Best Home Inventory Apps (2026)
Last updated: August 2026 · A practical comparison for documenting your belongings for insurance. Competitor pricing below was checked against each vendor's own pricing page in August 2026.
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 on Android or the web: HomyScan — genuinely cross-platform, with a free tier. Asset Vault is iPhone-only today.
- Best if you've already had a loss: Bevel — free, built after the 2025 Los Angeles fires to rebuild an inventory from photos.
- 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 |
| HomyScan | Cross-platform households | Barcode | No | Yes | Yes | Free tier / paid from $19/mo |
| Bevel | After a loss | Yes | No | Spreadsheet export | Sells a separate tool to insurers | Free for disaster survivors |
| 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 | Yes (video) | 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. HomyScan
HomyScan is the most credible cross-platform option in this list, and if you're not on an iPhone it's probably the one to pick. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web with sync across all three, organises by space, room and box, supports barcode scanning, real-time family sharing with editor and viewer roles, and printable box labels you can scan later to see what's inside. It exports PDF reports with photos and CSV for spreadsheets. There's a free tier; the paid plans are priced for business use, starting at $19/month billed annually.
Strengths
- Genuinely cross-platform — iPhone, Android and web, with sync
- Real-time sharing with roles, useful for families and roommates
- Box labelling is a genuinely good idea for moves and storage
- Free tier covers basic cataloguing
Trade-offs
- Paid tiers are business-priced — from $19/month billed annually
- Barcode-led rather than AI photo identification
- No LiDAR room scan
3. Bevel
Bevel was built after the 2025 Los Angeles fires — one of its founders lost his childhood home in the Palisades fire and built it to help his parents list what they'd lost. It's web-based: you upload photos and video, and AI reconstructs an itemised inventory organised by room with replacement-cost estimates, which you export as a spreadsheet for your insurer. It deliberately ignores people in photos and looks only for personal property. It's free for disaster survivors.
If you are documenting a loss that has already happened, this is the tool built for your situation and we'd point you to it before our own. Two things to know: it's web-only, reviewers have found valuation errors worth checking before you send figures to an adjuster, and Bevel also sells a separate product to insurers and adjusters — worth understanding if data flow matters to you.
Strengths
- Purpose-built for reconstructing an inventory after a fire or disaster
- Free for disaster survivors
- Works from photos and video you already have
Trade-offs
- Web only — no native mobile app
- Reported valuation errors; check its numbers before filing
- Reactive by design — no warranty or maintenance tracking
- Sells a separate product to insurers and adjusters
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. 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
When Asset Vault is the wrong choice
We make Asset Vault, so treat the recommendation above with the scepticism it deserves. Here is where we'd genuinely tell you to use something else — churning through the wrong tool helps nobody:
- You're on Android or want web access. Asset Vault is iPhone-only today. Use HomyScan.
- You've already had a fire, flood or theft and need an inventory this week. Bevel is built for reconstructing a list from photos after the fact, and it's free for disaster survivors.
- You need multi-user business inventory with roles, audit trails and barcodes at scale. Sortly.
- You want budgeting, remodel projects and home finances in one place. HomeZada does far more than inventory.
- Cost is the only consideration. NAIC's free app is published by the insurance regulators and costs nothing. A finished basic inventory beats an unfinished sophisticated one.
- You need an Android app right now for a household. Worth repeating, because it's the most common reason Asset Vault isn't the answer.
What happened to Encircle's free home inventory app?
Encircle ended support for its free consumer Home Inventory product on 17 December 2025. After that date users could no longer log in, and inventories became inaccessible unless they had been exported beforehand. Encircle now focuses on paid field-documentation software for restoration contractors and insurance professionals.
If you lost access, contact Encircle's support directly about your account before assuming the data is gone — that's worth doing before you rebuild anything from scratch.
When choosing a replacement, the question worth asking first is who your data belongs to. Encircle's model routed documentation to carriers and contractors, because that was the product's purpose. Asset Vault is built the other way around: your inventory isn't sold, isn't shared with insurance carriers, and isn't used to train anything. You export a PDF and decide who sees it.
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.
What is the best home inventory app for Android?
HomyScan is the strongest cross-platform option — iPhone, Android and web with sync between them, plus a free tier; paid plans start at $19/month billed annually. Asset Vault is iPhone-only, so on Android we'd point you to HomyScan. NAIC's free app is also on Android.
What happened to Encircle's free home inventory app?
Encircle ended support for its free consumer Home Inventory product on 17 December 2025, after which users could no longer log in and inventories became inaccessible unless exported first. Encircle now focuses on paid software for restoration contractors and insurance professionals. See the section above for what to do next.
Is there a home inventory app with no subscription?
Yes. Asset Vault is a one-time $9.99 purchase — free to download with unlimited items and properties, with $9.99 unlocking unlimited AI permanently. MyStuff2 Pro is also one-time, around $11.99. Most alternatives are recurring: HomeZada $99–189/year, Sortly $49–299/month, HomyScan from $19/month billed annually.
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.