Snipe-IT is the standout free ITAM tool — fully open source with no asset caps. GLPI covers both asset management and help desk at no cost. Most commercial ITAM platforms (Lansweeper, Device42) offer limited free tiers or trials. Below are the tools with real free access paths for tracking hardware, software, and licenses.
8 tools with free access highlighted below, plus 2 more in this category.
Agent-based · Cloud · Free trial
Freshservice is the strongest choice when a mid-market IT team needs ITIL-aligned service management that is operational within weeks, not months.
Best for: Freshservice is best for mid-market IT teams (10-200 agents) that need ITIL-aligned service management with fast deployment, clean UX, and enough automation to reduce manual ticket routing and approva
Custom quote · Cloud · Free trial
Asset Panda earns a strong position on the shortlist for mid-market IT teams that need a flexible, user-friendly ITAM platform without per-seat pricing constraints.
Best for: Asset Panda is best for mid-market IT departments managing 200 or more hardware assets across multiple locations, where check-out tracking, maintenance scheduling, and depreciation reporting are activ
Open source · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
GLPI is the strongest choice when an IT team needs comprehensive asset management and service desk functionality without per-seat licensing fees, and has the technical capacity to self-host and configure an open-source platform.
Best for: GLPI is best for IT teams and public-sector organizations that need full-featured ITAM and ITSM without per-seat licensing costs, have Linux server administration skills in-house, and are willing to i
Agent-based · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
InvGate Service Management is a well-executed mid-market ITSM platform that earns its place on shortlists through fast implementation, a genuinely intuitive no-code workflow builder, and published pricing that makes commercial evaluation straightforward.
Best for: InvGate Service Management is best for mid-market IT departments with 5 to 50 agents that need ITIL-aligned incident, problem, and change management without the implementation timeline or consulting f
Asset-based · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
Lansweeper is the strongest choice when a team needs comprehensive, agentless IT asset discovery across heterogeneous environments — IT, OT, IoT, and cloud — without deploying agents to every endpoint.
Best for: Lansweeper is best for IT teams, security operations, and compliance teams that need accurate, comprehensive asset discovery and inventory across complex, heterogeneous environments — including OT and
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
ManageEngine AssetExplorer is the strongest choice when a team needs structured ITAM with CMDB, software license compliance, and asset lifecycle tracking at a price point that does not require enterprise-level budget approval.
Best for: ManageEngine AssetExplorer is best for internal IT teams at mid-size organizations that need structured asset lifecycle management with CMDB, software license compliance tracking, and purchase order m
Open source · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
Snipe-IT is the clearest choice when a team needs a cost-effective, transparent IT asset management tool with full ownership of data and no per-asset pricing that scales against them.
Best for: Snipe-IT is best for IT teams that want full control over their asset management data, need a cost-predictable platform that does not penalize inventory growth, and have the technical capacity to self
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
SysAid is a solid mid-market ITSM platform whose strongest argument is the integration of asset management and CMDB directly into the service desk experience — something that competitors like Freshservice and Jira Service Management handle less natively.
Best for: SysAid is best for mid-market IT departments that need ITSM ticketing and IT asset management in a single platform without managing separate tools and integrations. It is particularly strong for organ
These tools are part of the it asset management category but may not match the free tools filter above. Worth reviewing if the primary options don't fit.
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem
Device42 is the strongest option in hybrid IT infrastructure management when the core requirement is a single platform that covers DCIM, IPAM, ITAM, application dependency mapping, and CMDB without stitching together five separate tools.
Custom quote · Cloud
ServiceNow ITAM is the strongest choice in the IT asset management category for organizations already committed to the ServiceNow platform, because the integration depth between ITAM, ITSM, CMDB, and procurement creates a unified operational picture that standalone ITAM tools cannot replicate.
Snipe-IT is fully open source (AGPL) with no asset limits — self-hosted. GLPI is also fully free and open source with asset tracking plus ticketing. ServiceNow ITAM and Lansweeper require paid licenses after trials.
Below 50 assets, spreadsheets work. Above that, you lose audit trails, lifecycle tracking, automated discovery, and license compliance. The cost of a missed license renewal or an untracked asset leaving the building exceeds what Snipe-IT (free) costs to deploy.
Free tiers typically lack automated discovery agents, software license compliance tracking, integration with procurement systems, and advanced reporting. Manual asset entry works for small inventories but doesn't scale.
