For operator pre-use checks, CheckBadges (our product) is the simplest: a QR sticker per machine and checks in the phone's browser, with no app or login, free for 3 machines. SafetyCulture (now Mitti) is the strongest all-round inspection platform, MaintainX suits teams that need a CMMS, Whip Around leads for vehicle fleets, Lumiform adds reminders and scheduling, and Jotform is the flexible DIY form.
Key takeaways
Equipment inspection apps come in five kinds — QR checklists, inspection platforms, fleet apps, maintenance systems and form builders. Pick the kind before the product.
Most inspection platforms and maintenance systems charge per user, so a two-shift crew makes every operator a paid seat; fleet apps and CheckBadges charge per machine.
Almost every option needs each operator to install an app and sign in — the step that fails with temps and shared machines.
Check what happens to a failed check: who hears about it, how fast, and whether the next operator knows.
Offline mode, reminders and work orders are real reasons to choose an app-based tool.
Every machine gets a QR sticker that opens its checklist in any phone's browser, so operators need no app, account or seat; problems email you with photos and warn the next operator until they're fixed.
QR code equipment checklists: every machine gets a printed QR sticker, operators scan it with their own phone's camera and do its pre-use check in the browser, and problems email the owner with photos straight away. Best for: Anyone whose people run machines that need checking before use — warehouses, construction, rental yards, plants, farms and fleets — who wants checks done and recorded without rolling out an app.
How an operator does a check
Scan the QR sticker on the machine with the phone's camera, answer that machine's checklist in the browser, submit. About a minute.
Operator needs an app or login
No. No app, account or password: operators type their name, or a 4-digit PIN if you turn PINs on.
Free plan
Free for up to 3 machines, with every feature and unlimited operators.
Pricing
Free for up to 3 machines. Pro is $9 a month for your first 3 machines, plus $1.50 a month for each machine after that. Operators and checks are unlimited on both.
A huge template library, offline app, scheduling, corrective actions and analytics, free for up to 10 seats — but every inspector needs the app and, past 10, a $29-a-month seat.
SafetyCulture, rebranded in 2026 as Mitti (and long known for its iAuditor app), is a large inspection and operations platform where each person who does inspections uses its app with their own seat. Best for: Safety and operations teams that run many kinds of audits and inspections, want scheduling, actions and training in one place, and have people who will all use the app.
How an operator does a check
The operator opens the Mitti app (or the web app), signs in, picks the inspection template or scans the asset's code inside the app, and completes it — online or offline.
Operator needs an app or login
Yes. Each operator signs in to the Mitti (SafetyCulture) app or web app with their own seat: free for up to 10 seats, then $29 a seat a month. The pricing page also lists free guest seats, but we couldn't confirm whether guests can complete inspections.
Free plan
Free for up to 10 seats, with 5 active inspection templates.
Pricing
Free for up to 10 seats and 5 active templates. Premium is $29 a seat a month billed monthly, or $24 billed annually, according to Mitti's pricing page; Enterprise is quoted.
Inspections live next to work orders, preventive maintenance and parts, with QR codes on every asset — priced per user, with daily checklists at scale on Premium.
MaintainX is a maintenance and operations platform (CMMS) with work orders, procedures, preventive maintenance and asset QR codes, used through its mobile and web apps. Best for: Maintenance teams that want work orders, preventive maintenance, parts and analytics, and will license every person who completes procedures.
How an operator does a check
The operator opens the MaintainX app, signs in, scans the asset's QR code or finds the work order, and completes the procedure (checklist) attached to it.
Operator needs an app or login
Yes. Every operator needs their own MaintainX login, and each one is a paid user on Essential or Premium. Free requester accounts can submit work requests, not complete procedures.
Free plan
Basic is free, but allows only 2 work orders with attached procedures and 2 active repeating work orders.
Pricing
Basic is free. Essential is $25 a user a month billed monthly ($20 annually) and Premium $75 ($65), which allows unlimited procedures on work orders; Enterprise is quoted.
A polished driver app with offline DVIRs, a defect-to-repair workflow and unlimited users billed per vehicle; machinery and equipment get special pricing.
Whip Around is fleet inspection and maintenance software, best known for vehicle DVIRs, where drivers do inspections in its mobile app and defects flow through to repairs. Best for: Vehicle fleets — especially DOT-regulated trucks — that want DVIRs, a defect-to-repair workflow, maintenance and fuel in one system.
How an operator does a check
The driver opens the Whip Around mobile app, logs in (username and password, or an SMS login link), scans the vehicle's QR code in the app or picks the vehicle, and completes the inspection — even without cell coverage.
Operator needs an app or login
Yes. Drivers use the Whip Around mobile app and log in with a username and password or an SMS login link. Users are unlimited, so there's no per-driver fee.
Free plan
No free plan; a 7-day free trial of Pro, with no card needed.
Pricing
Billed per asset with unlimited users, monthly or annually, with special pricing for trailers, machinery and equipment. We couldn't confirm dollar prices on Whip Around's own site in October 2026; a third-party comparison from March 2026 lists it from $5 per asset a month.
10 machines: Not confirmed · 25 machines: Not confirmed · 50 machines: Not confirmed
QR-triggered forms, a scheduler and missed-check reminders, offline mode and approvals — licensed by seat and sold by quote.
Lumiform is a German mobile inspection and audit app with QR-triggered forms, reminders and a scheduler, licensed by user seat and now sold by quote. Best for: Companies that want scheduled inspections and audits with reminders, approvals, analytics and multilingual forms, and are happy to buy through a sales quote.
How an operator does a check
The worker opens the Lumiform app (or, per its forklift page, a web browser), scans the QR code on the machine, completes the checklist and submits.
Operator needs an app or login
Yes, as far as we could confirm: Lumiform is licensed by user seat, and a seat can log in on two mobile devices. Its forklift page mentions using a web browser, but we couldn't confirm that someone without a seat can submit.
Free plan
No public free plan; pricing is by quote.
Pricing
Quote only as of October 2026: Professional is 'Request a quote' and Enterprise 'Individual', billed in EUR, GBP or USD. Earlier public per-user prices no longer appear on its site.
10 machines: Quote only · 25 machines: Quote only · 50 machines: Quote only
Public forms anyone can fill in without an account, on plans priced by submissions — but you build the per-machine setup and the problem follow-up yourself.
Jotform is a popular online form builder: you can make an inspection form (it publishes forklift checklist templates), share it as a public link or QR code, and collect submissions. Best for: Teams that want one flexible, inexpensive form tool for many jobs — inspections among them — and are happy to build and watch the forms themselves.
How an operator does a check
The operator scans a QR code or opens a link to the form, fills it in in the phone's browser (or Jotform's mobile app), and submits.
Operator needs an app or login
No. Operators fill in a public form link in the browser without an account; Jotform's mobile app is optional.
Free plan
Free Starter plan: 5 forms, 100 submissions a month and 100 MB of uploads.
Pricing
Starter is free. Bronze is $39 a month ($34 billed annually) for 1,000 submissions a month, Silver $49 ($39) for 2,500 and Gold $129 ($99) for 10,000; these plans have one user, and multi-user accounts need Enterprise.
No. No app, account or password: operators type their name, or a 4-digit PIN if you turn PINs on.
Yes. Each operator signs in to the Mitti (SafetyCulture) app or web app with their own seat: free for up to 10 seats, then $29 a seat a month. The pricing page also lists free guest seats, but we couldn't confirm whether guests can complete inspections.
Yes. Every operator needs their own MaintainX login, and each one is a paid user on Essential or Premium. Free requester accounts can submit work requests, not complete procedures.
Yes. Drivers use the Whip Around mobile app and log in with a username and password or an SMS login link. Users are unlimited, so there's no per-driver fee.
Yes, as far as we could confirm: Lumiform is licensed by user seat, and a seat can log in on two mobile devices. Its forklift page mentions using a web browser, but we couldn't confirm that someone without a seat can submit.
No. Operators fill in a public form link in the browser without an account; Jotform's mobile app is optional.
QR codes on equipment
Every machine gets its own printed QR sticker, 8 to a page. A lost sticker is reissued in a click.
Inside the Mitti app: assets can carry QR codes or barcodes that the app scans to start an inspection. The phone's own camera doesn't open a check without the app and a login.
Yes: MaintainX generates QR codes and barcodes for every asset, scanned in its app.
Yes, inside the app: you generate a QR code for each asset on the web, and drivers scan it from the Whip Around app to start that asset's inspection.
Yes: its plans list 'QR code triggers form', and its forklift page describes scanning the code on the forklift to open the checklist.
Do it yourself: point a QR code at the form (Jotform has a QR code generator). A code per machine means a form or a prefilled link for each machine.
Free plan
Free for up to 3 machines, with every feature and unlimited operators.
Free for up to 10 seats, with 5 active inspection templates.
Basic is free, but allows only 2 work orders with attached procedures and 2 active repeating work orders.
No free plan; a 7-day free trial of Pro, with no card needed.
No public free plan; pricing is by quote.
Free Starter plan: 5 forms, 100 submissions a month and 100 MB of uploads.
10 machines, 20 operators / month
$19.50/mo
$580/mo
$1,500/mo
Not confirmed
Quote only
$39/mo
25 machines, 50 operators / month
$42/mo
$1,450/mo
$3,750/mo
Not confirmed
Quote only
$49/mo
50 machines, 100 operators / month
$79.50/mo
$2,900/mo
$7,500/mo
Not confirmed
Quote only
$49/mo
Monthly list prices for each fleet on the cheapest plan that runs equipment checks, assuming two operators per machine (two shifts), checked in October 2026. Each comparison page shows the exact plan used. Annual billing is cheaper with most vendors.
How we compared them
We judged each tool on the job most equipment inspections actually are: someone about to use a machine checks it, records it, and reports anything wrong. Specifically:
What the operator needs. An app install, an account, a paid seat — or nothing. This is the step that fails with temps, agency staff, seasonal crews and shared machines.
How the check finds the machine. A code on the machine, a pick-list, or a separate form per machine.
What happens to a problem. Does anyone hear about it straight away? Does the next operator know?
The plan you'd actually need, priced for 10, 25 and 50 machines with two operators each (two shifts), billed monthly where the vendor allows it.
What it does beyond the check: offline use, reminders, scheduling, work orders and integrations.
Five kinds of equipment inspection app
The products here solve different problems. Pick the kind first, then the product:
Kind
Examples
Priced by
Operator needs
Built for
QR checklist per machine
CheckBadges
Machine
A phone camera and browser
Pre-use checks by many operators
Inspection platform
SafetyCulture (Mitti), Lumiform, GoCanvas
User seat
App and login
Audits, scheduled inspections, field forms
Fleet app
Whip Around, Fleetio, Simply Fleet, HVI
Vehicle or asset
App and login
Vehicles, DVIRs and maintenance
Maintenance system (CMMS)
MaintainX, UpKeep
User
App and login
Work orders and preventive maintenance
Form builder
Jotform, Google Forms
Submissions, or free
A browser
Any form, built by you
Per-seat vs per-machine pricing
Most inspection platforms and maintenance systems charge per user. That's fine for a safety team of five. It isn't for a warehouse running two shifts on 10 forklifts, where 20 operators each need a seat: on SafetyCulture's Premium plan that's $580 a month billed monthly, and on MaintainX Premium $1,500. Fleet apps such as Whip Around and Simply Fleet, and CheckBadges, charge per machine instead, with unlimited operators. Before comparing prices, count the people who'll do checks, not just the managers who'll read them. The side-by-side table above prices every pick for 10, 25 and 50 machines.
Other tools you may have seen
A few more names come up in equipment inspection searches:
Fleetio is a full fleet maintenance system with a public inspection link that takes submissions without a login — one link per form, recorded as a single "Guest User". See CheckBadges vs Fleetio.
UpKeep puts custom checklists on its Premium plan, at $55 a user a month. See CheckBadges vs UpKeep.
GoCanvas offers no-login web forms only on its top Max plan ($49 a user a month, 3-user minimum, billed annually).
MasterCheck is a forklift app priced per truck ($39.99 a year) with unlimited operators, each signing in to its app. See the forklift inspection apps roundup.
Google Forms is free, but photo uploads make responders sign in to a Google Account.
Construction suites such as HCSS (its "Scan to Inspect" opens inspections from equipment QR codes inside the HCSS Field app) and SALUS or FieldScout (browser QR checks with no app) are aimed at large contractors and don't publish prices. See construction equipment inspection apps.
Which one to choose
Choose by who does the checks and what else you need the tool to do:
Many operators, mixed equipment, no app rollout: CheckBadges. It's built for exactly this, and free for 3 machines.
A safety team running audits and inspections of all kinds: SafetyCulture (Mitti), or Lumiform if you want reminders and scheduling and don't mind a quote.
You need maintenance work orders and preventive maintenance: MaintainX or UpKeep — ideally with operator checks kept somewhere that doesn't charge per operator.
It depends on who does the checks. For operator pre-use checks, CheckBadges needs no app or login and is free for 3 machines, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per machine after 3 ($19.50 for 10). For a full inspection platform, SafetyCulture (Mitti); with maintenance work orders, MaintainX; for vehicle fleets, Whip Around.
Do equipment inspection apps charge per user?
Most inspection platforms and maintenance systems do — SafetyCulture, MaintainX, UpKeep and GoCanvas all price per user. Fleet apps such as Whip Around and Simply Fleet charge per vehicle with unlimited users, and CheckBadges charges per machine with unlimited operators.
Can operators do equipment inspections without an app?
Yes, with a browser-based tool. CheckBadges opens each machine's checklist in the phone's browser from a QR sticker, with no app or login. Form builders like Jotform and Google Forms also work in a browser, but don't keep track of machines.
Do I need an equipment inspection app to comply with OSHA?
No. OSHA requires the inspections, such as the daily forklift examination, but not any particular app — and it doesn't require the daily forklift check to be written down. A dated record is how you show checks happened, and an app makes that record easier to keep and find.
Which equipment inspection apps also handle maintenance?
MaintainX and UpKeep are full maintenance systems (CMMS), and Fleetio, Whip Around, Simply Fleet and HVI add maintenance for fleets. CheckBadges doesn't do work orders or preventive maintenance — it records checks and emails problems — so many teams pair it with a CMMS.
Stick a QR code on every machine and operators do the pre-use check on their own phone — no app, no login. Free for up to 3 machines; try it with your real machines before you sign up.