GLPI vs Snipe-IT vs Spreadsheets: Tools for IT Inventory
Advanced3 minInnovialabs editorial team
In short
A spreadsheet is enough for a small office with a stable fleet, Snipe-IT is great for tracking which employee has which device, and GLPI fits when you need agent-based automatic inventory plus a built-in helpdesk.
The short answer
- A spreadsheet works while you have few devices, one person maintains it and hardware rarely changes hands.
- Snipe-IT fits when the key question is who has which laptop, monitor or license, with a check-out and check-in history.
- GLPI fits when you need to collect hardware and software automatically from computers and handle user tickets in the same system.
Side-by-side comparison
| Criterion | Spreadsheet | Snipe-IT | GLPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Simple list | Asset and assignment tracking | ITSM: assets, tickets, contracts |
| Auto-inventory | No | No native agent; import and API | GLPI Agent: hardware, software, network discovery |
| Helpdesk | No | No, integrations only | Built in: tickets, SLAs, knowledge base |
| License | — | Open source (AGPL), hosted plan available | Open source (GPL), paid support and cloud available |
| Learning curve | Minimal | Low | Medium and up |
| Maintenance | Almost none | Web server, PHP, database | Same plus agents and plugins |
Snipe-IT: tracking who has what
Strengths:
- check-out/check-in of hardware to employees with full history;
- asset tags and printable labels with QR codes;
- tracking of licenses, accessories, consumables and components;
- warranties, purchase dates, suppliers and warranty expiry alerts;
- a convenient CSV importer and REST API.
Weaknesses: there is no native agent. Hardware data comes in manually, through imports, or via integrations with MDM tools and scripts. There is no user ticketing either.
GLPI: inventory plus helpdesk
Strengths:
- the GLPI Agent on workstations and servers reports hardware, installed software and serial numbers on its own;
- network discovery and SNMP inventory of printers, switches and other devices;
- helpdesk: tickets, categories, SLAs, knowledge base, and tickets linked to specific devices;
- contracts, suppliers, financial info and software license tracking.
Weaknesses: the interface is more complex, configuring profiles and entities takes time, and plugins need compatibility checks on every upgrade.
Hosting and maintenance
Both are PHP applications with a MySQL/MariaDB database. Self-hosting requires:
- a server or VM with a web server, PHP and a database;
- an HTTPS certificate and restricted access (VPN or IP allowlist);
- backups of the database and uploaded files;
- regular updates of the application and PHP.
If nobody can own these tasks, consider the vendors' hosted plans: you pay for operations, not for the code.
Migrating from a spreadsheet
- Clean the sheet: one row per device, no merged cells, no comments mixed into data columns.
- Fix the fields: asset tag, type, model, serial number, assignee, location, purchase date, status.
- Normalize reference data: consistent spelling of models, departments and names.
- Assign asset tags to devices that lack them and stick on labels.
- Import the CSV: Snipe-IT has a built-in importer; in GLPI use the Data Injection plugin, or deploy agents first and reconcile the results against the sheet.
- Audit physically: walk the office, check every label and fix discrepancies in the system.
- Freeze the spreadsheet as read-only so you never track assets in two places.
Common mistakes
- Deploying GLPI only for inventory and never using the helpdesk, when Snipe-IT would have been simpler.
- Importing a messy sheet and ending up with duplicate models and people.
- Not naming an owner: any system goes stale without regular audits.