Best Inventory Spreadsheet 2026: Free Templates vs Paid Trackers
How we compared inventory spreadsheets (and what 'best' means here)
This search is dominated by free templates from Microsoft, Smartsheet and Google Workspace, plus two listicles ranking free options. Only two Etsy listings looked like genuine paid products in the results we checked, and neither published a price on the page we reviewed.
We compared price, platform (Excel vs Google Sheets), and what each option actually tracks: a plain stock list versus something that also computes margin, splits sales by channel, or flags reorders. Most free templates in this space are stock-in/stock-out grids without those calculations built in.
We make the Inventory Tracker listed below, so we have a stake in this comparison. Every claim about competitor pages below is limited to what that page's title and description state; every claim about our product comes from our own product spec.
The options, compared honestly
Microsoft's free customizable inventory list templates and Excel inventory tracker (excel.cloud.microsoft) are generic stock-list templates you fill in and customize yourself, with no margin or channel-split calculations described on the page.
Smartsheet's free Excel Inventory Templates page offers a similar set of free, general-purpose inventory templates, aimed at any type of business rather than a specific niche like resale or crafts.
Two Etsy listings appear in these searches: 'Inventory Tracker Spreadsheet Google Sheets Excel Stock' and 'Sales and Inventory Tracker Excel Spreadsheet for Resellers.' Neither listing's price was visible on the page we checked, so we cannot state one here — check the vendor's page directly for current pricing.
Google's Inventory Management with Sheets (Google Workspace Marketplace) is a free add-on you install into Google Sheets rather than a template you download, aimed at teams already using Google Workspace.
Comparison at a glance
| Name | Type | Platform | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TableTemplates Bar Inventory Template (Free)ours | Free download | Excel and Google Sheets | Free | Bars and small venues tracking a fixed stock list, no margin math needed |
| TableTemplates Inventory Trackerours | Excel template | Excel and Google Sheets | $14 one-time | Makers and small shops that need margin per product and reorder alerts |
| Inventory Tracker Spreadsheet Google Sheets Excel Stock (Etsy) | Etsy listing | Excel and Google Sheets | See vendor site (price not published on the page we checked) | Buyers who want the Etsy purchase and review experience |
| Sales and Inventory Tracker Excel Spreadsheet for Resellers (Etsy) | Etsy listing | Excel | See vendor site (price not published on the page we checked) | Resellers wanting a dashboard-style tracker from an Etsy seller |
| Free customizable inventory list templates (Microsoft) | Free download | Excel | Free | Any business wanting a general-purpose free stock list |
| Free Excel Inventory Templates (Smartsheet) | Free download | Excel | Free | Businesses wanting several free generic inventory templates to pick from |
| Inventory Management with Sheets (Google Workspace Marketplace) | SaaS lead magnet | Google Sheets add-on | Free to install | Teams already working inside Google Workspace who want an add-on, not a downloadable file |
When a free template is enough
If you just need a running list of items with quantities and no margin math, the free Microsoft or Smartsheet templates are enough — they are built for exactly that and cost nothing.
For niche collections rather than a resale business, our own free templates cover specific cases: bar inventory (tabletemplates.com/free/bar-inventory-templates), art inventory (tabletemplates.com/free/art-inventory-template-excel), coin inventory (tabletemplates.com/free/excel-spreadsheet-coin-inventory-templates), and chemical inventory (tabletemplates.com/free/chemical-inventory-template-excel).
The gap in every free option we reviewed is margin: none of the free templates or listicles we checked describe calculating profit margin per product or splitting sales by channel — you would need to build that math yourself in a free template.
What you actually get for the money
Our Inventory Tracker ($14, one-time, Excel and Google Sheets) computes profit margin per product using weighted average cost, something none of the free templates or Etsy listings we checked describe on their pages.
It also splits sales by channel — Etsy, online store, craft fairs, wholesale — across a Purchases & Sales sheet with 500 purchase and 1,000 sales rows, and generates reorder alerts that account for your supplier's lead time.
The Dashboard sheet rolls this up into stock value, 30-day revenue, margin, and reorder count, with charts by channel and top products — a level of built-in reporting the free stock-list templates in this comparison do not offer.
Our pick by use case
Just need a simple running stock count with no margin math: Microsoft's or Smartsheet's free templates are enough and cost nothing.
Selling across Etsy, a website, and craft fairs and want to know which channel is actually profitable: our Inventory Tracker at $14 is the option built specifically for that, with channel-split sales and margin per product.
Tracking a specific collection like art, coins, chemicals, or bar stock rather than running a resale business: our free niche templates cover that case at no cost.
Already inside Google Workspace and want inventory tracking as an add-on rather than a downloadable file: the free Google Workspace Marketplace add-on fits that workflow.
Frequently asked questions
Is the free version enough for inventory tracking?
If you only need a running stock count, the free Microsoft or Smartsheet templates are enough. If you sell across multiple channels and want to see profit margin per product or get reorder alerts based on supplier lead time, none of the free options we reviewed include that — that is what our $14 Inventory Tracker adds.
Excel or Google Sheets for inventory tracking?
Our Inventory Tracker works in both at no extra cost. Microsoft's free templates are Excel-based; the Google Workspace add-on only works inside Google Sheets. Pick based on which platform your team already uses day to day.
Is this a one-time purchase or a subscription?
Our Inventory Tracker is a one-time purchase of $14, not a subscription. The Google Workspace add-on is free to install rather than a paid subscription; the two Etsy listings we reviewed did not show a published price on the page we checked, so we cannot confirm their pricing model.
Do the free templates calculate profit margin?
Based on the pages we reviewed, the free Microsoft and Smartsheet templates and the Google Workspace add-on do not describe margin calculation — they are stock-in/stock-out lists. Our Inventory Tracker calculates profit margin per product using weighted average cost.
What is the difference between the two Etsy listings and our tracker?
Neither Etsy listing's page we checked published a price, so we cannot compare cost directly. What we can say from our own spec: our Inventory Tracker tracks up to 200 SKUs, splits sales by channel (Etsy, online store, craft fairs, wholesale), and generates reorder alerts based on supplier lead time.
We make the Inventory Tracker ($14) listed above, so we have a stake in this comparison. Competitor prices were read from public pages on August 22, 2026 and can change.
Sources: www.etsy.com · www.etsy.com · excel.cloud.microsoft · www.smartsheet.com · workspace.google.com