GearDex vs Cheqroom for camera gear check-out.
Cheqroom is enterprise equipment check-out software priced per admin, from $184 a month per admin billed annually. GearDex is built for photographers and small studios: camera-aware gear records, QR check-out and signed loans from $4 a month, and unlimited loans with 10 team seats on Studio for $19 a month.
- GearDex Studio, 10 seats, unlimited loans
- $19/mo
- Cheqroom Core, per admin, billed annually
- $184/mo
- GearDex Starter, up to 25 items
- Free
Pick by team size, not by feature count.
Both tools check gear out by scan, hold reservations and keep a custody trail. Cheqroom is sized for organizations with many admins, locations and enterprise controls. GearDex is sized for a photographer or a studio of a few people, and it knows what a camera, lens and filter are.
Checked against each vendor's public pages.
Choose GearDex if
- You're a photographer, videographer or studio of up to 10 people
- You want camera specs, mounts, filter sizes and serials on every item
- Your loans sit beside shoots, packing lists and service history
- You want to start free and pay $4 or $19 a month, not per admin
Choose Cheqroom if
- Budget isn't a factor: it's $184 or more per admin a month
- You run a gear room for a newsroom, school or company with many admins
- You need SSO, RFID or a self-service booking portal for hundreds of users
- You manage several sites or separate workspaces
- You need Slack, Zapier or enterprise procurement
GearDex and Cheqroom, feature by feature
| Capability |  GearDex | Cheqroom |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Photographers, videographers and small studios | Production, broadcast, education and corporate gear rooms |
| Starting price | Free for 25 items; Pro $4/mo | $184/mo per admin, billed annually |
| How you pay for a team | Studio $19/mo flat, 10 seats | Per admin; other users and items unlimited |
| Free plan | Yes, up to 25 items | Not listed |
| QR labels and scanning | QR label for every item; scan check-out from Pro | QR codes per item or kit; reads existing barcodes |
| Reservations and conflict checks | Availability board (Studio) | Yes |
| Kits | Rigs and kit check-outs | Unlimited kits |
| Signed loan agreements | Pro and Studio | E-signature listed |
| Camera and lens data | Specs, mounts, filter sizes, lens fit | General asset fields |
| Value, receipts and warranties | Portfolio value, documents, insurance export (Pro) | Depreciation and warranty tracking listed |
| Maintenance | Recurring service (Studio) | Paid add-on |
| Shoot planning and packing | Shot lists, call sheets, packing lists | No |
| ATA carnet lists | Pro and Studio | Document generator (Business plan and up) |
| Self-service requests | Gear rental request page (Studio) | Booking Portal (Enterprise plan) |
| SSO and RFID | No | SSO on every plan; RFID on Enterprise |
| API and webhooks | Studio, plus an MCP adapter | Every plan, plus Zapier and Slack |
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 · GearDex pricing
Records that know it's a camera.
Cheqroom tracks equipment of any kind. GearDex is built around photo and video gear: bodies, lenses, filters, drones, lighting and audio, with the fields a photographer needs already there.
- Type a model and Smart Add fills in the specs
- Lens mounts and filter thread sizes on the record
- Iris answers which lens fits which body
Ask Iris
Scan it out, get it signed, scan it back.
Print QR labels from GearDex and scan them with any phone. A loan records who has the item, when it's due and what fee applies, and the borrower signs the agreement on their own phone.
- No scanner hardware; the phone camera reads the label
- Signed agreements and issue flags from Pro
- Automatic overdue reminders
Loans beside shoots and service.
A studio's gear goes out on shoots, on loan and to the repair shop. GearDex puts all three on one availability board and blocks the overlap before it happens.
- Reservations, loans and service on one board
- Conflicts block the check-out
- Utilization reports show what earns its place
The same gear room, at a fraction of the price.
Cheqroom charges for every admin. GearDex Studio is one flat price for up to 10 people, and it covers the core of what studios buy Cheqroom for: scanning, reservations, kits, signed loans and maintenance.
Included in GearDex Studio
- Scan check-out and check-in
- Reservations with conflict checks
- Kit check-outs and partial returns
- Signed loan agreements
- Overdue reminders
- Team custody and loan history
- Maintenance, no add-on
- ATA carnet and travel lists
- Value, depreciation and insurance export
- API, webhooks and MCP
- 1 person$2,029
GearDex Studio $179/yr vs Cheqroom Core $2,208/yr · 1/12 of the cost
- 3 people$6,445
GearDex Studio $179/yr vs Cheqroom Core $6,624/yr · 1/37 of the cost
- 5 people$10,861
GearDex Studio $179/yr vs Cheqroom Core $11,040/yr · 1/61 of the cost
| People managing gear | GearDex Studio | Cheqroom Core | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $179/yr | $2,208/yr | $2,0291/12 of the cost |
| 3 people | $179/yr | $6,624/yr | $6,4451/37 of the cost |
| 5 people | $179/yr | $11,040/yr | $10,8611/61 of the cost |
Billed yearly. GearDex Studio is $179 a year for up to 10 seats. Cheqroom Core is $184 per admin per month billed annually ($2,208 per admin a year), and minimum admin counts apply, so the real figure can be higher. Borrowers who don't manage gear are free on Cheqroom.
Every plan, side by side
GearDex
- StarterUp to 25 items, QR labels, shoot plansFree
- ProUnlimited items, documents, reports, 3 open loans$4/mo
- StudioUnlimited loans, availability board, maintenance, 10 team seats$19/mo
Prices in USD. Annual plans: Pro $39/yr, Studio $179/yr.
Cheqroom
- CorePer admin. 1 location, 1 workspace$184/mo
- BusinessPer admin. Up to 3 locations, roles, audits, reports$275/mo
- EnterprisePer admin. Up to 10 locations, Booking Portal, RFID$367/mo
- E.L.A.Unlimited locations and workspacesQuote
Cheqroom prices are per admin per month, billed annually, and minimum admin counts apply. Users and items are unlimited on every plan. Maintenance is a paid add-on.
Choose Cheqroom if money is no object
Large organizations
Several locations, separate workspaces and custom roles suit a company or campus gear room with many admins. Up to 3 locations starts at $275 per admin a month.
SSO and access control
SSO on every plan, and equipment access rules on higher plans. GearDex doesn't offer enterprise SSO.
Self-service at scale
The Booking Portal and RFID are built for hundreds of borrowers serving themselves, on Enterprise at $367 per admin a month.
Integrations
Zapier and Slack on every plan. GearDex has an API, webhooks and an MCP adapter on Studio, but no Zapier app.
Move from Cheqroom in an afternoon.
Most studios bring their list over with one CSV, then 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.
Yes, if your team is up to about 10 people. GearDex Studio costs $19 a month for 10 seats with unlimited loans, scan check-out, signed agreements, an availability board and maintenance. Cheqroom starts at $184 a month per admin, billed annually, and suits larger organizations that need SSO, RFID or several locations.
For a studio where three people manage gear, Cheqroom Core costs $6,624 a year ($184 per admin per month, billed annually, before any minimum admin count). GearDex Studio costs $179 a year for up to 10 seats, about 1/37 of the price, and includes scan check-out, reservations, kits, signed loans, overdue reminders and maintenance.
Cheqroom's pricing page lists Core at $184, Business at $275 and Enterprise at $367 per admin per month, billed annually, with minimum admin counts. E.L.A. is quoted. Users and items are unlimited. Checked October 9, 2026.
GearDex prints a QR label for every item and scans it with your phone's camera in the browser. A USB or Bluetooth scanner that types like a keyboard works too. Scan check-out and check-in are on Pro and Studio.
Yes. On Studio, the availability board shows every item's reservations, loans and service, and blocks a check-out that overlaps. Shoot plans can reserve the gear assigned to them.
Studio includes a gear rental page where renters pick dates and request a kit; you approve it into a loan. It isn't a staff self-checkout kiosk like Cheqroom's Enterprise Booking Portal.
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Run your studio's gear room for $19 a month.
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