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Manufacturing · head to head

ABB 800xA vs VTScada

ABB 800xA logo

ABB 800xA

Manufacturing

Distributed control system and process automation platform for continuous and hybrid process plants

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VTScada logo

VTScada

Utilities

SCADA software for water, wastewater and remote telemetry with a published price list

From
$3395/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ABB 800xA licensing is by I/O count, controller count and workplace clients, and none of it is published, so two plants of similar size can be quoted very differently with no external benchmark to argue against.; VTScada licences are per installed PC rather than per system, so a redundant pair plus a development machine means paying three times unless you buy the discounted multi-server bundles.
  • They diverge on capability: ABB 800xA covers Extended Automation, VTScada covers Automatic version control.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ABB 800xA and VTScada actually diverge.

Attributes where ABB 800xA and VTScada differ
AttributeABB 800xAVTScada
Starting priceOn request$3395/one-time
Pricing modelquoteOne-time purchase
CategoryManufacturingUtilities

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Windows), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ABB 800xA

  • Extended Automation
  • AC 800M controllers
  • Connectivity servers
  • Safety integration
  • IEC 61850 electrical
  • Batch management
  • Information management
  • Asset optimisation

Only in VTScada

  • Automatic version control
  • Bundled historian
  • Alarm notification
  • Driver set included
  • Redundancy and sync
  • Thin clients
  • Idea Studio
  • Slippy maps

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ABB 800xA

  • A refinery replacing operator consoles and control room infrastructure while keeping working field controllers in placenot VTScada
  • A pulp and paper mill consolidating process, electrical and safety monitoring into a single operator workplacenot VTScada
  • A mining operation that needs SIL 3 safety functions on the same network as process control rather than a separate safety systemnot VTScada
  • A marine or offshore platform where ABB already supplies the electrical distribution and IEC 61850 integration removes a second systemnot VTScada

VTScada

  • A municipal water authority with 60 remote pump stations on licensed radio that needs DNP3 polling and regulator-facing change recordsnot ABB 800xA
  • An oil and gas gathering operator polling wellsite RTUs over intermittent cellular links with store and forwardnot ABB 800xA
  • A small utility that must produce a defensible budget number before going to council for capital approvalnot ABB 800xA
  • An integrator standardising on one product where historian, alarming and dialler costs are inside the licence rather than quoted separatelynot ABB 800xA

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ABB 800xA

  • Licensing is by I/O count, controller count and workplace clients, and none of it is published, so two plants of similar size can be quoted very differently with no external benchmark to argue against.
  • Engineering and commissioning typically cost more than the software and controller hardware together, and that share is not visible in the initial ABB quotation, which prices the system rather than the project.
  • It is Windows only for servers and workplaces, so the operating system lifecycle drives forced upgrade cycles that have nothing to do with your process.
  • Once configured, the aspect object model and the specific integrator conventions used make handing the system to a different service provider expensive; ABB service contracts are effectively sticky.
  • Software maintenance is an annual contract on top of the licence and lapsing it means you cannot take version upgrades, so the system quietly ages out of security support if the plant skips renewals to save money.

VTScada

  • Licences are per installed PC rather than per system, so a redundant pair plus a development machine means paying three times unless you buy the discounted multi-server bundles.
  • Thin client licensing is by concurrent connection and is priced steeply at scale: unlimited thin clients on a 50,000 tag system costs 59,395 USD on top of the base licence, more than the base licence itself.
  • It is Windows only with no Linux or container deployment, which rules it out of modern edge and virtualised architectures that other SCADA products now support.
  • SupportPlus at 15 percent of the original software price must be maintained continuously; if you let it lapse you cannot simply resume, and reinstatement is negotiated rather than published.
  • The scripting environment and the integrator pool are both proprietary and small, so finding a second-source integrator in a region where Trihedral has thin coverage is genuinely difficult.

Pricing, plan by plan

ABB 800xA

On request
  • ABB Ability System 800xA$undefined/year
    • Licensed by I/O count, controller count and workplace clients
    • Sold as a project through ABB or a certified partner
    • Annual software maintenance contract priced separately

VTScada

$3395/one-time
  • Base licence up to 1,000 I/O$3395/one-time
    • Runtime and full historian
    • All I/O drivers included
    • Alarms and events
  • Base licence up to 5,000 I/O$4295/one-time
    • Runtime and full historian
    • Development add-on 4,100 USD
    • Alarm notification add-on 2,895 USD
  • Single Server bundle, 5,000 I/O$19095/one-time
    • Development node
    • Alarm notification
    • 2 thin clients
  • Single Server bundle, 50,000 I/O$32495/one-time
    • Development node
    • Alarm notification
    • 2 thin clients

Which should you pick?

Choose ABB 800xA if

  • You need extended automation.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want ac 800m controllers.
ABB 800xA review

Choose VTScada if

  • You need automatic version control.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want bundled historian.
VTScada review

Questions people ask

Is ABB 800xA or VTScada better?
Neither clearly leads. ABB 800xA starts at On request and VTScada at $3395/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ABB 800xA or VTScada?
ABB 800xA starts at On request and VTScada at $3395/one-time.
Does ABB 800xA or VTScada run on more platforms?
Both run on Windows, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is ABB 800xA best used for?
ABB 800xA is most often used for a refinery replacing operator consoles and control room infrastructure while keeping working field controllers in place, a pulp and paper mill consolidating process, electrical and safety monitoring into a single operator workplace, a mining operation that needs sil 3 safety functions on the same network as process control rather than a separate safety system, a marine or offshore platform where abb already supplies the electrical distribution and iec 61850 integration removes a second system. Of those, a refinery replacing operator consoles and control room infrastructure while keeping working field controllers in place and a pulp and paper mill consolidating process, electrical and safety monitoring into a single operator workplace are not what VTScada is typically brought in for.
What can ABB 800xA do that VTScada cannot?
ABB 800xA covers Extended Automation, AC 800M controllers, Connectivity servers, Safety integration. VTScada covers Automatic version control, Bundled historian, Alarm notification, Driver set included.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ABB 800xA: Is 800xA sold as a perpetual licence?

Yes, the system licence is perpetual, but a separate annual software maintenance agreement is required to receive updates and version upgrades.

VTScada: Is VTScada perpetual or subscription?

Perpetual. Licences are one-time purchases per installed PC, with an optional annual SupportPlus contract at 15 percent of the original software price.

ABB 800xA: Can 800xA control non-ABB field hardware?

Yes. Connectivity servers front third-party PLC and DCS systems and legacy ABB families, which is the main reason it wins brownfield projects.

VTScada: Are drivers extra?

No. Standard and proprietary I/O drivers, the historian, trending, reporting and security are all included in the base licence.

ABB 800xA: Does it replace a separate electrical SCADA?

It can. IEC 61850 substation integration is native, so many plants drop a separate electrical monitoring system.

VTScada: What does support actually cost?

Annual SupportPlus is 15 percent of total software purchase price. Adding 24/7 emergency support is a further 5 percent with a 1,540 USD minimum.

ABB 800xA: What is the realistic implementation timeline?

A full plant migration is measured in years, not months; phased cutovers of one unit at a time are the norm.

VTScada: Does it run on Linux?

No. VTScada is Windows only.

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