Numistify guide
Best Coin Collecting Software in 2026: How to Choose
Spreadsheets, desktop programs and web apps all catalogue a collection. Here is what separates them, the questions to ask before you commit, and a plain account of what Numistify can and cannot do.
The short answer
For a small collection, a spreadsheet is enough. Move to dedicated software when a spreadsheet starts to get in the way: when you want to catalogue from your phone, when you need the real cost of each piece including fees and shipping, or when you sell part of a group and need the numbers to stay straight. Whatever you choose, check four things before you commit: that you can export all your data, that it records the total cost rather than just a price, that it handles partial sales, and that you can reach it from your phone.
When cataloguing starts to pay off
A record is far easier to build as you go than to reconstruct later. The details you are certain of on the drive home — what you paid in total, where it came from, which variety it was — fade within weeks, and no software can recover them once they are gone.
That is the argument for starting early. Ten coins take a few minutes to catalogue. Two hundred, recalled from memory and old receipts, take a weekend and still come out with gaps.
The benefits compound as the collection grows: knowing at a show whether you already own something, seeing what a piece really cost once fees and shipping are counted, keeping the numbers straight when you sell part of a group, and answering what you spent last year without adding it up by hand.
The kinds of tool available
Spreadsheets
The default, and not a bad one. Free, familiar, sorts and totals, and yours forever in a file you control.
What they do badly: photographs, which do not live comfortably in cells; partial sales, where selling three of five identical pieces means either splitting rows or losing history; and phones, where editing a wide sheet is miserable.
Desktop cataloguing programs
Long-established, install-once software, often with deep reference databases built in and strong on identification and valuation for the series they cover.
The trade-offs are that your catalogue lives on one machine, backups are your problem, and they tend to be Windows-first. Some are one-time purchases, which suits people who dislike subscriptions.
Web and mobile apps
Catalogue in the cloud, reachable from a phone at a show and a laptop at home, usually on a subscription, with the vendor handling backups.
The trade-off is dependence: you are trusting someone else with your records, which makes data export the thing to check before you commit.
Marketplace and grading tools
Some collectors use dealer platforms or grading-service registries as a de facto catalogue. They are good at what they are for, but they only hold what you bought or graded through them, which is rarely the whole collection.
What to look for
Can you get your data out? The first question, not the last. Exporting the whole collection to CSV or Excel should be easy and unrestricted. A catalogue you cannot move is a catalogue you can lose.
Does it track what you actually paid? Many tools record a purchase price. Fewer handle the total — hammer price plus buyer’s premium plus shipping plus grading — which is the only figure that tells you anything real about a sale.
Does it survive partial sales? If you hold ten identical bullion pieces and sell four, does the tool keep the cost of the remaining six straight? A surprising number do not.
Does it keep your photos? Some tools store several images per coin; others, Numistify among them, do not. Decide whether that matters to you.
Where do its values come from? Some tools pull prices from a guide or marketplace; others ask you to enter your own estimate. Pulled prices save time but are only as good as their source.
Does it cover what you collect? Plenty of tools are US-coins-first. If you hold world coins, banknotes or bullion, check before committing rather than after.
Is it with you when you buy? The catalogue is most valuable at the moment you are deciding whether you already own something.
What Numistify does and does not do
Numistify is a web app for collectors and dealers, built around identifying coins from a photograph and tracking what each piece really cost. Here is a plain account of where it stands on the questions collectors ask most.
| Question | Numistify |
|---|---|
| Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android | Yes — it runs in the browser, and you can add it to your phone’s home screen. It needs an internet connection. |
| Export your data | Yes, on every plan — an Excel file with every field. Photos are not included, because Numistify does not store them. |
| Import an existing collection | Yes — from an Excel file laid out like the Starter Template, or a previous Numistify export. |
| PCGS and NGC look-up | No — you enter the grading service, grade and cert number yourself. |
| Store your own photos | No — a photo is used to identify a coin, but it is not kept with the record. |
| Automatic market values | No — you enter an estimated value, and Numistify totals the collection. |
| Total cost and partial sales | Yes — hammer price, buyer’s fee, shipping and grading costs, with the cost of unsold units kept straight when you sell part of a group. |
| Coins, banknotes and bullion | Yes, in one inventory. |
| Price | Free for 50 items; Collector $9 a month; Dealer $29 a month. |
Identification from a photograph is its distinguishing feature: point a camera at a coin and it fills in country, year, denomination, mint mark and composition, which removes most of the tedium that stops people cataloguing at all. The scan is optional — coins can be typed in by hand, individually or, on the paid plans, several at once, and templates for common series fill in composition and metal weight.
Questions people ask
Is a spreadsheet good enough, or do I need dedicated software?
For a small collection, a spreadsheet is enough: it sorts, filters and totals, costs nothing and is yours forever. It is worth moving to dedicated software when you want to catalogue from your phone, track the full cost of each piece including fees, shipping and grading, or sell part of a group without losing the cost of what remains.
Does coin collecting software work on Mac, iPhone and Android?
Web-based software does: it runs in any modern browser, so it works on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android alike. Many installed desktop programs are Windows-only. Numistify is a web app; you can add it to your phone’s home screen, and it needs an internet connection.
Can I export my data if I want to switch programs?
You should be able to — check before you commit. Numistify exports the whole collection on every plan, including the free one, as an Excel file with every field it stores; you can open it in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, or save it as CSV. Photos are not part of the export, because Numistify does not store them.
Does coin collecting software integrate with PCGS and NGC?
Some tools look up a cert number and pull in the grade and images. Numistify does not connect to PCGS, NGC or any grading service: you record the grading service, grade and cert number yourself, and can check any coin on the grading service’s own cert-verification page.
How do I import an existing collection into Numistify?
Download the Starter Template from the Inventory toolbar — a spreadsheet with the right columns, an Instructions sheet and one example coin — copy your data into its columns, and upload it with Import Collection. Columns are matched by name, so a previous Numistify export imports the same way.
Can I attach my own photos of my coins?
Not in Numistify. A photo is used to identify the coin when you scan it, but Numistify does not store coin photos with your records. If keeping images matters, keep them in your photo library or a cloud folder and use the item’s SKU in the file name, or choose a tool that stores images.
Does the software automatically update market values?
Some tools pull prices from price guides or marketplaces. Numistify does not: you enter an estimated value for each item and it totals the collection alongside what you paid. For precious-metal coins, the templates fill in fineness and metal weight, so you can work out melt value from the day’s spot price.
How does the software track purchase costs and partial sales?
Numistify records the hammer price, buyer’s fee, shipping, grading fee and grading shipping, so each item carries its total cost rather than a single price. When you sell some units of a group, the cost of the unsold units stays intact, and each sale records its price, fees and channel so you can see what you made.
Can I access my collection from my phone at a coin show?
With Numistify, yes, as long as you have a signal: it runs in your phone’s browser or from your home screen, and you can search your inventory before you buy. It does not warn automatically about duplicates, and it needs an internet connection, so check the reception before you rely on it on a bourse floor.
What is the best free or subscription software for a coin collection?
It depends on how you collect. Spreadsheets are free and permanent; installed desktop programs are often a one-time purchase but tied to one computer; web apps usually charge a subscription but work on every device. Numistify is free for 50 items and 15 photo scans a month; Collector is $9 a month for 500 items and Dealer $29 a month for unlimited items and eBay tools.
Is Numistify free?
The first 50 items are free with no card required, including 15 photo scans a month and Excel import and export. Collector is $9 a month ($90 a year) for up to 500 items and 100 scans a month; Dealer is $29 a month ($290 a year) for unlimited items, 500 scans a month and eBay tools.
Related guides
How to track a coin collection — what to record and why, before you pick a tool. What to record when you buy a coin — field by field. How to send coins for grading — choosing a service, and tracking coins while they are away.
Need to track your collection?
Numistify is where collectors keep track of what they actually have — coins, banknotes and bullion in one catalogue, with the date, mint mark, grade and cert number on every piece.
It also works out what each item really cost you, with the buyer fees, shipping and grading added in rather than just the hammer price. When you sell, you can see what you made on it.
Free for your first 50 items, and there is no card to enter.