shouldiuse.io

Comparison

Shelf vs Reftab

Shelf lands on Depends, and Reftab lands on Worth it.

Shelf

shelf.nu

Depends
Confidence: Medium

Buy if your team needs free, open-source tracking for shared equipment and can apply security patches promptly.

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Reftab

reftab.com

Worth it
Confidence: Medium

Buy if you're a small-to-mid IT team, school, or university needing affordable asset tracking with check-in/check-out.

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Shelf versus Reftab
CompareShelfReftab
VerdictDependsWorth it
Best forTeams lending shared equipmentSmall-to-mid IT departments
Who it's not forAnyone whose gear list fits a spreadsheetTeams wanting a bundled help desk
PrivacyTwo 2026 CVEs reported against Shelf-nu (SSRF and incorrect authorization); vendor also publishes a security page.⁶No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.
Support qualityNo support evidence in sourcesNo direct support evidence found
Public sentimentThe only product-specific review source found was G2's Shelf Asset Management listing, with truncated but positive-toned snippets.¹IT admins on Reddit largely praise Reftab's configurability and reliability, Capterra rates it 4.7/5, with rare complaints like a boss unhappy with the tool.11
Biggest gotchaCVE-2026-54166: SSRF via asset tracking/CSV import . update before exposing imports⁷Starter runs $37.50/mo (~$31 annual); verify asset and seat limits before committing16

Pick Shelf when

  • Teams lending shared equipment
  • Booking-heavy orgs (labs, studios, makerspaces)
  • Open-source self-hosters
  • Small teams outgrowing spreadsheets

When Shelf is not a fit

  • Anyone whose gear list fits a spreadsheet
  • Security-audit-driven enterprises
  • Buyers needing proven, mature vendor support

Pick Reftab when

  • Small-to-mid IT departments
  • Schools and universities
  • Equipment check-in/check-out fleets
  • SOC 2 / ISO 27001 access reviews

When Reftab is not a fit

  • Teams wanting a bundled help desk
  • Enterprises needing ServiceNow-class ITAM
  • Maintenance-heavy ops needing CMMS work orders
  • Teams under 50 assets . free tier or spreadsheet suffices

Sources

  1. Shelf Asset Management Reviews . G2g2.com
    review
  2. Shelf Pros and Cons . G2g2.com
    review
  3. Pricing . Shelfshelf.nu
    official
  4. Shelf Security pageshelf.nu
    official
  5. Shelf Alternatives & Comparisonsshelf.nu
    official
  6. CVE-2026-54166: Shelf Asset Tracking SSRFsentinelone.com
    security
  7. CVE-2026-54166: Shelf Asset Import SSRF Bypassmiggo.io
    security
  8. CVE-2026-47697: Shelf Asset Platform Auth Bypasssentinelone.com
    security
  9. CVE-2026-47697 CWE-863 Incorrect Authorization in Shelf-nuradar.offseq.com
    security
  10. Shelf-nu Security Vulnerabilities . CyStackcystack.net
    security
  11. Reftab Reviews 2026 . Capterracapterra.com
    review
  12. Reftab Pricing . Capterracapterra.com
    review
  13. Tasked with bringing on new Asset Management Tool . Reddit r/sysadminreddit.com
    review
  14. Asset inventory platform . Reddit r/sysadminreddit.com
    review
  15. Inventory Management System . Reddit r/sysadminreddit.com
    review
  16. Reftab Details, Reviews, Pricing . CheckThat.aicheckthat.ai
    review