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Looking for a Merchbees alternative
Bee, by Merchbees, is a good app with a better free plan than ours and far more reviews. We are one of its competitors, so start from the assumption that we are biased, then read the two numbers below that we are not going to pretend away.
By Fazeel Tanveer, Founder · Last reviewed 25 August 2026
The short version
- Bee wins on the free plan. 250 SKUs against our 50.
- Bee wins on proof. 4.8 stars from 117 reviews. We have none yet.
- We are cheaper to start paying. $4.99 against $5.99, with every location included.
- Bee does more. Forecasting plus dynamic reorder quantities, at higher tiers. We do alerts only.
On this page
Where Merchbees is ahead
Two of these matter more than anything we could say about ourselves, so they go first.
The free plan is five times bigger. Bee covers 250 SKUs for nothing with one scheduled alert to one recipient. Ours covers 50 with a daily summary. If your catalog sits between those two numbers and you do not want to pay anything, the decision is already made and nothing further down this page changes it.
It has 117 reviews at 4.8 stars. We launched recently enough to have none. Reviews are the one signal a vendor cannot write for itself, so weigh that accordingly rather than taking our word for anything here.
It does more. Reorder quantity calculations, dynamic thresholds driven by forecasting, stock cover days, ABC reports and bulk upload, with demand forecasting from $39.99 a month. None of that exists in Stockwell at any price.
Where the two genuinely differ
| Feature | Bee, by Merchbees | Stockwell |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 250 SKUs, 1 scheduled alert | 50 SKUs, daily summary |
| Entry paid plan | $5.99 for 8,000 SKUs | $4.99 for 1,500 SKUs |
| Alerts each variant separately | Yes | Yes |
| A different threshold per variant | Yes | Yes |
| Slack alerts | On the $11.99 Advanced plan | Summary free, instant from $4.99 |
| Forecasting | From $39.99 | No |
| Proof each alert was sent | Not advertised | Yes |
| Reviews | 4.8 from 117 | None yet |
Read down the Bee column and it wins most of these rows. That is the honest picture as of 25 August 2026, with the Slack row read on 3 September 2026. The rows we take are the entry price, the price Slack starts at plus the delivery record, which is a narrow claim rather than a broad one.
The case for switching
There are two situations where moving makes sense, both narrow.
You outgrew the free plan and only want the alerts. Bee's next tier is $5.99 for capabilities most stores never open: forecasting configuration, cover days, ABC reports. If none of that is going to get used, $4.99 for 1,500 SKUs with every location included buys the part you actually wanted for a dollar less.
You need to prove the alert went out. The failure that costs money is not a wrong threshold, it is an alert nobody can confirm arrived. Stockwell keeps a record of every alert it sent and when, which turns "I never got that email" from an argument into something you can check. No other app on this comparison advertises it.
Do not switch for the forecasting. We do not have any. If reorder quantities or stock cover days are what you are shopping for, Bee is the better app and this page has served its purpose by telling you so.
The case for staying put
- You use the forecasting. Not glanced at it, acted on it. We have nothing equivalent.
- You have more than 1,500 SKUs and want to pay under $9.99. Bee's 8,000 at $5.99 is better value than our 10,000 at $9.99.
- Reviews matter to you. Entirely reasonable. Bee has 117 and we have none.
Switching an alert app is cheap but it is not free: you rebuild your thresholds and your recipient list, then carry a week of running both to be sure nothing was missed. That cost is worth paying for a genuine gap, not for a dollar.
If the alert is the only part you need
Stockwell watches every variant at every location, emails your team before stock reaches zero and shows you every alert it sent. Free for 50 SKUs, then $4.99 with every location included.
Get it on the Shopify App Store
Free plan covers 50 SKUs with a daily summary. Paid plans add instant
alerts and more recipients. No card needed to start.
Common questions
Is Merchbees or Stockwell cheaper?
It depends where you sit. Bee is free up to 250 SKUs against our 50, so it is cheaper for a small catalog. Our first paid plan is $4.99 against Bee's $5.99, so we are cheaper to start paying, though Bee's $5.99 covers 8,000 SKUs against our 1,500. Prices read on 25 August 2026.
Does Stockwell have Merchbees style forecasting?
No. Stockwell has no demand forecasting, no reorder quantity calculation and no stock cover days. It watches your stock against a threshold you set and emails you. If you want forecasting, Bee offers it from $39.99 a month and Stockie from $29.99.
Can I set different thresholds for each variant?
Yes, in both. Every variant is watched and alerted separately and each one can carry its own threshold, so sizes that sell at very different rates do not have to share a number. In Stockwell a variant left unset inherits its product's number. A product left unset inherits the store wide default.
Why does Stockwell have no reviews?
Because the app is new. Merchbees has been on the App Store far longer and has earned 117 reviews at 4.8 stars. We would rather say that plainly than pretend the gap is not there. Judge the app on its free plan, which costs nothing to try.