OpenBoxes

Overview

OpenBoxes is an open-source supply-chain system for tracking medical and other supplies across facilities, with procurement and warehouse workflows alongside inventory control. It is best suited to healthcare, relief, and distribution teams that need those linked operations and can support a self-hosted deployment or pay for managed hosting. Its breadth is useful, but the choice between free self-management and Lift’s capped, tiered service is consequential.

Key features

Inventory records can follow stock across facilities, bins, lots or serial numbers, and expiration dates, with an audit history of movements. Expiry alerts and first-expiry-first-out picking are particularly relevant for medications and other time-sensitive supplies: they help teams act on approaching dates and prioritize older stock. Barcode scanning, receiving, putaway, picking, inventory lookup, and shipping also cover practical warehouse work through a mobile-optimized interface.

Procurement extends beyond purchase orders to supplier management, invoices, requisitions, receiving, and shipment workflows. That combination makes OpenBoxes a stronger candidate for organizations coordinating supply movement and replenishment than for those needing only a simple stock counter. Built-in reports cover consumption, stockouts, expirations, transactions, stock analytics, and quantities on hand, giving operators several views of inventory status and use.

Integrations named for the product include a REST API, webhooks, n8n, OpenFn, Boomi, Crowdin, and DHIS2. This range may help connect supply workflows to other systems, though the managed Lift tiers impose API-call limits. Deployment also affects suitability: cloud use requires consistent internet connectivity, while on-premise operation requires hardware and people to maintain it.

Pricing

Community Edition is free, billed Free Forever. It allows unlimited users and can be self-hosted on-premise or in the cloud, with community support. It is the clearest fit for organizations able to own infrastructure and operations; its zero price does not remove the practical burden of hosting and upkeep.

Self-Hosted starts at $24 a month, paid to DigitalOcean, with actual cost depending on droplet options. It retains self-management while adding dedicated support, so it may suit teams that want a hosted starting point but can still operate their deployment. It is not a fixed all-in hosting cost.

OpenBoxes Lift is advertised at $75 a month at a founding-member price available for a limited time, with pricing dependent on users, storage, and support level. It includes fully managed hosting, support, backups, and API access. The current Shared tier is $75 /month, with up to 10 users, 10GB storage, 1,000 API calls/hour, a 99.0% uptime SLA, 30-day backup retention, and a 30-day free trial. Those caps suit a smaller team willing to work within defined capacity and service targets.

The current Dedicated tier is $300 /month, with up to 50 users, 100GB storage, 25,000 API calls/hour, a 99.5% uptime SLA, 30-day backup retention, and a 30-day free trial. It offers substantially more room than Shared, but its current monthly option differs from the separate Dedicated offer of $899 a month with a 12-month minimum term. Buyers should distinguish those terms when comparing costs.

The current Enterprise tier is $1,800 /month for 100 users, 250 GB storage, 50,000 API calls/hour, and a 99.9% availability target. A separate Enterprise offer uses custom pricing for custom users and storage, with a 99.9% uptime SLA and 24x7 support including holidays. Enterprise is for organizations that need greater capacity or round-the-clock support; custom pricing requires a quote rather than a predictable standard tier.

Platforms

OpenBoxes supports Android, iOS, Linux, web, API, and self-hosted deployments. The mobile-optimized interface supports warehouse tasks, while deployment choice determines who carries infrastructure responsibilities. Teams relying on cloud access need consistent internet; on-premise users need suitable hardware and operational staffing.

Who it's for

OpenBoxes is a natural fit for healthcare facilities, disaster-relief operations, and other resource-constrained organizations managing supplies across sites. Its origins in tracking medical supplies across health facilities after the 2010 Haiti earthquake align with its focus on distributed inventory and expiry control. It has also been adapted for warehouse management, distribution, and other supply-chain contexts. Organizations without reliable internet or the capacity to maintain on-premise infrastructure should weigh those operating constraints before choosing the free edition.

Pros and cons

Pros: Multi-facility tracking, lot and expiry controls, and movement history support accountable handling of sensitive stock.

Pros: Procurement, warehouse workflows, reporting, and integrations cover more of the supply process than inventory counts alone.

Pros: Unlimited users in the free self-hosted edition avoid a seat cap for organizations able to run it themselves.

Cons: Community Edition leaves hosting and operational responsibility with the organization, while cloud use depends on consistent connectivity.

Cons: Managed Lift plans cap users, storage, and API calls; service targets and contract terms vary by tier.

Cons: Pricing is not uniform across the separate Lift offers, and the Dedicated option with a stated 12-month minimum is a significant commitment.

Alternatives

For a wider set of inventory options, browse Inventory Management Software.

Zoho Inventory is a better fit for a very small operation that can work within its free plan’s 50 orders per month, one user, and one location; OpenBoxes is oriented toward multi-facility supply workflows.

Cin7 Core is worth considering when a team needs a paid inventory product with a stated five-user Standard plan and up to 6,000 sale orders per year, rather than OpenBoxes’ self-hosted or Lift deployment choices.

Cin7 Omni may suit teams prioritizing a stated eight-user Omni plan with unlimited inventory locations; OpenBoxes is the more directly healthcare- and expiry-focused option.

Blue Link ERP is an alternative for organizations considering a hosted ERP subscription whose pricing varies with users, functionality, implementation services, and deployment.

inFlow Inventory is an option for teams that prefer a paid inventory plan with a stated allowance of two members, one location, and 1,200 orders per year.

MIE Trak Pro is another option to evaluate for a self-hosted deployment.

eTurns TrackStock is a paid alternative with a Replenish stockroom plan priced at $40 a month, billed semi-annually, and offering unlimited users, items, and suppliers.

Axacute may suit a very small team looking for a free web-based option, with its free plan limited to two users and basic inventory and production operations.

Verdict

Choose OpenBoxes if your organization needs traceable, multi-site supply management with procurement and expiry-aware warehouse workflows, especially in healthcare or relief settings. The free edition keeps user limits out of the way, and Lift can take hosting off your plate, but you should look elsewhere if your team cannot support self-hosting and its managed-service caps or terms do not fit your scale.