Start with your priority.
Consider Katana when your priority is stock, orders, and production for a product business with multiple sales channels.
Vendor’s product overviewLook beyond whether the stock moved.
Both an inventory-led system and a governed operations platform can sit close to daily production. The useful comparison is how each handles your decisions, exceptions, and changes.
Connect the model and the work.
Consider Helix when you need to shape the record types, procedures, review gates, and evidence around your operation—not just track its movement.
Explore the platformWHERE TO FOCUS THE EVALUATIONCompare the scope.
Compare the scope.
Then test the behavior.
The vendor column summarizes public product information. The Helix column identifies what to inspect in your evaluation.
| Consideration | Katana | Helix |
|---|---|---|
| Operating focus | Inventory, sales orders, purchasing, and manufacturing across locations and channels.Official source | Connect production and inventory with configurable knowledge, quality, and decision workflows. |
| Traceability | Lot and serial tracking connects inventory and production.Official source | Evaluate links between material history, instruction versions, observations, exceptions, and review decisions. |
| Connections & AI | Katana advertises integrations, an open API, and MCP access.Official source | Compare the authority, scope, and review behavior of each integration or AI action—not simply the presence of MCP. |
ASK FOR THIS DEMONSTRATION
Change an approved instruction while a production job is already running.
Use the same case in both platforms. Include failure and recovery alongside the successful path.
- 01Show the job’s material requirements, allocations, and applicable instruction.
- 02Propose a changed limit and inspect which work may be affected.
- 03Review the change and choose when it becomes effective.
- 04Keep the running job interpretable against its original revision.
- 05Reconstruct the new and historical execution evidence side by side.
A USEFUL BOUNDARY
Everything does not need to move at once.
If Katana remains the inventory authority, avoid maintaining a competing stock balance without explicit reconciliation. Evaluate a defined handoff for quality decisions, controlled instructions, or specialized operational records. Confirm the available APIs and event behavior for your scope.
Explore API, MCP, and integrationsCompare the cost of putting it to work, too.
Helix Starter is $299 per user per month with a 3-user minimum. Team is $199 with a 10-user minimum. The sandbox is free forever. Assess usage charges and implementation scope separately. Ask each vendor to quote the same scope.
See pricing and usageDECIDE FROM EXPERIENCE
Open your free sandboxPut your own workflow to the test.
Choose a template. Shape the model. Inspect the decisions.
Sources for this comparison
Public product information reviewed September 16, 2026.
Katana product and integration overviewA Helix editorial assessment, not an independent benchmark. Capabilities and scope depend on product, plan, configuration, and implementation. Confirm requirements with each vendor. Trademarks belong to their respective owners.