Katana vs OpenBoxes
Katana
katanamrp.com
OpenBoxes
openboxes.comSide by side
| Figure | Katana | OpenBoxes |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $299/mo | $24/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 9 |
| Spec score · Inventory Control Software | 8.7 (#4) | 9.0 (#1) |
| Founded | 2017 | 2010 |
| Integrations | Native, partner and community integrations include Xero, Shopify, ShipStation, WooCommerce and ChatGPT, with additional tools available through the ecosystem. | Official integration options include REST APIs, webhooks, n8n, OpenFn, Boomi, Crowdin and DHIS2. |
| Licence | Katana is delivered as proprietary hosted software; its official terms grant service access rather than publishing source code under an open-source licence. | The source repository identifies the project licence as Eclipse Public License 1.0. |
| Notable news | Katana announced Ben Hussey as co-CEO on 30 September 2024 to lead growth and North American expansion alongside co-founder Kristjan Vilosius. | OpenBoxes 0.9.8 release notes dated July 7, 2026 describe fixes for server-side template injection, SSRF and import validation issues. |
| Rating on Capterra | 4.6 out of 5 from 171 reviews | No product-specific OpenBoxes rating or reviews were listed. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.4 out of 5 from 123 reviews | No product-specific OpenBoxes rating or reviews were listed. |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 4.2 out of 10 from 5 ratings | No product-specific OpenBoxes rating or reviews were listed. |
| Security controls | Katana states that data is TLS-protected in transit, encrypted at rest, access-controlled with RBAC and hosted primarily on AWS with backups and disaster-recovery procedures. | Official feature documentation describes role permissions, location-based access restrictions, action auditing and LDAP authentication. |
| System requirements | The Shop Floor application is browser-based rather than a native mobile app and supports current Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge browsers; camera access is needed for QR and barcode scanning. | 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. |
| What it does | Katana is cloud manufacturing resource-planning and inventory software aimed at small and midsize manufacturers. | OpenBoxes is open-source supply-chain and inventory software aimed at healthcare, warehouse and distribution operations. |
Plans
Katana
- FreeFree
- Core$299 a month
- AdvantagePrice not published
- Core (Capterra listing)$299 a month
- AdvantagePriced on request
OpenBoxes
- Community EditionFree
- Community Self-HostedFree
- Self-Hosted$24 a month
- OpenBoxes Lift Shared$75 a month
- Shared OpenBoxes Lift$75 a month
- OpenBoxes Lift Dedicated$300 a month
- Dedicated OpenBoxes Lift$899 a month
- OpenBoxes Lift Enterprise$1,800 a month
- Enterprise OpenBoxes LiftPriced on request
In their own words
Katana
Katana is web-based inventory and order management software with barcode scanning, purchase orders, sales orders and stock alerts. Its permanent Free tier costs nothing, requires no credit card and has no expiry date. Free includes 30 SKUs, unlimited users, unlimited integrations and unlimited inventory locations. Core starts at $299 a month, scales with usage and add-ons, and includes unlimited SKUs, users and integrations with one inventory location. Advantage has no listed price and offers custom integrations, custom dashboards and reports, custom automations and workflows, a dedicated Solutions Engineer, SLA-backed maintenance and regular CSM check-ins. Katana is available on the web, with no mobile apps listed. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia. The tiers create a clear capacity trade-off: Free allows unlimited inventory locations but limits SKUs to 30, while Core removes the SKU limit and provides one location.
OpenBoxes
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.