BoxHero vs Snipe-IT (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, BoxHero grades higher than Snipe-IT: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
BoxHero grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Snipe-IT grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BoxHero
Barcode-based inventory tracking for small teams
Snipe-IT
Open-source IT asset management you host yourself or have hosted
Which one is for you
Pick BoxHero if
- Fits if you run one small stockroom and scan items with a phone
- Works for a team of three that wants cheap inventory
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as it stops at 1 member, 100 items and 1 location
- Pricey if you grow, since extra members are $5 each, 1,000 items $10 and 10 locations $10 a month
- Not for you if you need a warehouse system, as it is barcode counting for small teams
- Watch out: the monthly-billing price was not readable on the page, only the $24 annual rate
Pick Snipe-IT if
- Fits if you run an IT team and want to track laptops, phones and licences
- Works for people comfortable running their own server who want it free
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you sell products: it has no purchase orders or sales orders
- Tight if you stay self-hosted: no email support, upgrades or backups
- Watch out: the API is capped at 120 calls a minute on Basic and 240 on Small Business
- Pricey if you want phone support: that sits on a separate $4,999.99-a-year plan
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABoxHeroGood | 2.4GPASnipe-ITFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$24 a team a month on yearly billing for 3 members, under 60% of the category's cheapest quarter at $49, which is $29.40. | BHosted Basic is $399.99 a year as a flat fee for the whole team, about $33 a month, inside the cheapest quarter of the category. The free edition needs your own server. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free Personal plan, but with 1 member, 1 location and 100 items you will reach the cap quickly. A 30-day Business trial with no card is also offered. | BSelf-hosted is free with unlimited users and assets, one person could live on it. You do the upkeep, with community support only. |
| Features | CBarcode scanning, locations, purchases and sales, alerts, counts and reports. Reports, alerts and orders need Business, and add-ons exist only there. | CAssets, licences, labels, barcodes, alerts and a REST API. It does that job fully, but it is IT equipment, not stock for sale. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Items have to be imported or entered before you can scan. | DNo store rating on record. The free copy needs a server you install and maintain; the hosted plans skip that. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android, with API access, but no named integrations. | BWeb only, but with Jamf, Intune, Google Workspace, JumpCloud, Kandji, Slack, Teams and Jira, plus an API. |
| Best for | barcode inventory for very small teams | tracking IT assets and licences |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BoxHero and Snipe-IT. How we grade
Price against what you get
BoxHero starts at $24 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Snipe-IT starts at $39.99 a month and scores 2.0.
BoxHero scores higher and starts $15.99 a month lower. Of the other inventory management tools on the chart, none scores higher than BoxHero for less, and 5 score higher than Snipe-IT for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Snipe-IT is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| BoxHero | Snipe-IT | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $24 per team / month, billed annually ($288 a year) | $39.99 per month for hosted Basic ($399.99 billed annually) |
| Free plan | Personal Plan: 1 member, 100 items and 1 location, with barcode scanning, Excel import and export, and 30 days of transaction history. | Self-hosted edition is free with unlimited users and assets; you run the server, and support comes from the community on GitHub and Discord. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the Business Plan, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | BoxHero, Inc. | Grokability, Inc. |
| Price read from | boxhero.io | snipeitapp.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BoxHero
- The free Personal Plan is limited to 1 member, 1 location and 100 items.
- Business covers 3 members, 1,000 items and 3 locations; extra members cost $5 each per month, 1,000 items cost $10 per month and 10 locations cost $10 per month.
- Add-ons are available only on the Business plan.
- The monthly-billing price was not readable on the page; the $24 figure is the annual-billing rate.
Snipe-IT
- Built for IT assets and licenses, not for stock levels with purchase orders or sales orders.
- The free self-hosted edition has no email support and no automatic upgrades or backups; you maintain the server.
- Hosted plans are flat fees with unlimited users, but the API is limited to 120 calls per minute on Basic and 240 on Small Business.
- Phone support, API integration help and a private Slack channel are part of a separate Enterprise Support plan, priced at $4,999.99 per year on the support page.
Key features
BoxHero
- Barcode scanning
- Uses a phone camera or a barcode scanner to add, remove and adjust stock, with custom barcode printing on the Business plan.
- Multiple locations
- The Business plan tracks and moves inventory across warehouses and stores; the free plan has one location.
- Purchases, sales and returns
- Business plan users can manage purchase and sales orders with invoicing, record returns against the original order and create bundles.
- Alerts, counts and reports
- Safety stock levels trigger low-stock alerts, and counts, past quantity lookups and custom reports are included on the paid plan.
- Sharing and permissions
- Team members get role-based permissions, and an inventory link shares data securely with outside partners.
Snipe-IT
- Assets, licenses and consumables
- Separate records for assets, software licenses, accessories, consumables and components, with check-in and check-out history for each item.
- Labels and barcode scanning
- Generates QR code labels and works with most handheld barcode scanners and QR reader apps, and supports quick audits.
- Alerts and notifications
- Email alerts for expiring licenses and warranties, upcoming audits, low inventory and check-in deadlines, plus Slack and Teams notifications for check-in and check-out.
- Device-management sync
- The site lists about 20 native sync adapters, including Jamf, Intune, Kandji, JumpCloud and Google Workspace, and a custom HTTP adapter for other systems.
- Access control and sign-in
- Role-based groups with granular permissions, SAML SSO, LDAP and Active Directory sync, and SCIM provisioning.
- REST API and import
- A JSON REST API for custom automation, CSV import and export, and custom fields on assets.
Plans
BoxHero
Personal$0
1 member, 100 items, 1 location, barcode scanning, custom attributes, Excel import and export and API access.
Business$24
per team / month, billed annually ($288 a year)
3 members, 1,000 items and 3 locations. Adds reports, low-stock alerts, purchase and sales orders, bundles, inventory counts and unlimited history.
Snipe-IT
Self-Hosted$0
Free software that you install and maintain yourself, with unlimited users and assets and community support only.
Basic Hosting$399.99
per year, flat fee for the team ($39.99 billed monthly)
Hosted by the vendor with unlimited users and assets, automatic upgrades, server maintenance, backups, email support and a limit of 120 API calls per minute.
Small Business Hosting$999.99
per year, flat fee for the team ($99.99 billed monthly)
Adds a 240 API-calls-per-minute limit, more LDAP memory and syncs per day, and site IP restrictions.
Dedicated Hosting (small)$2,499.99
per year, flat fee for the team ($249.99 billed monthly)
A private server with VPN connectivity and server-wide IP restrictions; the page shows no API call limit, subject to hardware.
Ways to pay less
BoxHero
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page marks its annual option as saving 20% and shows the Business plan at $288 a year.
Snipe-IT
- Annual discount
Save 16% with annual billing
Hosted plans are $399.99, $999.99 and $2,499.99 per year, against $39.99, $99.99 and $249.99 per month; the page says annual saves 16%.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BoxHero or Snipe-IT?
As of Nov 12, 2026, BoxHero is cheaper to start with: $24 a month, against $39.99 a month for Snipe-IT. BoxHero starts at $24 per team / month, billed annually ($288 a year), and Snipe-IT starts at $39.99 per month for hosted Basic ($399.99 billed annually).
Which has a free plan, BoxHero or Snipe-IT?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both BoxHero and Snipe-IT have a free plan.
Which platforms do BoxHero and Snipe-IT run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only BoxHero lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.