Sortly Alternatives for Dental Offices: 6 Options for 2027

Pick the category before the brand

A Sortly alternative for a dental office is a tool that tracks what the practice holds, flags what needs reordering, and moves those orders to the right supplier. Before you compare brands, decide which of three categories you are replacing: a general counting tool, a dental supply ordering platform, or the supply module inside a practice management system.

TL;DR: If shelf counting is the problem, a general inventory tool is the closest replacement. If placing orders with dental distributors is the problem, a dental ordering platform fits better. If you already run Open Dental, start with its Supply Inventory module before buying anything else. Confirm expiry tracking and currency before you pay, and run any trial with real item data.

Sortly's pricing ties each paid tier to unique item counts and user seats, not to supplier ordering, so the price alone will not show whether a replacement handles the ordering step.

Key Takeaways

• Decide the category first: general counting, dental ordering, or a practice management module. The right answer changes with that choice.

• For a like-for-like counting replacement, Zoho Inventory's Standard plan and the Advanced tier on Sortly are the closest matches on published limits. Neither pricing page documents expiry-date tracking.

• For ordering from dental distributors, Invedent and ZenOne publish prices and are built around supplier ordering. The Inventory plan on ZenOne is $199 a month.

• Open Dental's supply module only makes sense if you already need its practice management system, because its $199 a month per location first-year fee covers the whole system.

• The cost pressure in the sources we opened comes mostly from ordering time and overpaying, so weight the ordering step above the counting step.

• Check currency, trial terms and expiry tracking in writing before you commit.

How we evaluated these tools

This is an informed buyer's guide built from public information. We opened each vendor's pricing page, its official feature or API page where one exists, and three independent sources on dental supply costs and ordering, all on October 25, 2026. The weights and scores below are our analysis, not vendor data. We did not profile Dentrix: the official Henry Schein pages we tried returned errors, and third-party listicles disagree about what its current inventory module does.

Ordering carries the most weight because the 2025 source we read describes ordering friction more than counting error. Dental fit carries the least, because most general tools do not publish dental-specific features at all, and that absence is itself a finding.

The six options at a glance

The matrix separates what the pages we opened document from what they leave out. "Not verified" means the feature did not appear on the pages we read, not that the product lacks it. Confirm those cells with the vendor before you sign.

What each option costs

Prices below are the figures each vendor's pricing page showed when we opened it. Where a vendor publishes no price, the cell says Quote-based. The Advanced plan on Sortly lists at $49 a month, but the first year is half price: First-year Advanced price: $24 a month according to Sortly (2026). The page says the 50% discount applies only to first-year subscriptions for new customers, and a 20% discount applies to yearly plans after that. Budget the renewal, not the promotion.

Sources for the table: Sortly pricing, Zoho Inventory pricing, inFlow pricing, Invedent pricing, ZenOne pricing, Open Dental fees.

Pricing checked October 25, 2026. Zoho's page shows dollar prices per organization billed annually, so the figure does not rise with users. Invedent's page shows a dollar sign without naming a currency, and the vendor describes itself as Australian, so confirm the currency before you budget. inFlow lists its prices in USD, CAD, GBP and EUR.

The next table converts published list prices into a yearly figure for an illustrative two-location office. It is arithmetic, not a quote, and it leaves out setup fees and discounts unless stated.

Take a two-location office that places 40 supply orders a month. At the 44 minutes per order cited in the NJDA-hosted Torch Dental article, staff spend 1,760 minutes, or 29.3 hours, on ordering each month. Zoho's Standard plan covers 3 users and 2 locations for $29 a month billed annually, or $348 a year, and its items expose a reorder_level field in the Zoho Inventory API, which is where par logic would start. If that office spends an assumed $8,000 a month on routine supplies, the same article's warning of overpaying by 17% or more puts $1,360 a month, or $16,320 a year, at risk, about 47 times the annual Zoho Standard cost. The tool price is small next to the spend it touches, so the decision should turn on whether the ordering step gets faster and the overpayment shrinks.

Vendor profiles: best fit, limits and evidence

Each profile separates what the vendor's page says from our read of fit. Read the linked pages before you rely on our reading.

Sortly

On the pricing page, the Free plan covers 100 unique items for one user, and the paid tiers step up through Advanced and Ultra to Premium and Enterprise. Purchase orders start on Ultra, QuickBooks Online integration starts on Premium, and API and webhooks appear only on Enterprise. The page says paid plans include a 14-day free trial.

Our read: Sortly is a sensible counting tool for one or two people who need labels and a shared item list. It is the weakest of the six for dental ordering, because its pages describe item and seat limits rather than supplier catalogs. Enterprise is quote-based.

Limitation: expiry dates and par levels do not appear on the pricing page, and the first-year discount is a promotion, so the renewal price is the number to budget.

Implementation: start on the trial with a real count of your 100 most-used items, then check whether purchase orders on Ultra cover the ordering step you actually run each week.

Zoho Inventory

Zoho sells four paid tiers, priced per organization per month and billed annually. The Standard plan is $29 per organization a month, billed annually, according to Zoho, and it covers 500 orders a month, 3 users and 2 locations. The page also lists a Free plan with 50 orders, 1 user and 1 location.

Our read: Zoho is a general inventory product with a documented API. The Zoho Inventory items API names its reorder field reorder_level, which makes it a fit for a team that wants to script reorder alerts. The pages we read do not describe dental-specific catalogs.

Limitation: the Standard plan caps at 2 locations, and the order limit is the number to watch as volume grows.

Implementation: import items with their reorder levels, then test a month of orders against the 500-order cap. Any custom reorder flow needs API access, which means someone must maintain it after launch.

inFlow Inventory

inFlow's Inventory app covers stock levels, sales, purchases and reordering in advance. Its pricing page lists four tiers in USD, and the Lite plan is $99 a month billed annually, according to inFlow, for 2 team members at one location with no sublocations.

Our read: inFlow suits a group that needs several locations and barcode scanning, but its entry tier does not support a second location. The Core plan on inFlow is $299 a month billed annually, with 5 team members and 5 locations. Extra team members are a per-user add-on, which the page lists at $29 a month each.

Limitation: expiry tracking is not listed on the pages we read. The Stockroom add-on is a separate scanning app that does not handle sales, costing or reordering.

Implementation: use the 14-day trial, which needs no credit card, to load your items and test reordering in advance before you choose a tier.

Invedent

Invedent describes itself as dental ordering and stock management software, and its pricing page lists a Standard plan and a Premium plan with an Enterprise tier by contact. The Standard plan is $79 a month billed annually, or $99 billed monthly, according to Invedent, and it includes unlimited suppliers. Premium is $129 billed annually or $149 billed monthly.

Our read: Invedent is the strongest dental-specific fit in this list for a practice buying from several distributors, because its pages describe multi-supplier ordering and price comparison. That is the step a counting tool does not cover. Currency is unclear, so treat the figures as unconfirmed until you see the currency on your invoice.

Limitation: the pricing page publishes no expiry, barcode or location details, and Enterprise is quote-based.

Implementation: confirm currency and tax treatment in writing, then test the ordering flow with your three largest distributors.

ZenOne

ZenOne lists three base plans on its pricing page: Savings, Ordering and Inventory. According to ZenOne, the Inventory plan is $199 a month, with Lite and Full feature levels. Setup fees are $0 for self-guided onboarding, $999 for guided and $1,999 for hands-on.

Our read: on the pages we read, ZenOne is the most complete dental procurement option here. Its homepage describes supplier price comparison, one ordering platform, on-hand tracking, budgets, approvals and spending reports. Its Inventory plan costs about double Invedent's Standard plan at list price, so it needs a clear case for the extra features.

Limitation: there is no free ongoing plan. The trial, which the page says begins with the most powerful plan, does not state its length.

Implementation: choose the onboarding tier before the trial. The guided and hands-on options cost more upfront, so decide whether your team needs help loading items.

Open Dental

Open Dental's Supply Inventory module tracks suppliers, categories, equipment, orders and supplies. Its Supplies Needed list lets any staff member note a low item for the person who orders, and it is completely independent of suppliers and the main supply list, according to the Supply Inventory manual page. The fee is $199 a month per location for the first 12 months, then $149 a month per location, according to Open Dental, and it covers up to 3 providers.

Our read: Open Dental is a practice management system first. Its supply module is worth using only if you already run the system or plan to switch, because the fee covers the whole practice system. Comparing it with a supply tool compares unlike costs. The manual page we read does not mention barcodes, expiry dates or par levels.

Limitation: suppliers and categories must exist before anyone can add supplies or orders, and the fee page lists data conversion as an extra cost.

Implementation: set up suppliers and categories first, then decide whether the Supplies Needed list is enough for your reorder step.

Where the pain lives: counting, ordering and expiry

The strongest evidence in our research is about ordering. Equipment and supply expenses: up 5% since early 2025 according to ADA News (2026). The page attributes the figure to an ADA Health Policy Institute dentist panel and does not give a survey size, so read it as a direction, not a benchmark.

Overhead guidance is older. According to Dental Economics (2003), an appropriate yearly overhead percentage for dental supplies is between 5 and 7 percent of total net collections. That is a practitioner's guideline from 2003, and it is the only supplies share we found on an opened page, so use it as a sanity check against your own books.

Expiry tracking is where the gap is widest. None of the six options documents expiry-date tracking on the pages we opened, so if expiry matters to your office, make it the first test in any trial.

Where a proposed US Tech Automations workflow fits

US Tech Automations can be configured as a proposed reorder workflow on top of whichever tool you choose. What follows is a design, not a live deployment, and each step depends on the prerequisites named below.

Trigger: an item's on-hand count falls to its reorder level. In a tool such as Zoho Inventory, that level is the reorder_level field. Action: the workflow compares the count with the par value, drafts a purchase request grouped by supplier, and sends it to a named approver. Output: one draft order list per supplier, with item, quantity and last paid price, which the approver can edit before anything leaves the office.

Prerequisites: read access or an export of current stock and reorder fields, a supplier price list or invoice history, and a named person who approves every order. Human review points: quantities before submission, substitutions, and any price change the approver flags. In this design, no order goes out automatically.

A second proposed workflow handles expiry. Trigger: a weekly export lists lots with expiry dates recorded in the practice's system. Action: flag lots that fall inside a window the office sets. Output: a use-first list for the team. Expiry dates have to be captured at receiving, and none of the six tools documents that on the pages we read, so this may mean a spreadsheet or a barcode step. Staff confirm disposition before anything is discarded.

The ordering step is where this matters most. Overpaying for routine supplies: 17% or more according to NJDA (2025). That figure comes from an article the NJDA hosts from Torch Dental, so check it against your own invoices. If your question is narrower and only about the reorder step, start with the reorder workflow described above.

Stitching it together yourself, or a configured design

Many offices reach this problem through a no-code stack: Zapier, Make or n8n connected to a spreadsheet or an inventory tool. Those platforms can keep run histories, retry failed steps, route errors to a separate branch and produce audit evidence when they are configured that way. The buyer still designs and owns idempotency, so a retried run does not place a duplicate order, along with escalation when a step fails, access controls on supplier logins, and maintenance when an export format changes.

A US Tech Automations design could configure the same run logs, retries and approval steps as part of the build. The prerequisites are the same either way: API or export access, named approvers, a test period with real items, and a plan for who maintains the flow after launch. The real difference is who carries that maintenance, not whether the steps can be built.

Who this is for, and when a simpler tool wins

Who this is for: an owner or operations lead at a small dental practice who places supply orders with more than one distributor and wants a shorter reorder cycle.

Red flags: no one owns the reorder decision; the team cannot export or enter item counts; or the real need is regulated lot or recall records, which none of the six pages describe.

When NOT to use US Tech Automations: a single-location office that only needs a shared count list is better served by Sortly's Free or Advanced tier, which avoids a second system altogether. An office already running Open Dental that only needs supplier orders should use the Supply Inventory module first, because a workflow layer adds one more system to maintain. A practice that buys nearly everything through one distributor portal may find that portal's own ordering and par features already cover the step, so an outside workflow adds cost without a new capability.

Decision checklist before you buy

• Export your item list and supplier list before the trial, so the test uses real data.

• Write down whether you are replacing a counting tool, an ordering process, or a practice system.

• Confirm the currency on the price page, since Invedent's page shows a dollar sign without naming one.

• Ask for expiry-date tracking in writing, because none of the six pages documents it.

• Budget the renewal price, not the first-year promotion: Sortly's first-year discount and Open Dental's step down to $149 after year one both change the cost.

• Name one approver for each order before go-live.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Comparing per-organization pricing with per-user pricing as if they were the same unit.

• Buying a practice management system to solve a reorder problem.

• Treating a first-year discount as the ongoing price.

• Judging a tool on its demo data instead of a trial loaded with your own items.

• Accepting a feature claim from a listicle without finding it on the vendor's page, which is how Dentrix ended up outside this comparison.

Frequently asked questions

What is the closest free replacement for Sortly for a dental office?

The Free plans on Sortly and Zoho Inventory are the only free options we verified, and both suit one user, so see the pricing table above for their limits. Sortly's Free plan covers 100 unique items, and Zoho's covers 50 orders a month.

Do any of these tools track expiry dates?

None of the six tools documents expiry-date tracking on the pages we opened, so confirm it during the trial and in writing before you buy.

Is Open Dental a Sortly alternative?

Open Dental is a practice management system with a supply module, so it replaces Sortly only if you also need practice management. Its fee covers the practice system, not supplies alone.

Which option should a two-location office pick?

If your main gap is ordering from dental distributors, test ZenOne and Invedent first, since both publish prices and are built around supplier ordering. If counting and reorder levels are the gap, Zoho Inventory's Standard plan is the closest published fit for two locations and three users.

Is a spreadsheet enough?

A spreadsheet can work for one office with one distributor and a short item list, but it does not provide the approval steps or order history that ZenOne and Open Dental list on their pages. Quote-based pricing applies to any custom build, so get a written quote before you assume a workflow costs less than a tool.

Choose by workflow, not by logo

The answer to the Sortly question is a category choice. Counting problems point to Zoho Inventory or inFlow, ordering problems point to Invedent or ZenOne, and a practice system decision points to Open Dental. Run a trial with your own items, confirm expiry tracking and currency in writing, and budget the renewal price rather than the promotion. If you want to see how US Tech Automations configures a reorder approval step on top of one of these tools, see how US Tech Automations configures this.