The best LighterPack alternatives in 2026 (I checked every one this month)

These are the LighterPack alternatives that are actually alive in August 2026: PackWizard, Packstack, TrailGearList, MetaGear, OutPack, Hikt, Featherline and MyPacks. If you searched for apps like LighterPack, this is that list, minus the dead links; I opened every site this month and dropped what no longer loads.

One of the eight is mine. I'm Jop, I build TrailGearList, and a roundup by a participant can't be neutral. It can be checked, though: every claim below comes from a tool's live site as of this month, and where I couldn't verify something, I left it out. TrailGearList sits third, not first, because that's where it belongs for most readers.

Why people go looking in the first place

LighterPack has been the default gear list tool for years. It's free and open source, and a /r/ link is the expected format for every shakedown thread on r/Ultralight. It also barely changed for a long time. Its public GitHub repository shows zero commits between March 2021 and March 2024, and users kept bumping into the same walls: nothing to install on a phone, no viewer copy button on shared lists, no gear database.

Fairness demands an update to that story. In 2026, development woke back up; 76 commits landed in July 2026 alone, including phone usability work. So "abandoned" is no longer a reason to leave. The remaining reasons are about what LighterPack deliberately isn't: a native app, a price catalog, a place where a shared list can be copied instead of retyped. Every tool below exists because somebody wanted one of those.

One name you can cross off: GearGrams, an older tool that still comes up in forum threads, didn't respond at all when I checked it this month.

PackWizard, for gear research and prices

Free and affiliate-funded, with the only serious gear database in this list: autofill from more than 10,000 items, retailer prices refreshed daily, price history and a deals section. It imports a LighterPack list when you paste your share URL, and its automated suggestions show what a lighter alternative would save you. If your planning is still mostly shopping, start here. I wrote a longer TrailGearList vs PackWizard piece if you want the differences in detail.

Packstack, for a native app with a web version

Packstack pairs a website with iOS and Android apps and keeps your gear in a closet you reuse across trips. It imports LighterPack CSV files and splits weight into base, worn and consumable. The free tier is enough to try it; a Pro subscription unlocks unlimited kits and lists, plus a calorie calculator for trip food. Of the app-store options it reads the most like a direct LighterPack successor, because the core stays gear, lists and weights rather than a broader trip planner.

TrailGearList, mine, for phone-first lists of gear you own

This is the one I build, so apply salt. It's free with no list limit, imports your LighterPack CSV, and keeps a per-user gear library with brands, weights, prices, tags and photos. Lists carry worn and consumable flags, per-section weights and a markdown trip description, and every list can have a public page with a readable slug that viewers copy into their own account with one click. It's a fast website that installs as a PWA, not an app-store app, and there's no price database and no community the size of LighterPack's. The win I'll claim: it stays closest to LighterPack's free-and-simple model while being comfortable to edit on a phone. The import page shows the path over, and the comparison with LighterPack goes deeper than this paragraph can.

MetaGear, for a phone app plus a shareable profile

MetaGear is an iOS and Android app from two hikers, built around a gear locker with weights, prices, photos and notes. It imports LighterPack lists from a link or a CSV, turns any list into a checklist with one tap, and publishes shared lists as web pages that open without the app. The twist is the outdoor profile: one link gathering your lists, routes and photos, closer to a link-in-bio page than anything else here. The core is free; Pro costs $3.33 a month, billed annually.

OutPack, for the whole trip rather than the pack

OutPack stretches furthest beyond gear: routes with GPX import, weather, meal planning with macros, and load balancing across a group. The web version is free within limits (250 gear items, 10 trips a year), and a one-time Supporter purchase unlocks the mobile apps and higher caps, with no subscription. It's a solo developer's product with an ambitious scope; if you want your food plan and your pack list in the same tool, nothing else on this page does that.

Hikt, for hiking partners who don't plan in English

Hikt comes from a Finnish company and runs on web and mobile, with a gear closet, packing lists and weight analytics. Its standout feature is language support: nine languages, including German, French, Spanish and the Nordic ones. It's free to get started. If you plan trips with people who'd rather not wrestle an English-only tool, this is the obvious pick.

Featherline, for AI swap suggestions

Featherline imports a LighterPack list from a pasted share URL and is built as an installable PWA that works offline. Its main idea is AI-generated swap suggestions: lighter alternatives for items on your list, with purchase links, funded by affiliate commissions plus a $4.99 per month Pro tier for unlimited AI use. The core planner is free. An AI proposing purchases is a matter of taste; if the idea appeals to you, this is the tool experimenting with it.

MyPacks, for pack lists with a trip diary attached

MyPacks combines a gear library and weight charts with trip logging: distance, elevation, conditions, maps. The free tier is tight, 50 gear items and a single packing list, and public sharing sits behind the paid plan at A$24.99 a year; the pricing is Australian and by appearances so is the project. Worth a look if logging finished trips matters as much to you as planning the next one.

How to switch, whichever you pick

Export first. LighterPack produces a CSV per list, and that file is the lingua franca of this category: Packstack and TrailGearList read it directly, MetaGear accepts a CSV or a link, and PackWizard and Featherline import straight from your share URL. After any import, give your worn and consumable flags a quick check before you trust the base weight. Your LighterPack lists stay untouched, so nothing about trying an alternative is final. For TrailGearList, the steps live on the import from LighterPack page.

Who should pick what

Whatever you land on, the number all of these tools are trying to shrink is the same one; if the term is new, start with what base weight means. And since every tool here can read a LighterPack export, you're never locked in. The tools have to compete on being pleasant to use, which is how it should be.