# Odoo Inventory or LightInventory for small-team stock control

> An ERP inventory app or a ready inventory system on your own Google Sheet? Setup, approvals, roles, history, data and price, compared with sources.

Source: https://www.lightinventory.com/compare/odoo · Last updated: 2026-10-30

Odoo Inventory is the inventory app inside the Odoo ERP suite, made by Odoo SA. LightInventory is a ready-made inventory system that keeps your stock data in a Google Sheet you own, with approvals and a verifiable history built in. This page compares the two as of 30 October 2026, with a link to the source for every claim about Odoo.

> **Note:** LightInventory is in development and not yet generally available. Where this page describes LightInventory, it describes the product as designed.

## The short answer

- **Choose Odoo** if you want inventory connected to sales, purchasing, manufacturing and accounting in one system, need advanced warehouse routes, or want an open-source edition you can host yourself.
- **Choose LightInventory** if you want inventory control that works on day one, with approvals, location-scoped roles and a tamper-evident history, without an implementation project and with your data in your own Sheet.

## Side by side

| | Odoo Inventory | LightInventory |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The inventory app of the Odoo ERP suite, in an open-source Community edition and a licensed Enterprise edition ([Odoo](https://www.odoo.com/app/inventory-features), [Odoo editions](https://www.odoo.com/page/editions)) | A finished inventory system that uses your Sheet as its data layer |
| Setup | Implementation is not included in any plan; Odoo points companies under 50 employees to its Success Packs and mid-size companies to partners ([Odoo pricing](https://www.odoo.com/pricing)) | Connect a Sheet; items, locations, movements and history tabs are created for you |
| Approvals | The documented count flow applies counts with an Apply button and asks for confirmation if on-hand stock changed since the count; it does not describe an approval step ([Odoo docs](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/latest/applications/inventory_and_mrp/inventory/warehouses_storage/inventory_management/count_products.html)). Approval modules are listed in the Odoo Apps store ([Odoo Apps](https://apps.odoo.com/apps/modules/18.0/eo_inventory_adjustments_approval)) | Built in: receipts, transfers and count adjustments can wait for an approver |
| Roles | Access levels per app, such as User: Own Documents, User: All Documents and Administrator ([Odoo docs](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/latest/applications/general/users/access_rights.html)); third-party modules in the Odoo Apps store limit users to warehouses and locations ([Odoo Apps](https://apps.odoo.com/apps/modules/19.0/oe_warehouse_stock_restrictions)) | Owner, Admin, Approver, Editor and Viewer, each limited to the locations you choose, on every paid plan |
| History | Applying a count creates a stock move in the Moves History report, with the user who did it; the feature page lists an audit trail of user actions ([Odoo docs](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/latest/applications/inventory_and_mrp/inventory/warehouses_storage/inventory_management/count_products.html), [Odoo](https://www.odoo.com/app/inventory-features)) | Every change with who, what, when and why, kept in your Sheet, tamper-evident, and any change can be reverted |
| Locations | All your warehouses and moves between them, with storage locations such as shelves, aisles and pallet racks; multi-company needs the Custom plan ([Odoo](https://www.odoo.com/app/inventory-features), [Odoo pricing](https://www.odoo.com/pricing)) | Locations you define, with transfers between them and roles scoped to them |
| Your data | On Odoo Online you can download a database backup at any time from the control center ([Odoo pricing](https://www.odoo.com/pricing)); when an Enterprise subscription ends, Odoo deletes the database or returns it at your choice, within the delays in its privacy policy ([Odoo Enterprise Agreement](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/latest/legal/terms/enterprise.html)) | In a Google Sheet in your own account, open to you at any time |
| Price | One App Free: €0 for one app with unlimited users. Standard €11.90 and Custom €22.90 per user per month billed yearly (€14.90 and €27.90 billed monthly); the prices shown carry a discount valid for 12 months for initial users. Implementation is extra ([Odoo pricing](https://www.odoo.com/pricing)) | Free for 1 person and 1 Sheet; Team $2.49 per user per month billed annually ($2.99 monthly) |

Both are priced per user. Odoo's pricing page showed prices in euros when we checked; LightInventory's prices are in US dollars.

## Where Odoo is better

- **It is a full ERP.** Inventory connects to sales, purchasing, manufacturing, accounting and stock valuation in one system ([Odoo](https://www.odoo.com/app/inventory-features)).
- **Free for unlimited users on one app.** If inventory is the only app you need, One App Free costs nothing for any number of users ([Odoo pricing](https://www.odoo.com/pricing)).
- **Deep warehouse logic.** Putaway rules, multi-step routes, drop-shipping, cross-docking, lots and serial numbers, and barcode operations for receipts, picking and adjustments ([Odoo](https://www.odoo.com/app/inventory-features)).
- **Open source and self-hosting.** The Community edition is open source, and the Custom plan can run on Odoo Online, Odoo.sh or on your own servers ([Odoo editions](https://www.odoo.com/page/editions), [Odoo pricing](https://www.odoo.com/pricing)).
- **A large app ecosystem,** where modules from Odoo and third parties add features such as approval steps or warehouse restrictions ([Odoo Apps](https://apps.odoo.com/apps/modules/19.0/oe_warehouse_stock_restrictions)).
- **It is available now.** LightInventory is still in development.

## Where LightInventory is better

- **No implementation project.** Inventory logic, approvals, roles and reports are designed in, so you connect a Sheet and start.
- **Control is built in.** Approvals before stock changes and roles scoped to locations are part of the product, with no modules to choose or maintain.
- **A history that shows tampering.** Every change is recorded with a reason, kept in your Sheet, and can be reverted. If someone types into the Sheet instead of using the app, the change is detected and recorded.
- **Your data stays in your Sheet.** The Sheet in your Google account is the data, open to you at any time.
- **Security on every plan.** Passkeys and multi-factor sign-in are included, not an add-on.

## Questions

### Is Odoo Inventory free?
One App Free covers one app with unlimited users on Odoo Online. Adding more apps moves you to Standard or Custom, and implementation is not included in any plan. The prices shown include a discount for the first 12 months, and the Enterprise Agreement renews automatically; charges below list price can increase by up to 7% per year ([Odoo pricing](https://www.odoo.com/pricing), [Odoo Enterprise Agreement](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/latest/legal/terms/enterprise.html)).

### Can Odoo require approval before a stock count is applied?
Odoo's count documentation describes applying counts with an Apply button and does not describe an approval step ([Odoo docs](https://www.odoo.com/documentation/latest/applications/inventory_and_mrp/inventory/warehouses_storage/inventory_management/count_products.html)). Its feature page lists approvals of adjustments among the user actions it logs ([Odoo](https://www.odoo.com/app/inventory-features)), and approval modules are available in the Odoo Apps store. Check the version you plan to use with Odoo or your partner.

### Does LightInventory replace an ERP?
No. LightInventory is built for inventory control. If you need sales, purchasing, manufacturing and accounting in one system, an ERP such as Odoo is the better fit.

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Facts about Odoo were checked on 30 October 2026 on the pages linked above and are reviewed every quarter. Odoo is a trademark of Odoo SA. LightInventory is not affiliated with or endorsed by Odoo SA. If anything here is out of date, write to support@lightinventory.com and we will correct it.