BuyAhead: Inventory Forecast vs Inventory IQ
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Oct 13, 2026 for BuyAhead, Oct 14, 2026 for Inventory IQ.
The short answer
- Only Inventory IQ lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $19/month for BuyAhead and $19/month for Inventory IQ.
- Inventory IQ lists 8 features BuyAhead’s listing doesn’t mention, including Inventory sync, Inventory tracking, Low stock alerts.
Head to head
Standard
- · CSV export for your supplier
- · Days of stock left, updated daily
- · Dead stock alerts with cash tied up
- · Flat $19/month, no per-order fees
- · Lead time and service level settings
- · Multi-location inventory
Pro
- · Barcode stock counts, phone or scanner
- · Everything in Standard, plus:
- · Flat $49/month, no per-order fees
- · Low-stock and reorder emails
- · Purchase orders with suppliers
- · Receive stock into a location
free
- · Dead stock report with capital tied up
- · Per-vendor supplier lead times
- · Reorder quantities and order-by dates
- · Stockout date forecast for every SKU
- · Up to 10 tracked SKUs
- · Weekly email digest
Growth
- · Everything in Free
- · Forecasts re-tuned nightly to your store
- · Purchase order CSV export per vendor
- · Slack digest for your team
- · Up to 500 tracked SKUs
Pro
- · Everything in Growth
- · Priority sync — your data goes first
- · Stock views per location
- · Unlimited tracked SKUs
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureBuyAhead reads your sales, stock and locations, then works out how long each product will last, when to order it and how much to buy. Open a product to see the math behind every number. When stock arrives, receive it against the purchase order and BuyAhead updates Shopify for you.
Inventory IQ answers one question: what do you need to reorder, how much, and by when. It syncs your catalogue and sales history, then forecasts when each SKU will run out based on your sales velocity, trends, and weekly patterns. Every forecast explains its reasoning in plain language and adjusts to your supplier lead times.
- Days of stock left for every product, recalculated every day
- Order dates and quantities, with a breakdown of how each was worked out
- Set your lead time, target stock cover and service level in one screen
- Read-only access: nothing in your store is changed, no customer data is read
- Stockout date forecast for every SKU by analysing order history.
- Suggested reorder quantities and order-by dates & sync with orders and inventory
- Per-vendor supplier lead times and safety stock levels & Stocks per location.
- Dead stock report with capital tied up
All the numbers
Every figure, side by side
A green dot marks the app ahead on a measured figure. Estimates, gaps and apps that leave no storefront trace never take the lead.
Adoption
| Measure |  BuyAhead |  Inventory IQ |
|---|---|---|
| Detected stores | Not published | Not published |
| Net store change, 28 days | 0 | 0 |
| Stores added, 28 days | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Big-brand share | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Top store categories | Not published | Not published |
| Top store countries | Not published | Not published |
Reviews
| Measure | BuyAhead | Inventory IQ |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | Not published | Not published |
| App Store reviews | Not published | Not published |
| New reviews, 28 days | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Reviewers a year or more in | Not enough data | Not enough data |
Pricing
| Measure | BuyAhead | Inventory IQ |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Not listed | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $19/month | $19/month |
| Longest free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| Plans listed | 2 | 3 |
Listing
| Measure | BuyAhead | Inventory IQ |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | #676 | #638(ahead) |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | Sep 18, 2026 | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 1 |
| Developer | Northline | Miniscript Labs |
FAQ
BuyAhead and Inventory IQ: common questions
- Is BuyAhead or Inventory IQ cheaper?
- Only Inventory IQ lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $19/month for BuyAhead and $19/month for Inventory IQ. Shoplist compares base prices only between monthly plans in the same currency; usage charges and annual plans vary, so check each plan’s limits.
- What features does each app list that the other doesn’t?
- BuyAhead lists 1 the others don’t mention, such as Import and export. Inventory IQ lists 8 the others don’t mention, such as Inventory sync, Inventory tracking, Low stock alerts, Out of stock notifications. A feature missing from a listing may still be supported; this compares what each App Store listing says.
- Where does this comparison’s data come from?
- Shoplist crawls Shopify storefronts to detect which apps each store runs, and reads each app’s Shopify App Store listing for reviews, pricing, features and integrations. Store counts are as of Oct 13, 2026 for BuyAhead, Oct 14, 2026 for Inventory IQ; estimated figures are labeled.
How Shoplist compares apps
Store counts come from Shoplist’s crawl of Shopify storefronts, which detects the apps each store runs; they are as of Oct 13, 2026 for BuyAhead, Oct 14, 2026 for Inventory IQ. Reviews, ratings, plans, features and integrations come from each app’s Shopify App Store listing. 28-day figures are labeled when estimated, and a figure that is missing or estimated never decides who leads. Read the methodology.