Stora alternatives for UK operators

What Stora’s own pages and terms say

1. 01

   Three plans, priced by your units

   Essentials is £126 a month at 50 units and £1,289 at 2,000 paying monthly, or £105 and £1,074 a month paying yearly, before VAT. Advanced and Premium cost more at every size up to 2,000 units.

2. 02

   Gates, API and roles sit on higher plans

   Stora’s smart entry integrations and public API come with Advanced and up. Custom roles and unlimited team members come with Premium only; Essentials has 5 team members and Advanced 10.

3. 03

   Payment fees are Stora’s, before VAT

   Stora lists cards from 1.5% + 30p and Direct Debits at 1% (minimum 30p), and says its prices exclude VAT unless stated otherwise.

4. 04

   Onboarding has a fee; migrations are free

   Stora charges an onboarding fee that varies with what you need, and says free migrations are available to all.

5. 05

   Renewal is monthly, with 7 days’ notice

   Stora’s terms renew month by month, whether you pay monthly or yearly, and ask for written notice at least 7 days before the month ends. An invoice or order form can say otherwise, so read yours.

6. 06

   Your data: no rights for Stora, an export at the end

   Stora’s terms say it obtains no right, title or interest in your data. They let it delete your data where payments stay unpaid, after reasonable attempts to seek payment. Its data addendum says that when the agreement ends you are given an opportunity to export your data in a standard file format, after which Stora deletes all copies of your personal data within its control.

7. 07

   Hosting is in the EU

   Stora’s terms list its application and database hosting as EU. UK data protection law treats a transfer of personal data to an EEA state as approved (general information, not legal advice), so EU hosting is not itself a bar. Some operators still prefer UK hosting.

8. 08

   Headquartered in Belfast, UK

   With team members across the world

1. 01

   Online booking and signing

   Check that customers can book, sign and pay online on the plan you would buy, and who hosts the website they book on.

2. 02

   Fees on your own payments

   Ask each provider for its rates in writing. Work out the fee on your usual payment, once for cards and once for Direct Debit, with VAT shown separately.

3. 03

   How Direct Debit moves

   Ask whose Bacs service user number collects your mandates, and whether they move in bulk or each customer signs up again. A bulk change takes weeks.

4. 04

   Your exact gate system

   Name your gate or lock system. Ask who connects it, whether it works on the plan you would buy, and whether late payers are locked out automatically.

5. 05

   Staff logins and roles

   Count the people who need a login. Ask which roles you can set on the plan you would buy.

6. 06

   Price at your size and at double it

   Get the price for your units today and for twice that, on the plan you would really need, with every extra site and add-on in it.

7. 07

   Late fees and reminders

   Ask whether late fees and reminders run on a schedule you set, or whether someone has to apply them by hand.

8. 08

   UK fit and leaving terms

   Check VAT invoices, licence-to-occupy wording, UK support hours and where your data is hosted. Then read the notice and data-return terms before you sign.

• StoreBay

  One plan, priced by your units. Another site or another member of staff costs nothing.

  UK presence: UK team. Primary data hosted in London.

  • If you need gate and lock control without moving up a plan
  • If you want an API without moving up a plan
  • If you want late fees and reminders to run on their own

  Compared with Stora:

  Scorecard row	StoreBay	Stora
  Gate and lock control	StoreBayIncluded	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  API and webhooks	StoreBayIncluded	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Custom roles, unlimited staff	StoreBayIncluded	StoraPremium plan only
  Public reviews	StoreBayNone yet	Stora4.8 from 21 reviews
  Security certification	StoreBayNone yet	StoraISO/IEC 27001 certified

  Where Stora is stronger: it has 4.8 from 21 public reviews on Capterra UK and an ISO/IEC 27001 certificate, and StoreBay has neither yet.

• 6Storage

  Its own access system and several currencies; its Open API is coming soon.

  UK presence: Based in St. Louis, US. Support hours are in US Central time.

  • If you need gate and lock control without moving up a plan
  • If you want late fees and reminders to run on their own

  Compared with Stora:

  Scorecard row	6Storage	Stora
  Gate and lock control	6StorageOwn system plus partners	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  API and webhooks	6StorageComing soon	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Bacs Direct Debit	6StorageBacs not stated	StoraUK Direct Debit
  Published prices	6StorageQuote on request	StoraPrice calculator

  StoreBay vs 6Storage →6Storage’s website

• Kinnovis

  Its own access hardware and UK Bacs Direct Debit. Quote only.

  UK presence: SSA UK Innovation Award, 2024. Company based in Austria.

  • If you need gate and lock control without moving up a plan
  • If you want an API without moving up a plan
  • If you want late fees and reminders to run on their own

  Compared with Stora:

  Scorecard row	Kinnovis	Stora
  Gate and lock control	KinnovisOwn system plus partners	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Reminders and late fees	KinnovisIncluded	StoraAutomatic reminders
  API and webhooks	KinnovisPublic API	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Published prices	KinnovisQuote on request	StoraPrice calculator

  StoreBay vs Kinnovis →Kinnovis’s website

• SiteLink

  US-based, with SOC 1 and PCI Level 1. Usually one licence per location.

  UK presence: Based in the US. Support for Europe runs from North Carolina.

  • If you need gate and lock control without moving up a plan
  • If you want an API without moving up a plan

  Compared with Stora:

  Scorecard row	SiteLink	Stora
  Gate and lock control	SiteLinkOwn product plus partners	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Bacs Direct Debit	SiteLinkBacs not stated	StoraUK Direct Debit
  API and webhooks	SiteLinkIn-house and partner API	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Published prices	SiteLinkNo price list	StoraPrice calculator

  StoreBay vs SiteLink →SiteLink’s website

• Space Manager

  At least ten access providers; 4.7 from 7 reviews on Capterra UK. Quote only.

  UK presence: UK company, started in 1992. Based in Guildford.

  • If you need gate and lock control without moving up a plan
  • If you want an API without moving up a plan

  Compared with Stora:

  Scorecard row	Space Manager	Stora
  Custom roles, unlimited staff	Space ManagerSecurity profiles; licensed logins	StoraPremium plan only
  Gate and lock control	Space ManagerAt least ten access providers	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  API and webhooks	Space ManagerAPI access, as a module	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Published prices	Space ManagerQuote on request	StoraPrice calculator

  StoreBay vs Space Manager →Space Manager’s website

• Storeganise

  A price calculator, an open API on every plan and a valet module.

  UK presence: SSA UK supplier member. Incorporated in Hong Kong, per its terms.

  • If you need gate and lock control without moving up a plan
  • If you want an API without moving up a plan
  • If you want late fees and reminders to run on their own

  Compared with Stora:

  Scorecard row	Storeganise	Stora
  Gate and lock control	StoreganisePartner integrations	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  API and webhooks	StoreganiseEvery subscription	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Reminders and late fees	StoreganiseAutomatic reminders, late fees	StoraAutomatic reminders
  Extra sites included	StoreganiseIncluded up to 200 units	StoraIncluded

  StoreBay vs Storeganise →Storeganise’s website

• Storman

  Over 30 years’ experience, seven named access partners and a REST API. Quote only.

  UK presence: Offices in the UK. And in New Zealand and Australia.

  • If you need gate and lock control without moving up a plan
  • If you want an API without moving up a plan
  • If you want late fees and reminders to run on their own

  Compared with Stora:

  Scorecard row	Storman	Stora
  Gate and lock control	StormanSeven named partners	StoraAdvanced plan and up
  Reminders and late fees	StormanIncluded	StoraAutomatic reminders
  Bacs Direct Debit	StormanDirect Debit named	StoraUK Direct Debit
  Published prices	StormanQuote on request	StoraPrice calculator

  StoreBay vs Storman →Storman’s website

1. 01

   Read your order form, then the terms

   Stora’s terms renew month by month, whether you pay monthly or yearly, and ask for written notice at least 7 days before the month ends. An invoice or order form can say otherwise, so read yours first.

2. 02

   Choose the cutover date first

   Pick a billing boundary in a quiet month, and run one cycle in parallel if you can, so the last invoice and the first one do not overlap.

3. 03

   Export before you give notice

   Stora’s terms let it delete your data where payments stay unpaid, after reasonable attempts to seek payment. Settle the last invoice and take your exports first. Its data addendum gives you an opportunity to export your data when the agreement ends, and then deletes all copies of your personal data within its control.

4. 04

   Keep your records for six years

   In England and Wales a claim on a contract can be brought up to six years after it arises, and HMRC expects VAT records for at least six years. Keep signed agreements, invoices and payment records.

5. 05

   Direct Debit: find out who holds the mandates

   Ask in writing whose Bacs service user number collects them. GoCardless says a bulk change away needs both sponsor banks to authorise it, comes with a pre-filled deed to complete, and can take 3-5 weeks. Otherwise each customer sets up a new Direct Debit. Plan it so no one pays twice or misses a month.

6. 06

   Saved cards: ask what can move

   Ask which processor holds your customers’ saved cards and whether it will transfer them. Stora says its own migrations bring payment methods in; ask it in writing what it can do for a customer who leaves.

7. 07

   Gate codes: switch off the old lockout

   List your gate or lock system and where its codes live. Stora’s overlocking locks out late payers automatically, so switch it off at cutover, or it could lock out a customer who has already paid in the new system.

8. 08

   Website and domain

   Find out who controls your domain and its DNS. List your current page addresses and redirect the old booking pages. Update your Google Business Profile, ads and email links.

9. 09

   Switch off the old automation

   On cutover day, turn off the old system’s reminders, late fees, card retries, price-increase notices and lockouts. Then work through your cutover-day list: payments, access, website, emails.

10. 10

    Keep your own copy

    Download the reports, invoices and records you want to keep before your account closes.

Read the full switching guide →

Product names are trade marks of their owners, used here to identify them. StoreBay is not affiliated with any of them. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.