7 WooCommerce Inventory Management Plugins 2024

Running a WooCommerce store is exciting, but stock mismanagement can turn your dream store into a cluttered mess and leave you scrambling to fulfill orders. However, there are plenty of add-ons that can help you manage your stock without having to jump through multiple hoops.

This guide explores the top seven WooCommerce inventory management plugins, helping you find the perfect tool to streamline your stock, boost sales, and free up your time for what matters most – growing your business!

Benefits of Using WooCommerce Inventory Management Plugins

Keeping track of inventory in your WooCommerce store can take a lot of time and lead to significant errors. Here’s where WooCommerce inventory management plugins come to the rescue!

Let’s dive into five major advantages of using these plugins – 

No Stockouts or Overstocking

Inventory management plugins provide real-time stock tracking that gives you insight into how much each product you have on hand. No longer will you have to worry about stockouts or overspending on inventory that sits idle in your warehouse. 

Automated Inventory Updates

With the right plugins, you don’t have to update stock levels after every sale manually. These add-ons help you automate the process and ensure that your inventory reflects your sales activity in real time.

Multichannel Integration

WooCommerce inventory management plugins often support integration with various sales channels, making managing consistent stock levels on your website, marketplaces, and social media easier.   

Data-Driven Decisions 

Inventory management plugins help generate reports to analyze sales trends, identify top-selling products, and optimize your product mix. Use this data to refine your marketing strategies, improve forecasting, and ultimately boost your sales.

Top 7 WooCommerce Inventory Management Plugins

There are plenty of WooCommerce inventory management plugins available in the market, but there are only a couple handful of options that can streamline the process for you. 

Here’s a quick comparison table to give you an overview of these plugins – 

Features	ATUM	Smart Manager	WP Inventory	Simple Inventory	Stock Sync	WooCommerce Multi-Locations	PlainInventory
Price	Free	Freemium	Freemium	Free	Freemium	Freemium	Freemium
Usability	Beginner-friendly	Moderate learning	Beginner-friendly	Beginner-friendly	Moderate learning	Moderate learning	Moderate learning
Stock Tracking	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Bulk Editing	✓	✓	✓	Limited	✓	✓	X
Purchase Orders	No (Paid Add-on)	✓	X	X	X	X	✓
Barcode Scanning	No (Paid Add-on)	✓	X	X	X	X	X
Sales Reporting	Basic	✓	Basic	X	X	Basic	Basic
Low Stock Alerts	X	X	X	X	✓	X	X
Integrations	Limited	✓	Limited	Limited	Limited	✓	Limited

We will provide a detailed overview of the features of each of the plugins and compare them in the section below – 

1. ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management

ATUM is a comprehensive inventory management plugin for WooCommerce, designed to give shop owners complete control over their stock. Its free version offers a good set of core features, and the paid add-ons provide flexibility to scale up as your business grows.  

However, for larger stores with complex inventory needs or those seeking extensive integrations, a more robust paid inventory management solution might be a better choice.

What We Liked

• Free and Feature-Rich: The free version provides a solid foundation for basic inventory management needs. You can track stock levels, edit product details in bulk, manage low-stock alerts, and gain insights with basic stock reports.

• Beginner-Friendly Interface: ATUM offers a user-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate, even for those new to WooCommerce and inventory management.

• Multi-Location Support (Paid): If you manage inventory across multiple warehouses or locations, the paid add-on allows you to track stock levels and manage transfers between locations.

• Low-Stock Alerts: Stay proactive and avoid stockouts with customizable low-stock alerts that notify you when inventory dips below a set threshold.

What We Didn’t Like

• Limited Free Features: While the free version offers a good starting point, some advanced features like purchase orders, barcode scanning, and advanced reporting require paid add-ons. 

• Less Integrations: ATUM integrates with a few other plugins, but it doesn’t have a vast library of integrations compared to some paid inventory management solutions.

• Scalability Potential: While ATUM works well for smaller stores, some users report performance issues with very large inventories.

Pricing Plans 

ATUM’s core plugin is free. Prices for individual add-ons typically range from $30 to $99, both available quarterly and yearly.

2. Smart Manager for WooCommerce

Smart Manager for WooCommerce is a powerful solution for stores with large or complex inventories. Its bulk editing capabilities, advanced stock management tools, and reporting features (in the premium version) can significantly improve your decision-making. 

However, the free version might be limiting for stores with simpler needs, and the learning curve might require some initial investment in understanding its features. 

What We Liked

• Excel-like Interface: With its spreadsheet-style interface, you can easily view and edit product information, stock levels, variations, orders, coupons, and more directly within the grid – no need to navigate complex menus. 

• Advanced Bulk Editing: Take control of your inventory with robust bulk editing capabilities. Edit product details, pricing, stock levels, variations, and even manage order statuses for multiple items simultaneously. 

• Comprehensive Stock Management: Manage complex stock scenarios with features like backorders, stock adjustments, and the ability to set individual stock levels for product variations.

• Third-Party Integrations: Integrate with various popular WooCommerce plugins to expand its functionality and connect with other aspects of your store management.

What We Didn’t Like

• Steeper Learning Curve: With its extensive features, Smart Manager has a slightly steeper learning curve compared to some beginner-friendly inventory plugins.

• Limited Free Features: The free version offers core functionalities like bulk editing and stock tracking, but advanced features like purchase orders, reporting, and in-line editing require upgrading to the Pro version.

Pricing Plans 

Smart Manager is a freemium plugin, with premium plans starting at $69 per year. 

3. WP Inventory Manager

WP Inventory Manager is a versatile option for stores of various sizes. Its user-friendly interface and free core features make it accessible for beginners. The paid add-ons offer flexibility to scale up functionality as your needs evolve.

What We Liked

• User-Friendly Interface: WP Inventory Manager boasts a clean and intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate, even for those new to WooCommerce and inventory management.

• Free Core Features: The free version offers essential features like stock tracking, bulk editing of product details, and low-stock alerts.

• Developer-Friendly: For developers or those comfortable with code, it has shortcodes and hooks for customization, allowing you to integrate it seamlessly with your existing workflows.

What We Didn’t Like 

• Limited Integrations: While it integrates with some popular WooCommerce plugins, the integration options might be less extensive compared to some competitors.

• Limited Support: Free support is limited, and premium support options are tied to your specific paid plan.

Pricing Plans 

WP Inventory Manager is a freemium plugin, prices typically range from $49 to $149 per year, depending on the extension. 

4. Simple Inventory Management

Simple Inventory Management, as the name suggests, focuses on providing a user-friendly solution for basic inventory management needs in your WooCommerce store. 

It’s ideal for smaller businesses or those new to WooCommerce who want a user-friendly and free solution to track stock levels and prevent stockouts.

What We Liked

• Lightweight Plugin: Simple Inventory Management is a lightweight plugin that won’t weigh down your website’s performance and can be beneficial for stores with limited hosting resources.

• Stock Tracking: Track the inventory levels of your products in real time to ensure you have enough stock to fulfill customer orders.

• Low-Stock Alerts: Set up customizable low-stock alerts to receive notifications when inventory levels dip below a set threshold. This gives you the time to reorder products before they run out.

What We Didn’t Like

• Basic Features: As the name implies, the plugin offers a very basic feature set. Don’t expect advanced functionalities like bulk editing, purchase order management, or detailed reporting.

• Limited Scalability: While suitable for smaller stores, it may not scale well as your business grows and your inventory becomes more complex.

Pricing Plans 

Simple Inventory Management is available for free at the WordPress plugin repository.

5. Stock Sync With Google Sheets for WooCommerce

Stock Sync With Google Sheets for WooCommerce has a unique approach to inventory management with the help of the familiar interface of Google Sheets. 

It lets you manage your WooCommerce store’s product data and stock levels directly within a Google Sheet to potentially streamline the process for those comfortable with spreadsheets.

What We Liked

• Google Sheets Integration: If you’re already comfortable using Google Sheets, this plugin can feel like an extension of your existing workflow. Manage product information, descriptions, stock levels, and even some custom fields directly within a Google Sheet.

• Bidirectional Sync: Changes made in your Google Sheet automatically update your WooCommerce store, and vice versa to keep all information updated.

• Bulk Editing: Edit product details like stock levels, descriptions, and potentially even custom fields (depending on your setup) in bulk within your Google Sheet.

What We Didn’t Like

• Limited Functionality: Compared to other inventory management plugins, you get a more limited feature set. It focuses primarily on syncing inventory data and lacks advanced functionalities like purchase orders, reporting, or low-stock alerts.

• Limited Product Management: While you can edit basic product details, you cannot add new products directly through the Google Sheet. You’ll need to create them within your WooCommerce dashboard first.

Pricing Plans 

While the core plugin is free, the cost for premium plans starts from $59 for yearly packages and $899 for lifetime packages. 

6. WooCommerce Multi Locations Inventory Management

WooCommerce Multi Locations Inventory Management is a valuable tool for stores juggling stock across multiple locations. Its core functionality is well-suited for this specific need, offering features like location-based stock tracking, customer-facing availability displays, and shipping zone management. 

However, stores with simpler inventory needs or those seeking broader inventory management features might find this plugin overly specific. 

What We Liked

• Location-Based Availability: Customers can potentially see which location has the product in stock and choose their preferred location during checkout.

• Efficient Inventory Management: Easily manage your stock levels, setting low-stock alerts, and generating reports for each location individually.

• Automatic Location Detection: Integrate with Google Maps API to automatically detect the customer’s nearest location and display relevant product availability based on that location.

What We Didn’t Like 

• Challenges for Single-Location Stores: If you only manage inventory in one location, this plugin might be more complex than necessary compared to simpler inventory management options.

Pricing Plans 

The core plugin is available for $99. As it’s sold on CodeCanyon, the regular license includes 6 months of support. Extending support to 12 months costs an additional $35.25.

7. PlainInventory

PlainInventory presents itself as a user-friendly and potentially valuable option for WooCommerce stores seeking a smooth inventory management solution.  With its core features and focus on data insights, it can be a good fit for businesses of multiple sizes. 

What We Liked

• Easy to Use: With a user-friendly interface, PlainInventory is a good choice for beginners who prefer a simple approach to inventory management. 

• Improved Decision-Making: This plugin’s data visualization ability can help you make informed decisions about restocking, pricing, and overall inventory management strategies.

• Purchase Order Management: Generate purchase orders directly within the plugin to streamline your ordering process with suppliers.

What We Didn’t Like 

• Limited User Reviews: While the plugin seems promising, there are still relatively few user reviews available. This makes it difficult to gauge real-world experiences and potential limitations.

Pricing Plans 

PlainInventory is a freemium plugin. But premium plans are priced at $39 for the pro plan and $69 for the developers plan. 

Final Thoughts 

Each of the seven WooCommerce inventory management plugins outlined in this blog gives you access to a range of helpful features to streamline stock management, prevent overselling, and improve overall efficiency. 

Consider your store’s size, budget, and specific needs to find the perfect fit. So, take control of your inventory, explore these plugins, and watch your online business flourish!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Q. What is the best inventory manager for WordPress?

A. There’s no single best option, as it depends on your store size and needs. Consider ATUM for beginners, Smart Manager for complex inventories, or WP Inventory Manager for a balance of features and ease of use.

Q. What is the best practice for inventory management?

A. Best practices for inventory management include maintaining accurate stock levels, using automated tools for tracking, regular audits, and using analytics to forecast demand.

Q. How do I manage stock in WooCommerce?

A. In the WooCommerce settings, go to the Products tab and click on Inventory. Then, tick off the Enable stock management option and configure the stock status for items that are out of stock.