Collection software for small museums, compared with prices
For a small museum the choice is between a paid desktop program (PastPerfect 5.0 is a one time 870 US dollars and runs on Windows), a hosted subscription (CatalogIt from 540 dollars a year, PastPerfect's Web Edition from 375 dollars to set up plus 745 a year), free server software your own technician installs (CollectiveAccess), an old free program (Museum Archive, last released in 2014), or a spreadsheet. Curatorbook is a browser catalogue that keeps records on your own computer. Prices checked 28 September 2026; see the catalogue to try it with the demo.
The options, side by side
| Option | Cost | Where records live | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PastPerfect 5.0 | 870 US dollars once, 696 for members of the state and local history association | One Windows computer | Runs on Windows; a long established choice among historical societies |
| PastPerfect Web Edition | Setup 375 or 1,245; hosting 745 to 2,245 a year | The vendor's servers | Hosted, reached from a browser |
| CatalogIt | Free for 50 entries; museum plans from 540 a year | The vendor's servers | The free plan stops at 50 entries and one user |
| CollectiveAccess | Free, open source | Your own web server | Needs someone to install and maintain it; version 2.0.11, March 2026 |
| Museum Archive | Free, no registration | One computer | Newest release listed is from October 2014 |
| A spreadsheet | Free | Wherever the file is | No numbering checks, no photos, no printed register |
Omeka and similar tools publish collections online as exhibits; they are not accession registers. A few free tools for personal collections exist but lack accession numbers and registers.
Questions that decide it
- How many objects, and how many people enter records at once? One registrar on one computer needs far less than a staff of five.
- Which computer? A Mac, a shared office PC and a volunteer's laptop narrow the list quickly.
- Who backs it up? Hosted plans back up for you; anything on your own computer needs a habit.
- Must the collection be online for the public? If so, a hosted plan or a publishing tool is part of the answer.
- What does it cost over five years, including hosting, not just the first year?
Worked example: where Curatorbook fits, and its limits
Curatorbook runs in the browser on a Mac or PC with nothing to install and no account. The catalogue lives in that browser's storage. Safari deletes a site's stored data after 7 days of browsing without a visit to the site, and any browser can lose it when site data is cleared, so Curatorbook reminds you to save the catalogue file (a zip of the records and photos) whenever it holds changes the last file does not, and asks the browser to keep its storage where the browser allows.
It is one registrar's catalogue: it does not share records between people or publish them online. Everything in it is free today. When a collection outgrows it, the CSV export is the way to a larger system.
Common mistakes
- Comparing first year prices and not the yearly hosting that follows.
- Choosing a server product with nobody to maintain the server.
- Keeping the only copy of the catalogue on one aging computer.
- Buying before cleaning the numbers, then importing the same problems.
- Picking a publishing tool when what is needed is an accession register.
Do it in the catalogue
Open the catalogue to number an accession and its objects, add photos and locations, and print the register, labels and receipts. Everything stays in this browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no account. Save the catalogue file after every session.
Frequently asked questions
Is there free museum collection software for a Mac?
Yes. Browser based tools run on a Mac, including hosted free plans with small limits and Curatorbook, which keeps records in the browser on your own computer. PastPerfect 5.0 runs on Windows.
Are these prices current?
They were checked on 28 September 2026 on each vendor's own pricing page. Prices change; check the vendor's page before you buy.
Does Curatorbook follow the Spectrum standard?
It paraphrases common procedures such as object entry, accessioning, location, inventory, cataloguing and loans, but it does not claim compliance with Spectrum or any other standard.
Sources
Last reviewed 28 September 2026 against:
- PastPerfect pricing and PastPerfect 5.0 pages, PastPerfect Software, prices checked 28 September 2026, read 28 September 2026. Used for: Version 5.0 at 870 US dollars (696 for association members), runs on Windows; the Web Edition's setup (375 or 1,245) and yearly hosting (745 to 2,245).
- CatalogIt pricing, CatalogIt, prices checked 28 September 2026, read 28 September 2026. Used for: A free plan of 50 entries, 5 GB and one user; museum plans from 540 US dollars a year for 25,000 entries.
- CollectiveAccess, CollectiveAccess, read 28 September 2026. Used for: Free, open source web software for cataloguing and publishing collections; version 2.0.11 released 15 March 2026.
- Museum Archive Software, Museum Archive Software, read 28 September 2026. Used for: Free with no registration; the newest release listed is 2.9.5, from October 2014.
- Spectrum, Collections Trust, Spectrum 5.1, read 28 September 2026. Used for: The standard's current version, its primary procedures in outline, and its terms: free to download and use non-commercially.
- Full Third-Party Cookie Blocking and More, WebKit blog, 24 March 2020, read 28 September 2026. Used for: Safari deleting a site's script-writable storage, IndexedDB included, after seven days of Safari use without interaction with the site; home screen web apps count their own days.
- Storage quotas and eviction criteria, MDN Web Docs, last modified 5 January 2026, read 28 September 2026. Used for: Best-effort and persistent storage, asking for persistence with navigator.storage.persist(), and when browsers evict a site's data.
This guide is our own summary, not a rule book. Rules are paraphrased, never quoted at length, and if this page disagrees with the current published rules, the rules win. Curatorbook is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any museum, association, standards body or software vendor, including the Collections Trust (Spectrum), the American Alliance of Museums, the American Association for State and Local History, the National Park Service, PastPerfect, CatalogIt, MUSARCH, CollectiveAccess and Omeka.