# PastPerfect Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is PastPerfect the right Museum solution for you? Explore 17 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/121813/PastPerfect/reviews --- PastPerfect 4.2 (17) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/121813/PastPerfect/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of PastPerfect Ease of use 3.8 Customer Service 4.5 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-17 of 17 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Hope V. Curator of Education Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "PastPerfect Review" December 5, 2019 4.0 We use this for our collections and for our membership. It is a good program to use for collections because once you learn it you will know it. It allows you to put in keywords, it backs up well, and you can put things online through it. For membership, it is a good system, but it can be frustrating when printing; sometimes things shift without you doing anything and sometimes when printing addresses, it excludes the zipcode. All in all, I do like the software. Pros The things I like most about this are: - has different features - customer service is actually very helpful -easy to use once you have learned it Cons The things I like the least are: - you have to flip back and forth so much when dealing with membership - addresses don't always print correctly Review Source ES Erin S. Curator of Collections & Archives Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good value software for museum collections management" July 3, 2019 4.0 PastPerfect allows us to keep record of all the artifacts in our collections as well as have a searchable database for assisting researchers locate items they might need. We are able to keep track of exhibition histories. PastPerfect has allowed us to maintain better intellectual control per industry standards. Pros PastPerfect is very cost effective. There are different sections to keep track of Archives, Library, Collections, and Library materials. You can also use it to track donors and capital campaigns. Cons It is far from intuitive and takes quite some time to get familiar with. It is also difficult to set up lists and their online presence costs extra and does not interface well with Wordpress. Alternatives considered [Argus](https://www.capterra.com/p/147166/Argus/) Reason for choosing PastPerfect Argus has a significant cost for implementation and for upkeep which PastPerfect does not. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Curator Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "PastPerfect outdated" February 27, 2020 3.0 I am learning. I feel that the system is outdated, but as the only one needing to register objects, I am creating a system for myself. Needing to block out whole days to register objects takes away from my job, but I am getting more efficient. I think they are behind in user-friendliness, but once you have done all of the steps, you can feel good that it won't go anywhere and will be easy to update with more info as needed. Pros Let me begin by saying that PastPerfect is a perfectly functioning system. It works and does exactly what it says it will. And, they have provided periodic updates. For museums, the object-logging and item databases are fine. Cons While the system works, if your are a museum required to log all of your exhibitions with the software, it is incredibly time-consuming to add artists, dates, information (on several pages for each item) and then to have to independently create an exhibit or event, and then separately log the loan, all before having to go back and add images and make all of these separate sources link. And if you have multiple registrars, having them all do the exact same thing is difficult. And it also makes it much more difficult to search items later on. Review Source AE Amanda E. Archivist/Librarian Used the software for: 2+ years ### "For the cost, this is a robust program that can let you do a lot." December 8, 2017 4.0 Pros It's relatively intuitive to use, and training materials are free available online. The program has plenty of flexibility for small- to medium-size organizations with a wide variety of collections. There are features that allow you to make your collections accessible online. If you have problems, the customer service is outstanding. Cons Because the program was originally developed by a museum curator, the library and archives modules are lacking, but have greatly improved with each version. If you don't thoroughly clean up your existing data before importing it, or develop a comprehensive plan for entering data anew to ensure consistency, you will end up with a lot of records that look sloppy and unprofessional, and there are few functions for making mass changes. PLAN and think through all scenarios before you process. When operating this program on a network, be sure to have enough space and speed on your network to handle the program, otherwise the program will run so slow to render it practically useless, or at least \*significantly\* lower your productivity. This will impact your real cost of implementing and maintaining this program. As far as cost, also keep in mind that every additional module which allows you to publish to the web and improve your workflow will cost extra money, so be sure to know your current and future needs in advance. Review Source GA Gillian A. Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "useful and user-friendly product" October 8, 2016 5.0 This database is great for small to medium sized museums. It's fairly easy to get the basics down if you're just starting out (i.e. volunteers and interns), and if you have some experience working in museum databases and want to become more organized, especially with collections management and everything related including loans and donations. It's convenient to have all the modules in one program. It seems to be geared mainly toward historical collections-- choosing an object type can be difficult when you aren't allowed to create your own, so art and archaeology, etc. objects can be a bit tricky to input. You may have to be creative with some categorizations. Overall, phone support is great and the training manual is helpful for reference. I haven't had any huge issues with the product and would recommend it, as it's a well-known software and an affordable option for many small organizations. Pros \-easy to learn and use on a daily basis -combines modules for tracking objects, loans, donations, and people associated with it all Cons \-it could allow for some more customization in terms of object types -better object search options would make this more user-friendly Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Foundation & Agency Relations Coordinator Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent name recognition, and comprehensive curation resources." July 9, 2018 5.0 Pros Extensive and robust, as well as well-trusted and well-known, museum software that, once learned, provides excellent transferable skills to other institutions and museum software platforms -- PastPerfect is a name most museum folks recognize, for good reason. Cons Such a strong and comprehensive platform for museums, especially for curation departments -- while also marketed as of use to libraries and archives, those tools and resources (while present) are much less extensive. It can also be a challenge to integrate PastPerfect-generated artifact/collection-donor reports and acknowledgements to a museum's main CRM platform used by the resource development team for fund-based donor reports and acknowledgements. Review Source NB Nancy B. Assistant to the Director Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to Use for Membership Management" January 2, 2020 5.0 Pros This software makes it easy for our museum to track membership donations and pledges, add new contacts to our database, and track the events that visitors attend at our museum. I found the software easy to use because it is rather intuitive and a user can manage it without much training. I like that there is a place for notes so we can make remarks on individuals for future reference. Cons Adding form letters for various membership contacts to the software was a bit difficult as the formatting was often a bit off when the letter was copied from another source. However, while bothersome, this issue was easily corrected. Review Source SH Susan H. Archivist Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I have been working with PP software for more than 12 years and I am always learning something new" April 5, 2018 5.0 Great one stop shop for our collection management needs. In the past we had so many different spreadsheet lists for indexes. Now we are able to have everything in one place to look. Because of the variety of people who have catalogued in the past (with a variety of inconsistencies) the advanced search options really helps narrow down search criteria. Pros Affordable. The advanced searching and ability to create a variety of reports to suit needs. Also option of online presence. Cons We have a high turn of office administrator staff and they have always found it difficult to learn how to use the membership contacts lists. Probably because they don't use the software very often (1-2 times a years) that they would spend a lot of time trying to work out what to do. In the end they have elected to just use a spreadsheet to track member info. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Preparator Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Better than some other systems" October 24, 2019 4.0 Past perfect was purchased to replace a more basic system running ms access as a a database management system. It is a vast improvement upon that. Past Perfect also cost considerably less than other options our smaller museum was considering at the time. Pros The ability to craft specific searches within the database. The ability to partition multiple collections from one another in a single system. Folders of objects can mimic the old physicality of the actual files. Cons convoluted style of conducting searches that would be considered non-standard. for instance if you want to search by location within a certain collection their isn't an intuitive way to do that on the setup we are using. this may be possible but it ended up being simpler to sort the fields a particular way and doing a step by step search Review Source Allayna D. Administrative Assistant Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I have enjoyed using PastPerfect in several museum settings" April 24, 2018 5.0 Ease of use! Pros I like the ease of use, it's very self-explanatory, that you can use accession cards alongside the software that way you can have a physical as well as digital copy, and that every pieces location can be tracked using the software. Cons It is not as modern and streamlined as other programs, but even in saying that it's such a simple software that I feel like a more modern version might be harder to use. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Collections Management Intern Museums and Institutions Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Intuitive and Easy to Use" January 8, 2020 4.0 Very good, it was a great introduction to the museum collection world and has been one of the best softwares I've used in the many years since. Pros I really enjoyed how quickly I was able to pick up on this software. This was my first time working with a museum's collection and I had little instruction on what to do, but the layout and functions of this software was so intuitive. Cons It was sometimes a little difficult to navigate all the different options if we wanted to see everything associated with an asset. Review Source FM Fiona M. Consultant Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Thesaurus Database" September 17, 2016 3.0 Whilst it is a sophisticated all in one museum management software it is more suitable for medium to large size museums with paid staff. This software is vulnerable to a lack of successional training & knowledge of database management software. The main bugbear we find with the program is that it doesn't come with a free field for 'object name' just a thesaurus for the type of object which is very odd. Pros One stop shop museum management. Looks good. Training Videos & Customer Support. Cons No free field for Object Name. Not suitable for volunteer run organisations. Review Source RR Rachel R. Collections Manager and Registrar Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "PastPerfect review" February 5, 2020 1.0 We have left PastPerfect in the dust. A poorly designed product on an unsupported format. Instead of creating new products they have continued to band-aid over the issues. Pros Complete cataloging fields, built-in nomenclature Cons Clunky, on an out-dated platform. I can seldom find what I am looking for and it takes a ton of time to train new users. Most of my volunteers refuse to use it. Review Source SN Sarah N. Executive Director Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Second to none" June 29, 2020 5.0 This is great. Even if you need a bit of help to get started it's very intuitive and easy to teach new team members. Pros Easy to use and train others on. I've used a variety of museum software but this was the best. Hands down. Cons Sometimes you have to look around a bit to find what you are looking for. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Research And Development Intern Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Easy to Use" August 28, 2018 5.0 Pros Super easy to use and there are helpful tutorials! Cons I don't have anything bad to say about it. Review Source BK Brian K. Preparator Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Valuable for inputting multiple metadata fields" December 13, 2018 4.0 Pros interface is pretty straight forward. you can add extensions to hold/store/incorporate different media. these are all upgrades. so in one sense it is a buffet of choices and you only pay for what you need for your storage/documentation. s Cons difficult to use across o.s. platforms at our company. specifically for our version to run on an apple o.s. system you would have to have a dual boot computer running a windows o.s. not a big deal for some, but our IT does not like having dual boot systems. Review Source RG Ron G. former board member and museum administravolunteer Used the software for: ### "PastPerfect museum management software" December 29, 2015 5.0 A great product for managing all museum membership and other contacts plus management of artifacts and collections. Easy to learn and use and I understand that they are making lots of improvements to an already great program Great support service Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.