter for Etsy sellers. Craftybase is a complete inventory and bookkeeping system covering materials, recipes, batch production, multi-channel sales, expenses, and tax-ready reports — built for handmade businesses that need to know their real costs and margins.
Is Craftybase harder to learn than Inventora?
Craftybase covers more ground (materials, recipes, COGS, multi-channel sync, tax reports), so the initial setup takes longer than Inventora's stock-count-only approach — but the daily workflow takes minutes once your materials and recipes are in.
Most makers complete initial setup over a weekend and have a guided onboarding flow plus unlimited support to help. The trade-off is real: Inventora is simpler because it does less. If you only need product counts, that simplicity is genuine. If you need COGS, recipes, or tax reports, Inventora can't give you those at any complexity level.
Why do makers switch from Inventora to Craftybase?
Most makers move when they hit tax time, start wholesale, or realise Inventora can't tell them what each product costs to make, can't generate COGS or Schedule C reports, and doesn't track raw materials or recipes.
Common trigger events: an accountant asking for COGS data the maker doesn't have, a wholesale buyer requesting cost-based pricing, or simply hitting the breaking point where finished-product stock counts aren't enough to run the business.
Does Craftybase calculate COGS more accurately than Inventora?
Yes — Craftybase calculates COGS from landed material costs using GAAP-compliant, IRS-approved methods. Inventora doesn't track raw materials and doesn't generate COGS at all.
Every order in Craftybase is automatically assigned a material usage cost based on your complete inventory history. Instead of estimating COGS at year end, your tally builds up during the year as you make and sell — ready for Schedule C without spreadsheet wrangling.
Can Craftybase generate tax reports for accountants?
Yes — Craftybase generates Schedule C, Profit & Loss, Inventory Valuation, and Expenditure & Revenue reports in seconds. Inventora does not include tax or accountant-ready financial reports.
Reports are bookkeeper-friendly and follow standard accounting categories. Many Craftybase users say tax season went from a week of spreadsheet work to a single afternoon once their accountant could pull these reports directly.
Which sales channels does Craftybase connect to that Inventora doesn't?
Craftybase syncs orders and stock with Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, Square, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, and Faire. Inventora's integrations are more limited and don't cover the full range of channels makers use.
Multi-channel makers — those selling on both Etsy and Shopify, for example — convert and retain at notably higher rates with Craftybase because order data, stock levels, and COGS stay synced across platforms automatically.
Does Craftybase work for soap, candle, jewelry, and bakery makers?
Yes — Craftybase is used by makers across soap, candle, jewelry, cosmetics, bakery, and other small-batch product categories, with niche features like lot tracking, multi-layer BOMs, fragrance load calculations, and per-batch costing.
Soap makers track lye, oils, and fragrance oils with batch records. Candle makers calculate fragrance load and per-vessel costs. Jewelry makers handle high-SKU component inventories. Bakers track per-slice and per-cake costs with allergen rollup. Inventora is generic stock tracking without these niche workflows.
How much does Craftybase cost compared to Inventora?
Craftybase plans start at $24/month billed yearly with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. Inventora has a free tier with limited features and paid plans for additional reporting.
For makers who need COGS, recipes, multi-channel sync, and tax-ready reports, Craftybase replaces the spreadsheets, separate bookkeeping software, and manual reconciliation work most growing maker businesses end up paying for in time. Inventora's free tier is genuinely useful if all you need is a stock counter.
Take your handmade business to the next level with Craftybase