CheckBadges (our product) is the best fit when many operators share trucks: each forklift gets a QR sticker, operators check it in their phone's browser with no app or login, and it's free for 3 trucks. MasterCheck is the forklift-only app with offline checks, SafetyCulture (Mitti) the broad inspection platform, Lumiform adds missed-check reminders, and MaintainX pairs checks with maintenance.
Key takeaways
OSHA requires forklifts to be examined before being placed in service, at least daily — after each shift if they run round the clock.
OSHA doesn't require a written record of the daily check, but a dated record is the only way to show it happened.
Two-shift fleets have two or more operators per truck, so per-user pricing adds up fast; per-forklift pricing doesn't.
A failed check should keep the truck out of service — look for an app that tells someone at once and warns the next operator.
If your trucks work without mobile signal, you need an app with offline mode.
A QR sticker on each truck opens its daily checklist in any phone's browser — no app, login or seat — and a failed check emails you with photos and warns the next operator until it's 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.
Built for forklifts and priced per truck with unlimited operators ($39.99 a year, or $6.99 a month), with offline checks and near-miss reports — but every operator signs in to its app.
MasterCheck is a Canadian forklift inspection app: operators do daily checks in its iOS or Android app, priced per forklift with unlimited operators. Best for: Forklift fleets that want a dedicated forklift app with offline checks, accident and near-miss reports and hour-based maintenance reminders, and can get every operator onto it.
How an operator does a check
The operator opens the MasterCheck app on a phone or Android handheld, signs in with a username and the company password, and completes the forklift's inspection; it works offline and syncs later.
Operator needs an app or login
Yes. Each operator installs the MasterCheck app and signs in with a username and a company password from their supervisor. Operators are unlimited, so there's no per-seat fee.
Free plan
No free plan; a 30-day free trial on the annual plan, with a card required.
Pricing
$39.99 per forklift (or other unit) a year on the annual plan, or $6.99 per unit a month on the monthly plan, with unlimited operators, supervisors and inspections.
Forklift templates, an offline app, scheduling and corrective actions in a platform your safety team can use for everything — at $29 a seat a month past the free plan's 10 seats.
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.
QR-triggered forklift checklists with alerts when checks are missed and a scheduler, licensed per seat and priced 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
Daily checks as procedures on repeating work orders, with failed items turning into repairs in the same CMMS — at $75 a user a month on Premium, billed monthly.
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.
Free and familiar for a truck or two, but photos need a Google sign-in, operators pick the truck themselves, and nothing warns the next shift.
Google Forms is Google's free form builder: you can write a checklist as a form, put its link in a QR code, and collect the answers in a Google Sheet. Best for: A few machines, simple yes/no checks without photos, and someone who reads the response sheet every day.
How an operator does a check
The operator scans a QR code (or opens a link) to the form, picks the machine if the form asks, answers the questions in the browser and submits.
Operator needs an app or login
No, for ordinary questions: anyone with the link can answer. But a file upload question — the way to attach a photo — makes responders sign in to a Google Account.
Free plan
Free with a Google account.
Pricing
Free with a Google account. Google Workspace is optional and isn't needed to build or share a form.
No. No app, account or password: operators type their name, or a 4-digit PIN if you turn PINs on.
Yes. Each operator installs the MasterCheck app and signs in with a username and a company password from their supervisor. Operators are unlimited, so there's no per-seat fee.
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, 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.
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.
No, for ordinary questions: anyone with the link can answer. But a file upload question — the way to attach a photo — makes responders sign in to a Google Account.
QR codes on equipment
Every machine gets its own printed QR sticker, 8 to a page. A lost sticker is reissued in a click.
Not mentioned on MasterCheck's site or FAQ; checks start in the app.
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: its plans list 'QR code triggers form', and its forklift page describes scanning the code on the forklift to open the checklist.
Yes: MaintainX generates QR codes and barcodes for every asset, scanned in its app.
Do it yourself: make a QR code of the form's link. One form for every machine means operators pick the machine; a code per machine means a form or prefilled link for each one.
Free plan
Free for up to 3 machines, with every feature and unlimited operators.
No free plan; a 30-day free trial on the annual plan, with a card required.
Free for up to 10 seats, with 5 active inspection templates.
No public free plan; pricing is by quote.
Basic is free, but allows only 2 work orders with attached procedures and 2 active repeating work orders.
Free with a Google account.
10 machines, 20 operators / month
$19.50/mo
$69.90/mo
$580/mo
Quote only
$1,500/mo
Free
25 machines, 50 operators / month
$42/mo
$174.75/mo
$1,450/mo
Quote only
$3,750/mo
Free
50 machines, 100 operators / month
$79.50/mo
$349.50/mo
$2,900/mo
Quote only
$7,500/mo
Free
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.
What a forklift inspection app has to do
The rule sets the job. Under 29 CFR 1910.178(q)(7), "Industrial trucks shall be examined before being placed in service, and shall not be placed in service if the examination shows any condition adversely affecting the safety of the vehicle. Such examination shall be made at least daily." Trucks used round the clock are examined after each shift, and "Defects when found shall be immediately reported and corrected."
OSHA doesn't require a written record of the daily check, but a dated record is the only way to show it happened. So a good forklift app does four things: makes the check quick enough that operators actually do it, records who checked which truck and when, gets defects to someone at once, and keeps a failed truck from being used. Our guide to OSHA forklift inspection requirements covers the rule in full, and forklift inspection records covers what to keep.
How we compared them
We compared each app on what makes daily forklift checks actually happen:
Operator setup. Forklift fleets run on shifts, temps and agency drivers. We counted any app install, account or paid seat per operator as a cost.
Finding the right truck. A code on the truck beats a pick-list; a pick-list beats a separate form per truck.
Defects. Who hears about a failed check, how fast, and whether the next operator is warned.
Price for 10, 25 and 50 trucks with two operators each, billed monthly where offered.
Offline mode and extras such as reminders, near-miss reports and maintenance.
Three ways to run forklift checks digitally
Forklift apps take one of three approaches, and the approach matters more than the brand:
Approach
Examples
Operator needs
Good at
Watch for
QR sticker per truck, browser checklist
CheckBadges
A phone camera
Shared trucks, temps, instant defect alerts
Needs signal to submit
Dedicated app with logins
MasterCheck, SafetyCulture, Lumiform, MaintainX
App and account
Offline use, reminders, wider features
Onboarding every operator; per-seat cost on most
Shared form
Google Forms, Jotform
A browser
Free or cheap
Which truck? Who follows up the failure?
Other forklift tools you may see
A few other tools come up in forklift searches:
FleetRabbit prices per vehicle — $50 a year, billed annually, and free for up to 3 assets according to its FAQ — with unlimited drivers using its app.
Driveroo charges $5 per asset a month on annual contracts, with unlimited users and checks done in its app.
SIERA.AI pairs pre-shift checks with access-control hardware on the truck: according to search results, operators scan the truck's code and then use a PIN or badge. We couldn't load its site to confirm details or pricing.
Whip Around and Fleetio can inspect forklifts but are built around road vehicles; see vehicle inspection apps.
Two or three shifts, temps or agency drivers, trucks shared by many people: CheckBadges. Nobody has to be set up, and a failed truck stays flagged until you fix it.
Trucks that work out of signal, or you want near-miss and accident reports in the same app: MasterCheck.
A safety team that runs many kinds of inspections and audits: SafetyCulture (Mitti).
You want reminders when a truck isn't checked: Lumiform.
Your maintenance team already runs a CMMS: MaintainX — or keep operator checks in CheckBadges and repairs in the CMMS.
One or two trucks and no budget: Google Forms, following our Google Forms checklist guide, or CheckBadges' free plan, which covers 3 machines.
Questions to ask a forklift app vendor
Before you commit, put these to any vendor, including us:
1What does a new or temporary operator have to do before their first check?
2How does the check know which truck it's for?
3When an operator marks a defect, who is told, and how quickly?
4Can the next operator see that a truck has an open defect before they start it?
5What happens on a truck with no signal?
6What will 20 or 50 operators cost on the plan you'd actually need?
Whichever you choose, start from a checklist that matches your truck's manual: our forklift inspection checklist covers the common items.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best forklift inspection app?
For fleets where many operators share trucks, CheckBadges: a QR sticker per forklift opens its checklist in any phone's browser, with no app or login, and it's free for 3 machines, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per machine after 3 ($19.50 for 10). For a dedicated forklift app with offline mode, MasterCheck.
Is there a free forklift inspection app?
Yes. CheckBadges is free for up to 3 forklifts with every feature and unlimited operators. SafetyCulture (Mitti) is free for up to 10 seats with 5 active templates, and Google Forms is free if you build the checklist yourself.
Does OSHA require a forklift inspection app?
No. OSHA requires forklifts to be examined at least daily before use, but not any particular method, and it doesn't require the daily check to be written down. A digital record is the easiest way to show checks were done.
How much does a forklift inspection app cost?
It depends on whether it charges per truck or per person. CheckBadges is $19.50 a month for 10 trucks; MasterCheck is $69.90 a month billed monthly, or $399.90 a year. Per-user apps cost more with shift crews: 20 operators on SafetyCulture Premium is $580 a month.
Can forklift operators do the daily check on their own phones?
Yes. With CheckBadges they scan the truck's QR sticker with the phone's camera and do the check in the browser, so nothing is installed on a personal phone. App-based tools need their app installed and signed in on each phone.
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.