Which Asset Management Tool Is Right for You?
Choosing the right asset management platform depends on what you value most—customization, ease of use, automation, or maturity. AssetCenter and Reftab both help organizations track assets, but they approach the problem differently. Here’s a straightforward, unbiased look at how they compare.
Product Philosophy & Overall Approach
AssetCenter
AssetCenter is built for modern teams that want flexible, category-driven asset management with custom fields, custom event timelines, subscription tracking, warranties, end-of-life alerts, and people/location assignments built in.
It focuses on simplicity, clean UI, automation, and giving businesses a unified record of everything—physical assets, digital subscriptions, people, and locations.
Strengths
Extremely modern UI and UX
Highly customizable categories and fields
Unified timeline for every asset, subscription, person, and location
Built for speed, clarity, and everyday use
Strong future roadmap as a focused SaaS product
Ideal for fast-moving small and mid-sized businesses
Trade-offs
Newer product, still expanding features
Smaller app ecosystem compared to long-standing competitors
Fewer enterprise-grade integrations today (but adding fast)
Reftab
Reftab is a long-established asset management platform focused on barcode/RFID tracking, check-in/check-out workflows, maintenance management, lending libraries, education, and IT hardware tracking.
Strengths
Mature product with years of development
Strong barcode/RFID workflows
Excellent fit for lending libraries, schools, and IT departments
Large set of integrations
Very feature-rich for equipment checkout
Trade-offs
UI is older compared to modern SaaS competitors
Customization is more limited
Can feel heavy or complex for smaller teams
Focus is more on traditional IT asset tracking than subscription + organizational asset lifecycle management
Asset Tracking Features
AssetCenter
Custom asset categories
Custom fields per category
People + location assignments
Unified event timelines
Expiring warranties, contracts, and subscriptions
Automatic end-of-life tracking
Drag-and-drop image galleries
Modern reporting dashboards
Perfect for mixed environments: hardware, equipment, software, cloud services, subscriptions
Best for: businesses that want total flexibility and modern tooling.
Reftab
Robust asset check-in/check-out
Barcode & RFID first design
Maintenance schedule tracking
Consumables tracking
Lending workflows
Comprehensive reporting
Best for: schools, IT departments, and organizations needing strict hardware checkout workflows.
Customization
AssetCenter
Customization is one of AssetCenter’s core strengths:
Custom categories
Custom fields
Custom events
Custom timelines for everything
This makes AssetCenter ideal for industries where assets don’t fit rigid templates.
Reftab
Customization exists but is more structured:
Custom fields
Some workflow options
Predefined asset views
Reftab works best when your workflows match traditional ITAM patterns.
Ease of Use
AssetCenter
Clean, minimal interface
Designed to feel like a modern web app
Focus on clarity and single-pane-of-glass visibility
Reftab
More traditional enterprise UI
Lots of features = can feel cluttered
Strong for power users, heavier for non-technical teams
Integrations & Automation
AssetCenter
Email notifications
Import/export
Public API (roadmap)
Reftab
Integrates with Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace
Jira, Slack, Jamf, Microsoft Intune
Webhooks & API available
Pricing
AssetCenter
Transparent, simple pricing
Pay for usage (per asset / subscription), not per seat
Lower entry cost for SMBs
No upsells hidden behind enterprise tiers
Reftab
Pricing based on assets and features
Higher cost at scale
Some features locked behind higher-tier plans
Who Each Platform Is Best For
Choose AssetCenter if you want:
A modern, elegant asset management experience
Custom categories and fields for any asset type
Subscription + warranty + EOL tracking built in
Simplicity your whole team will actually use
Great long-term product velocity with rapid updates
Choose Reftab if you want:
A mature checkout/check-in system
Barcode/RFID heavy workflows
Integration with enterprise IT tools
Proven asset tracking built over many years
Final Verdict
AssetCenter is the modern, flexible choice—designed for businesses that want customization, clarity, and an all-in-one lifecycle record for assets, subscriptions, people, and locations.
Reftab is the established workhorse—great for organizations that rely heavily on barcode tracking, check-in/check-out workflows, and enterprise IT integrations.
Both are good tools. The best choice depends on your workflow.
