Artwork Archive is particularly well suited to individual artists, independent collectors and organisations seeking straightforward cataloguing. Aurelian is designed for galleries, advisors and collections that need inventory, CRM, consignments, permissions and operational workflows in one system.
Positioning
Artwork Archive is a well-established cataloguing tool. Aurelian is an operational workspace. If the primary need is cataloguing artworks with location and value history, Artwork Archive is excellent value. If the need includes client relationships, consignment splits, exhibition tracking or multi-user scoped access, Aurelian is the fuller platform.
Feature comparison
| Area | Artwork Archive | Aurelian |
|---|---|---|
| Primary user | Individual artists and independent collectors. | Galleries, advisors and collections needing multi-party workflows. |
| Clienteling & CRM | Contact list. | Clienteling with tagging, purchase history and scoped access. |
| Consignments | Basic consignment tracking. | Artist agreements with commission splits recorded on each sale (automated statements on the roadmap). |
| Access control | Single user or shared account. | Multi-user with scoped roles per workspace. |
| Cataloguing depth | Strong. Purpose-built for cataloguing. | Strong. Cataloguing plus the operations around it. |
When Artwork Archive wins
Individual artists cataloguing their own output. Independent collectors with modest collections and no need for multi-user access. Anyone whose need is genuinely cataloguing-only.
When Aurelian wins
Any operation with staff, clients, artists or consignments. Private collections managed by an advisor or curator. Advisors handling multiple clients in one workspace. Anyone who has outgrown a cataloguing-only tool.
Questions
Artwork records can be imported by CSV from Artwork Archive's export. Assisted image and document migration is planned as a paid onboarding service — today, images and documents are re-uploaded during setup.
For an individual artist, yes — Artwork Archive is priced for that user. For a working gallery or professional advisor, Aurelian is competitive and offers materially more operational capability.
Both are approachable. Artwork Archive is faster to first cataloguing entry. Aurelian takes slightly longer to learn because it does more, but keyboard shortcuts and templates accelerate power users.
See for yourself