The CMMS alternative built for small manufacturers.
MaintainX and UpKeep are two of the best-known mobile CMMS tools, and for pure maintenance they are solid. But both are priced per user, and both stop at the maintenance department's door. They track how often an asset broke, not what the line produced. vMaint runs maintenance and live production on one flat per-site price, whole team included.
| vMaint | MaintainX | UpKeep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Factory operations platform: maintenance, production execution, and floor coordination | Mobile-first CMMS / maintenance management | Mobile-first CMMS / maintenance management |
| Pricing model | Flat per site, whole team included | Per user, per month | Per user, per month |
| Cost | Maintenance $200/site/mo, Operations $600/site/mo, Connected custom | Free Basic; Essential $20 to $25/user; Premium $65 to $75/user; Enterprise custom | Free Lite (up to 3 techs); Essential about $24/user; Premium about $55/user; higher tiers custom |
| Who is included | The whole team at one price, no per-seat fees | Paid per technician seat; requesters and view-only users free | Paid per technician seat; requester, view-only, and vendor users free |
| Production, OEE, downtime | Built in: live OEE, downtime with reasons, output vs target | Not native; integrates with MES tools for machine data | Not native; no OEE or production monitoring |
| Machine data (SCADA / IoT) | Optional integration, quoted per shop; optional on-prem and edge | IoT and OT connectors on higher tiers, extra cost; varies by vendor | IoT sensors as an add-on; varies by vendor |
| AI | Built-in AI layer | AI procedure generation and assistant on higher tiers; varies by tier | AI features across tiers; varies by tier |
| Setup | Same day, one-hour onboarding, free first month | Self-serve; paid onboarding for larger rollouts | Self-serve; paid professional services for migrations |
| Best for | Small and mid manufacturers who want maintenance and production on one bill | Maintenance teams wanting a polished CMMS with many free requesters | Maintenance teams wanting a mobile CMMS with free requester and vendor roles |
Competitor prices are 2026 ranges from vendor pricing pages and can change. Check each vendor for current pricing.
Where MaintainX and UpKeep are genuinely strong
Both are mature, well-funded products with large customer bases, app-store-grade mobile apps, and a generous free requester model: anyone who only submits requests does not cost you a seat. For a maintenance-only team with a high ratio of requesters to technicians, the effective per-user cost can come in under vMaint's flat fee. If all you need is maintenance, they are proven choices.
Where the per-seat model bites, and where they stop
Per-user pricing is fine until your whole shop needs in. The moment operators, leads, and supervisors should be in the system, not just filing requests, seat counts climb, and the real maintenance features sit on the higher tiers. More importantly, neither tool is a production system. They measure how often an asset broke, not how much it made. For OEE, live downtime reasons, and output vs target you add a separate platform. vMaint folds maintenance and production into one flat per-site price, so the next operator or the next dashboard does not change the bill.
The honest trade-offs with vMaint
vMaint is early-stage and solo-founded, so it does not have the years of reviews, certifications, or integration marketplace the incumbents have. There is no free-forever tier, you get a free first month and hands-on setup instead. And if you truly only do maintenance and never want production data, you are paying for capability you will not use, and a per-seat CMMS may be cheaper. vMaint earns its keep specifically when maintenance, production, and floor coordination belong together.
Common questions
Is vMaint a good MaintainX or UpKeep alternative?
Yes, especially if you want maintenance and production in one tool. MaintainX and UpKeep are strong per-user CMMS tools but stop at maintenance. vMaint adds live OEE, downtime, and output, on one flat per-site price with the whole team included.
How is vMaint's pricing different from MaintainX and UpKeep?
MaintainX and UpKeep charge per user, so the bill grows as you add technicians, and production data is not included. vMaint is flat per site, whole team included, and covers production as well as maintenance.
Do MaintainX and UpKeep track OEE?
Not natively. They track maintenance and asset history, not live OEE or production output. For that you add a separate tool. vMaint includes OEE and downtime in the same app.
One bill for maintenance and production.
Flat per site, whole team included, free first month.