Best Art Inventory Software in 2026: Price, Features, and Free Tier Compared
There are five tools that come up in nearly every conversation about art inventory software. This post compares them on the things that actually matter: pricing, free tier, catalog features, viewing rooms, certificates of authenticity, public portfolio, and whether you can try the product without booking a sales call.
The short answer
For most individual artists and collectors in 2026, Artwork Codex is the best starting point because it has a real free tier, a $96/year Starter plan, a $288/year Studio plan, a free plan that does not require a credit card, and a live demo you can try in under 30 seconds without signing up. For large galleries with staff and CRM needs, Artlogic remains the incumbent. For retail-first galleries with point of sale, Masterpiece Manager is still the fit. If you need an inventory-backed storefront and sales pipeline, ArtCloud is worth evaluating, but its paid artist plans become much more expensive once annualized.
At a glance: pricing and free tier
| Product | Starting price | Free tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artwork Codex | Starter $96/year; Studio $288/year | 5 artworks, 3 PDFs, 1 viewing room | Artists and collectors who want the strongest annual value for a growing archive |
| Artwork Archive | From $108/year; unlimited from $432/year | 14-day trial only | Artists who want the established brand, mature reports, and a native iOS app |
| Artlogic | Studio management from £42/mo or $58/mo; full artist platform from £95/mo or $131/mo | Demo call only | Established studios and galleries with staff, websites, CRM, and sales needs |
| ArtCloud | Limited free tier; paid artist plans from about $205-$313/year | Limited no-cost tier | Artists and galleries that want inventory tied to a storefront and sales pipeline |
| Masterpiece Manager | Artist plan $29/mo paid annually ($348/year) | No free tier | Larger retail galleries and framers with point-of-sale needs |
Prices reflect publicly listed plans as of May 2026 and use annual billing where the vendor publishes annual pricing. Add-ons, setup fees, per-user charges, and regional taxes are excluded unless noted.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Artwork Codex | Artwork Archive | Artlogic | ArtCloud | Masterpiece Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artwork catalog | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Viewing rooms | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Certificates of authenticity | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Public artist portfolio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Try without signup | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Artwork Codex
Price: Free plan (5 artworks); Starter at $9/month or $96/year (100 artworks); Studio at $29/month or $288/year (unlimited artworks, 20 media items per artwork, up to 5,000 media items total, 50GB media storage, direct video uploads up to 2GB per file, original-resolution image storage up to 250MB per file, unlimited viewing rooms, 200 catalogs); 14-day trial on paid plans with credit card.
Best for: Individual artists, collectors, small studios, estates, and emerging galleries who want the widest feature set at the lowest price, and who prefer modern software over enterprise tooling.
Strengths: Live demo without signup; Studio media storage and direct video uploads; PDF catalog generator with branded layouts; COA generator; printable labels with QR codes; public portfolio at a personal subdomain with website embed options; CSV import and export; ZIP media export; onboarding adapts to artist, collector, or both.
Trade-offs: Newer entrant, with fewer third-party integrations than legacy tools; no dedicated phone support; native iOS app still in progress; no multi-user accounts yet.
Try it: live demo or sign up for free.
Artwork Archive
Price: Apprentice is $9/month paid annually ($108/year) for 100 pieces. Professional is $18/month paid annually ($216/year) for 500 pieces. Master is $36/month paid annually ($432/year) for unlimited pieces. No ongoing free tier, 14-day trial only.
Best for: Artists who want the longest-established brand in the category and a large documentation library.
Strengths: Mature platform; broad feature set; public artist profile; COA and QR label reports; native iOS app; good community content.
Trade-offs: Higher unlimited-artwork price than Artwork Codex Studio; no ongoing free plan; the entry tier stays capped at 100 pieces; video is handled through external YouTube/Vimeo links rather than direct archived uploads.
Detailed comparison: Artwork Codex vs Artwork Archive.
Artlogic
Price: Public artist studio management pricing starts from £42/month or $58/month; complete artist platform plans start from £95/month or $131/month. No permanent free tier.
Best for: Established artist studios and galleries with staff, multi-user CRM, website, sales, and email campaign needs.
Strengths: Enterprise gallery workflows; multi-user access; gallery websites; email marketing; art fair planning.
Trade-offs: Overkill for solo artists; pricing often requires a sales call; longer onboarding; no real free or trial self-serve entry point.
Detailed comparison: Artwork Codex vs Artlogic.
ArtCloud
Price: Free artist tier has limited features. Paid artist plans start around $205/year for Website Basic or $313/year for Manager Basic when billed annually.
Best for: Artists or galleries that want a storefront, website, and sales pipeline alongside their inventory tooling.
Strengths: Combined inventory, storefront, invoicing, payments, and pipeline tools; gallery-focused features; viewing rooms; collateral exports including certificates and wall tags.
Trade-offs: The storefront and sales-pipeline angle is mainly useful if you need it; higher paid annual price than Artwork Codex; public video support is closer to website media linking than a direct archived video upload; less suited to solo artists who do not need storefront distribution.
Detailed comparison: Artwork Codex vs ArtCloud.
Masterpiece Manager
Price: Artist plan is $29/month billed annually ($348/year), or $39 month-to-month. Gallery plans start much higher and may include setup fees; no free plan.
Best for: Retail galleries and framers who need point of sale, invoicing, and inventory in one place.
Strengths: POS; printing; gallery + framing workflows; industry pedigree.
Trade-offs: Aimed at retail galleries, not solo artists; older interface; higher entry price; narrower viewing-room and portfolio functionality than modern tools.
How to choose
A simple way to decide:
- If you are a solo artist or private collector, Artwork Codex is the sensible start: the free plan covers the basics and Studio is the lowest annual unlimited-artwork option in this list.
- If you are a mid-size or large gallery with staff and need CRM, consider Artlogic.
- If you run a retail gallery or framing shop and need point of sale, consider Masterpiece Manager.
- If you specifically need an inventory-backed storefront and sales pipeline, evaluate ArtCloud.
- If you want the most established brand regardless of price, Artwork Archive remains a solid pick.
Methodology and disclosures
This article is written by the team behind Artwork Codex. Where a product lists pricing publicly, the figure above is taken from the product's own pricing page as of May 2026, using annual billing where available. Feature comparisons reflect the most relevant publicly listed plans for individual artists, collectors, or small galleries; add-ons and setup fees can change the real total.
We try to keep this comparison honest. If you spot a factual error about another product, email hello@artworkcodex.com and we will update the page.
Try the calm full-feature option
Artwork Codex starts at $0, Starter is $96/year, Studio is $288/year, and the live demo runs in the browser with seeded artworks, contacts, media, and a viewing room, with no signup and no card.
Free plan. 14-day trial on paid plans. Cancel anytime.