kept vs Manifest: Which Home Inventory App Should You Use in 2026?
Out of every home inventory app on the market, only two check your stuff against product recalls automatically: kept and Manifest. Here's an honest look at how they differ, including where Manifest genuinely wins.
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Two apps, one rare feature
Most home inventory apps stop at documentation: photos, values, a PDF for your insurance company. Useful the day you file a claim, invisible every other day of the year.
kept and Manifest both go further. Each one takes the items you've saved and checks them against product recall databases automatically, so if the space heater in your bedroom or the stroller in your garage gets flagged, you find out without reading CPSC press releases. As far as we can tell, no other mainstream consumer inventory app does this. (Here's how recall alerts work and why most recalls reach almost nobody.)
That shared feature makes this the most natural head-to-head in the category. The two apps get there very differently, though.
Side-by-side comparison
| kept | Manifest | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Any browser: iPhone, Android, tablet, desktop. No download. | iPhone (App Store) |
| Free plan | Permanent. 15 items, photos, barcode scan, recall alerts, cloud sync. No account required to start. | 7-day trial, no card required |
| Paid price | kept+, $19.99/year, unlimited items | Vault $11.99/year (light AI allowance) · Unlimited $39/year |
| Recall alerts | CPSC + FDA, checked daily, free on every plan | Daily recall checks, free forever (consumer-product feeds) |
| Adding items | Barcode scan, AI Capture from photos, model number lookup | AI capture from video walkthrough, photos, receipts, voice |
| Ask AI about your stuff | Yes, a chat that answers from your items ("what size filter does the furnace take?") | No chat. AI is for capture and background tasks |
| Warranty tracking | Yes, with expiration alerts | Yes |
| Return-window tracking | No | Yes |
| Resale value estimates | No | Yes |
| Family sharing | Yes, shared spaces | Not a headline feature |
| Service & contractor records | Yes: services, maintenance logs, contractor contacts | Pet/car maintenance reminders |
| Insurance export | CSV export | Claims-ready PDF export |
Manifest details from manifestme.me as of July 2026. If we've got something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.
Platforms: iPhone app vs. works-everywhere
Manifest is a native iPhone app from the App Store. If your household is all-iPhone, that's fine. If anyone in the house is on Android, or you want to look something up from a work laptop, you're out of luck.
kept is a progressive web app: it runs in the browser on any device and installs to your home screen like a native app, with push notifications and offline support. Your inventory is the same everywhere, and there's nothing to download before you can start. When your partner needs the paint code while standing in the store, they don't need the right kind of phone.
Recall alerts: the feature both get right
This is the rare thing both apps do, and both do it well. Each checks your saved items against official recall feeds every day and flags a match the moment one lands. Neither locks it behind a paywall: kept includes recall alerts on every plan, and Manifest lists them as "free forever." On this feature alone, it's close to a tie.
Where they differ is reach. kept checks both the CPSC and the FDA every day, so food, drug, and device recalls land in the same net as appliances and electronics. Manifest's checks center on consumer-product feeds like the CPSC. kept also runs a public recall-check tool that anyone can search without an account or a download.
If recall coverage is the reason you're building an inventory, new parents checking baby product recalls, for instance, both apps deliver. kept just casts a slightly wider net.
AI: capture vs. capture + chat
Manifest's AI is genuinely good at intake. Point your camera around a room, and it extracts brands, models, prices, and warranty details from video, photos, receipts, or a voice description. If your goal is "document this entire house before the move," that's a real advantage.
kept's AI Capture also fills in items from a photo. Snap a product label or receipt and the model, specs, and price populate. But kept adds a second layer Manifest doesn't have: a chat that answers questions from your own inventory. "What size filter does the upstairs unit take?" "When did the electrician last come?" "Is the KitchenAid still under warranty?" The inventory stops being a list you scroll and becomes a reference you ask.
ask kept about your own stuff. it answers from what you saved, not a generic web search.
That's the philosophical split: Manifest optimizes getting information in. kept optimizes getting answers out.
Pricing
- kept: free plan holds 15 items forever, with photos, barcode scan, recall alerts, cloud sync, and no account needed to start. kept+ is $19.99/year for unlimited items, AI Capture, and maintenance logs.
- Manifest: 7-day free trial (no card), then Vault at $11.99/year with a light AI allowance (about 15 scans a month), stackable $3.99 Boost packs of 14 days, or Unlimited at $39/year.
Manifest's Vault tier is cheaper than kept+ on paper, but the AI allowance is the catch: capture draws from it, so photo scans and video walkthroughs run down your monthly quota and heavy users move up to the $39 Unlimited plan. Recall checks stay free on Manifest either way. For unrestricted use, the honest comparison is kept+ at $19.99 versus Manifest Unlimited at $39, and kept's free tier never expires, which makes trying kept cost nothing.
Where Manifest wins
An honest comparison names these plainly:
- Video walkthrough capture. Inventorying a whole room by panning a camera is faster than item-by-item entry for bulk documentation. kept's capture is per-item.
- Return-window tracking. If you buy and return a lot, deadline alerts before a return window closes are genuinely useful. kept doesn't do this.
- Resale estimates. Manifest estimates what items are worth today, handy for downsizing or reselling.
- QR bin labels. Print a code, stick it on a storage tote, scan it later to see what's inside. A nice touch for people with a garage full of bins.
- Native iOS feel. A dedicated App Store app, if that's your preference.
Where kept wins
- Every device, zero install. Android, iPhone, desktop, the whole household, whatever they carry.
- A real free plan, not a trial. 15 items forever, and the clock never runs out. Manifest is paid after 7 days.
- AI chat over your own stuff. Ask questions instead of scrolling lists.
- A wider recall net. CPSC plus FDA checked daily, so food and drug recalls count too, plus a public no-signup recall-check tool.
- Half the price for unlimited. $19.99/year versus $39/year.
- The daily-reference layer. Filter sizes, paint codes, contractor contacts, and service history: the stuff you look up at the hardware store, not just after a fire. See what a home inventory app should actually do.
- Family sharing. Shared spaces so the whole house works from one inventory.
The verdict
Choose Manifest if…
- You're all-iPhone and want a native app
- Your main job is bulk-documenting a home fast (moving, estate, new policy)
- Return windows and resale values matter to you
Choose kept if…
- Anyone in your house uses Android, or you want desktop access
- You want recall alerts without a subscription meter
- You want to ask your inventory questions, not just store it
- You'd rather pay $19.99/year than $39/year, or nothing at all to start
Both are good apps solving a real problem most people still handle with a junk drawer and prayer. If you're torn, the tiebreaker is easy: kept opens in your browser right now, free, no signup, so you can have your first five items saved before Manifest's trial would even finish downloading.
kept is the reference tool for everything you own: recall-checked daily, queryable by AI, free to start.
[ try kept free ]Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between kept and Manifest?
Both catalog what you own and check it against product recalls automatically. Manifest is an iPhone app focused on AI capture from video, photos, and receipts, with return-window tracking and resale estimates. kept runs in any browser on any device with no download, includes free recall alerts on every plan, and adds an AI chat that answers questions about your own items. kept+ costs $19.99 per year versus $39 per year for Manifest Unlimited.
Does Manifest work on Android?
As of July 2026, Manifest is distributed through the Apple App Store for iPhone. kept is a progressive web app, so it works on iPhone, Android, tablets, and desktop browsers without an app store download.
Which app is cheaper, kept or Manifest?
kept's free plan holds 15 items with photos, recall alerts, and cloud sync, and kept+ is $19.99 per year for unlimited items and AI Capture. Manifest offers a 7-day trial, a $11.99-per-year Vault plan with a light AI allowance, and a $39-per-year Unlimited plan. For unlimited use, kept+ costs about half as much.
Do kept and Manifest both check for product recalls?
Yes. Both check your saved items against official recall feeds automatically, every day, and both include recall alerts at no extra cost. kept checks the CPSC and the FDA, so it also catches food, drug, and device recalls, and it offers a public recall-check tool you can use without an account. Manifest's checks center on consumer-product feeds like the CPSC.
Can I try both apps for free?
Yes. Manifest has a 7-day free trial with no card required. kept has a permanent free plan, up to 15 items with photos, barcode scan, recall alerts, and cloud sync, with no trial clock and no account required to start.