Shelf alternatives: Asetavo vs Shelf
Shelf (shelf.nu) is an open-source, QR-first tool for equipment custody and bookings, with unlimited assets on every plan and a flat price per workspace. Asetavo adds UHF RFID with fixed readers and zones, GPS with geofences, maintenance work orders, 8-method depreciation and a REST API in one register.
You need more than QR labels and reminders: NFC tags or UHF RFID with fixed readers and zone movement alerts, GPS on every scan with geofence alerts and GPS trackers, maintenance work orders, PM and calibration, depreciation with separate book and tax views, and a REST API to connect other systems.
Lending equipment is your main job: Shelf’s Team plan adds bookings, a booking calendar and a live calendar feed for Google, Outlook and Apple, kits flag missing items at check-in, assets are unlimited on every plan and users are unlimited on Team. It is open source under the AGPL and can be self-hosted, and its iPhone and Android app is live.
| Feature | Asetavo | Shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan / trial | Free Starter plan, no time limit: 100 assets, 2 users, QR & barcode | Free Personal plan: unlimited assets, 1 user, 3 custom fields; 7-day Team trial, no card |
| Pricing model | Published USD plans: free Starter, $46/mo Growth, $83/mo Business; Enterprise custom | Flat price per workspace (USD): Plus $34/mo or $190/yr, Team $67/mo or $370/yr; Enterprise custom |
| Users & assets | 2, 10 or 25 by plan; asset limits by plan | Unlimited assets on every plan; 1 user on Personal and Plus, unlimited on Team |
| QR & barcode | ✓ (every plan) | ✓ Shelf QR codes on every plan; Code128, Code39, EAN-13 and DataMatrix via the Alternative Barcodes add-on (Team) |
| NFC tags | ✓ (Growth and up) | Not listed on its site (checked 2026-10-24) |
| UHF RFID | ✓ Handheld and fixed readers, zones with movement alerts (Business) | Not listed; its site describes Shelf as “QR-first, no hardware needed” |
| Check-out & reservations | ✓ Check-in/out (every plan) | ✓ Custody and kits on every plan; bookings, booking calendar and calendar feed on Team |
| Audits / stock-takes | ✓ (Growth and up) | Audits add-on on Team: $37/mo or $205/yr |
| Maintenance | ✓ Work orders, PM, calibration (Business) | Dated asset reminders by email plus custom fields; its site says it is not a full CMMS |
| Depreciation | 8 methods, book and tax (Business) | Not calculated; its site points to your accounting system or a free MACRS calculator |
| GPS | GPS on scans & asset maps (Growth); geofence alerts & GPS trackers (Business) | Location recorded at each QR scan; “not continuous GPS tracking” |
| Mobile | Any phone browser today; iOS & Android apps coming soon | Shelf Companion app for iPhone and Android, free on every plan; web app and PWA |
| API & single sign-on | REST API (Business) | No documented public API; SSO/SAML add-on on Team from $9/user/mo, included on Enterprise |
| Open source / self-hosting | ✓ AGPL; self-host with Docker, PostgreSQL and Supabase |
Where Asetavo stands out
Product screens show sample data.
UHF RFID with fixed readers and zone movement alerts
Maintenance work orders, PM and calibration on Business
Book-and-tax depreciation with 8 methods
A REST API on the Business plan
Shelf is a strong fit for teams that lend shared equipment, such as schools, film and media departments and labs. Its Team plan lists bookings and reservations, a booking calendar with availability, booking PDFs (pull lists) and a live calendar feed for Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar. Kits flag missing items at check-in, every plan has unlimited assets, and the Team plan has unlimited users for one flat price per workspace. Shelf is open source under the AGPL, so you can inspect the code or self-host it, and its Shelf Companion app is live on the App Store and Google Play. Asetavo covers check-in/check-out without a reservations calendar, includes 2, 10 or 25 by plan, and is cloud-only. If bookings come first, or you want open source, self-hosting or unlimited assets on a flat plan, Shelf may suit you better. Other options: teams comparing Shelf also look at check-out-focused tools, inventory-first apps and IT-focused open-source software. Our compare hub covers several of them, and our best asset tracking software guide explains how to choose by use case.
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