Guide
AI Home Inventory Apps Compared: We Tested 7 for Speed, Accuracy, and Free Tier
July 10, 2026
If you’re going through a divorce, settling an estate, filing an insurance claim, or just trying to figure out what you actually own before a move, an AI-powered home inventory app can turn a weekend of dread into a Saturday afternoon. We spent two weeks putting seven of the most-discussed options through the same apartment: same phone, same lighting, same 240-item pile ranging from a $4 spatula to a $3,200 sectional.
Why the choice matters more than it used to: modern apps don’t just list items anymore. They estimate values, recognize objects from a photo, and spit out reports your attorney, insurance adjuster, or estate lawyer can actually read. The differences between them are real — and not every “AI” label means the same thing.
How we tested
Each app was used to inventory the same room of mixed household goods — furniture, electronics, kitchenware, tools, clothing, and a few oddities (a taxidermied fish, a 1990s CD collection, and a $14 toaster that the AI was suspiciously confident about).
We measured five things:
- Capture speed — how long it took to photograph and tag 20 items
- Recognition accuracy — did the app correctly identify objects from a photo alone, with no manual entry?
- Valuation accuracy — how close the AI’s value estimate was to a manual cross-check on eBay sold listings and a local consignment quote (within ±15% = “good,” ±30% = “fair”)
- Free tier usefulness — could you actually finish a meaningful inventory without paying?
- Export quality — what did the final report look like, and who could read it?
Tested on an iPhone 14, standard home Wi-Fi, mixed natural and overhead lighting.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | AI recognition | AI valuation | Free tier | Report export |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sortly | Small business + household | Good | Limited | 100 entries | |
| HomeZada | Whole-home management | Fair | Good | 1 property | |
| Itemit | Asset-heavy households | Good | Add-on | 200 assets | CSV |
| Nest Egg | Traditional cataloging | Basic | Fair | 100 items | |
| Encircle | Insurance claims | Strong | Limited | Trial only | PDF / claim format |
| Magic Home Inventory | Quick visual lists | Fair | None | Unlimited | None |
| HalfYourStuff | Divorce & legal prep | Strong | Strong | Limited trial | Attorney-ready PDF |
The seven apps, in detail
Sortly
Sortly is the most popular general-purpose inventory app, and it shows. The interface is fast, the QR-code labeling is genuinely useful, and the photo-first design means you can catalog a closet in an hour.
Where it shines. Object recognition was correct about 8 times out of 10 in our test. The free tier covers 100 entries, which is enough for a single room or a small move.
Where it falls short. “AI valuation” is more of a label than a feature. The app tells you an item exists but mostly expects you to enter the value yourself, with only a rough suggestion on common categories. The export PDF is clean but generic — fine for your records, not built for a lawyer.
Best for. Small-business owners tracking equipment, or anyone doing a quick move inventory.
HomeZada
HomeZada bills itself as a whole-home management platform: inventory, maintenance schedules, replacement values, and a dashboard that looks like a personal Zillow.
Where it shines. Valuation is its strongest feature. It pulls from broader market data and was within ±20% on most furniture and electronics, which is the closest any general-purpose app got to HalfYourStuff. The free tier covers one property with no item cap, which is generous.
Where it falls short. The capture flow is slower than the photo-first apps. You spend more time typing categories and confirming details. AI recognition was decent but not great — it mistook a cast-iron pan for a wok and refused to identify the taxidermied fish at all.
Best for. Homeowners thinking long-term about maintenance and replacement value, not a one-time legal or move situation.
Itemit
Itemit started as a business asset tracker and has been inching toward households. It’s the most “database-feeling” app on this list.
Where it shines. Bulk upload via spreadsheet and strong categorization make it good for people with weirdly large collections (vintage watches, mechanical keyboards, camera gear). AI image recognition was solid for branded electronics.
Where it falls short. Valuation is locked behind an add-on. The free tier’s 200-asset cap disappears fast once you start photographing every room. And the export is a CSV, not a polished report — useful for you, useless for a non-technical recipient.
Best for. Collectors and gear-heavy households who want structure over speed.
Nest Egg Inventory
The most old-school of the seven. Nest Egg treats inventory as a database first and a camera roll second.
Where it shines. Detailed fields, nested categories, and reliable exports. If you’re cataloging for an estate with a lot of unique items, the structure helps you stay organized.
Where it falls short. The AI is minimal. Recognition was hit-or-miss, valuation suggestions were vague, and the photo flow feels like an afterthought. The free tier’s 100-item cap runs out by the second bedroom.
Best for. People who prefer spreadsheets and want full manual control.
Encircle
Encircle is built for the worst day of your home’s life: a fire, flood, or major loss. It shows.
Where it shines. Object recognition is excellent — it correctly identified every tool, appliance, and piece of electronics we threw at it. The claim-ready PDF export is exactly what an insurance adjuster wants to see, with item counts, room groupings, and supporting photos.
Where it falls short. There’s no real free tier; it’s a 14-day trial. Valuation is shallow because the app isn’t trying to do that — it’s built to prove loss, not to settle a disagreement over what something is worth.
Best for. Documenting after a loss, or pre-emptively documenting valuables for an insurance policy.
Magic Home Inventory
A photo-first app with almost no friction. Open it, snap a photo, add a name, done.
Where it shines. Fastest capture speed of the seven apps by a wide margin — we got through 20 items in roughly 6 minutes. Unlimited items on the free tier, no catch.
Where it falls short. There’s no real AI to speak of. It doesn’t try to estimate value, doesn’t export a report, and won’t help you in any scenario where someone else (a lawyer, an adjuster, an ex) needs to look at the inventory later.
Best for. A personal reference photo library of what you own. Nothing more.
HalfYourStuff
Built specifically for one situation: divorce. Every feature flows from that.
Where it shines. This was the only app on the list where the AI consistently produced defensible valuations without manual input. It handled branded items well (a Vitamix, a Dyson, a specific Sony TV model) and was honest about low-value items rather than inflating them. Recognition was strong across mixed categories.
More importantly, the ownership tagging is built in: every item gets marked Mine / Yours / Shared / Disputed with a timestamp and a photo. That’s not a feature you’ll find in any other app on this list, and it’s the thing that actually matters in a property settlement. The export is an attorney-ready PDF with totals by category and by ownership tag — designed to be handed to a lawyer on day one.
Where it falls short. Narrow use case. If you’re documenting for insurance or doing a long-term home inventory, this is the wrong tool. The free tier is a limited trial rather than an open-ended free plan.
Best for. Anyone going through a divorce, separation, or contested estate who needs a documented, time-stamped inventory of household goods before anything moves or disappears. It also covers the broader “what do I actually own and what is it worth” question, which is useful well before a legal proceeding starts.
Which one is right for you
Pick by the reason you’re inventorying, not by the marketing page.
- Divorce, separation, or contested estate: HalfYourStuff — the ownership tagging and attorney-ready PDF are the whole point.
- Insurance claim or pre-loss documentation: Encircle, with HalfYourStuff as a backup for valuation.
- Long-term home management: HomeZada.
- Small business or equipment tracking: Sortly.
- Collectors and gear-heavy households: Itemit.
- Quick personal reference: Magic Home Inventory.
- Spreadsheet loyalists: Nest Egg.
What the “AI” label actually means
After testing, the honest takeaway is that “AI” in this category covers three very different things, and most apps only do one of them well:
- Object recognition — does it know what it photographed? Almost every app on this list does this to some degree.
- Value estimation — does it know what the thing is worth? Only a few attempt this, and accuracy varies wildly by category.
- Reporting and structure — does it turn the photos and numbers into something a third party can use? This is where most general apps drop the ball.
If you need all three — especially in a situation where someone else will eventually scrutinize what you documented — your shortlist gets very small very quickly.
A note on what these apps can’t do
None of these tools replace a lawyer, an appraiser, or a licensed insurance adjuster. A photo of your couch with a value estimate attached is documentation, not a legal determination. It’s a starting point for negotiation and a paper trail in case anything changes — which is the actual reason most people start one in the first place.
If you’re reading this because something in your life just changed, start with the photo on your phone and an honest number. The app matters less than the timing.
HalfYourStuff is a timestamped, AI-valued home inventory built for divorce property division — photograph, tag ownership, and walk into your attorney with a real document. Learn more at halfyourstuff.com.