AssetBlaze vs Sortly:
Which is Right for a
Growing SMB?

You probably found Sortly for the same reason everyone does.

You searched for inventory software, wanted something that worked without a six-month implementation, and Sortly came up. It was affordable. The mobile app worked. You could scan barcodes, organise things into folders, and set a few low-stock alerts. It did the job.

Then something changed. Maybe your team grew and you needed more users. Maybe you needed a real integration with QuickBooks, not just an export button. Maybe you wanted to link parts to specific jobs, or automate a reorder workflow. Or maybe you simply got the pricing email.

“Our price went from $1,500 per year to $2,750, which we weren't happy about but accepted. Then one year later it increased 93% to $5,360 with no installment plan. We were promised integrations that never materialised.”

— Verified customer review, Capterra, July 2025

That quote isn't an outlier. Sortly's pricing history is one of the most common reasons businesses begin looking for an alternative. But pricing alone isn't the full story — the more important question is whether Sortly's feature set can take you where you need to go, regardless of what it costs.

This comparison is an attempt to answer that honestly, feature by feature and dollar by dollar.

Head-to-head: what each platform actually does.

The table below compares the two platforms across the features most relevant to growing SMBs. We've drawn from both products' public documentation and third-party review data.

To be fair: what Sortly does well.

This page would lack credibility if it only listed AssetBlaze's advantages. Sortly has genuine strengths that have kept a large user base happy for years.

Visual inventory tracking. Sortly's photo-first approach to item records is genuinely distinctive, attaching high-resolution images to items makes it easier to identify stock at a glance. For businesses managing visually diverse inventories (retail, event production, interior design), this is a real advantage.

Ease of onboarding. Sortly consistently scores highly in third-party reviews for how quickly new users can get up and running. The folder-based organisation model is intuitive, especially for teams without a prior inventory system.

Offline functionality. Sortly's mobile app handles offline access well, with reliable sync when reconnected. For teams working in areas with poor signal, this matters.

“Sortly is a great option for small businesses that need visual inventory tracking and mobile access without the complexity of full ERP systems.”

— Capterra editorial summary, August 2025

The honest summary: if your needs are relatively static, your team is small, and you primarily need a digital catalogue of items with photo records and basic alerts, Sortly may be sufficient. The problems arise when you need to grow out of that baseline.

The pricing question, and why it matters more than the sticker price.

Sortly's published pricing is broadly reasonable at entry level. The issue documented in customer reviews isn't the initial price, it's the trajectory. Multiple long-term customers have reported year-over-year increases of 80–93%, with limited notice and no installment options.

For a small business budgeting on annual SaaS costs, unpredictable pricing creates real operational risk. The question isn't just “what does it cost today” but “what will it cost in year three.”

One structural limitation worth noting: Sortly gates QuickBooks integration and API access behind its highest plan. For a business that needs both, the effective entry point is $149/month, before any renewal adjustment. That's a meaningful cost for an SMB with 1–10 employees.

When it makes sense to move, and when it doesn't.

Not every Sortly customer should switch. Some businesses are genuinely well served by it. Here's an honest breakdown.

Stay with Sortly if: Your team is 1–3 people, your inventory is relatively static and visual, you don't need QuickBooks sync or external integrations, and you've had stable pricing on your account. Sortly's simplicity is a genuine virtue if that's all you need.

Consider AssetBlaze if: You need AI-powered reorder intelligence rather than manually-set thresholds. You want job-linked parts tracking, allocating specific items to specific jobs and deducting stock on completion. You need a real REST API, not just webhooks. You're building integrations with other business tools or exploring AI agent automation. Or you've received a pricing renewal notice that materially changes your SaaS budget.

The honest summary.

Sortly is a good product for a specific use case: small teams that need simple, visual inventory tracking without workflow complexity. It built its reputation on ease of use, and that reputation is largely deserved.

But the platform has limitations that become increasingly apparent as businesses grow: no AI forecasting, no job-linked stock, no supplier catalogue management, a webhook-only API, and a pricing track record that creates renewal anxiety for long-term customers.

AssetBlaze was built for businesses that have outgrown the baseline. If you need your inventory system to work with your jobs, your accounting, and your AI tools, not just sit alongside them — it's the more capable platform.