GLPi Review: Is the Open Source Asset Tracking Solution Any Good?

GLPi is an affordable, open-source IT asset and service management software option that offers users a wide range of asset tracking tools. While it’s a very capable program, you’ll get more out of it if you have coding skills. As you’ll find out in this GLPi review, the software is geared towards true IT whizzes.

For many businesses, GLPi’s paid options are a better investment than any of the top free asset tracking programs, which don’t tend to offer quite as many IT-specific asset inventory categories or finance-focused features. GLPi will be perfect for businesses managing a diverse range of IT assets, as well as those that need a combined asset and finance-tracking solution but don’t have a vast software budget.

GLPi’s Network Cloud package, in particular, will be a good fit for IT teams managing a large number of assets, because there’s no cap on how many you can track. But as we’ve already said, the software is quite difficult to get to grips with if you’re not a competent coder, and this means it’s much harder to use than rivals like Freshservice. Read on to find out more about GLPi’s strengths, weaknesses, and use cases.

In this guide:

• GLPi: Quick Fact File
• Is GLPi Right for Your Business
• Does GLPi Have a Free Plan?
• GLPI Review: Key Features
• How does GLPi Compare With Its Competitors
• Our Methodology: How We Rated GLPi
• Verdict: Is GLPi Worth it?
• GLPi FAQs

GLPi: Quick Factfile

GLPi is a community-based project that started back in 2003. Since then, a wide range of IT professionals, developers, and engineers have contributed to improving the platform. The most recent version is GLPi 10.

• Open-source platform: Unlike other ITSM solutions, GLPi is an open-source platform, which means its source code is made available to be improved upon by users and developers. Open-source software is often considered more secure for this reason.
• Manual data entry: Unfortunately, data about your assets will have to be entered into GLPi manually, rather than via asset tags. You cannot tag assets with GLPi.
• Historical modification data available: GLPi provides a lot of information about how your assets have been altered, which is quite easy to access in the interface and is particularly useful when managing an asset toward the end of its cycle.
• Cloud vs On-Premise Solutions: GLPi offers a network cloud solution supported by GLPi and an on-premise software solution that can be purchased outright and run on company hardware and infrastructure. This is generally considered safer but less flexible and can often be expensive if things don’t go to plan. If you’re hosting any software locally, A lot of hosting and hardware issues – as well as the costs of solving them – will fall at your door, as will routine maintenance.
• Unlimited assets/end-users: With GLPi’s Cloud solution, you’ll be able to add an unlimited number of IT assets and keep track of an unlimited amount of end-users. However, you’ll only be allowed 1 IT agent, and you’ll have to pay for additional seats.
• Helpdesk features: Along with asset management and tracking features, GLPi offers helpdesk features such as ticketing, problem and change management, as well as issue forms.
• Finance Features: GLPi has a broad range of impressive finance features, which means you can closely track your budget and spending alongside your asset inventory while integrating your list of suppliers.

GLPi’s computer asset repository. Image: GLPi

Is GLPi Right for Your Business?

GLPi is a capable IT service management solution that is a perfect fit for companies managing a wide range of different IT assets with long change histories, but don’t want to break the bank.

The range of hardware devices you can track with GLPi is broader than your average ITSM solution, including computers and phones, SIM cards, cartridges, printers, and miscellaneous consumables. If you have a huge range of IT assets, GLPi will be able to handle them in an organized fashion.

GPLi offers very good value for money, scoring 4/5 for pricing in our latest asset tracking software research. The cloud solution retails around $20 per month per IT agent, and you’ll be able to track unlimited assets. The On-Premise Basic solutions, on the other hand, will let you deploy up to 10 IT agents and manage hundreds of assets for $107 per month, which is just over $10 per agent.

GLPi be a good fit for IT teams that want to closely manage suppliers, contracts, licenses, and other financial components alongside their assets, as this is all integrated quite deeply into GLPi’s asset tracking hub.

However, GLPi does not support the use of tags to track fixed assets, which means it scores 0/5 for tag variety. This means it’s not suitable for tracking moving assets – but most ITSM solutions aren’t a good option for this. In fact, GLPi will only be a good fit for your business if you’re prepared to do the manual data entry needed to ensure your software is up to date with the latest information about your assets.

Historically, the GLPi user interface wasn’t the easiest to navigate, and it’s not as easy to set up as IT service management solutions like Freshservice. There’s a huge number of settings and cells to input data into for all of your assets, and all of the tracking features can be overwhelming at first.

However, this has been remedied somewhat with the GLPi 10 interface, the most modern version yet. Here’s a quick peak at what it looks like:

Adding an asset in GLPi. Image: GLPi

Despite this, to unlock the power of its advanced configurations, you’ll need some coding skills and knowledge. Other providers, like Freshservice, won’t require you to tinker around with code.

GLPi pricing

GLPi has a free plan and four paid plans, including one cloud and three on-premise solutions:

• Free: The latest stable version of GLPI’s software (no support)
• Network Cloud: ~$20 per IT agent per month
• On-Premise Basic: ~$107 per month (10 agents max.)
• On-Premise Standard: ~$320 per month (50 agents max.)
• On-Premise Advanced: $1080 per month (51+ agents)

GLPi is based in Europe, so the prices listed on their site are given in Euros. In the table below, we’ve laid out the key features included on its four paid plans, as well as a rough cost in dollars based on the exchange rate (€1 = $1.08) at the time of writing.

While the Network Cloud plan has the cheapest starting price, its only for one IT agent, so if you have a team of 10, it ends up working out as more expensive than the On-Premise Basic plan. However, there’s no limit placed on the number of assets you can track, whereas there are limits on the On-Premise plans.

The key difference between the On-Premises plan is how much technical support and plugins you’ll be entitled to. On-Premise Basic plan users are entitled to 2 hours remote technical assistance per month from Teclib, but can only access GPLi Network and Community plugins. The available plugins let you create new forms, display messages to users, create and attach tags, CSV file injection, and manage IT orders. GPLi Network plugins, on the other hand, support options like single sign-on and data anonymization.

The On-Premise Standard plan will let you access advanced plugins such as an ApprovalMail plugin, SQL queries, GPLi dashboards, adding fields, and a Microsoft SCCM import. You’ll also be entitled to 8 hours of technical support per month, which is a significant upgrade on the Basic plan.

The Advanced On-Premises plan has ten times the tech support available as the Basic plan (20 hours per month) and has the plugins you can access on the Standard plan. Check out the full list of plugins for more information.

Does GLPi Have a Free Plan?

Yes, you can download the most recent, stable version of GLPi’s software from its website for free. However, this doesn’t offer you access to help or support. So if you get stuck, you’ll be on your own.

If you need support options, the cheapest paid plan is the Network Cloud plan, which is available for roughly $20 per IT agent, per month – which is slightly more expensive than Freshservice’s starter plan.

Additionally, GLPi does offer a generous 45-day free trial of their network cloud software, which you can sign up to without a credit card. This is slightly longer than the month-long trial provided by some competitors, while others, like Snipe-IT, offer no free trial. Once you complete your trial and opt to switch to a paid plan, you can simply enter your card details at that point and continue using the service.

GLPi Review: Key Features

The range of assets you can track with GLPI is pretty broad for an IT service management solution. It goes beyond the standard fixed assets most IT teams will want to track straight out of the box, including:

• Computers: With GLPi, you can track computers by operating system, product ID, serial number, general characteristics (type, manufacturer, model, serial number), and users in charge of the devices.
• Monitors: GLPi will let you manage the location, status, and technical manager of every monitor your business owns, as well as other general characteristics.
• Network devices: This includes all hardware owned by your company, including whatever is used to route the network between other internet-connected hardware, including your ethernet hub, routers, firewall, and wireless access points.
• Software: GLPi will let you track software in use as well as the licenses you have with any companies you’ve purchased software from.
• Data center assets: You can track different data center-related assets such as servers and “other elements contained within server rooms.”
• SIM Cards: Along with some of the traditional IT assets, GLPi will let you track SIM cards, store operators, lines, and statuses.

Impressively, GLPi can also be used to track printers, cartridges, consumables, company phones, and even passive devices like fiber-optic cables.

Helpdesk features

In addition to managing assets, GLPi also provides the basis for your helpdesk platform, allowing you to respond to incidents and issues quickly and efficiently.

Managing tickets in GPLi. Image: GLPi

There are also problem, change, and release management features included. Issues can be categorized based on a wide variety of concepts and categories, including claimers, observers, assignment, status, urgency, impact, and priority.

This makes it a good option for teams running (or expecting to run) bustling but effective service desks that need an asset management solution with these features attached to their asset tracking software. As you’ll be able to extract data about the health of your hardware and software from the issues and tickets your helpdesk is processing, it’s easier to have these operations and processes in one place/application.

Financial Services features

Unlike Freshservice, which provides asset tracking and helpdesk features, GLPi offers a wide range of financial and budget tracking features beyond basic invoice tracking. For example, you can add and view files like invoices within the platform, and attach them to tickets in the helpdesk area or assets like a SIM card or a computer.

There are financial administration features as well as contract and license management options. Additionally, GLPi’s tools will help you keep track of all of your suppliers and how orders impact your budget.

How Does GLPi Compare With Its Competitors?

GLPi is a highly capable ITSM solution for businesses tracking lots of complex assets, but its compulsory manual data entry lets it down. Here’s how it compares to some other providers:

Asset tags and use cases

GLPi isn’t suitable for tracking anything outside of fixed IT assets. GLPi only supports manual data entry and no item tagging can be done.

For example, GLPi doesn’t have any GPS or internet-connected tags, so if you’re looking for an asset management solution for vehicles or moving assets, then you’re going to need a provider like Verizon or Samsara, rather than an ITSM solution.

The manual data entry might be a dealbreaker for some. With GLPi, data from different assets can’t be uploaded by scanning a QR code, like it can if you’re using Freshservice, which is quicker solution.

User interface

GLPi is more difficult to use than low/no-code ITSM services. As you can see from the images below, Freshservice’s interface is simpler and the data entry is a little more basic:

A sample Freshservice dashboard. Image: Tech.co

While the straightforward, no-code interface will be a turn-off for some companies, the fact it’s very easy to deploy will be a big advantage for others.

GLPi, by contrast, takes quite a lot of time to configure and requires a basic level of coding knowledge to get anything out of the platform. If you want an easy and quick setup, we’d opt for Freshservice over GLPi.

Range and costs of tracking assets

GLPi is designed to track a much wider range of assets than Freshservice, and you won’t need to buy an add-on asset pack to track additional items.

What’s more, you can track assets on every GLPi plan, whereas you’ll need Freshservice’s $49 per month Growth plan to track assets.

Although GLPi’s cheapest on-premises solution costs $107 a month, you’ll be able to track 500 assets for that compared to 100 on the Growth plan. If you wanted to track more than that with Freshservice, you’d have to pay for an expensive asset pack add-on, which would increase your monthly bill by $75 per month for 500 assets, and $1,500 per month for unlimited assets.

Below, we’ve compiled a list of the best asset tracking companies on the market.

Our Methodology: How We Assessed GLPi

The market for asset tracking software is pretty broad, encompassing a variety of different tracking devices designed for monitoring and managing different asset categories.

That being said, asset tracking software tools should still have a set of important, core features. These features formed the basis for our recent research project, which aimed to identify the leading providers in the asset tracking market, and assess their viability as platforms for our users.

Our research process involved evaluating the asset tracking platforms based on nearly 20 essential factors categorized into five overarching criteria: pricing, types of asset tags, alerts, organization, and hardware. Scores for each specific category contribute to the overall assessment.

It’s important to note that while we have commercial partnerships with some companies featured on our site, their ranking or rating is solely determined by the results of our independent research. This approach ensures our editorial independence.

GLPi Review FAQs