Overview

PartsBox keeps stock, purchasing, BOMs, builds, and traceability in an organization database. Inventory records include storage locations, prices, and history, with quantities measured in pieces, length, weight, or area. Role-based access supports shared work, and entered data can be exported as one JSON file. Cloud deployment avoids running the system yourself; the privacy policy says information is processed in the European Union and is not sold.

Key features

Inventory and BOM costing

BOMs import from KiCad, Altium, EAGLE, or CSV. PartsBox prices lines against distributor offers, price breaks, minimum order quantities, order multiples, and currency conversion, so purchasing estimates reflect ordering constraints rather than just nominal component prices. Multi-level BOMs and revision control help maintain product structures over time. There are no change workflows, which makes it less suitable for organizations that require a formal engineering-change process.

Production records

Builds can be recorded in one pass or in stages, with stock and lots consumed captured in the record. Attrition, kitting, and pick lists cover material preparation, while device serial numbers extend records to individual finished units. This is a broader production trail than a basic inventory database, but staged builds and attrition begin at the Production tier.

Lot control and compliance

Lot control records quantities, locations, costs, and whether material remains usable in production. Forward and backward traceability plus an audit trail help connect incoming lots to builds and finished devices. Serial numbers, access control, and lot control are grouped in Control, while FDA Title 21 CFR Part 11 compliance features and NIST SP 800-63B AAL1 authentication rules are reserved for Compliance. The public API, Zapier, KiCad, and Altium integrations provide routes into existing workflows.

Support and access

Documentation is supplemented by direct email support from founder Jan Rychter. Support is email-only and English-only under the terms, a limitation for teams needing phone or multilingual assistance.

Pricing

PartsBox uses a freemium model. The 14-day trial requires no credit card, and paid plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee. Paid prices below are annual-billing rates.

Plan	Price	What it includes	Best fit
Maker	0.00 USD, free	One user, one currency, personal projects	Individual makers who need a personal parts record
Essentials	49.00 EUR per month	Two users; extra users 12.00 EUR per user per month; inventory, purchasing, and BOM pricing	Small teams needing shared stock and purchasing
Production	99.00 EUR per month	Three users; extra users 12.00 EUR per user per month; multi-stage builds and part attrition	Teams documenting repeat or staged assembly
Control	239.00 EUR per month	Five users; extra users 12.00 EUR per user per month; lot control, serial numbers, and access control	Manufacturers requiring tighter material and device accountability
Compliance	499.00 EUR per month	Eight users; extra users 12.00 EUR per user per month; compliance features for regulated industries	Regulated manufacturers needing the listed compliance controls

Maker is intentionally narrow: it is single-user, single-currency software for personal projects, not a free team edition. Essentials is the practical entry point for a business, but it omits staged production, attrition, lot controls, serial numbers, and access controls that arrive higher up. The 12.00 EUR per-user monthly surcharge applies on every paid tier when the included seats are exceeded, so headcount can materially raise the annual-billing cost.

Platforms

PartsBox runs in the cloud through its web application and provides an API. It is not offered as a self-hosted deployment, so organizations requiring infrastructure control should look elsewhere.

Who it's for

It suits electronics product companies, design and engineering firms, contract manufacturers, regulated manufacturers, laboratories, and makers. Choose it when component purchasing, BOM economics, production consumption, and lot history need to stay connected. The free Maker plan fits a solo personal project; commercial teams should expect to pay for shared access and, increasingly, for the controls that make production records useful. Companies that need self-hosting, formal change workflows, or support beyond English email have clear reasons to consider alternatives.

Pros and cons

Pros

Purchasing-aware BOM pricing: distributor offers, breaks, minimums, multiples, and currency conversion turn BOMs into more realistic buying calculations.
Continuous production trail: staged builds, attrition, kitting, pick lists, serial numbers, and lot consumption connect preparation to finished devices.
Traceability depth: forward and backward lot links, usability status, costs, locations, and an audit trail support accountability.
Portable records: teams can export entered data as a single JSON file, and the public API supports integration work.

Cons

Important controls cost more: multi-stage production starts at 99.00 EUR per month, lot and serial controls at 239.00 EUR, and compliance at 499.00 EUR.
Limited free plan: Maker allows one user and one currency, making it unsuitable for collaborative business use.
No change workflows: revision control does not provide a formal change-management process.
Cloud and support constraints: there is no self-hosted option, and support is limited to English email.

Alternatives

Bill of Materials Software is a useful category starting point when you want to compare BOM-focused products broadly.

OpenBOM is worth choosing for a wider platform footprint and a free allowance of up to 2,000 records.
BOMIST fits a solo user wanting a free plan capped at 100 parts and three products, with a 50.00 USD-per-year PRO option.
Dolibarr is the free open-source ERP and CRM choice, available on-premise or through third-party cloud hosting.
Dokuly is a free, open-source PLM delivered as a self-hosted Docker stack.
Carbon offers an AGPL-3.0 community ERP, MRP, MES, and QMS edition, with enterprise features requiring a commercial agreement.
Cascadia PLM offers self-hosted core PLM with unlimited editors and viewers under AGPL-3.0.
IndaBOM is free, open-source, Django- and Python-based software with a single-user always-free plan.

Verdict

PartsBox is a good choice for electronics businesses that want inventory, realistic BOM purchasing costs, production consumption, and lot traceability in one cloud system. Its main reason to choose it is the connected record from component sourcing through finished-device history. Look elsewhere if you need self-hosting, formal change workflows, phone or multilingual support, or substantial production controls without moving into the higher-priced tiers.

	PartsBox	SQLWorks
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes
Paid from	€49/mo	£37/mo
Platforms	api, Web	macOS, Windows
Free plan	Yes	No
Revision control	Yes
Multi-level BOMs	Yes	Yes
Change workflows	No
Inventory integration	Yes	Yes
Deployment	cloud	desktop

PartsBox vs SQLWorks

PartsBox

SQLWorks