IT asset management software compared

IT asset management software keeps a record of the hardware, software and contracts an organization owns, from purchase to retirement. The eight products on this page each meet three conditions we set for the category. They find assets without relying on manual entry, they follow an asset through its lifecycle, and they track licenses or contracts. We read each vendor's own pages, and every product page links to the pages we used.

What we required of every product

The first condition is asset discovery. A product qualifies if it can find devices or software through an agent, a network scan or a sync with a device management system, so that the inventory does not depend on someone typing it in. The second is asset lifecycle tracking, meaning a history that runs from purchase through deployment and repair to retirement. The third is license or contract tracking, such as renewal dates, expiry alerts or a record of what a contract covers.

We left products out when a vendor page did not support one of the three. Some well-known names are absent for that reason, or because their pages blocked our automated reads, as Lansweeper's did. Absence from this page says nothing about quality. It means we could not source every condition from the vendor's own site.

Two kinds of product

Four of the eight are built around assets. AssetSonar, InvGate Asset Management, Device42 and Reftab sell asset management as the main product.

The other four are service desk suites that include asset management. Freshservice, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, SolarWinds Service Desk and Alloy Navigator also appear in our IT service management category. A team that already runs a ticketing system may prefer to keep the asset record in the same database as its incidents and changes. A team that only needs an inventory may find a dedicated tool cheaper and simpler.

Why discovery comes first

An inventory that depends on manual entry drifts out of date. The Center for Internet Security makes this the first item in its controls. CIS Control 1 asks organizations to actively manage all enterprise assets and to know the totality of assets that need to be monitored and protected.

The tools find assets in different ways. AssetSonar says it discovers assets through its agent for Windows, macOS and Linux, through agentless network scans of servers, printers and switches, and through MDM integrations. ManageEngine's guide describes the same split and notes that agent scans suit individual workstations that have changed, while agentless scans need devices to be on the network and switched on. It advises combining both.

SolarWinds Service Desk uses agentless scanning for IP-connected devices, and Alloy Navigator says network scans run on demand and at set times to find servers, PCs and laptops on the LAN. Device42 says it discovers software on Windows, Mac and Linux across servers and desktops, covering on-premises and SaaS software.

Reftab sits at the lighter end. Its hardware page says devices sync automatically from Intune, Jamf, Kandji and other IT systems, and it does not describe agent or network-scan discovery. That suits a company whose laptops are already enrolled in a device manager. It will miss anything that is not.

How lifecycle tracking differs

Every product records a history for each asset, but the depth varies. Device42 stores lifecycle events, each with a date, time and event type, and lets a team record purchases and contracts against a device. Its documentation also makes a distinction that affects cost. Devices consume license units, while assets, which are items Device42 may not be able to discover, do not.

AssetSonar describes tracking hardware across its lifecycle and sends alerts for warranty expirations and overdue check-ins. InvGate describes tracking assets from request to retirement, with warranty tracking and maintenance alerts. Freshservice describes tracking hardware from request and procurement through deployment and decommissioning.

Alloy Navigator ties a history of financial information, warranty and maintenance contracts to each asset, from procurement to disposal. SolarWinds says lifecycle records cover ownership, location and contract details over time. ManageEngine's guide advises defining an asset life cycle with statuses for each stage, and warns that asset states change constantly.

License and contract tracking

Software licenses are where asset data turns into money. Device42 says it compares the count of discovered licenses with the purchased count. SolarWinds says its tracking covers license availability, contract terms and renewal dates, with alerts for upcoming contract deadlines.

AssetSonar's software page lists customizable alerts and a central renewal page for key licensing dates. Reftab says it tracks licenses, seats and users and flags unused licenses. Freshservice describes centralizing contracts and licenses with automated renewal tracking and expiry monitoring. Alloy Navigator says it reconciles purchased licenses with actual usage and sends alerts about approaching renewal dates.

InvGate splits the feature by plan. Contracts and warranties come with the Starter plan, while licensing contract management, which tracks license terms, renewal dates and compliance, is on Pro and Enterprise only. A buyer who needs license tracking should read the plan table before assuming the cheapest tier covers it.

How the prices compare

Four of the eight publish a price that we could read. They use different units, which makes direct comparison hard.

AssetSonar charges per asset. ITAM costs $0.75 per asset a month and $1.08 with its service desk included, both billed annually, and packages start at 100 assets. A company with 1,000 assets would pay about $750 a month on the first plan before volume discounts, which the page says are available. Its Advanced software asset management add-on costs $0.42 per asset a month.

InvGate charges per IP device and per year. Starter costs $1,499 a year for up to 500 IP devices, Pro costs $5 per IP device a year with a $2,500 annual minimum, and Enterprise starts at $12,000 a year. Reftab charges $125 a month for hardware asset management with unlimited users, $9 per tracked software user a year for software, and offers a free plan for up to 50 assets with no time limit.

Freshservice prices its service desk per agent. It lists Starter at $19, Growth at $49 and Pro at $99 per agent a month on annual billing, and licenses IT asset management separately in Asset Units sold in packs of 500. Device42 publishes no rates. Its pricing page says only that the software is an annual subscription based on the number of devices.

Two numbers on the AssetSonar page do not match. The pricing table shows the Advanced SAM add-on at $0.42 per asset a month, while the FAQ lists $5 per asset a year. These are close, since 12 months at $0.42 comes to $5.04, but a buyer should ask which figure applies.

Security and contracts

Security information is thin across the category. Only AssetSonar states a certification on the pages we used. EZO says it maintains SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, ISO/IEC 27001 certification and CSA STAR Level 1 registration. For the other products we show those fields as unknown rather than as a no, because the pages we read did not say.

Contract terms are similar. Device42 documents that its licenses are valid for one year from purchase and that renewal goes through support. Reftab lists cancel anytime beside its paid plans. For the rest, we found no minimum terms or cancellation rules on the pricing pages, and a buyer should ask for them in writing.

Matching a product to a team

A small IT team with fewer than 50 devices can start on Reftab's free plan, which tracks up to 50 assets with no time limit and no credit card. The limit is on assets, so accessories and licenses do not count against it, according to the pricing page.

A mid-size company with a few hundred to a few thousand devices has the widest choice. InvGate's Pro plan covers 500 to 5,000 IP devices, and AssetSonar's per-asset price scales in a straight line with the inventory. Both publish enough to build a budget before talking to sales.

Organizations with servers, containers and cloud resources to account for should look hardest at Device42, which meters devices, containers, platform services and functions in license units. It sells by quote, so the first step is a conversation about device counts.

A team that already lives in a ticketing system should price the service desk suites on the asset module alone. Freshservice, ManageEngine, SolarWinds and Alloy each keep assets next to incidents, which lets a technician see a laptop's history while handling its ticket. The cost is that the asset tools are one part of a larger purchase.

How to test a shortlist

Start with a trial against your real estate, not a demo data set. Count how many devices the tool finds in the first hour and compare that with your own list from your device manager or your purchasing records. A gap points to the discovery method in use, and the fix may be an agent or a different integration.

Then check what the vendor counts as an asset. Device42 counts devices, containers and storage at different rates. InvGate prices by IP device and AssetSonar by asset. Ask for the counting rules before you ask for a quote, because they decide whether the price in the table matches your invoice.

Finally, pick three contracts that expire in the next six months and enter them. A tool that can alert you before the renewal date has done the job that justified buying it.