A clear definition of a forklift, how it differs from a pallet truck, stacker and reach truck, and which one a warehouse actually needs.
Last updated: 11 October 2026
A forklift — formally a "powered industrial truck" — is a motorised vehicle with a forked platform at the front, used to lift, carry and stack palletised or bulky loads. The forks sit on a mast that raises and lowers, and the whole load is carried outside the front wheels, which is what allows a forklift to pick a pallet straight off the ground or out of a truck bed without any outrigger legs in the way.
That last point is the whole difference between a forklift and the other machines people confuse it with.
| Machine | How it carries the load | Typical aisle needed |
|---|---|---|
| Hand pallet truck | Load sits between the wheels; forks slide under | 1.8 m to turn |
| Electric pallet truck | Same, but powered travel and lift | 2.0 m |
| Stacker | Load lifted between two support legs | 2.2 m |
| Reach truck | Mast travels forward to place the load | 2.4 – 2.8 m |
| Counterbalance forklift | Load carried outside the front wheels | 3.5 – 4.0 m |
A pallet truck only lifts a pallet a few centimetres off the floor — enough to move it, not to stack it. A stacker lifts vertically but needs its support legs on either side of the pallet, so it cannot pick up a closed-bottom pallet or reach into a truck. A reach truck adds a moving mast so it can place a pallet deep into racking from a narrow aisle. Only a counterbalance forklift carries the load entirely outside its own footprint — which is why it needs the widest aisle but can do the most jobs.
Getting this wrong is the single most expensive mistake in warehouse planning. Buying too small means you cannot reach the top beam; buying a forklift when a stacker would do means you have paid for aisle width you did not need to give up.
Send us your load weight, lifting height and aisle width — we will recommend the right model.
