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What Shopify's built in inventory tools cover
Plenty of apps are sold to fix problems Shopify already fixes. Here is an honest line between what you already have for free, what needs a workflow and the short list of things that really do need an app. We sell one of those apps, which is why this page is clear about when you do not need it.
By Fazeel Tanveer, Founder · Last reviewed 25 August 2026
What you already have for free
Shopify tracks quantity per variant per location, lets you filter and sort by quantity, moves stock between locations plus runs Flow automations on paid plans. What it does not do is tell you anything without being asked: there is no low stock threshold field and no alert that arrives on its own. That gap is the only thing an alerts app is actually selling you.
On this page
What Shopify already gives you free
- Quantities per variant per location. Shopify tracks stock separately at every location you have configured. This is the foundation everything else reads from.
- Four separate stock counts. Available, committed, unavailable and on hand are each tracked on their own. Available is the one that decides whether a customer can actually buy.
- A record of every change. Adjustments are logged, so you can see who changed what.
- Transfers between locations. Moving stock is native.
- Filtering and export. You can filter the inventory view to low quantities and export it.
- Continue selling when out of stock. A per variant setting for whether Shopify accepts orders past zero.
For a store with one location and a small catalog this really is enough, as long as somebody actually looks.
What Shopify does not give you
- Anything that reaches you on its own. This is the big one. Every built in feature is a screen you have to go and open. Nothing ever lands in your inbox.
- A threshold that lives on the product. You cannot set "warn me at 20 for this SKU and 5 for that one" natively.
- Purchase orders and suppliers. Not part of core Shopify.
- Demand forecasting. Not part of core Shopify.
- Telling the right person. Shopify has no idea who should hear about which product.
The gap that costs you money. You can work around every other one. Not that first one and it is the one that causes real stockouts. Perfectly correct numbers nobody looked at still end with an empty shelf.
The free middle option: Shopify Flow
Shopify Flow sits between the built in screens and a paid app. It is free on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans and it closes the biggest gap, because a workflow can email you on a number without you opening anything.
What it does not solve cleanly is a different number per product or sending the right alert to the right person and it fires per variant. Full detail in the Shopify Flow low stock alert guide.
When a low stock alerts app is worth buying
Not until at least one of these is true:
- You are past roughly a hundred SKUs and one shared number no longer means anything useful.
- You hold stock in several places and need each one checked on its own.
- More than one person is responsible for restocking.
- You have already had a stockout you should have caught. The clearest sign of all. Sadly you only get it afterwards.
If none of these apply, use the built in view with a standing weekly slot in your calendar and spend the money somewhere else.
When the gap is the alerting, not the data
Shopify already knows your stock levels. Stockwell reads them and makes sure somebody actually hears about it, per SKU and per location, with no admin screen for anyone to remember.
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
Does Shopify have low stock alerts built in?
No. It has a low stock view you can filter and export, but it never emails you. To get something that arrives on its own you need Shopify Flow or an app.
Can I set a reorder point on a Shopify product?
Not as a number saved on the product that then triggers an alert. You can filter the inventory view by quantity, but you type that number in each time you look. Shopify does not store it on the variant.
Does Shopify handle inventory across multiple locations?
Yes. Shopify does this well. Stock is counted per location and moving it between locations is built in. What is missing is a per location alert that reaches you without opening admin.