Software guide · Small museums, historical societies and archives
Options to compare: CatalogIt, ClubExpress, Wild Apricot. Compare the tasks you need, the complete price and the terms before choosing.
The cost case · Small museums, historical societies and archives
Start with the bill and one costly workflow. The comparison is straightforward: recurring software costs you can actually remove, minus the hosting, AI, integrations and upkeep a replacement needs. Time saved is a separate gain, and only becomes margin when the business can use it.
Current software · researched prices
Small museums, historical societies and archives software runs $24 to $150 a month across the 3 vendors that publish prices. A website-related price point in the research is $45 a month; check whether it is a plan rate or a separate fee.
Published starting prices are not a like-for-like quote. Confirm the plans, seats, add-ons, payment fees and setup your workflow requires.
A focused tool · under your control
One time: map the rules, build, test edge cases, move only the data needed and train the people who use it.
Each month: affordable hosting, coding-AI usage, any database or integrations, backups and maintenance. Price these for the actual application; a $0 or low hosting tier is not the total cost.
You control: the code repository, domain, data and service accounts. Someone on your side owns updates, access, recovery and support.
The exact replacement cost depends on scope and usage. Bring your invoice and one frustrating task; we’ll map what can stay, what could be owned and the costs to verify.
Get a free 30-minute cost and workflow reviewBuild the member workspace and role permissions, then the directory, events, renewals and self-service portal. Reconcile dues before moving collections.
Ask for a sample export. Check relationships, attachments and history, not just row counts.
These terms appear in the same research category. Check your specific workflow before treating products as interchangeable.
Small museums, historical societies and archives software runs $24 to $150 a month across the 3 vendors that publish prices. A website-related price point in the research is $45 a month; check whether it is a plan rate or a separate fee.
Where the money goes
CatalogIt Museum Small is $540 a year, which works out to $45 a month, for 25,000 entries, 10 users and HUB Web Publishing, which the free tier doesn't include. An extra user seat is $8, and API access to your own catalog is another $35 a month. ClubExpress runs the membership side and public site, from a $24 monthly minimum.
Keep CatalogIt for cataloguing. Accession numbers, provenance and the standards behind them are a real data problem, and your volunteers already use its mobile app.
Ask providers to demonstrate this workflow using your edge cases. Check which plan includes each step, what costs extra and how your records can be exported.
3 vendors sell to small museums, historical societies and archives
| Vendor | Plans (per month) | Website | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| CatalogItCharges by catalogue entries + storage + user seats |
| $45/mo | 2026-09-21 |
| ClubExpressCharges by primary members, with a monthly hosting minimum |
| $24/mo | 2026-09-21 |
| Wild ApricotCharges by contact count band (100, 250, 500, 2000, 5000, 15000, 50000) |
| Included | 2026-09-21 |
Prices are what each vendor publishes on its own pricing page, on the date shown. "Quote only" means the vendor doesn't publish prices. "Not verified" means we couldn't read a price off the vendor's own page, so we don't print one.
Questions owners ask
CatalogIt Museum plans are $540, $720 and $960 a year for 25,000, 50,000 and 100,000 entries. Monthly billing costs 20% more. The free tier allows 50 entries and 1 user, without web publishing.
Not with CatalogIt. HUB Web Publishing is withheld from the free tier, so the cheapest way to publish is Museum Small at $540 a year.
ClubExpress, which can run the membership side and a public site, has a $24 monthly minimum and charges per member above it. Wild Apricot starts at $66 a month for 100 contacts.
Related businesses
Bring one workflow or software bill to a free 30-minute conversation. We’ll map what a coding AI and affordable hosting might cover, and what ownership would require.
Practical guidance, not a promise of a cheap or maintenance-free replacement.