Stock Manager alternative: stock from a sheet
A free plugin adds a chat to your WP dashboard, the screens you log in to at yoursite.com/wp-admin. Attach your stock list and check the new counts before anything changes.
Imports wait for the paid plan. Free now: ask what's out of stock. What else is free?
- Nothing changes without your OK
- Undo in one click, or a warning first
- No account, no password to share
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Imports open with the paid plan. The rest works now.
Stock Manager for WooCommerce is a trademark of its owner; WooCommerce is a trademark of Automattic Inc. CMSHands is not affiliated with either.
Watch it do this on a real site
You check one card
We attached stock-zeros.csv, a file we made for our test shop: 15 lines in two columns, SKU and Stock, five of them 0, with no product IDs and no template. The products came from an earlier test import. About 21 seconds after the request, one card, a box in the chat that shows exactly what would change, showed the job: 15 products, new counts from 0 to 18, and 5 of them set to out of stock. Nothing had changed yet.
Ready for you to review — matching on SKU; the five lines with 0 (QM-S-061, 064, 067, 070, 073) are set to out of stock as well as 0, the other ten keep their number and are marked in stock.
- 2 secondsRunning a script on stock-zeros.csv
- 12 secondsReading from your site
- 16 secondsRunning a script on stock-zeros.csv
- 18 secondsChecking the import against your site
Old and new counts
We opened Show the first 10 on the card. Each product shows its old value in red and the new one in green. The Oat matte mug went from 12 to 0, and from instock to outofstock, the words the shop stores for in stock and out of stock.
15 counts set
We pressed Import it about 30 seconds after the card appeared, because we stopped to take screenshots first. Only then did it touch the shop: the 15 products changed in about 3 seconds, 54 seconds from request to done. The card turned green. Its Undo would put back the 15 old counts and the 5 old statuses, except on a product someone edited since. We didn't press it this time.
Done. I changed 15 products.
A real run on our test site, Quillmoor Pottery (WP 7.1.3, Twenty Twenty-Four), Oct 11, 2026. From asking to done, it took 54 seconds. Imports are on the paid plan, which isn't open yet.
That's the whole job, on the paid plan when it opens. The plugin is free today: 3 changes to try it, no account. Nothing changes until you press the button.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Who should keep Stock Manager for WooCommerce
Keep Stock Manager for WooCommerce if you'd rather change stock in a table. It lists your products, including each size or color of a product (variations), and you type new counts and prices right in the cells. It keeps a stock log with each product's history, and it's free (wordpress.org, read Oct 11, 2026). CMSHands has no stock table or log, doesn't export, and doesn't change variations.
How they compare
| CMSHands | Stock Manager for WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A free plugin with a chat in your WP dashboard, the screens you log in to at yoursite.com/wp-admin. You attach a list and say what you want | A free plugin by StoreApps that adds a Stock Manager screen: a table of your products. 20,000+ active installs, rated 4.2 of 5 from 130 ratings1 |
| Price | The plugin is free. Setting stock from a file is an import, and imports are on the paid plan, which isn't open yet | Free1 |
| The file you send | Your own columns, from a CSV or Excel file: up to 2,000 products and 10 MB. It matches each line to a product by SKU. The run below used two columns, SKU and Stock | CSV only, in its own layout of 9 columns, read in that order. The product ID is required. You export your stock first, change the file and import it back1, 2 |
| Before anything changes | One card, a box in the chat that shows exactly what would change: how many products change, the range of new counts, and the first 10 with old and new side by side. Nothing changes until you press Import it | Pressing Upload saves every row at once, then lists each product ID it updated. Its plugin page says the import “needs refactoring, so use this only on your own risk”1, 2 |
| Zeros out of stock | Ask for it in your own words. In the run below, the 5 lines with 0 were set to out of stock on the same card | Stock status is a column in the table and in the CSV. In its CSV, an empty Stock status saves as out of stock and an empty Stock saves as 01, 2 |
| Stock tracking switched off | WooCommerce keeps a count only when stock tracking is on. Where it's off, the import switches it on, on the same card | Manage stock is a column in the table and in the CSV. In its CSV, an empty Manage stock saves as no1, 2 |
| Sizes and colors (variations) | No. Simple products only | Yes, with its Show variables button1 |
| Stock history | No stock log | A Stock log page with each product's stock history1 |
| Undo the whole update | Yes, one Undo on the card puts the old counts and statuses back, except on products edited since | Not listed on its plugin page1 |
| Export your stock | No | Yes, all stock data to a CSV1 |
- 1. https://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce-stock-manager/, 2026-10-11
- 2. https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/woocommerce-stock-manager/tags/3.11.0/admin/views/import-export.php, 2026-10-11
- 3. https://woocommerce.com/products/stock-manager/, 2026-10-11
Stock Manager for WooCommerce is a trademark of its owner; WooCommerce is a trademark of Automattic Inc. CMSHands is not affiliated with either.
Can you use both?
Probably, but we haven't tested the two side by side on our test site yet. Keep Stock Manager for its table, its stock log and your variations; once imports open, send CMSHands the counts from a supplier's sheet or a shelf count. Until then, the free plugin answers “Which of my products are out of stock?” and changes the words on your pages when you ask.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
What it won't do here
Stock from a file waits for the paid plan
Simple products only
No stock table, log or export
No sync with an online sheet or feed
Up to 2,000 products in one import
Questions
Can the free plugin help with my stock before imports open?
Yes: ask “Which of my products are out of stock?” and it lists them without changing anything, free up to 30 questions a day (100 with your email). It also changes the words on your pages: 3 changes with no account, then 10 a month once you add your email. Setting stock from a list waits for the paid plan.
Is CMSHands part of Stock Manager for WooCommerce?
No. CMSHands is a separate plugin from a separate company. It isn't affiliated with Stock Manager for WooCommerce, with StoreApps, who make it, or with WooCommerce. For help with Stock Manager itself, use the support forum linked from its page on wordpress.org.
Is Stock Manager for WooCommerce free?
Yes. The plugin on wordpress.org, by StoreApps, is free and has 20,000+ active installs. A paid extension called Stock Manager, by FmeAddons, sells on woocommerce.com: $49 a year, or €44 where it shows euros. We read both on Oct 11, 2026 (sources 1 and 3 under the table).
How do I import stock with Stock Manager for WooCommerce?
Go to Stock Manager › Import/Export and press Create export file. Change the Stock and Stock status cells, but keep every column where it is and keep the ID, which it needs. Then choose the file and press Upload, which saves every row at once. Its plugin page says the import “needs refactoring, so use this only on your own risk”, so try a few products first (read Oct 11, 2026).
How do I bulk update stock in WooCommerce without a plugin?
Use the importer that comes with WooCommerce: in Products › All Products, press Import, pick your CSV and tick Update existing products. It matches rows by ID or SKU, and you map your count column to Stock. If stock tracking is on and backorders are off, a count of 0 marks the product out of stock by itself.
Can CMSHands set stock for products with sizes or colors?
No. Imports change simple products only, so it can't set a count for each size or color of a product (variations). For those, keep a tool that edits variations, such as Stock Manager's table, or set each count on the product's Variations tab.
Written by CMSHands team. Checked on WP 7.1, Oct 11, 2026.
Try it on your own site
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Download the plugin.
It's free: 3 changes to try it. No account, no card.
Upload and activate it.
In your dashboard: Plugins › Add Plugin › Upload Plugin (Add New Plugin on older WP). Choose the file, press Install Now, then Activate Plugin.
Press Turn on.
Press Turn on CMSHands. No account, no key, no password.