Comparison

CatalogIt vs Collections Database

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CatalogIt

This platform helps individuals and organizations catalog, manage, and share the stories of their collections. It offers museum-level functionality with an intuitive interface, supporting unlimited photos, custom reports, and multi-user collaboration across devices.

Highlights
  • Professional classification system
  • Intuitive visual cataloging
  • Unlimited photo uploads
  • Customizable printing and reporting
  • Multi-user collaboration
  • Cross-device accessibility
Features
Read full description

Imagine Loving Your Collections More! CatalogIt is a powerful, collaborative, and intuitive software platform for all types of collectors and collections. CatalogIt empowers collectors and organizations to bring to life the story of things through the histories, creative processes, relationships, and destinies of objects and collections. Powerful enough for museum professionals, complete with numerous authoritative classifications to delight private collectors, and thoughtfully designed to be user-friendly and approachable for volunteers, docents, or family. BENEFITS: • Increase the intrinsic value of your objects • Capture their meaning, context, and connections • Preserve and share the stories of things for generations WHY CATALOGIT? • Easy & intuitive • Visual and photo-centric • Museum-level functionality • Secure and private • Multi-user for team/family use • Any device (mobile & desktop) • No hidden charges or ads ACCOUNT TYPES: • Private and Family Collectors • Museums & Historical Societies • Corporate Collections/Archives • Conservation Professionals COMPELLING FEATURES: PROFESSIONAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM • Precise, authoritative classification prompts • Complete plain English fields for quick, thorough data entry • Profiles (e.g. people, places, etc.) track commonalities & link objects • Easily create and enforce controlled vocabularies ACCESSIBLE & USER-FRIENDLY • Visual catalog is easier to manage than alpha-numeric lists • Available on any device; mobile and desktop • Cloud back-up and syncing helps prevent catastrophic data loss • Multiple users & permission levels to control information access • Users can work independently and teams can collaborate in real-time UNLIMITED PHOTOS • Unlimited photo uploads enable detailed visual documentation • Original photos stored and never altered or compressed • The high-quality camera in your phone or tablet makes it easy to add images PRINTING & REPORTING • Print custom and pre-formatted reports (insurance, valuation, condition, etc) • Quickly create labels and QR codes • Import/Export Excel and CSV files to share and analyze collection data Protect your institution’s collections, your family’s heirlooms, and your treasured personal possessions. Document, preserve and tell the stories of your things! ACCOLADES: CatalogIt users include museum professionals, volunteers and docents, private collectors, other collecting institutions, corporate and organizational collections, exhibiting not-for-profits, and professional conservators. Here are some CatalogIt subscriber comments: “I love the fact that I always have my complete collection with me at all times through my iPhone- I can log in any time to view or edit, or to show items to my fellow collectors.” - Private collector “I LOVE YOUR PRODUCT. My grandfather was an artist. CatalogIt is the perfect system to track pieces scattered throughout the family” - Private collector “We have been using CatalogIt for over a year and love it… much easier to use than our previous program, [competitor name withheld], and gives us more flexibility. Check it out. You will love it and be thankful you did.” - Museum Registrar “The fact you can use a smartphone to create a record is great” - Volunteer museum registrar “CatalogIt has made a world of difference in documenting the conservation process for our clients and providing accessible records to our staff. I highly recommend it!” - Professional art conservator

About

Collections Database

Organize anything with a personal database app. It offers over 20 field types, customizable layouts, and pre-built templates for common uses like books or expenses. Advanced features and iCloud sync are available.

Highlights
  • 20+ field types (text, number, picture, barcode, etc.)
  • Customizable fields and display styles
  • Pre-built templates (books, contacts, expenses, etc.)
  • Organize with collections and subcollections
  • Password, Face ID, and Touch ID protection
  • iCloud synchronization across devices
  • Advanced fields and calculations (Pro version)
Features
Read full description

Collections is a personal database app to organize anything. 1. A field for every use Collections supports over 20+ field types: • Text, Number • Boolean • Picture • Select • Email, URL, Phone • Password • Date, Time • Color • Barcode And with the Pro version you can use even more advanced fields. • Document reference - Link documents together • Group - Add multiple values for a field • Formula - Create a formula for calculated values. Powerful formula editor with full support to math functions like SUM, AVG • Sources - Import documents from external APIs with Javascript 2. Customizable • Add and reorder fields • Add a separator between fields to better visualize them • Fields have different display styles like primary, secondary, thumbnail • Filter and sort data 3. Templates Collections includes basic templates to get started: • Books • Contacts • Expenses • Subscriptions • Credentials • Inventory • School 5. Advanced management Collections has different tools to help you creating the data model. SUBCOLLECTIONS Organize data into collections and subcollections. Simply said, they are like folders. LISTS A list contains items used in documents and it's very flexible. It could represent a Genre for a book or a Status like 'Available', 'Out of stock' for an object in the inventory. 6. Security • Protect collections using a password, Face ID or Touch ID • Sensitive data such as passwords are encrypted by default 7. iCloud Sync Data is synced automatically between devices through iCloud. 8. Apple's Shortcuts support Expand the app capabilities with Apple's Shortcuts support. 9. Pro version features • Add unlimited documents (free version is limited to 100 documents) • Add files to documents • Add advanced fields • Views • Grid • Use Summary to perform calculations across documents

Screenshots

CatalogIt4 screens
Collections Database4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Collections Database at 4.6 against CatalogIt's 3.7. Collections Database also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 50%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. CatalogIt sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Collections Database sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Collections Database holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Collections Database has 187 ratings behind it against 35, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of CatalogIt's written reviews are positive against 87% of Collections Database's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CatalogIt ships an update every 2 months, Collections Database fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CatalogIt versus Collections Database: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCatalogItCollections Database
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (35 ratings)4.6 (187 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews87.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings35187 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIt Unlimited, LLCMatteo D'Ignazio

Customer experience

CatalogIt

All ratings35 ratings
Positive62.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative31.4%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative41.7%

Collections Database

All ratings187 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.2%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews315 reviews
Positive87.3%
Neutral5.1%
Negative7.6%

Bugs and requests

CatalogIt

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Collections Database

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Keyboard issues when using search
  • Inconsistent behavior between iOS and macOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Collaborative features for sharing databases
  • More advanced reporting and visualization options
  • Improved import/export functionality
  • Ability to customize the appearance and layout

In-app purchases

6 purchases

CatalogIt

Subscriptions6
  • Personal Small Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Personal Medium Monthly$21.991 Month
  • Personal Large Monthly$29.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Personal Small Annual$149.991 Year
  • Personal Medium Annual$219.991 Year
  • Personal Large Annual$299.991 Year
3 purchases

Collections Database

One-time3
  • Collections Ultra (Upgrade)$1.99
  • Collections Pro$7.99
  • Collections Ultra$9.99

Questions

Is CatalogIt free?
CatalogIt is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Collections Database free?
Collections Database is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CatalogIt or Collections Database?
Collections Database is rated higher. CatalogIt averages 3.7 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while Collections Database averages 4.6 from 187 ratings.
Do CatalogIt or Collections Database have ads?
Neither CatalogIt nor Collections Database shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CatalogIt or Collections Database?
CatalogIt ships an update every 2 months, and Collections Database fortnightly. Most recently, CatalogIt was updated on September 22, 2026 and Collections Database on September 22, 2026.

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