Selection
A side-by-side comparison of forklifts, stackers and reach trucks by aisle width, lift height, pallet type and throughput — with a decision table.
Last updated: 11 October 2026
These three machines overlap heavily on paper and not at all in practice. Buy the wrong one and you either cannot reach your top beam, or you have given away two metres of racking you did not need to lose.
The one question that decides it
How does the load get onto the forks? Everything else follows from this.
- If the pallet has to be picked up off the floor or out of a truck **with nothing in the way**, you need a counterbalance design — a forklift or a counterbalance stacker.
- If the pallet can be approached from the open side, with legs passing either side of it, a **straddle stacker** will do the same job in a much narrower aisle.
- If the pallet has to be placed **deep into racking** from a narrow aisle, only a **reach truck** or a three-way truck will do it.
Side by side
| Straddle stacker | Reach truck | Counterbalance forklift |
|---|
| Minimum aisle | 2.2 m | 2.4 – 2.8 m | 3.5 – 4.0 m |
| Lift height | to 4 – 5 m | to 7 – 8 m | to 6 m (higher with special masts) |
| Pallet type | Open-bottom only | Any | Any |
| Pick from truck bed | No | No | Yes |
| Throughput | Low – medium | Medium – high | High |
| Relative cost | £ | £££ | ££ |
| Operator licence | Often not required | Required in most markets | Required in most markets |
Where people get it wrong
- **Buying a forklift for a 2.6 m aisle.** It will not fit. The operator will damage racking, and eventually someone will be hurt.
- **Buying a stacker for closed-bottom pallets.** It physically cannot pick them up. Check your pallet type before anything else.
- **Buying a reach truck for truck loading.** The mast travels forward, which is exactly the wrong motion for reaching into a trailer. You want counterbalance.
- **Buying too much lift height.** Height costs money twice — in the mast and in the residual capacity you lose.
A note on very narrow aisles
Below about 2.0 m, none of the three work. That is three-way and four-way territory, where the fork carriage rotates to work both sides of the aisle from a single pass. If your building is tight and your racking is tall, price a three-way truck before you conclude you need a bigger building.
Need help choosing the right truck?
Send us your load weight, lifting height and aisle width — we will recommend the right model.
Frequently asked questions
Forklift, stacker or reach truck — how do I choose?
Forklifts carry the load outside the wheelbase and can unload lorries. Stackers lift but are pedestrian. Reach trucks work in the narrowest aisles.
Which needs the least aisle width?
A reach truck, from around 2.5 m. A counterbalance forklift needs 3.2–4.0 m.
Can one machine do everything?
Not well. Most warehouses run a mix — reach trucks inside, one counterbalance for the dock.
