FlowNext vs. ShareMyToolbox
A ShareMyToolbox alternative that doesn't charge per employee
ShareMyToolbox and FlowNext are close cousins: both were built for field crews, both are billed month to month, and both read the barcodes already on your tools. The real differences are how you pay for people, and what a crew member needs on their phone. ShareMyToolbox charges $10 a month for each employee who checks tools in and out and scans with its app; FlowNext charges nothing per person and opens in the phone's browser.
Side by side
| ShareMyToolbox | FlowNext | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $100/mo for the first admin, + $10/mo per employee or extra admin, sold in blocks of 5 | $39 / $89 / $199 a month by item count; people are free |
| People | Paid employees and admins; unlimited view-only users (see their items, add notes, complete audits) and virtual users (no sign-in) | Unlimited office and field users on every plan |
| Tools and items | Unlimited on Business | 200 / 500 / 2,000 items |
| Scanning | In its iOS and Android apps, using the phone's camera | The phone's own camera opens the tag in the browser; in-browser scanner for existing barcodes |
| Existing barcodes | Uses your current barcodes | Links your current barcodes and QR codes to items |
| GPS | Captured on scans (paid plans) | Captured with each move, problem report and hour reading |
| Maintenance | Reminders for maintenance and calibration | Maintenance log with costs (Pro and Business); service intervals stored, no service reminders yet |
| Inspection certificates | Notes, photos and audits | Certificates on each item set the due date; AI reads them (Pro and Business); compliance report as PDF |
| Audits | Send audits to field workers to confirm what they hold | Not offered — the last scan and move are the record |
| Consumables | Tracks quantities | Not offered |
| API | Included on Business | Not offered yet |
| Trial and contract | 14 days, no card; monthly or annual, cancel any time | 14 days, no card; monthly, cancel any time |
ShareMyToolbox figures from its pricing and FAQ pages, checked October 2026. Its Free plan covers up to 3 employees and 100 tools. Confirm on sharemytoolbox.com/pricing.
Who counts as a paid user?
ShareMyToolbox has four kinds of people. Admins run the system. Employees sign in to the app to check tools in and out, transfer them and scan. Both are paid. View-only users can see the tools assigned to them, add notes and complete audits, and are free. Virtual users — a truck, a subcontractor, a lost-tools bin — never sign in.
So the question is how many of your crew need to move tools themselves. If one tool-room person does every check-out and the crew only confirms what they hold, ShareMyToolbox's free view-only users keep the price down. If every foreman and tech should scan a tool onto their truck, each one is a paid employee.
FlowNext has two kinds: office users and field users, both unlimited. A field user can move an item, log hours or report a problem from its tag, and nothing else.
When everyone scans: the monthly bill
| Admins + employees who scan | ShareMyToolbox Business | FlowNext |
|---|---|---|
| 1 + 4, under 200 tools | $100 + one block of 5 = $150 | Starter, $39 |
| 2 + 10, about 400 tools | $100 + three blocks = $250 | Pro, $89 |
| 3 + 25, about 1,500 tools | $100 + six blocks = $400 | Business, $199 |
| Any size, over 2,000 tools | Unlimited tools on Business | Past FlowNext's largest plan — talk to us |
Our arithmetic on its published rate: the first admin, then each further person at $10 in blocks of five. View-only users would lower its figures.
When ShareMyToolbox is the better choice
- You track more than 2,000 tools, or consumables by quantity.
- You want maintenance and calibration reminders, or audits sent to the field.
- You need an API now.
- One tool-room person does the scanning and the crew can be free view-only users.
When FlowNext is the better choice
- Every foreman and tech should scan, and you don't want a bill that grows with the crew.
- Your crew won't install a work app — the tag opens in the phone's browser.
- You keep inspection certificates and want them read, dated and reported.
- You want an out-of-service report from the field to email the office at once.
Which one should you pick?
- If five or more people need to move tools themselves → FlowNext costs less.
- If you count consumables or need calibration reminders and audits → ShareMyToolbox.
- If certificates and inspection due dates drive your week → FlowNext.
- If your inventory runs past 2,000 tools → ShareMyToolbox's unlimited tools.
Switching questions
Can I bring my ShareMyToolbox data over?+
Export your items from ShareMyToolbox, save the file as CSV, and upload it. FlowNext reads ShareMyToolbox's own column names — the Title as the name, Item Detail as notes, the return warehouse as the location — and keeps the rest, such as vendor, in each item's notes. Importing is included on every FlowNext plan, and every row it can't read is listed before anything is saved.
Will my current barcode stickers still work?+
Yes. Open FlowNext's in-browser scanner, scan the sticker and pick the item — the code is linked to it. Crew members then use the same scanner page; a FlowNext QR label is only needed if you want the phone's own camera to open the item.
Is there an app to install?+
No. Field users open a tag in their phone's browser and stay signed in after an emailed link.
Does FlowNext send audits to the crew?+
Not yet. The record is each scan and move, with who and when; the equipment by location report shows what each person or truck holds now.
Put the whole crew on it for one price
14-day free trial, no card. Unlimited users on every plan, from $39/month.