# eHive Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra

> Is eHive the right Museum solution for you? Explore 14 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice.

Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/121801/eHive/reviews

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eHive

4.1 (14)

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Last updated March 13th, 2026

# Reviews of eHive

Ease of use

4.2

Customer Service

4.5

## Showing most helpful reviews

Showing 1-14 of 14 Reviews

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Most Helpful

Rating

Company Size

Reviewer's Role

Length of Use

Frequency of Use

RA

Richard A.  
Retired civil servant  
Research  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "eHive was recommended as a means of showcasing my image collection and has met my requirements."

April 3, 2018

4.0

It allowed me to share my historic image collection in a structured and informative way.

Pros

The eHive interface is simple and attractive, as well as straightforward for visitors to search and navigate. My needs as a private collector are quite straightforward, but there is great scope for customisation in the way that material is structured, catalogued and presented.

Cons

Not exactly a criticism, but the flexibility of eHive is something of a two-edged sword. There are, as one would expect, help facilities. Users have the option of doing everything themselves, as I did, or paying Vernon Systems to help and advise them. For example, Vernon Systems will perform bulk uploads of material. However, before you start you will need some idea of how the system works and what your options are. It also needs to be clear in your mind what you are trying to achieve, and who is your intended audience. There are a number of predefined templates for different types of content. Some of these are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and you need to choose what is most appropriate in each case. The data entry form looks rather daunting at first glance. You only need to populate the fields which are relevant to you, but you need to be clear from the outset what these are. Be prepared for some false starts, or having to return to add information to existing entries. If you are using images, you need to decide whether you wish to store the base images on site, and how you wish to display them. This will have implications for the storage space you use and therefore cost. I don't store images and display only small low-res versions. Finally, the main finding aid for visitors to your archive, and for you, will be the tag cloud. It needs to be both comprehensive and consistent.

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

April 4, 2018

Thanks for the feedback Richard. We currently developing a general cataloguing guide based on international standards and how best to use the fields available within the system. Several long-time users of the system are assisting with the writing of this guide. It will be available for all users later in the year. Kind regards, Paul Rowe

CW

Christine W.  
Collections Manager & Volunteer Coordinator  
  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "We are very happy with eHive - the software, the service and the subscription price."

April 4, 2018

5.0

Pros

eHive is very suitable for the community museum/archive sector because it's easy and intuitive to use - our volunteers (with a diverse range of skillsets) LOVE using it. The user guides provided are very useful. It's easy to add images and pdf files. Regular harvesting of our records to the national database was very easy to arrange and we are pleased with the additional exposure that brings to us and our collections. The Vernon staff are very responsive to our questions and feedback. We like that the system complies with standards (mobile/device display, data harvesting, web for all) and that we can easily extract our data. Cataloguing in the cloud has opened up our productivity - the capacity for unlimited simultaneous users means that you can get more people involved in cataloguing and dramatically increase new input as well as carry out retrospective record maintenance. We'll never go back to our old locally loaded system. No installation, no upgrades, no maintenance contracts, cloud backup , very reasonable cost - really a hassle free way for an small to medium sized organisations to get their catalogues online.

Cons

You don't get the same flexibility as you do with expensive library systems (e.g. for some global changes), and the facility for controlled vocabulary is unsophisticated (no automatic redirects from non-preferred terms, no capacity for subject heirarchy), report and result printing is fairly rigid, and you need to know the syntax in order to carry out sophisticated searches. However, for the market it's designed for, the benefits far outweigh. And you can use eHive as a back end to your website and customise results lists and search screens. I understand that plans for multiple security and access levels are planned and this will be a good improvement for organisations with many cataloguers as amendments will be more easily tracked.

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

April 5, 2018

Thanks for the positive feedback Christine. Kind regards, Paul Rowe

AG

Amanda G.  
Collection Manager  
Museums and Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Excellent starter package for those wanting to organise and digitise their collection."

April 4, 2018

3.0

It has enabled us to start digitising our collection and adding it to our website.

Pros

Very easy to start using this software with good help information. I like that you can start for free to see if this will work for you. There are wordpress modules that can be used with our website that is also a bonus.

Cons

That there isn't the ability to see more than the latest 12 records. When I have several users entering data it would be good to be able to see what was completed over the day. This ability is missing. Not being able to enter data from a spreadsheet ourselves, this is something we would have to pay to get done for us. Changing information in the dropdown tables is problematic. The information doesn't hold and records state there is information there when there is not. Very difficult when this information is current location and you're trying to search on what is at a particular location. Also searches are not always accurate. Even when searching on a term in quotes other records appear when they should not.

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

April 5, 2018

Thanks for the feedback Amanda. You can sort any list of records by when they were created. So, if you just want to all of the records sorted by this, click on the Total Object Records link on the main dashboard, and then choose Record Created from the sort options at the top of the page. The "A...Z" button already whether the sort goes up (A...Z = oldest to newest) or down (Z...A = newest to oldest). Kind regards, Paul

DL

David L.  
Heritage Projects Officer  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "I rate eHive very highly."

March 29, 2018

5.0

The ability to record and share our Museum's collection online as one integrated process.

Pros

eHive is based on international Spectrum CMS standards. Its integrated cataloging and online sharing functionality is world class. It has an intuitive and easy to use interface. The ability to create online communities and shared exhibitions is a strong feature. The customer support is excellent and the annual subscriptions are affordable. It is an powerful tool for small and medium museums to record and share their collections.

Cons

eHive doesn't currently have provision for stand-alone: people/organisation biographies or site information. Neither does it provide for bulk transfer of information like multiple item locations. For example if 100 items are moved from shelf 1 to shelf 2 this change has to be recorded for each item. eHive doesn't allow for the storage of audio files or video files but they can be linked via third party sites like YouTube or Vimeo.

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

April 4, 2018

Thanks for the great feedback David.

JB

Jamie B.  
Director  
Museums and Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "I've been using eHive for 5 years and have found it to, largely, be a reliable and effective tool."

March 27, 2018

4.0

Greatly improved the ability of my institution to catalogue and share our collection.

Pros

Staff have been quick to respond to issues and queries, while eHive is mostly intuitive and easy to use. It's plugins for Wordpress and the fact it is web/cloud-based are both benefits.

Cons

Updates are often schedule for times that are inopportune for my timezone - I often find it out of action on Monday mornings. While mostly fixed, it does still have some issues with freezing and hanging that causes some entries to have be re-entered.

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

March 28, 2018

Thanks for your feedback Jamie. We've recently changed the system so that the system doesn't need to go offline during an upgrade, so this avoid interrupting you in the future. Good to hear you're getting the most out of the WordPress integration. Kind regards, Paul Rowe Vernon Systems Limited

LM

Lindsay M.  
Assistant Director  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "We use eHive database for our museum collection."

March 30, 2018

2.0

Pros

I enjoy the relative ease of editing the records, and the options to make it available to the public. It is also a nice feature that the public can email us directly about specific objects.

Cons

I really (REALLY) dislike that we can't isolate groups of objects that aren't necessarily related. When we create exhibits, we would like to group objects together, and save those groupings. Also, it is very difficult to search for objects by location, as everything that has ever been shown in a specific gallery comes up in a search. It would also be very (VERY) important if we could run a search for objects and then select only the ones we want for a report. Right now, every "work on paper" is created into a report rather than maybe a select few that we want. Ease of contacting the company when there's an issue is also a problem. These issues are enough that we might have to start looking at other software.

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

April 4, 2018

Hi Lindsay, A feature to manually add any selected records to a list is part of the roadmap of features for the next 12 months. We'd also be happy to give you some tips on searching, so we'll send you an email directly on this. Kind regards, Paul Rowe

SR

Sean R.  
Cartonographer  
Arts and Crafts  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Ehive offers a very useful and affordable tool for cataloguing my collection. "

April 1, 2018

3.0

Provides an accessible, online storage of my collection, which allows me to search it, and arrange it, according to a range of criteria.

Pros

Functions like standard and more complex collection management systems but offers a more friendly keyword functionality. Is easily ingested by institutions such as the National Library of Australia

Cons

Does not have an app - I would love to be able to document my collection on my phone and upload it immediately, without the clunkiness that the desktop version has on a smartphone. Does not offer plugin demonstrations for Wordpress. I am keen to have a plugin on my wordpress site but do not want to spend the 300+ dollars to upgrade to a professional plan just to find out that the plugin is clunky and useless. Has a pretty slow turnover of featured organisations using it. Does not have collapsible fields. There are a huge number of fields that I will never use. Why can't I create a template where all those fields are collapsed and I don't have to look at them and scroll past them every time I create a record?

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

April 5, 2018

Thanks for the feedback Sean. We're currently revamping the WordPress plugins, so we'll see if there's a way to build in a demonstrator for them. We're also planning to build a mobile friendly version of the Create screen next year, so this will help with your cataloguing on the phone.

JP

Jane P.  
Collections Manager  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Can't imagine what I would do without Ehive!"

March 29, 2018

5.0

The ability to store a far wider range of information easily than previously managed.

Pros

I love that all the objects are stored in one place with any relevant information and photos and that I can share this information with people so simply.

Cons

The most difficult thing I find is wanting to create a report for non linked items - ie they have nothing in common in the tags etc.

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

April 4, 2018

Thanks for the feedback Jane. You can search for discrete items by listing them in the search box. e.g. If you wanted to search for JR00189, JR00191, and JR00200, just type in the search box: JR00189 JR00191 JR00200 If the object numbers are all the same length then you can also search on just the Object Number field (no) using a range. e.g. no:\[JR000095 TO JR000150\] Kind regards, Paul Rowe

AR

Ashley R.  
Head Girl  
Museums and Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "We use eHive for a community and it has been good."

March 27, 2018

4.0

We were able to create an exhibition with relative ease and low cost. They also have great customer service.

Pros

It is pretty easy to use and allows for nice site integration. eHive has always been extremely responsive to any problems and helped us out when we had issues.

Cons

There really isn't anything I dislike about it other than the plugins needs to stay updated with WordPress much more often.

Review Source

CP

Chris P.  
Archivist  
Museums and Institutions  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "eHive is good to work with - finding it to be reasonably user friendly"

April 6, 2018

4.0

Pros

Reasonably user friendly - easy enough to find your way around after some basic instruction from someone who does know the program

Cons

The main one I'm finding is the inconsistency of adding an Object Number and it saying whether that code/number has been used already or not. I've tried it out several times and now just ensure to check all numbers once I've entered the details.

Review Source

SH

Sue H.  
Archivist  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Recommend. I have used ehive 3 different organisations"

April 1, 2018

5.0

Online Connect to other communities (e.g. DigitalNZ, NZMuseums) Affordable

Pros

The free 50MB - great way to get starting without initial commitment of funds. Great way to have an online presence.

Cons

Have to back and forth between items - as opposed to just forwarding through a group. Adanced searching limited.

Review Source

Response from Vernon Systems

April 4, 2018

Thanks Sue. It's great to hear you've made use of eHive at several sites now.

KvC

Ket vui C.  
Developer  
Health, Wellness and Fitness  
Used the software for: I used a free trial

### "eHive"

July 15, 2021

5.0

Overall it is good to use and I am happy to test it without annual subscription.

Pros

A very sophisticated collection management system that handles great range of collection processes and types of object.

Cons

the storage for subscription is limited. You have to pay so much more for a 50gb for $1200, which i think is very high price.

Review Source

KP

Kent P.  
Administrator  
Arts and Crafts  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "Relatively new user - good so far"

April 3, 2018

4.0

Online cataloguing - no need to update software. Free account level. Immediate online presence of collection. Data harvestable from places like DigitalNZ

Pros

Options of detailed data entry or just public profile. Like the ability to add tags. First 50 MB free - chance to test explore.

Cons

Have to go back to edit record to add image - can't just add it as part of data entry before submitting.

Review Source

AC

Andres C.  
Software engineer  
Retail  
Used the software for: I used a free trial

### "Cool"

June 20, 2021

5.0

Pros

It is an awesome and cool idea, I love it

Cons

Maybe the website should be a little bit more "alive"

Review Source

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