VNDLY vs Shopify Inventory: What Growing Stores Need [2026]

This comparison is for Shopify merchants who've outgrown the built-in tools. You're placing purchase orders by spreadsheet, running more than one warehouse, or you just got a notice that Shopify's Stocky app is shutting down on August 31, 2026. You're not looking for a new storefront - you're looking for a proper inventory system to run alongside Shopify. That's exactly the gap VNDLY fills.

What Shopify's Built-In Inventory Actually Does

Shopify handles the basics well. Every plan includes stock tracking per variant per location, low-stock alerts, inventory adjustments, inter-location transfers, and a basic inventory report. You can import and export via CSV. For a brand-new store with a handful of SKUs and one supplier, that's probably enough.

The gaps show up fast once you start growing:

• No purchase orders. You can't raise a PO to a supplier inside Shopify. You do it by email, by spreadsheet, or by a separate tool.
• No demand forecasting. Shopify won't tell you how much stock to order next month based on your sales velocity.
• No stock projection. There's no view that shows "at your current sell rate, you'll run out of this product in 18 days."
• No supplier management. You can't track lead times, on-time delivery rates, or purchase price history per supplier.
• No B2B wholesale portal. If you sell to wholesale accounts, you're doing it manually or with a separate app.

Capterra users summed it up well in their reviews: Shopify's inventory tools are "easy to use and allow for real-time tracking of stock levels," but reviewers consistently note they "may lack some advanced capabilities found in standalone inventory management software." (Capterra, 255 reviews, 4.5/5 for inventory management)

The Stocky Deadline: August 2026 Is Closer Than You Think

This is worth flagging directly. Shopify's Stocky app - the free purchase order and demand forecasting add-on that came with Shopify POS Pro - was delisted from the App Store on February 2, 2026. It stops working entirely on August 31, 2026.

After that date, any purchase orders, supplier data, or forecasting you had inside Stocky will be inaccessible. If you've been using Stocky for POs, you need to export your data and migrate to something else before the deadline.

This isn't a criticism of Shopify - they're a commerce platform, not an inventory management company. But it does mean the window for a free workaround is closing. Growing Shopify stores now need a dedicated system.

VNDLY vs Shopify: Full Feature Comparison

Feature	VNDLY	Shopify Built-In
Stock tracking (per location)	✅	✅
Low-stock alerts	✅	✅
Inter-location transfers	✅	✅
Purchase orders (supplier → stock)	✅	✗
Demand forecasting	✅	✗
Stock projection (days until stockout)	✅	✗
Reorder point calculations	✅	✗
Supplier performance tracking	✅	✗
B2B wholesale portal	✅ (Pro+)	✗ (paid add-on)
Sales order workflow (draft → shipped)	✅	Partial
Invoicing + payment tracking	✅	✗
Serial number + lot tracking	✅ All plans	✗
Mobile barcode scanning	✅ All plans	Via POS app only
AI assistant (custom queries)	✅ BYOK, all plans	✗
Shopify sync	✅ Outbound (batch)	Native

Pricing Breakdown

Shopify's inventory features are included in every plan - you don't pay extra for them. That's a real advantage for small stores. But the plans themselves aren't cheap once you need the Advanced reporting tier:

VNDLY Starter at $49/mo gives you 2 users, 2 locations, 500 orders/month, and includes full purchase orders, demand forecasting, stock projection charts, serial/lot tracking, barcode scanning, and Shopify sync. That's a complete back-office tool for a small product business.

VNDLY Professional at $149/mo adds the B2B customer portal, sales agents, and scales to 10 users, 5 locations, and 5,000 orders/month.

The honest math: if you're on Shopify Advanced at $299/mo and paying for separate inventory apps to get POs and forecasting, VNDLY Professional at $149/mo often costs less in total.

Where Shopify Wins - Honestly

Shopify is the best commerce platform in the world for a reason. The storefront, checkout, payments, and shipping tools are genuinely best-in-class. If your inventory is simple - one warehouse, direct-to-consumer only, under 200 SKUs - you probably don't need anything more than what Shopify provides.

The app store is also deep. If you only need one specific feature (say, demand forecasting but nothing else), there are focused apps that add that layer without replacing your workflow.

And the basic inventory tools score well with real users. A 4.5/5 on Capterra from 255 reviewers for inventory management isn't nothing - people appreciate that it's easy to use, fast to update, and accessible from a phone.

Where VNDLY Wins for Growing Stores

This is where the comparison gets specific.

Purchase orders done properly. In VNDLY, you raise a PO to a supplier, track its status from draft to confirmed to partly received to fully received, and every received item updates your stock levels automatically. There's no separate spreadsheet. No manual adjustment. The purchase order workflow is the core of good inventory management - and Shopify doesn't have it.

You'll know before you run out. VNDLY's stock projection charts show exactly how many days of cover you have for each product, based on your actual sell rate. Reorder point warnings surface before you hit zero. This alone pays for the subscription in prevented stockouts. Inventory distortion - stockouts plus overstock combined - costs retailers an estimated $1.77 trillion globally each year, according to IHL Group research. Most of that is preventable with better visibility.

Forecasting that learns your business. VNDLY's demand planning uses multiple forecast models and improves as it sees more of your sales history. You can see how much to order, when to order it, and which SKUs need attention first - without building pivot tables every Monday morning.

Multi-location without the complexity. VNDLY tracks stock across up to 5 locations on Professional (unlimited on Enterprise), with transfers, separate purchase orders per location, and a clean view of what's where. Shopify has multi-location stock tracking but no workflow tools to manage the movement.

The Shopify sync is outbound. When a sale happens in VNDLY, your Shopify inventory levels update in batch sync. Your Shopify store always reflects your real stock. Read more about how VNDLY syncs with Shopify products, orders, and inventory levels.

B2B without the extra app. The B2B customer portal (Professional plan and above) lets wholesale accounts place orders themselves against your price lists. No email back-and-forth, no manual data entry. See how VNDLY's B2B portal compares to Shopify's wholesale add-on pricing.

From the Founder

Who Should Choose Which

Stay on Shopify built-in if:

• You have under 200 SKUs and one warehouse
• You sell direct-to-consumer only with no wholesale accounts
• You have a single supplier and short lead times
• You're just starting out and margins don't yet support a dedicated tool

Add VNDLY if:

• You're placing purchase orders manually (spreadsheet, email, or a notebook)
• You've run out of stock on a best-seller because you didn't see it coming
• You manage multiple warehouses or want to add a second location
• You have wholesale accounts and process B2B orders
• You need demand forecasting to stop guessing at order quantities

If you've been relying on Stocky for purchase orders and it shuts down in August 2026, VNDLY is the most direct replacement - it covers everything Stocky did and a lot more.

For a broader look at your options, check our guide to the best inventory apps for Shopify in 2026 and the complete list of best ecommerce inventory management software. If stockouts are your main pain point, here's how to stop overselling before customers notice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Shopify have built-in inventory management?

Yes. Every Shopify plan includes basic inventory tracking: stock quantities per variant per location, low-stock alerts, manual adjustments, inter-location transfers, and basic inventory reports. What it doesn't include is purchase orders, demand forecasting, supplier management, or stock projection tools - those require a third-party app.

What happens when Shopify Stocky shuts down in August 2026?

Shopify's Stocky app - the free purchase order and forecasting tool bundled with POS Pro - stops working entirely on August 31, 2026. It was delisted from the App Store on February 2, 2026. Any POs or supplier data inside Stocky will become inaccessible after the shutdown. You'll need to export your data and migrate to a dedicated inventory management tool before the deadline.

Can VNDLY work alongside Shopify?

Yes. VNDLY connects to your Shopify store and syncs inventory levels outbound in batch - meaning when stock changes inside VNDLY (from a sale or a PO receipt), those updated levels push to Shopify. Your Shopify storefront reflects your real available stock. VNDLY then handles all the back-office work: POs, forecasting, supplier tracking, invoicing, and reporting.

Is VNDLY more expensive than Shopify?

VNDLY starts at $49/mo (Starter plan) and $149/mo (Professional). Shopify's inventory features are included in existing plans, so in that sense they're "free." But growing stores on Shopify Advanced ($299/mo) often add separate apps for forecasting, POs, and B2B at additional cost. In practice, VNDLY Professional at $149/mo frequently costs less than Shopify Advanced plus several inventory add-ons.

What is the best Shopify inventory app for a growing ecommerce store?

It depends on how complex your operations are. For stores that only need demand forecasting, standalone apps work well. For stores that need the full picture - purchase orders, multi-location, B2B wholesale, invoicing, and forecasting under one roof - VNDLY is built for that use case. See the full comparison of inventory software for ecommerce to find the right fit for your stage.