The True Cost of Legacy Software
For decades, PastPerfect was the default choice for small American museums and historical societies. But as technology has evolved, many organizations find themselves stuck with an outdated system that feels clunky, requires expensive hardware upgrades, and charges steep fees just to let the public view their collections online.
If you’re tired of dealing with local network installations, massive setup fees, and per-user licensing restrictions, it might be time to look at a modern alternative.
Enter Museum Vault
Museum Vault was built from the ground up to be cloud-native, affordable, and incredibly easy to use. Here is how we compare directly to legacy systems:
1. Zero Setup Fees & Transparent Pricing
Legacy systems often hide their true cost behind "Setup Fees" (sometimes nearly $1,000) and expensive add-ons for public access.
Museum Vault is a true SaaS platform. Our Pro plan is just $39/month, and includes up to 10,000 artifacts and 25 members. No setup fees, no hidden costs, no surprises.
2. Built for Volunteers, Not IT Experts
PastPerfect's interface hasn't changed much since the desktop era, making it overwhelming for new volunteers. Museum Vault uses a clean, card-based interface with high contrast and large text.
Even better? Passwordless login. Volunteers simply click a "magic link" sent to their email to log in—no more forgotten passwords or locked accounts.
3. Smartphone Inventory Auditing
Why spend hundreds of dollars on proprietary barcode scanners? With Museum Vault, your volunteers can use the smartphones they already have in their pockets to scan artifact QR codes and conduct inventory audits instantly.
4. Free Virtual Exhibitions
Don't pay extra just to share your collection with your community. Museum Vault includes beautiful, dark-themed virtual exhibition galleries out-of-the-box, allowing you to curate and publish online exhibits with a single click.
The 1-Click Migration
We know the scariest part of switching software is moving your data. That's why we built a dedicated migration engine. You can export your data from PastPerfect (XML, CSV, or HTML) and import it directly into Museum Vault with a single click. Your records, your structure, perfectly preserved.