Best storage unit inventory app

We make BoxTrack. Here's how the options compare for a unit you visit a few times a year.

Bins in your garage are a walk away. A unit is a drive, sometimes a long one, and often a stack of boxes you can't reach without moving six others. So three things matter more than they do at home:

• Location inside the unit. "Back wall, bottom of the left stack" saves you unloading the front half.
• Checking before you go. If the camping stove is in the garage after all, the app should tell you before the drive.
• More than one person. Couples, families and people storing for a relative all need to see the same list.

BoxTrack: best for finding a box before you drive over. Make a box in BoxTrack for each box or bin, snap what goes in, and note where it sits ("back wall, top shelf"). Search "stove" and it tells you which box and where. At the unit, scan a box's QR label with your phone's camera to open its list without opening the box. On Plus and Unlimited you can share the boxes with family, view-only or editable. Boxes can sit inside boxes, and the same app covers your home inventory if you need values for insurance. Weak spots: it's new, there's no app-store download, it can't import from other apps, and the free plan is 1 box with up to 5 items. A full unit needs a paid plan, with a 72-hour free trial.

Itemlist: best for nesting places, rooms and containers. An iPhone and iPad app from Dabotech Studio that nests without limit by place, room and container, so "Storage unit > left stack > Box 7" is natural. You can share a location with others. It's free for up to 100 items and 20 containers, with barcode scanning and CSV export. No QR box labels that we found.

Codenize: best for one code per bin across places. Each bin keeps its QR code for good, across home, office and storage unit, with sharing for family or roommates. Free on iPhone. It's about bins and codes, not values or reports.

ElephantTrax: best for searching by photo. An iPhone app for storage and moving boxes, with QR codes for each box and AI that tags item photos with keywords so search works. Core features are free; sharing and export need a subscription.

The free storage unit inventory list: best with no app at all. Our storage unit inventory list, in Excel or as a PDF to print, has a column for where each box sits. Keep a copy on your phone, not only in the unit.

• Visiting rarely? You'll forget what's where. Pick something that records location as well as contents.
• Sharing the unit? Check that everyone's phone works with the app. Most here are iPhone only; a browser app or a shared spreadsheet works for everyone.
• Valuables in storage? Add photos and values, so the list also does the job of an inventory if something is damaged.

How do I keep track of what's in my storage unit?

Number every box, list what's inside as you pack it, and note where it sits in the unit. Put a label on the side as well as the top, so you can read or scan it in a stack. An app adds photos and search; a printed list works too.

How should I arrange boxes in a storage unit?

Put what you'll need first near the door and what you rarely need at the back. Keep the heaviest boxes at the bottom of each stack, and leave a path so you can reach the back. See our guide to QR labels for storage for naming bins by where they live.

Can my family see what's in our storage unit?

With an app that shares, yes. In BoxTrack you share one box or everything on Plus and Unlimited, and changes show up on everyone's phone. Itemlist and Codenize share too, on iPhone.

More: QR labels vs writing on boxes.