Cheqroom alternatives for photography studios.
The best Cheqroom alternatives for a photography studio are GearDex (camera-aware check-out for small teams, $19 a month for 10 seats), Booqable (if you rent gear to the public), EZRentOut (heavy rental operations), Lend Engine (member lending libraries) and Sortly (simple visual inventory). Cheqroom itself starts at $184 a month per admin.
- Alternatives compared, with sources
- 5
- Cheqroom Core, per admin, billed annually
- $184/mo
- GearDex Studio, 10 seats
- $19/mo
Start with what your studio does with gear.
Studios look past Cheqroom for three reasons: per-admin pricing, enterprise features they won't use, and no camera-specific data. The right alternative depends on whether you lend gear internally, rent it to the public, or just need to know what you own.
Checked against each vendor's public pages.
Lending gear inside your team
- GearDex for a photo or video studio of up to 10 people
- Lend Engine if you run a member library
- Cheqroom if you have many admins and need SSO
Renting gear to customers
- Booqable for an online store and bookings
- EZRentOut for large rental operations with GPS and work orders
- GearDex Studio's rental page for renting your own kit on the side
The alternatives, ranked for photography studios
- 01
GearDex
Best for photo and video studiosCamera gear inventory with QR check-out, signed loans, reservations and maintenance, built for photographers and small teams. Records know lens mounts, filter sizes and serials, and loans sit beside shoot plans and packing lists.
Strengths
- Flat team price instead of per admin
- Camera and lens data on every item
- Loans, shoots and service on one availability board
Trade-offs
- No enterprise SSO or RFID
- No native phone app yet
- Unlimited loans need Studio
- Price
- Free (25 items); Pro $4/mo; Studio $19/mo with 10 seats
- Platforms
- Any browser on phone, tablet or computer; Mac app
- 02
Booqable
Best for renting to the publicRental-business software with an online store, real-time availability, bundles, contracts and invoices. It grew out of software built for a Dutch camera rental company.
Strengths
- Online store and bookings
- No commission on orders
- Unlimited inventory and orders
Trade-offs
- Barcode scanning is a paid add-on
- Built for rental businesses, not internal lending
- No camera-specific fields
- Price
- From $29/mo billed yearly ($35 monthly); 14-day trial
- Platforms
- Web; iOS and Android with the paid Mobile POS add-on
- 03
EZRentOut
Best for large rental operationsRental operations software with orders, invoicing, a webstore, customer portal, depreciation, late fees and GPS, used across construction, events and AV.
Strengths
- Customer portal and late-return fees
- Depreciation and work orders
- QR and barcode labels with handheld scanners
Trade-offs
- Expensive for a small studio
- Reviewers describe a heavy initial setup
- No camera-specific fields
- Price
- From $399/mo billed annually, 4 users included
- Platforms
- Web, iOS and Android
- 04
Lend Engine
Best for member lending librariesHosted software for lending libraries of tools, toys and other things, with reservations, a self-serve member website, kits, deposits and loan reminders.
Strengths
- Low price with unlimited admin logins
- Member self-service site on every plan
- Automated loan reminders from Starter
Trade-offs
- Built for libraries with members, not studios
- Barcodes need the $25 Plus plan
- No camera-specific fields
- Price
- Free (100 items); $12.50, $25 or $50/mo
- Platforms
- Web
- 05
Sortly
Best for simple visual inventoryVisual inventory for small businesses with photos, folders, barcode scanning and low-stock alerts, on iPhone, Android and web.
Strengths
- Native apps with offline access
- 100 items free
- Good for consumables and supplies
Trade-offs
- No reservations or calendar
- Check-out on higher plans
- Steep jumps between item limits
- Price
- Free (100 items); $49 to $299/mo billed monthly
- Platforms
- iOS, Android and web; offline mobile access
Cheqroom and its alternatives, side by side
| Capability |  GearDex | Cheqroom | Booqable | EZRentOut | Lend Engine | Sortly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; $19/mo for 10 seats | $184/mo per admin | $29/mo | $399/mo | Free; $12.50/mo | Free; $49/mo |
| Free plan | 25 items | Not listed | 14-day trial | Free trial | 100 items | 100 items |
| QR or barcode scanning | Yes | Yes | Paid add-on | Yes | Plus plan and up | Yes |
| Reservations | Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Kits or bundles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Starter plan and up | Not listed |
| Self-service requests | Rental page (Studio) | Enterprise plan | Online store | Customer portal | Member site | Not listed |
| Maintenance | Studio | Paid add-on | Downtime (Grow plan) | Work orders (Premium) | Plus plan and up | Date alerts |
| Value or depreciation | Pro | Listed | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Camera and lens data | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Shoot planning | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Checked . Plans and features change; confirm on each vendor's site before you buy. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Sources: Cheqroom pricing · Booqable pricing · EZRentOut pricing · Lend Engine pricing · Sortly pricing · GearDex pricing
Why studios land on GearDex.
A studio's gear goes out on shoots, on loan and to service. GearDex shows all three on one availability board, blocks overlaps, and keeps the camera details Cheqroom and the rental tools leave out.
- Reservations, loans and service on one board
- Scan check-out with signed agreements
- 10 team seats on Studio for $19 a month
Ask Iris
Rent your kit without a second system.
If you rent gear on the side, Studio adds a rental page. Renters pick dates and request a kit, and approving the request checks it out as a loan.
- Kits with rates, photos and contents
- Dates checked against what's already booked
- Approve straight into a loan
Switching from Cheqroom takes one CSV.
Export your items, import them with GearDex's templates, and relabel as gear comes back in.
- 01
Export your list
Download your items as a CSV or spreadsheet. Names, serial numbers, purchase dates and prices are all GearDex needs to start.
- 02
Import it into GearDex
CSV import has a template for each gear type and checks every row before anything is saved. Or type a model name and Smart Add fills in the specs.
- 03
Print labels and go
Print a sheet of QR labels, stick them on, and scan with your phone's camera. No scanner hardware needed.
Common questions
More questions? Visit support or contact us.
For a photo or video studio of up to about 10 people, GearDex is the closest fit: scan check-out, signed loans, reservations, maintenance and camera-specific records for $19 a month on Studio. Booqable suits studios that rent gear to the public, and EZRentOut suits large rental operations.
Yes. Cheqroom starts at $184 a month per admin, billed annually. GearDex Studio is $19 a month for 10 seats, Lend Engine starts free and Sortly has a free plan for 100 items. Booqable starts at $29 a month billed yearly.
GearDex is free for up to 25 items, Lend Engine for up to 100 items and Sortly for up to 100 items. GearDex's free plan includes a QR label for every item; loans start on Pro at $4 a month.
Of the tools compared here, only GearDex has camera-specific fields such as lens mounts, filter sizes and specs filled in from the model name. The others use general asset fields.
More comparisons
All comparisons- Read the comparison
GearDex vs Cheqroom
Equipment check-out for a photo studio, without per-admin enterprise pricing.
- Read the comparison
GearDex vs Sortly
General visual inventory or an inventory built for cameras and lenses.
- Read the comparison
GearDex vs PhotoArsenal
Two camera gear apps: one on your iPhone, one everywhere you work.
- Read the comparison
Best equipment loan software for photography studios
Five tools for lending cameras and lenses, ranked for studios.
The Cheqroom alternative built for studios.
Join 900+ photographers, studios, and rental houses who already run their kit on GearDex.
- Free forever plan
- No credit card
- Import from CSV
- Mac & web