← Back to home
Comparison · PM

Grocy vs Hive

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Grocy and Hive — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Grocy vs Hive: at a glance

FeatureGrocyHive
SectorPMCollab, PM
Velocity score0.010.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesself-hosted, household-erp, barcode-lookup, plugin-interfaceproject-management, time-tracking, permissions, audit-trail
Last editorial update15d ago15h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Grocy?

Grocy opened a plugin seam for barcode lookups, then went quiet for a year.

Grocy releases on a slow, maintainer-paced rhythm — a handful of releases across 2024 and 2025, then a single 4.6.0 in March 2026 that makes PHP 8.5 with SQLite 3.40+ the only supported runtime. The functional work concentrates on stock handling: quantity-unit defaults that stay editable until a product has been in stock, automatic 1:1 unit conversions when no default applies, and a long tail of filter and validation fixes across the stock, shopping list and master data pages.

Read the full Grocy trajectory →

What is Hive?

Hive ships in batches, and this one is all planning accuracy and admin control.

Hive publishes its changelog as clusters of single-feature entries dated the same day — seven on August 18, three on August 14. The current batch splits between planning integrity (time estimates surviving assignee changes, a rebuilt Unsubmitted Timesheets view, reorderable Gantt columns), governance (a default restricted-member role applied across every onboarding path, custom-field edits appearing in activity feeds), and small chat conveniences. Nothing in the batch is a new product area; it is the existing surface being tightened.

Read the full Hive trajectory →

Grocy vs Hive: editorial side-by-side

G0.0

Grocy opened a plugin seam for barcode lookups, then went quiet for a year.

◆ Current state

Grocy releases on a slow, maintainer-paced rhythm — a handful of releases across 2024 and 2025, then a single 4.6.0 in March 2026 that makes PHP 8.5 with SQLite 3.40+ the only supported runtime. The functional work concentrates on stock handling: quantity-unit defaults that stay editable until a product has been in stock, automatic 1:1 unit conversions when no default applies, and a long tail of filter and validation fixes across the stock, shopping list and master data pages.

◆ Where it's heading

The notable structural move was 4.4.0, which introduced external barcode lookup as a product-picker workflow with a pluggable backend and shipped an Open Food Facts plugin on by default. That converted Grocy from a purely self-contained ledger into something that pulls product data from the outside world, and the releases since have mostly been refining that plugin — localized names, empty-name handling, image URLs with query parameters. Beyond it, the direction is consolidation: fewer rough edges, a tighter supported runtime, no expansion of scope.

◆ Prediction

Expect continued single-release years focused on stock and quantity-unit correctness. The barcode plugin interface is the one place where new capability could arrive without new maintainer surface, so additional lookup providers are the most plausible next addition.

Hive logo
Hive
COLLABPM
10.0

Hive ships in batches, and this one is all planning accuracy and admin control.

◆ Current state

Hive publishes its changelog as clusters of single-feature entries dated the same day — seven on August 18, three on August 14. The current batch splits between planning integrity (time estimates surviving assignee changes, a rebuilt Unsubmitted Timesheets view, reorderable Gantt columns), governance (a default restricted-member role applied across every onboarding path, custom-field edits appearing in activity feeds), and small chat conveniences. Nothing in the batch is a new product area; it is the existing surface being tightened.

◆ Where it's heading

Two themes have been running through recent batches. The first is making planned time trustworthy — estimates that no longer vanish when work is reassigned, timesheet views built for scanning who has not submitted. The second is administrative control that scales: a least-privilege default that holds across SAML, SCIM, invite links and domain auto-join, and an audit trail that now covers custom-field edits. Both point at larger deployments, where the failure modes are silent data loss and inconsistent permissions rather than missing features.

◆ Prediction

The audit-trail and permissions work looks incomplete rather than finished — activity coverage for other object types and per-field visibility rules are the obvious next steps. Expect the same batched cadence, roughly twice a month.

Grocy alternatives

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial trajectory or compare directly with Grocy.

See all Grocy alternatives →

Hive alternatives

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial trajectory or compare directly with Hive.

See all Hive alternatives →

Recent activity from Grocy and Hive

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoHiveDefault new members to a restricted role across every join path
  2. 1d agoHiveDashboard links unfurl as cards in chat
  3. 1d agoHiveGantt columns can be reordered and the order sticks
  4. 1d agoHiveChat statuses can expire automatically
  5. 1d agoHiveTime estimates survive an assignee change
  6. 1d agoHiveCustom-field edits now appear in activity feeds
  7. 5mo agoGrocyPHP 8.5 becomes the only supported runtime
  8. 1y agoGrocyOpen Food Facts lookup fixes and a default-store column
  9. 1y agoGrocyLocalized product names and shopping list rounding fixes
  10. 1y agoGrocyBarcode plugin pointed at the production Open Food Facts API
  11. 1y agoGrocyExternal barcode lookup arrives as a pluggable workflow
  12. 1y agoGrocyStock form validation and Scan Mode fixes

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Grocy and Hive?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Hive is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 10.0 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Grocy better than Hive?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Hive is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 10.0 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Grocy?

Top Grocy alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Grocy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/grocy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Hive?

Top Hive alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Hive alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hive for the full list with editorial commentary on each.