ItemTally vs Snipe-IT
Snipe-IT is excellent free, open-source IT asset management. If you're an IT team tracking laptops, licences and peripherals, it's hard to beat. The honest difference is focus. Snipe-IT is built for IT assets and the IT team; ItemTally is built for any shared equipment and stock, used by people who aren't IT.
Choose Snipe-IT if
- You're an IT team tracking hardware, software licences, accessories and components.
- You want LDAP or Active Directory user sync and SAML sign-in.
- You have someone who can run a server, and free matters more than anything else.
Choose ItemTally if
- You track mixed physical things (tools, cameras, kits, consumables), not just IT kit.
- You need reservations, kits and self-service take and return with a scan.
- You want hosting, backups and upgrades handled without running a server.
Where Snipe-IT is better
Every tool has a reason people pick it. These are Snipe-IT's.
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Free and open source
Snipe-IT is and always will be free to self-host. If you have the server and the skills, the software costs nothing.
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Built for IT
Licence management with expiry alerts, accessories, components, consumables, LDAP and Active Directory sync, and SAML SSO. ItemTally has no licence tracking and no directory sync.
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Acceptance and EULAs on checkout
Snipe-IT can require a user to accept terms on checkout, with optional digital signatures, and emails reminders as expected check-in dates approach.
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Cheap hosting
If you don't want to run it, hosted Snipe-IT starts at $39.99/mo with unlimited users and assets.
The structural difference
Snipe-IT models IT assets the way IT teams think about them: hardware with models and asset tags, software licences with seats and expiry, accessories, components and consumables, users synced from the directory. For that job it’s mature, free and well loved.
ItemTally models anything a team shares: cameras and kits, tools in vans, chairs for events, gloves on a shelf, and the laptop loaner pool next to them. Borrowers take and return things themselves with a scan, reservations stop clashes, and counts square the stock. There are no licences, no directory sync and no server to run.
The honest line: if you’re an IT team tracking laptops and licences, use Snipe-IT. If the people borrowing and counting aren’t IT, and the things aren’t only computers, ItemTally fits better.
The part a price cut can't copy: ItemTally never meters items, on any plan, and that is a signed, dated promise. Read the pledge →
Side by side
The Snipe-IT column was checked on 16 October 2026. Numbers in brackets link to the sources at the end of the page.
| Feature | Snipe-IT | ItemTally |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Self-hosted free. Hosted from $39.99/mo or $399.99/yr [1] | €0 for 1 editor and 10 borrowers; €19/mo or €49/mo hosted |
| Users and assets | Unlimited on every option [1] | Unlimited items. Editors and borrowers by plan; viewers always free |
| Software licences | Yes, with expiry alerts [2] | No |
| Quantity stock | Consumables, accessories and components [2] | Quantity items with minimums per location, counts and low-stock alerts |
| Reservations | No native booking; a third-party integration is listed [2] | Every plan, with clash checks |
| Self-service | Users can request assets marked requestable [2] | Borrowers take and return with a scan, at a kiosk or on their phone. Return links need no account |
| Signatures | Optional digital signature on acceptance [2] | Signature on checkout, every plan |
| Directory sync and SSO | LDAP and Active Directory sync, SAML SSO [2] | SSO (SAML and OIDC). No directory sync |
| Phone | Mobile-friendly web; an official app in beta [2] | Scanning in the phone's browser. Native apps in testing |
| API | JSON REST API [2] | REST API, plus an MCP server for AI assistants |
What it costs at real team sizes
Snipe-IT is free to self-host. Hosted plans are a flat monthly or yearly price with unlimited users and assets, and you pay for the size of the server.
| Team | Snipe-IT | ItemTally |
|---|---|---|
| 5 people 500 items | Free self-hosted, or $39.99/mo hosted ($399.99/yr) Self-hosting means your server, your backups and your upgrades. | €19/mo Stockroom: 5 editors. |
| 15 people 500 items | Free self-hosted, or $39.99/mo hosted ($399.99/yr) | €19/mo Stockroom: 5 editors, 10 borrowers. Warehouse (€49/mo) if all 15 edit. |
| 40 people 500 items | Free self-hosted, or $39.99/mo hosted ($399.99/yr) Small Business hosting is $99.99/mo if you need more API capacity. | €19/mo Stockroom: 5 editors, 35 borrowers. Warehouse (€49/mo) if all 40 edit. |
ItemTally prices exclude VAT and are billed monthly. Items are never metered, and people who only look are free on every plan. Snipe-IT prices are in US dollars.
Switching from Snipe-IT takes an afternoon
Nothing is written to your new register until you've seen the preview.
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Export from Snipe-IT. On the assets list, turn on "show all fields" in the column selector and use the table export. Do the same for accessories and consumables.
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Import into ItemTally. Map asset name, asset tag, serial, model, location and your custom fields. Consumables and accessories come across as quantity items when you map the quantity.
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Preview the dry run. Nothing is written until you confirm. Re-import later and rows matched by code or serial update in place.
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Keep the asset tags. Map the asset tag column to codes, and labels printed with those tags keep scanning.
Questions about switching from Snipe-IT
Is there a hosted Snipe-IT alternative?
Snipe-IT itself offers hosting from $39.99/mo. If you want a different tool, our Snipe-IT alternatives page compares hosted options, including ItemTally.
Should an IT team use ItemTally instead of Snipe-IT?
For laptops, licences and directory-synced users, Snipe-IT is the better fit. ItemTally suits teams whose loaner pool sits alongside other gear and stock, run by people who aren't IT.
Can ItemTally track a laptop loaner pool?
Yes. Laptops are unique items with custody, due dates, reminders and signatures, and a kiosk at the help desk lets people take and return them with a scan.
What happens to my data if I leave ItemTally?
Full CSV export on every plan, any day. ItemTally's own export re-imports cleanly, and that round trip is tested.
Sources
- Snipe-IT pricing page (self-hosted and hosted) checked 16 October 2026
- Snipe-IT features page checked 16 October 2026
- Snipe-IT documentation, cloning assets (table export) checked 16 October 2026
Prices and plans change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we'll correct it with a new date.
Try it on your own list before you decide.
Import a CSV export from Snipe-IT and see exactly what ItemTally would create before anything is saved.
Free for one editor and ten borrowers, with unlimited items. No card needed.