Shopify guide · Low Stock Alerts
How to set up low stock alerts in Shopify
Updated
Short answer
Shopify has no low stock alert setting. Shopify Flow has a template that emails you when a variant's inventory drops below a number, and Stocky was shut down on August 31, 2026. Toolbench's Low Stock Alerts keeps a live in-app list of every variant at or under its threshold, with different thresholds for different products and locations.
How to do it with Toolbench
Toolbench's Low Stock Alerts keeps a live list of every product variant at or below its threshold, for each location. You set one default threshold, then add rules for the exceptions. Rules are checked top to bottom and each variant uses the first one it matches, so you never have to tag every product.
- Install Toolbench from the Shopify App Store, open Low Stock Alerts and click Turn on.
- On the Settings tab, set the default threshold. It starts at 5 units.
- On the Rules tab, add rules for the exceptions, or start from the built-in examples.
- Open the list to see every variant at or under its threshold, by location. A variant drops off as soon as it's restocked.
Example rules
- Tagged bestseller: alert at 20 or less.
- Tagged made-to-order: alert only when it hits 0.
- Draft or archived: never alert.
- Vendor is one slow-moving supplier: alert at 3 or less.
- Location is the overflow warehouse: alert at 10 or less.
Why this happens
One threshold doesn't fit a whole catalog. Five units of a slow seller is months of stock, and five units of your best seller is a weekend. Made-to-order items shouldn't alert at all until they sell out.
Stores with several locations also need to know which location is running low, not just the total.
Your options in Shopify
Shopify Flow
Flow's "Get notified when product inventory is low" template sends an email when a variant drops below a number. It uses one threshold unless you add conditions, and large orders can trigger many emails at once.
The inventory page
Sort or filter by available quantity to see what's low right now. It's a manual check.
Stocky
Shopify's Stocky app was shut down on August 31, 2026. Shopify points stores to Flow for low stock alerts.
You only approve what Low Stock Alerts needs
Toolbench asks for no permissions when you install it. When you turn on Low Stock Alerts, Shopify asks you to approve only what this tool uses: read products, inventory, locations and your home market settings.
It doesn't ask for orders, customers or discounts. Each of Toolbench's other tools asks for its own access separately, and only if you turn that tool on, so you never grant access for tools you don't use. Read access means Toolbench can see that data but can't change it.
Before you turn it on
- Alerts appear inside Toolbench. It doesn't send email; use Flow if you need alerts in your inbox.
- Thresholds are fixed numbers, not forecasts based on how fast each product sells.
Pricing
Low Stock Alerts is a free tool. The free plan runs any 3 of Toolbench's 12 free tools at a time, with no time limit and no credit card. Premium is $9.99 a month for all 16 tools at once and starts with a 14-day free trial.
Questions
Does Shopify send low stock alerts?
Not on its own. Shopify Flow has a template that emails you when inventory drops below a number, and apps like Toolbench keep a list in the admin.
Can I set a different low stock threshold for each product?
Yes. In Toolbench, rules give products their own threshold by tag, collection, vendor, product type, SKU, status or location. Everything else uses the default.
Can I get low stock alerts per location?
Yes. Toolbench checks each variant at each location separately, and a rule can set a different threshold for a location.
What permissions does Low Stock Alerts need?
Only the ones it uses: read products, inventory, locations and your home market settings. It doesn't ask for orders, customers or discounts. Toolbench asks for no permissions at install, and each of its other tools asks for its own access separately, only if you turn that tool on.