RentalCrafter vs Sortly: Which Equipment Rental Software Is Better?

Comparing RentalCrafter and Sortly is not a like-for-like feature shootout — it is a category question. Sortly is inventory tracking software: it tells you what you own, where it is, and who has it. RentalCrafter is rental management software: it runs quotes, bookings, contracts, payments, deliveries, and customer-facing storefronts. Many rental operators evaluate both because they share the word "inventory," but they solve different problems at different layers of the business.

This comparison walks through that distinction honestly. Sortly excels at knowing your stock; RentalCrafter excels at renting it out. We cover pricing, mobile workflows, what each platform cannot do, migration paths if you are outgrowing a tracker, and when combining tools makes sense versus replacing one with the other. The goal is a useful decision — even if Sortly remains your inventory layer or you choose neither.

Sortly pricing and plan details are sourced from sortly.com/pricing as of July 2026. Confirm current plans with the vendor before purchasing.

Quick Comparison

Capability	RentalCrafter	Sortly
Inventory & stock tracking	Yes (rental availability)	Yes (asset/item tracking)
Rental bookings & reservations	Yes	No
Quotes & rental orders	Yes	No
Digital contracts & e-signatures	Yes	No
Stripe rental payments	Yes	No
Delivery scheduling	Yes (Pro plan and above)	No
Online rental store / webstore	Yes (Pro+ storefront; Premium instant booking)	No
Native mobile apps (iOS & Android)	No — responsive web	Yes
Barcode / QR scanning	No	Yes (paid plans)
QuickBooks / Xero integration	No	No native rental accounting sync
Multi-location support	Yes (Premium plan)	Yes (location folders on paid plans)
Customer rental portal	Yes (Premium booking)	No
Starting price (annual billing)	$39/month (Essential)	Free (100 items, 1 user)
Free trial	14 days (all paid plans)	Free tier available

Overview: RentalCrafter

RentalCrafter is rental management software built for small and growing hire businesses — party rental operators, event suppliers, AV hire companies, and general equipment rental businesses that need to move off spreadsheets without enterprise complexity. The platform covers the operational rental workflow: product catalog and inventory with availability calendars, quotes and orders, digital rental agreements with e-signatures, Stripe-powered payments and deposits, delivery scheduling, and an online storefront on higher tiers.

Its strength is running rental operations end to end. Essential plans start at $49/month ($39/month billed annually) with a 14-day free trial. Pro at $99/month ($79/month annually) adds deliveries, online store, ROI reporting, and CSV import for up to six team members. Premium at $199/month ($159/month annually) adds instant online booking, custom domains, and multi-location inventory for up to eleven team members. The interface is designed around tasks rental operators perform daily — checking availability, building quotes, collecting deposits, and scheduling deliveries.

RentalCrafter integrates with Stripe for payments and supports Google and Microsoft sign-in. It does not currently offer native mobile apps, barcode scanning, or QuickBooks/Xero accounting sync — which keeps the platform focused on rental workflows but means warehouse teams accustomed to scan-based check-in/out may prefer dedicated inventory tools for that layer.

Overview: Sortly

Sortly is cloud-based inventory management software used by small businesses, field teams, and operations staff who need to track physical items — tools, equipment, supplies, and assets — across locations, bins, and custodians. It is widely adopted outside rental specifically: contractors, IT asset tracking, medical supplies, and general stock control. Sortly's core value is visibility: what you have, where it lives, quantity on hand, and movement history via mobile scanning.

Sortly pricing (July 2026, per sortly.com): a Free plan supports up to 100 items and 1 user. Advanced runs approximately $39–49/month for 500 items and 2 users. Ultra is approximately $119–149/month for 2,000 items and 5 users. Premium is approximately $239–299/month for 5,000 items. Paid plans include mobile apps for iOS and Android, barcode and QR code scanning, custom fields, alerts, and user permissions. Pricing scales primarily by item count and user seats rather than rental transaction volume.

Sortly is not rental ERP software. It does not provide rental quotes, booking calendars tied to hire periods, rental contracts, Stripe checkout for deposits, delivery boards, or customer-facing online rental stores. Operators who choose Sortly for inventory often pair it with separate tools — spreadsheets, generic CRMs, or dedicated rental platforms — to handle the revenue side of the business. That separation is Sortly's design, not a gap waiting to be patched with workarounds.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Inventory Management

Both platforms help you know what stock you have, but they optimise for different questions. RentalCrafter tracks inventory through a rental lens: products, variants, collections, availability by date range, and automatic holds when orders are placed. Double-booking prevention is built around rental periods — if a tent is out Friday through Sunday, it cannot be quoted for the same dates. Bulk CSV import is available on Pro plans and above.

Sortly tracks inventory as discrete items or quantities in folders, locations, and bins. Barcode and QR scanning on paid plans makes physical audits and check-out to employees or job sites fast — a genuine strength for teams moving assets between vans, warehouses, and field locations. Custom fields, photos, and low-stock alerts suit general asset stewardship. Sortly does not natively model rental periods, hire rates, or availability conflicts between overlapping customer bookings.

If your primary pain is "I don't know where my stuff is," Sortly wins on scanning and mobile-first stock control. If your primary pain is "I can't quote, book, and invoice rentals without double-booking," RentalCrafter is the purpose-built answer. Some operators use Sortly for physical tracking and RentalCrafter for rental operations — accepting duplicate catalog maintenance — but most growing rental businesses consolidate on one rental platform once bookings drive revenue.

Online Booking

RentalCrafter offers customer-facing rental capabilities on higher tiers. Pro includes an online store where customers browse catalog items and submit rental requests; Premium adds instant online booking with live availability and Stripe checkout. Custom domains and branded storefronts support party and event rental businesses building a web presence.

Sortly has no online booking, rental webstore, or customer portal for hire requests. Customers cannot check availability, select rental dates, or pay deposits through Sortly. Any "booking" workflow in a Sortly-only stack happens outside the product — email, phone, a separate website plugin, or manual calendar management. For rental businesses whose growth depends on self-service online hire, Sortly alone is insufficient.

Reporting

RentalCrafter includes operational dashboards and an ROI report on Pro plans and above, focused on rental metrics: order volume, utilisation trends, and revenue patterns useful for weekly operator decisions. Reporting assumes a quote-to-order-to-payment workflow rather than pure stock counts.

Sortly reporting centres on inventory health: item quantities, location summaries, activity history, and alert-driven exceptions (low stock, overdue check-outs to internal custodians). It helps answer audit and asset-utilisation questions for owned stock but does not produce rental revenue reports, overdue hire invoices, or customer profitability views unless you export data and analyse externally. Rental operators needing hire-specific analytics will find Sortly's reports supplementary at best.

Mobile Experience

Sortly provides native iOS and Android apps designed for scanning items in the field, updating locations, and performing stock audits without a laptop. Barcode and QR workflows on Advanced plans and above are a core reason businesses choose Sortly over spreadsheet trackers. Offline-capable scanning (where supported by plan) suits warehouse and van-based teams.

RentalCrafter is a responsive web application accessible from mobile browsers but does not offer dedicated native apps. Owner-operators managing quotes and contracts from a phone browser often find this adequate. Warehouse teams performing high-volume scan check-in/out during rental handovers will miss Sortly's native scanning — RentalCrafter has no barcode module. The mobile trade-off is explicit: Sortly for scan-heavy inventory; RentalCrafter for rental admin without a native app today.

Integrations

RentalCrafter's integration footprint is rental-focused: Stripe for payments including Connect, Google Sign-In, Microsoft Sign-In, and ICS calendar sync on Pro plans. There is no public QuickBooks, Xero, Zapier, or barcode hardware integration — accounting reconciliation typically uses CSV export.

Sortly offers export capabilities and may support workflow connections depending on plan tier — confirm current integration options with Sortly directly. It is not positioned as a rental accounting hub: no native Stripe rental checkout, no e-sign contract providers, no hire-specific webhooks. Sortly sits upstream of revenue systems; RentalCrafter sits at the revenue layer. Neither product currently offers the combination of native QuickBooks/Xero rental sync plus barcode scanning in one stack.

Pricing

RentalCrafter pricing (July 2026): Essential at $49/month ($39/month annually, 1 team member), Pro at $99/month ($79/month annually, up to 6 members), Premium at $199/month ($159/month annually, up to 11 members). A 14-day free trial applies to paid plans. Deliveries and online store unlock on Pro; instant booking, custom domain, and multi-location on Premium.

Sortly pricing (July 2026): Free tier at 100 items and 1 user; Advanced approximately $39–49/month for 500 items and 2 users; Ultra approximately $119–149/month for 2,000 items and 5 users; Premium approximately $239–299/month for 5,000 items. Costs scale with item count and seats, not rental orders processed.

At entry level, Sortly's free tier can undercut RentalCrafter for pure stock lists — but it does not replace rental software. A rental business on Sortly Advanced (~$39–49/month) plus manual quoting in spreadsheets may spend similar money to RentalCrafter Essential ($39/month annual) while still lacking contracts, payments, and bookings. Compare total workflow cost, not line-item subscription alone.

Pros & Cons

RentalCrafter

• Pros: Purpose-built rental workflow (quotes, orders, contracts, payments); Stripe-native deposits and checkout; delivery scheduling on Pro; online storefront and instant booking on higher tiers; rental availability calendar prevents double-bookings; affordable tiers for small hire businesses; 14-day free trial.
• Cons: No native mobile apps; no barcode/QR scanning; no QuickBooks or Xero integration; not designed for scan-first warehouse audits; online instant booking requires Premium plan.

Sortly

• Pros: Strong mobile apps with barcode/QR scanning on paid plans; free tier for small item counts; intuitive item and location tracking; scalable item-based pricing; useful for internal asset custody and stock audits; photos and custom fields per item.
• Cons: Not rental software — no bookings, quotes, contracts, or rental payments; no delivery scheduling or customer webstore; no rental availability or hire-rate logic; rental revenue operations require separate tools; item limits can push costs up for large catalogs.

Best For

RentalCrafter

• Party and event rental businesses needing quotes, contracts, and online hire
• Equipment hire companies moving off spreadsheets for bookings and invoicing
• Owner-operators who need Stripe payments and e-signatures without enterprise ERP
• Businesses prioritising rental operations over scan-based warehouse audits
• Teams that manage rentals primarily from desktop or mobile browser

Sortly

• Businesses tracking internal tools, supplies, or assets — not customer-facing rentals
• Field teams needing mobile barcode scans to know where equipment is
• Operators who already run rental bookings elsewhere and only need stock visibility
• Small inventories (under 100 items) on the free tier for simple tracking
• IT, construction, or facilities teams auditing physical stock across locations

Customer Scenarios

If you run a party rental business

Party rental operators need dated availability, quotes, rental agreements, deposits, delivery scheduling, and often an online catalog. RentalCrafter's party rental software workflow covers these tasks on Pro and Premium tiers. Sortly can list your tents and tables but cannot take a booking for next Saturday, send a contract, or collect a Stripe deposit. For party hire, RentalCrafter is the operational platform; Sortly is at best a supplementary stock list.

If you only need to track where equipment is

A contractor tracking tools across three vans and a storage unit — with no customer rentals — fits Sortly well. Mobile scanning, location folders, and custodian check-out match that use case. RentalCrafter would be unnecessary overhead without rental orders. Be honest about whether you are running a rental business or an internal asset pool; the answer determines the product category.

If you need barcode scanning for rental check-out

Sortly wins on native barcode and QR scanning via mobile app. RentalCrafter does not offer scanning. If scan-at-handover is non-negotiable and you refuse a two-tool stack, neither product alone is perfect today — Sortly gives scanning without rental ops; RentalCrafter gives rental ops without scanning. Many operators pick RentalCrafter for revenue workflow and accept manual or browser-based check-out until scanning ships, or maintain Sortly for warehouse audits only.

If you want customers to book online

Self-service online rental requires RentalCrafter Pro (storefront and requests) or Premium (instant booking with live availability). Sortly offers no customer-facing hire channel. Evaluating Sortly for "equipment rental software" because of inventory features misses the buyer journey — discovery, date selection, payment, and confirmation all live outside Sortly.

If you have 2,000+ catalog items

Large catalogs affect pricing differently. Sortly Ultra (~$119–149/month) covers 2,000 items with five users. RentalCrafter Premium ($159/month annual) supports multi-location rental inventory with up to eleven team members and full rental workflow — without per-item caps in the same way. A 2,000-SKU rental catalog generating daily orders typically outgrows Sortly's tracking model and needs RentalCrafter (or enterprise rental ERP), not higher Sortly tiers alone.

If you are outgrowing spreadsheets plus Sortly

Common path: Sortly for "what we own," spreadsheets for "who rented it." That breaks when double-bookings, missed deposits, and contract chaos cost real money. Migration to RentalCrafter means exporting item names, categories, and rates into CSV import (Pro+) and accepting that barcode mappings will not transfer one-to-one. Plan two to four weeks parallel operation while staff learn quote-to-contract flows Sortly never provided.

Migration Guide

Exporting data from Sortly

Sortly supports data export depending on plan tier — export your item list including names, quantities, locations, custom fields, and barcodes as CSV or spreadsheet formats from the admin dashboard. Photos may need separate download. Sortly does not export rental orders or customer hire history because it does not store them as rental transactions. Archive any parallel spreadsheet booking records separately before migration.

Importing inventory into RentalCrafter

RentalCrafter supports bulk product upload via CSV on Pro plans and above. Map Sortly item names to products, assign categories, set daily or weekly hire rates, and add descriptions. Barcode values from Sortly have no direct field in RentalCrafter today — inventory is catalog- and variant-based rather than scan-ID-driven. Simplify duplicate SKUs and merge quantity-only rows into product variants where appropriate.

Customer migration

Sortly is not a CRM — customer records for rentals likely live in email, spreadsheets, or another system. Consolidate customer names, emails, phone numbers, and billing addresses into RentalCrafter's CSV import format (Pro+). Dedupe contacts before import. If you have no centralized customer file, budget time to reconstruct from past invoices before cutover.

Historical rentals

Sortly activity logs show internal stock movements, not rental revenue history. Past hire records from spreadsheets or email should be exported for archival; they do not import as active orders in RentalCrafter. Start fresh order workflows on cutover date while keeping PDF/CSV archives for accounting reference.

Staff onboarding

Teams familiar with Sortly's scan-and-folder mental model need retraining on rental-specific flows: availability checks, quote creation, contract sending, deposit collection, and delivery scheduling. Most RentalCrafter teams reach productive use within one to two weeks. Highlight upfront that barcode scanning steps disappear and rental calendar discipline replaces folder-based quantity edits. Sortly-to-RentalCrafter migrations add capability rather than remove it — expect more process, not less.

Who Should Not Use This Software?

Who should not use RentalCrafter

• Businesses with no rental revenue — internal asset tracking only
• Teams whose primary requirement is high-volume barcode warehouse audits without rental bookings
• Operators needing native QuickBooks or Xero rental accounting sync today
• Field crews requiring offline native mobile apps for scan check-in/out
• Enterprises needing GPS telematics, maintenance ERP, or sub-renting modules

Who should not use Sortly

• Any business whose core workflow is customer equipment rental with dated bookings
• Operators needing quotes, rental contracts, e-signatures, or Stripe hire payments in one system
• Party, event, or AV rental companies expecting an online hire storefront
• Teams needing delivery scheduling tied to rental orders
• Rental businesses expecting rental availability calendars and conflict prevention out of the box

Decision Matrix

Your priority	Lean toward	Why
Run rental quotes & bookings	RentalCrafter	Core rental ERP; Sortly has no hire workflow
Track internal stock with barcodes	Sortly	Native mobile scanning; RentalCrafter has no barcode module
Customer online booking	RentalCrafter	Storefront Pro+; instant booking Premium; Sortly has no webstore
Free or minimal cost for item lists	Sortly Free	100 items / 1 user; no rental ops included
Digital contracts & Stripe payments	RentalCrafter	E-sign and Stripe native; not in Sortly
Delivery scheduling for hires	RentalCrafter Pro+	Deliveries board; Sortly has no delivery module
Mobile scan audits (no rentals)	Sortly	Purpose-built inventory apps
Multi-location rental inventory	RentalCrafter Premium	Location-aware availability; Sortly tracks bins, not hire periods
Full rental ERP with scanning	Neither alone	Consider dedicated rental platforms with barcode (e.g. EZRentOut comparison) or a two-tool stack

Total Cost of Ownership

Examples use publicly listed pricing as of July 2026. Actual costs depend on plan tier, item counts, team size, and billing interval. Illustrative only — not quotes.

Scenario A: Small party rental (3 staff, 250 hire SKUs, online bookings needed)

RentalCrafter Premium: $159/month (annual billing) = $1,908/year. Includes instant online booking, custom domain, multi-location, contracts, Stripe, deliveries.

Sortly Advanced + manual ops: ~$39–49/month = ~$468–588/year for 500 items — plus spreadsheet/ email workflow for quotes, contracts, and payments (operator time not included). No online booking.

Three-year TCO: RentalCrafter Premium ≈ $5,724 all-in rental stack vs Sortly subscription ≈ $1,400–1,800 plus substantial manual labour and lost online revenue — false economy for active hire businesses.

Scenario B: Internal tool crib (2 staff, 400 items, no customer rentals)

Sortly Advanced: ~$39–49/month = ~$468–588/year. Mobile scanning and location tracking fit perfectly.

RentalCrafter Essential: $39/month = $468/year — rental features unused; paying for quotes and contracts you do not need.

Verdict: Sortly wins on cost and fit when no rental revenue exists.

Scenario C: Growing equipment hire (8 staff, 1,200 items, deliveries + storefront)

RentalCrafter Pro: $79/month = $948/year — deliveries, online store, ROI reports, up to 6 members (may need Premium for larger team and instant booking).

Sortly Ultra + disjoint tools: ~$119–149/month = ~$1,428–1,788/year for inventory only — still requires separate rental software or manual processes for the revenue side.

Three-year TCO: Consolidating on RentalCrafter Pro/Premium typically costs less than Sortly Ultra plus operational workarounds for a true rental business.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sortly rental software?

No. Sortly is inventory tracking software. It helps you track items, quantities, and locations — often with barcode scanning — but it does not provide rental bookings, quotes, contracts, rental payments, delivery scheduling, or an online rental store. RentalCrafter is purpose-built for equipment and event rental operations.

Can Sortly replace RentalCrafter?

Not for a rental business. Sortly cannot run hire workflows. It can complement RentalCrafter if you insist on Sortly for scan audits, but most operators choose one primary system for catalog and availability to avoid duplicate data entry.

Can RentalCrafter replace Sortly?

For rental operations, yes — RentalCrafter supersedes Sortly's role in availability and catalog management. For scan-heavy internal asset audits without any rental component, Sortly may still be the better dedicated tracker.

Which is easier to use?

Sortly is faster to learn for pure stock lists — add item, scan barcode, assign location. RentalCrafter has more concepts (quotes, contracts, availability) because it does more. Rental teams typically productive on RentalCrafter within one to two weeks; Sortly onboarding can be same-day for simple inventories.

Does Sortly have a free plan?

Yes. Sortly Free supports up to 100 items and 1 user as of July 2026. RentalCrafter offers a 14-day free trial on paid plans but no permanent free tier.

How much does Sortly cost compared to RentalCrafter?

Sortly Advanced (~$39–49/month) and RentalCrafter Essential ($39/month annual) appear similar on price — but Sortly's fee buys inventory tracking only; RentalCrafter's buys full rental workflow. Sortly Premium (~$239–299/month for 5,000 items) can exceed RentalCrafter Premium ($159/month annual) while still lacking rental features.

Does RentalCrafter have a mobile app?

No. RentalCrafter is responsive web. Sortly offers native iOS and Android apps with barcode scanning on paid plans.

Which supports barcode scanning?

Sortly on paid plans. RentalCrafter does not offer barcode or QR scanning today. Rental operators needing both scanning and rental ERP should evaluate platforms like EZRentOut or accept a two-tool approach.

Can customers book equipment online with Sortly?

No. Online rental booking and storefronts require RentalCrafter Pro or Premium — or another rental platform. Sortly has no customer-facing hire interface.

Does either integrate with QuickBooks or Xero?

RentalCrafter does not offer native QuickBooks or Xero sync. Sortly is not a rental accounting hub; confirm any export or integration options directly with Sortly for inventory-related workflows. Neither replaces an accountant-connected rental ERP for automated revenue sync.

Can I migrate from Sortly to RentalCrafter?

Yes. Export Sortly items to CSV, map to RentalCrafter product import (Pro+), rebuild customer records from your CRM or spreadsheets, and run parallel for two to four weeks. Barcodes and Sortly folder structure will not map one-to-one.

Should I use both together?

Some operators use Sortly for warehouse scanning and RentalCrafter for rentals — but duplicate catalog maintenance is costly. Most growing hire businesses standardise on RentalCrafter alone unless scanning is mission-critical and non-negotiable.

Verdict

Choose RentalCrafter if you operate an equipment, party, event, or general hire business and need quotes, availability, contracts, Stripe payments, deliveries, and optionally an online storefront — the full rental lifecycle. It is the right category of software when customers rent items on dates and you invoice for hire periods.

Choose Sortly if you need to track physical items across locations with mobile barcode scanning and you are not running — or you handle rentals entirely outside the inventory tool. Sortly is excellent inventory software; it is not a substitute for rental ERP.

Do not choose between them as equals — choose the category first. If rentals drive your revenue, RentalCrafter (or enterprise rental platforms with scanning) fits. If you only need to know where stock is, Sortly fits. When both needs are real and heavy, compare dedicated rental ERP with barcode support in our RentalCrafter vs EZRentOut guide, or plan a deliberate two-tool stack with eyes open on data duplication.

Related Resources

• Equipment Rental Software
• Rental Inventory Software
• Construction Equipment Rental Software
• Party Rental Software
• Equipment Booking Software
• Equipment Rental Management Software
• Rental Pricing Calculator
• Rental Agreement Generator
• Rental Business Startup Guide
• RentalCrafter vs EZRentOut Comparison