Spiceworks Inventory online is a cloud network inventory service. Agents installed on devices send hardware and software details to a Device Inventory dashboard hosted by Spiceworks.[1] It shares its agent with Connectivity Dashboard, a cloud monitor of connectivity to business applications.[4] Spiceworks also offers two other free tools: Vendor Contracts, a register of IT vendor contracts, and Remote Support, which is provided with Zoho Assist.[6][7] These cloud tools replaced the self-hosted Spiceworks Desktop application, which combined inventory and help desk. Spiceworks stopped improving Desktop after version 7.5 in 2018, withdrew it from download at the end of June 2021, and ended its life at the end of 2021.[8] The on-premises Help Desk Server reached end of life by September 2022.[10] None of these tools has a price. Spiceworks calls Inventory “Completely free — even support” and funds it through advertising.[14] Use is governed by the Ziff Davis Terms of Use, including the Desktop and Tools licence.[13]
Editions
| Product | Status | What it does | Catalog row |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory online | Current, free | Device inventory from Collection and Scanning agents installed with a site key[1] | Inventory online |
| Connectivity Dashboard | Current, free | Monitors the connection between agent devices and configured services[5] | Connectivity Dashboard |
| Vendor Contracts | Current, free | Records contract, vendor, dates, cost and billing cycle, with expiry reminders[6] | Vendor Contracts |
| Remote Support | Current, free | Remote sessions to Windows and Mac workstations, provided in partnership with Zoho Assist[7] | Remote Support |
| Spiceworks Desktop 7.5 | Retired, end of life December 2021[10] | On-premises Inventory and Help Desk application[12] | Spiceworks Desktop 7.5 |
| Help Desk Server (HDS) | Retired, end of life by September 2022[10] | On-premises help desk; development stopped after v1.3[8] | Help Desk Server |
Spiceworks still keeps a support landing page for “Spiceworks Inventory (self-hosted)”, which links to documentation, release notes and the support forum.[15]
Metrics
None of these tools has a priced metric. Access is by Spiceworks ID. Admins invited to Inventory online sign in with their Spiceworks Community account.[1] Connectivity Dashboard is opened with Spiceworks Community credentials, and the person who registers it is at first its only admin.[5] The Terms license downloadable agents for equipment owned or controlled by the licensee or its Consenting Users.[13] No retrieved document caps the number of agents, devices or contracts.
Counting / floors
Agents (as retrieved 2026-09-27). Inventory online uses two kinds of agent. A Collection agent is installed on each device and scans it in detail. A Scanning agent (the IP Scanner) is installed on one device per network and scans IP ranges for higher-level information. The Scanning agent also acts as a Collection agent for its own device.[1] The Collection agent scans daily, based on the time it was installed.[3] Windows and Mac agents are available. The documentation lists Windows 8 and 10, Windows Server 2008 R2 to 2016 and OSX 10.10 to 10.15, and says SNMP devices are not supported.[1]
Software data. Under the Software category, the agent collects each program’s name, vendor, description, URL, version and install date. It also records the last user to log in, the processor count and type, and the serial number and asset tag.[4] The Terms exclude “Prohibited Data” from the Desktop and Tools licence. This covers payment card data, protected health information, Social Security numbers and similar categories.[13] Catalog proof: Inventory agent collects installed software daily; Prohibited Data excluded from the Desktop and Tools licence.
One inventory per account. A user can access only a single Inventory online dashboard. Every admin with access has full admin rights, including viewing the site key, adding agents and deleting devices.[1] Each Spiceworks account can likewise be linked to only one Vendor Contracts service. Invited contract users have admin rights to add, edit and delete entries.[6] Catalog proof: One Inventory online dashboard per Spiceworks account; One Vendor Contracts service per Spiceworks account; Connectivity Dashboard admin access by invitation.
Virtualization & partitioning
No virtualization rule applies, because the tools are not priced. The multi-site guide suggests installing the Scanning agent on a server, physical or virtual, that is always on. The device name then becomes the site or client filter, so a VM can be named after the client or site.[2]
Cloud / BYOL
Inventory online, Connectivity Dashboard and Vendor Contracts are hosted by Spiceworks. Agent data “is stored securely on the Spiceworks servers”. A customer can ask to close the account and delete device data, which becomes irrecoverable once backups expire.[3] Connectivity Dashboard agents report every 60 seconds. They check each configured application once a minute by ping or HTTP/HTTPS.[5] Remote Support is provided in partnership with Zoho Assist, and Zoho’s terms of service and privacy policy apply.[7] Catalog proof: Remote Support governed by Zoho terms.
Programs
MSP and multi-site use
The Terms allow MSPs and VARs to use the Service to support their customers.[13] Catalog row: MSP and VAR customer support use. In Inventory online, agents installed with one site key report into a single Device Inventory. Clients can be told apart by filtering on each client’s Scanning agent.[2] Fully separate inventories need a separate Spiceworks user account and site key for each client.[2] Catalog proof: Per-client inventories require separate accounts.
Retirement of the on-premises products
Spiceworks Desktop. In 2018 Spiceworks announced it would no longer improve Desktop after version 7.5, and version 8.0 was put on hold.[8] In May 2021 it announced that Desktop 7.5 would be unavailable for download from the end of June and fully end-of-life at the end of the year. From then on it would not be maintained or supported, “including addressing security vulnerabilities”.[8] One reason given was that changes by Microsoft and Google to mailbox authentication would make their mail services unusable from Desktop 7.5.[8] A notice of 2022-01-28 confirmed that Desktop 7.5 “is no longer supported and has been placed in an End of Life status”.[9] The 2022 update dates the deprecation to December 2021.[10] Catalog proof: Spiceworks Desktop 7.5 end of life.
Help Desk Server. Spiceworks discontinued HDS development in 2021, after the release of v1.3.[8] In September 2022 it announced that HDS would reach end of life by September 2022. It cited Microsoft’s move away from basic email authentication and said it would provide no further support after that month, including for security vulnerabilities.[10] Catalog proof: Help Desk Server end of life by September 2022.
Migration paths. Spiceworks’ stated migration path for help desk data is Cloud Help Desk. For inventory and monitoring, users remove the old agent from their devices and install the new one.[8] Desktop 7.5 tickets are exported as a JSON file and imported into Cloud Help Desk.[11] The import has limits. The upload may not exceed 600MB, and more than 5000 tickets may fail. Attachments over 5MB are not exported, nor are attachments on tickets inactive for more than one month.[11] Spiceworks says it does not intend to fully reproduce the Desktop application’s level of user customisation in Cloud Help Desk.[12] Catalog proof: Desktop ticket migration limits.
Contract terms
The downloadable agents are Tools under the Terms. They are “licensed, not sold” under a personal, limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence.[13] Installing them means agreeing to automatic updates.[13] The same licence covered the legacy Desktop, and the Terms still refer to it.[13] Commentary: for a software asset manager, a Desktop 7.5 or HDS installation found today is unsupported software that still falls under the Desktop licence, not a licence shortfall. It gets no security fixes.[8][10] The general background is in software maintenance and support. Catalog proof: Desktop and Tools licence scope; Automatic updates are a condition of installation.
Out of scope
- Cloud Help Desk plans and seat counting, covered in Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk plans and seats.
- Zoho Assist paid features (multiple technicians, concurrent sessions, file transfer, session recording), which Zoho licenses separately.
- Intel Endpoint Management Assistant, which Inventory online can link to but which Intel licenses.
- Hardware asset management uses of Inventory data, which fall outside the software-only scope of this wiki.