How to choose the best MRP software
Most "best MRP system" lists rank tools the writer never opened. This one starts with what six systems actually cost once you need lot traceability, taken from their own pricing pages, then the seven criteria we would use to evaluate any of them, including ours.
What these systems actually cost
Entry prices in this category are rarely the price you pay, and the gap opens widest around traceability. Below is what each vendor advertises, next to what a five-person manufacturer who needs lot tracking and quality control would be quoted, using each vendor's own published tiers.
| System | Advertised | 5 users, with traceability | Why they differ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katana | $299/month | $548/month | Katana lists Traceability (batch and serial tracking) as a $249/month add-on to the Core plan, alongside Warehouse Management at $149 and Manufacturing Management at $199. |
| MRPeasy | $49/user/month | $345/month | Quality control is tiered to Professional at $69/user/month and above, so a five-person team needing QC is priced from that tier rather than Starter. |
| Cin7 Core | $349/month | $599/month | Cin7 lists MRP as a paid add-on on Standard and includes it from Pro at $599/month for 10 users. Tiers also carry annual order-volume caps. |
| Fishbowl | $229/month | $429/month | Fishbowl publishes cloud tiers by included user count: Essentials $229 for 2 users, Growth $429 for 5, Scale $729 for 10. Fishbowl Advanced, the manufacturing edition, starts at $675/month. |
| Odoo | from EUR 11.90/user/month | licence is the smaller number | Odoo publishes Standard at EUR 11.90/user/month annually and Custom at EUR 17.90, both including all apps. Independent implementation guides, not Odoo, put configuration and partner costs well above the licence; budget for that separately rather than from the pricing page. |
| Zoho Inventory | $29/month | $79/month | Zoho publishes flat tiers with fixed user, location and monthly order limits: Standard $29 for 3 users and 500 orders, Premium $79 for 5 users and 3,000 orders. It is positioned as inventory and order management; check the manufacturing feature list against your BOM depth before shortlisting it as an MRP. |
What each one is genuinely good at
Katana
Cloud inventory and production planning with a flat platform fee.
The most polished interface of the group, with visual drag-and-drop scheduling, and unlimited users on the base plan so headcount never changes the bill.
Compared with IEMSuiteMRPeasy
Cloud MRP priced per user, established over a decade.
The longest public track record here, with a mature production planning engine and QuickBooks and Xero integrations that often settle the decision on their own.
Compared with IEMSuiteCin7 Core
Order and inventory management for multi-channel sellers, with MRP available.
The strongest multi-channel order management of the group, with warehouse management, barcode scanning and batch tracking included from the entry tier.
Compared with IEMSuiteFishbowl
Inventory and manufacturing, closely tied to QuickBooks.
The deepest QuickBooks integration in this group, and a manufacturing-focused edition for operations that have outgrown general inventory tools.
Compared with IEMSuiteOdoo
Open-source business suite where manufacturing is one app among many.
By far the lowest published licence cost, and the broadest functional surface if you want accounting, CRM and manufacturing from one vendor.
Compared with IEMSuiteZoho Inventory
Flat-tier inventory and order management inside the Zoho suite.
The lowest entry cost of the group by a wide margin, with flat tiers rather than per-user pricing and a genuinely usable free plan.
Compared with IEMSuiteAbout these figures
Every price above is taken from the vendor's own public pricing page, read in July 2026: katanamrp.com/pricing, mrpeasy.com/pricing, cin7.com/pricing, fishbowlinventory.com/pricing, odoo.com/pricing, zoho.com/us/inventory/pricing. Figures describe what each vendor publishes, not our assessment of what the products can do. Vendors change prices, tiers and packaging without notice, so confirm current pricing with the vendor before you decide.
IEMSuite is not included in the price comparison. We are in Early Access, and a figure from that period would not be a like-for-like comparison with a shipping commercial plan.
All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Their use here is for identification and comparison only and does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by those companies.
What makes an MRP system "the best"?
An MRP (Material Requirements Planning) system plans what to buy, what to make, and when, based on your bills of materials, stock levels, and orders. For a small manufacturer, the best MRP system is the one that prevents your specific expensive mistakes: overselling stock you already promised, shipping product that failed inspection, discovering at month-end that a best-selling order lost money. Rankings do not know your failure modes. The criteria below help you find them.
The 7 criteria that separate the best MRP systems
Lot-level inventory, not just quantities
A count of "142 units" tells you nothing when a supplier issue hits. The best MRP systems track every receipt as a lot with its own number, dates, and cost, so you can answer "which batches are affected and who got them" in minutes.
BOMs that actually drive stock
A bill of materials that lives in a PDF is documentation. A BOM inside your MRP should consume components from stock automatically when a production batch runs, and tell you what you can build with what is on hand.
Quality control with teeth
Ask one question in every demo: can stock that has not passed inspection be shipped or used in production? If the answer is "there is a warning", keep looking. The system should refuse, not remind.
Costing you can defend
Average costing hides margin problems. Look for per-order COGS built from the actual cost of the actual lots consumed, frozen when stock is allocated, so finance and operations argue about decisions instead of numbers.
Native fit with your sales channel
If you sell on Shopify, the difference between a native app and a third-party connector shows up at 2am during a launch. Fewer moving parts, fewer sync surprises, one vendor to hold accountable.
A pricing model your team can live with
Per-seat pricing quietly decides who gets access. When the QC inspector and the picker share a login to save money, your audit trail is fiction. Feature-tiered pricing keeps everyone in the system.
Setup measured in days, not quarters
For a 5–50 person manufacturer, an implementation project that needs consultants is a red flag. You should be able to import products, set locations, load opening stock, and run your first tracked lot within the first week.
Where IEMSuite fits - and where it does not
Strong fit
- Small manufacturers (roughly 2–50 people) making physical products in batches.
- Products where lots, expiry dates, or recalls matter: food, cosmetics, supplements, chemicals.
- Teams selling on Shopify who want inventory embedded in Shopify admin.
- Operations that need QC holds enforced by the system, not by memory.
- Whole teams in the system - plans are feature-tiered, never per seat.
Look elsewhere if
- You need finite-capacity, drag-and-drop production scheduling today.
- You want one ERP for accounting, HR, and CRM in the same system.
- You run complex multi-plant operations with hundreds of users.
Our comparison pages name the tools that fit those cases better. If your real question is whether you need a full ERP or a dedicated warehouse management system, see our ERP for small manufacturing guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best MRP software for a small business?
The honest answer: the one that matches your failure modes. If products expire, you need FEFO and lot expiry as defaults. If you sell on Shopify, native integration beats connectors. If your whole team needs access, avoid per-seat pricing. Evaluate against the 7 criteria on this page rather than a generic "top 10" list - most of those lists are affiliate-driven.
What is the difference between MRP and ERP?
MRP (Material Requirements Planning) focuses on materials, production, and inventory: what to buy, what to make, and when. ERP covers the whole company - accounting, HR, CRM, and more. Small manufacturers usually get value faster from a focused MRP tool, then adopt an ERP if company-wide complexity demands it.
How much does good MRP software cost?
Cloud MRP for small manufacturers is typically priced per user per month (often $50–150 per seat), as a base plan plus paid add-ons, or as feature-tiered plans. Watch for the total: per-seat fees grow with your team, and add-on models can double the sticker price. IEMSuite uses feature-tiered plans with no per-user fees; see our pricing page for current details.
Is IEMSuite the best MRP system?
For some operations, no - and we say so on our comparison pages. If you need finite-capacity scheduling or a whole-company ERP today, other tools fit better. IEMSuite is built for small manufacturers who need lot traceability, QC that blocks bad stock, per-order costing, and native Shopify sync without an implementation project.
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