Best Home Inventory Apps (2026)
Last updated: July 2026 · A practical comparison for documenting your belongings for insurance.
A home inventory — a photographed, valued list of everything you own — is the single best thing you can do before a fire, theft, flood, or move. When you file an insurance claim, the burden of proof is on you, and "I think it was worth about…" rarely holds up. Below we compare the home inventory apps worth considering in 2026, who each one is really built for, and how they handle the thing that matters most: your data.
Quick verdict — best home inventory app by need
- Best overall for households: Asset Vault — AI capture, insurance-ready PDF, one-time $9.99, no subscription.
- Best for small businesses: Sortly — barcodes, custom fields, team access.
- Best for carrier-driven claims: Encircle — if your insurer already uses it.
- Best free no-frills option: NAIC Home Inventory — simple, trusted, form-based.
- Best all-in-one home manager: HomeZada — if you want projects and finances too.
Comparison at a glance
| App | Best for | AI item ID | LiDAR room scan | Insurance PDF | Your data stays yours | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset Vault | Households | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes — never shared with carriers | Free + $9.99 one-time |
| Sortly | Small business | No | No | Limited | Yes | Free (100 items) / $49–299/mo |
| Encircle | Carrier claims | No | No | Yes | Shared with carrier | Consumer app discontinued Dec 2025 |
| HomeZada | Whole-home management | No | No | Limited | Yes | Free / $99–189/yr |
| NAIC Home Inventory | Simple & free | No | No | Basic | Yes | Free |
| MyStuff2 Pro | Power users | No | No | Basic | Yes (on-device) | ~$11.99 one-time |
| Apple Notes + Photos | Casual / free | No | No | No | Yes | Free |
Comparison reflects publicly available information and our own product as of 2026. Competitor features, availability, and pricing change frequently — check each app for current details.
The apps, in detail
1. Asset Vault
Asset Vault is a photo-first home inventory app for iPhone, built specifically for households rather than businesses or insurers. You add items three ways: photograph a single item and let AI suggest its name, brand, category, and estimated value; scan a receipt to add several purchases at once; or, on Pro iPhones with LiDAR, scan a whole room and bulk-import detected furniture and appliances. It tracks warranties and recurring maintenance with on-device reminders, organizes multiple properties, and exports an insurance-ready PDF in one tap.
Strengths
- AI photo identification + receipt scanning make data entry fast
- LiDAR room scan for bulk capture
- One-tap insurance-ready PDF export
- Privacy-first — never sells data or shares inventory with carriers
- One-time $9.99 unlock; no subscription, no ads
Trade-offs
- iPhone only (no Android or web yet)
- Room scan requires an iPhone with LiDAR (12 Pro or newer)
- New app — a smaller track record than incumbents
2. Sortly
Sortly is one of the most established inventory apps and is genuinely powerful, with barcode and QR scanning, custom fields, and team access. Over the years it has shifted its focus toward small-business use cases — movers, contractors, offices, and warehouses — with paid plans in the roughly $49–$299/month range. For a personal home inventory, many users find it more spreadsheet-like, more complex, and more expensive than they need.
Strengths
- Mature, reliable, cross-platform
- Barcodes, custom fields, team collaboration
Trade-offs
- Built for business; consumer experience is secondary
- Subscription pricing adds up for personal use
- No AI identification or LiDAR room scan
3. Encircle
Encircle is focused on the insurance claim itself and is distributed through insurance carriers and restoration companies — meaning the carrier, not you, is the real customer. In December 2025 it discontinued its free standalone consumer app, so households now generally encounter Encircle only through an insurer or adjuster during a claim. It's strong at capturing post-incident proof quickly, but the trade-off is data flow: because it's built around the carrier relationship, your inventory data is designed to reach the insurer — the opposite of a privacy-first posture.
Strengths
- Fast claim documentation via adjusters/restorers
- Well-integrated with carrier/restoration workflows
Trade-offs
- Free consumer app discontinued in December 2025
- Your data flows to the insurer by design
- Weak at proactive, ongoing tracking (warranties, maintenance)
- Most useful only if your carrier already uses it
4. HomeZada
HomeZada is a kitchen-sink home-management platform: home projects, maintenance schedules, finances, and inventory all in one place, with paid tiers around $99–$189/year. If you want a single hub for managing your entire home, it's comprehensive — but that breadth means the inventory piece specifically is less focused and can feel heavier than a dedicated tool.
Strengths
- Broad: projects, finances, maintenance, inventory
- Good for owners who want one home-management hub
Trade-offs
- Does many things, none in a lightweight way
- Annual subscription; steeper learning curve
- No AI identification or LiDAR room scan
5. NAIC Home Inventory
Published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, this free app is simple and trustworthy — a form-based way to list rooms and items with photos. There's no automation, AI, or advanced export, but for a basic, credible, no-cost starting point it does the job.
Strengths
- Completely free; published by a trusted authority
- Simple and approachable
Trade-offs
- Manual entry only — no AI or bulk capture
- Minimal features and limited export
6. MyStuff2 Pro
A long-running iOS app with a loyal following and a one-time unlock around $11.99 (sold as à-la-carte in-app purchases). It's highly customizable and stores data on-device, which power users appreciate, but the interface is dated and there's no AI-assisted capture.
Strengths
- One-time price; deep customization
- On-device data storage
Trade-offs
- Dated interface; steeper setup
- No AI identification or room scan
7. Apple Notes + Photos
How most people actually track their belongings: a note with some photos. It's free and always at hand, but there's no structure, no values or warranty tracking, no reminders, and nothing resembling an insurance-ready report — so it falls apart exactly when you need proof for a claim.
Strengths
- Free, already installed, zero learning curve
Trade-offs
- No values, warranties, categories, or reminders
- No insurance-ready export; hard to keep organized
How to choose a home inventory app
- Who is the app built for? Business tools (Sortly) and carrier tools (Encircle) optimize for someone other than you. A household-first app fits a household.
- How fast is data entry? The hardest part of any inventory is entering it. AI photo identification, receipt scanning, and room scanning turn hours into minutes.
- Can you prove ownership? Look for one-tap PDF export with photos, values, and per-property totals you can attach to a claim.
- Where does your data go? Prefer apps that never sell your data or share your inventory with insurers unless you choose to.
- What does it really cost? A one-time price beats a subscription for a tool you'll open occasionally over many years.
Ready to document your home?
Asset Vault makes it minutes, not hours — photograph, scan a receipt, or scan a room, then export an insurance-ready PDF whenever you need it.
Free to download. One-time $9.99 to unlock unlimited AI. No subscription.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best home inventory app for insurance in 2026?
For most homeowners and renters, Asset Vault is the best fit: it's built for households, uses AI to identify items and scan receipts, exports an insurance-ready PDF, and costs a one-time $9.99 with no subscription. Sortly suits small businesses, Encircle suits carrier-driven claims, and NAIC's free app is a fine no-frills option.
What is the best free home inventory app?
Asset Vault is free to download with unlimited items and properties (only unlimited AI is a one-time paid unlock). NAIC's Home Inventory app is also free, and Bevel offers a free web-based tool. Encircle was free to consumers but discontinued its standalone consumer app in December 2025.
Is Sortly good for a home inventory?
Sortly is capable but now built primarily for small businesses, with paid tiers around $49–$299/month. For a personal home inventory, many people find it more complex and costly than they need.
Will a home inventory app share my data with my insurance company?
It depends on the app. Carrier-distributed apps like Encircle are designed so your data reaches the insurer. Asset Vault does the opposite: it never sells your data or shares your inventory with carriers — you decide when to export a PDF and send it.