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OpenBoxes

openboxes.com

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Spec score 9.0 #1 of 22 in Inventory Control Software

What it is

OpenBoxes is an open-source supply chain management system for healthcare facilities and disaster relief efforts. It was built for resource-scarce settings and has also been adapted for warehouse management, distribution, and other supply-chain work. Inventory records can track facility, bin location, lot or serial number, and expiration date. Procurement and fulfillment tools include purchase orders, supplier management, requisitions, picking, packing, and shipment tracking. Built-in reporting covers consumption, stockouts, expirations, transactions, stock analytics, and quantities on hand. Its mobile-optimized interface supports barcode scanning, inventory lookup, and receiving and shipping workflows. Integrations include REST API, webhooks, ERP integration, EDI, and named tools such as n8n, OpenFn, Boomi, Crowdin, and DHIS2. Organizations can host the web-based system in the cloud or on-premise; cloud use needs consistent internet access, while offline on-premise operation requires hardware and staff. OpenBoxes is free to use and modify under the Eclipse Public License, with no user-license fees. Managed support is available through OpenBoxes Lift: Shared OpenBoxes Lift costs $75 a month, and Dedicated OpenBoxes Lift costs $899 a month.

Spec sheet

What it does
OpenBoxes is open-source supply-chain and inventory software aimed at healthcare, warehouse and distribution operations.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Purpose
OpenBoxes is an open-source supply chain management system used to manage supplies and medications for healthcare facilities and disaster relief efforts.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Integrations
Official integration options include REST APIs, webhooks, n8n, OpenFn, Boomi, Crowdin and DHIS2.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Security
The features page describes audit trails, Superuser, Manager, and Read-only roles, location-based access restrictions, and LDAP authentication.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Support
Community support is free, while managed support with guaranteed service levels is available through OpenBoxes Lift plans.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Founded
2010Read 23 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
API authentication
The Lift API uses tenant-specific endpoints and requires an X-API-Key header with JSON requests.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.cloud
API capacity
Documented hourly API limits are 1,000 requests for Shared, 25,000 for Dedicated and 50,000 for Enterprise.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.cloud
API limitation
API documentation warns that pagination is inconsistent and that the locations endpoint ignores the max parameter.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.cloud
Barcode support
Barcodes can be scanned with handheld devices or mobile-device cameras, and labels can be printed for products, bins and shipments.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Cold-chain control
Products can carry temperature requirements, with alerts for storage that violates cold-chain rules.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Company legal name
The Lift documentation footer identifies the operating entity as OpenBoxes Solutions LLC.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.cloud
Company origin
OpenBoxes originated from Partners In Health supply-chain work after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Company size and headquarters
Crunchbase lists OpenBoxes as a private Milwaukee, Wisconsin company with 1–10 employees.Read 14 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
Deployment limits
The web-based system can be hosted in the cloud or on-premise; the features page says cloud use requires consistent internet connectivity and on-premise offline capability requires hardware and staff.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Designed for
The system was built for people working in resource-scarce settings and has also been adapted for warehouse management, distribution, and other supply chain contexts.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Documentation depth
Documentation includes installation, configuration, upgrades, user guidance, authentication, OpenAPI or Swagger, Postman and domain-specific CRUD APIs.Read 14 Oct 2026 · docs.openboxes.com
GitHub activity
The GitHub repository showed roughly 915 stars and 510 forks when reviewed.Read 14 Oct 2026 · github.com
Inbound operations
Inbound workflows support goods receipt against orders or transfers, suggested putaway and inspected returns.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Inventory
OpenBoxes tracks inventory by facility, bin location, lot or serial number, and expiration date.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Inventory controls
Inventory is tracked by facility, bin, product, lot or serial number and expiration date, with cycle counts and adjustments.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Licence
The source repository identifies the project licence as Eclipse Public License 1.0.Read 14 Oct 2026 · github.com
License and usage
OpenBoxes is free to use and modify under the Eclipse Public License, and its pricing page says there are no user-license fees.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Limit: field-service scope
An independent review says OpenBoxes is not a full field-service suite and lacks dispatching, CRM, customer notifications, invoicing and technician workflows.Read 14 Oct 2026 · fieldservicesoftware.io
Limit: logistics billing
Discussion participants identified multi-client inventory, client-specific billing and operator-layer workflows as gaps for some logistics users.Read 14 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
Limit: RF scanning
A 3PL user said the product lacked built-in RF scanning and required custom integration work.Read 14 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
Limit: self-hosting effort
A reviewer cautioned that self-hosting savings depend on having technical expertise, because hired assistance can remove the cost advantage.Read 14 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
Managed hosting
OpenBoxes Lift bundles hosting, SSL, backups, monitoring, upgrades and support as a managed cloud service.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Mobile use
OpenBoxes has a mobile-optimized interface with barcode scanning, inventory lookups, and mobile receiving and shipping workflows.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Multi-facility inventory
The system provides real-time stock visibility across facilities with lot tracking and expiry alerts.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Notable news
OpenBoxes 0.9.8 release notes dated July 7, 2026 describe fixes for server-side template injection, SSRF and import validation issues.Read 14 Oct 2026 · community.openboxes.com
Origin
OpenBoxes was built at Partners In Health after the 2010 Haiti earthquake to help track medical supplies across health facilities.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Outbound operations
Outbound workflows include allocation, picklists, pallet or box packing, customs paperwork and carrier tracking.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Praise: core inventory
A warehouse user reported that OpenBoxes works well for inventory and stock transactions.Read 14 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
Praise: open-source affordability
A separate discussion described OpenBoxes as attractive when buyers specifically prefer open-source software.Read 14 Oct 2026 · reddit.com
Procurement
Procurement workflows cover requisitions, purchase orders, supplier invoices, budget codes and vendor records.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Procurement and fulfillment
Features include purchase orders, supplier management, requisitions, picking, packing, and shipment tracking.Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Product catalog
Product records support categories, suppliers, manufacturers, documents, images, substitutions and custom attributes.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Rating on Capterra
No product-specific OpenBoxes rating or reviews were listed.Read 14 Oct 2026 · checkthat.ai
Rating on G2
No product-specific OpenBoxes rating or reviews were listed.Read 14 Oct 2026 · checkthat.ai
Rating on SourceForge
No user rating or review was shown for the OpenBoxes mirror.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Rating on TrustRadius
No product-specific OpenBoxes rating or reviews were listed.Read 14 Oct 2026 · checkthat.ai
Recall tracking
Users can locate recalled lots across facilities and record removal actions with an audit trail.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Reporting
Built-in dashboards and reports cover consumption, demand forecasting, utilization, stock alerts and custom exports.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Security controls
Official feature documentation describes role permissions, location-based access restrictions, action auditing and LDAP authentication.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
Self-hosting
OpenBoxes is web-based and can run on an organization’s own cloud or on-premise infrastructure without per-user licensing.Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.com
System requirements
The current requirements page calls for a 2 GHz dual-core CPU, 4 GB RAM minimum, 25 GB disk, Java 8, Tomcat 9 or 8.5 and MySQL 8 or MariaDB 10.x.Read 14 Oct 2026 · docs.openboxes.com

Plans and prices

Community Edition Free Free Forever self-hosted on-premise or cloud · unlimited users · community support · DIY operations Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.org
Community Self-Hosted Free Unlimited users · Self-managed hosting · Storage on your server · No minimum term Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
Self-Hosted $24 a month Starting at DigitalOcean deployment · user pays actual DigitalOcean infrastructure · dedicated support Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.org
OpenBoxes Lift Shared $75 a month Founding-member price; regular $150/mo up to 10 users · 10 GB storage · 1,000 API calls/hour · 99.0% uptime SLA · 30-day backups Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.cloud
Shared OpenBoxes Lift $75 a month From $75 per month Up to 10 users · 10 GB storage · 99.0% uptime SLA · 1k API calls/hour · 30 days of backups Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
OpenBoxes Lift Dedicated $300 a month Founding-member price; regular $600/mo up to 50 users · 100 GB storage · 25,000 API calls/hour · 99.5% uptime SLA · dedicated database Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.cloud
Dedicated OpenBoxes Lift $899 a month From $899 per month Up to 50 users · 100 GB storage · 99.5% uptime SLA · 25k API calls/hour · 60 days of backups · 12-month minimum term Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com
OpenBoxes Lift Enterprise $1,800 a month Published base price 100 users · 250 GB storage · 50,000 API calls/hour · 99.9% availability target · 6-hour backups · second-region copies Read 14 Oct 2026 · openboxes.cloud
Enterprise OpenBoxes Lift Priced on request Custom Custom users and storage · 99.9% uptime SLA · 24/7 support including holidays · 90+ days of backups Read 29 Sep 2026 · openboxes.com

Every OpenBoxes plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Tracks inventory by facility, bin, lot, and expiration.
  • Mobile interface supports barcode scanning and receiving.
  • Includes purchase orders and shipment tracking.
  • Free to use and modify under the Eclipse Public License.
  • Cloud and on-premise hosting are available.

Limits

  • Cloud use requires consistent internet connectivity.
  • Offline on-premise use requires hardware and staff.
  • Dedicated OpenBoxes Lift costs $899 a month.
  • Dedicated Lift has a 12-month minimum term.

Who it suits

OpenBoxes suits healthcare and relief organizations tracking supplies across facilities, as well as teams adapting supply-chain tools for warehouse or distribution use. It is relevant to organizations able to manage self-hosting or arrange paid managed support.

OpenBoxes in depth

Read the full write-up

OpenBoxes is supply-chain software for healthcare facilities, relief operations and other organizations managing stock across sites. It suits teams that need traceable inventory and connected purchasing and fulfillment workflows. Its open-source license removes user-license costs, but running it yourself takes operational capacity; managed hosting adds defined service levels and plan limits.

Overview

Developed at Partners In Health after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, OpenBoxes was intended to help track medical supplies across health facilities in resource-scarce settings. It has since been adapted for warehouse management, distribution and other supply-chain work. The breadth is useful for organizations that need more than a stock ledger, though the deployment choice is part of the decision: cloud use depends on consistent internet connectivity, while offline operation on-premise requires suitable hardware and staff.

Inventory can be tracked by facility and bin, with lot or serial numbers and expiration dates. Multi-warehouse support makes that structure relevant across locations, particularly where traceability and stock availability matter. The Eclipse Public License permits free use and modification, and there are no user-license fees; infrastructure and support still need to be addressed.

Key features

Inventory through fulfillment

OpenBoxes combines purchase orders and supplier management with requisitions, picking, packing and shipment tracking. That range can connect replenishment to dispatch in one system. Cycle counting, barcode scanning and mobile inventory lookups support routine stock control, while mobile receiving and shipping workflows can help staff working away from a desk.

Reports, integrations and access

Built-in reports cover consumption, stockouts, expirations, transactions, stock analytics and quantities on hand. The integration options include a REST API, webhooks, ERP integration and EDI, with named connections including n8n, OpenFn, Boomi, Crowdin and DHIS2. Audit trails, Superuser, Manager and Read-only roles, location-based restrictions and LDAP authentication provide controls for organizations that need to govern access across facilities.

Pricing

The Community Self-Hosted plan costs nothing. It allows unlimited users, stores data on your server and has no minimum term, making it the clearest fit for organizations able to manage hosting themselves. The trade-off is that hosting and operation remain their responsibility; community support is free.

Shared OpenBoxes Lift costs $75 a month, billed from $75 per month. It covers up to 10 users, 10 GB of storage, a 99.0% uptime SLA, 1k API calls/hour and 30 days of backups. This is a managed option for smaller teams willing to work within those capacity limits.

Dedicated OpenBoxes Lift costs $899 a month, billed from $899 per month, with up to 50 users, 100 GB of storage, a 99.5% uptime SLA, 25k API calls/hour and 60 days of backups. Its 12-month minimum term makes it a larger commitment, but it raises the included capacity and service level. Enterprise OpenBoxes Lift has custom pricing, custom user and storage limits, a 99.9% uptime SLA, 24/7 support including holidays and 90+ days of backups. It is aimed at organizations needing tailored capacity and round-the-clock support. Managed support with guaranteed service levels is available through Lift plans.

The pricing model is freemium, with a general paid-from figure of $24/mo; the named Lift tiers are priced separately above. Compare the plan terms and included limits against your expected users, storage and API demand before choosing managed hosting.

Platforms

OpenBoxes supports web, Android and iOS, and can be self-hosted; an API is also available. Its mobile-optimized interface includes barcode scanning, inventory lookup, and receiving and shipping workflows. Teams choosing cloud deployment need consistent internet access. On-premise offline capability is possible, but depends on having the necessary hardware and staff.

Who it's for

OpenBoxes is a strong fit for healthcare and relief organizations that manage supplies or medications across facilities, and for warehouse and distribution teams with similar needs for traceability, purchasing and fulfillment. It is less suitable for organizations that cannot support self-hosting and do not want a managed plan, or whose operations require offline use without the resources to run on-premise infrastructure.

Pros and cons

Pros: Unlimited users on the free self-hosted plan avoid per-user license charges.

Pros: Facility, bin, lot or serial, and expiration tracking gives teams useful control over stock location and traceability.

Pros: Procurement, fulfillment, reporting and mobile workflows cover more of the supply chain than inventory counting alone.

Cons: Self-hosting shifts infrastructure and operational work to the organization; offline on-premise use also requires hardware and staff.

Cons: Managed plans impose user, storage and API limits, and Dedicated requires a 12-month minimum term.

Cons: Cloud deployment depends on consistent internet connectivity.

Alternatives

For a broader shortlist, compare Order Fulfillment Software and Warehouse Management Software.

fulfillmenttools is a paid option with a free trial and an enterprise platform priced by contact; consider it if you want an enterprise offering rather than OpenBoxes' free self-hosted plan.

SKULabs starts with a $299 a month Starter plan, including 1,000 orders, three users, two sales channels and two warehouses before listed add-on charges. It may suit teams that prefer a paid plan with defined order and channel allowances.

Cin7 Omni has an Omni plan with eight users, five e-commerce and app integrations, and unlimited inventory locations; its Standard plan is $349 a month. Consider it when those stated inventory-location and integration terms better match your needs.

Descartes Sellercloud has an annual subscription starting at $1,349 a year, with pricing based on order volume and add-ons. It is a paid alternative for readers comparing annual, volume-based terms.

Sentry WMS is another free, open-source self-hosted option, but it does not yet have first-party ERP or commerce connectors.

ShipHero WMS costs $1,995 a month for its Standard WMS for Brands plan, which includes returns, automation rules, rate shopping, lot and expiration tracking, warehouse routing, setup and training, and 24/7/365 support. It is a paid alternative for teams seeking those stated services and workflows.

Logiwa IO offers custom pricing based on fulfillment volume and complexity, with a demo requested for a quote; consider it if that pricing approach is a better fit.

Unicommerce Uniware has a Standard plan with one facility, 1 lakh SKUs and three user roles, excluding custom/API integration, omnichannel and ERP integration. It is an alternative when those stated scope and integration limits align with your operation.

Verdict

Choose OpenBoxes if your organization needs detailed, multi-site supply-chain workflows and values an open-source system with no user-license fees. The main reason to look elsewhere is operational capacity: self-hosting takes infrastructure and staff, while Lift plans add recurring costs, limits and, for Dedicated, a one-year minimum.

Verdict

OpenBoxes provides detailed inventory, procurement, reporting, and mobile workflows for supply-chain operations. The software has no user-license fees, but hosting and support arrangements remain practical considerations.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to OpenBoxesAll alternatives →