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Energy · head to head

ABB Ability vs Uplight

ABB Ability logo

ABB Ability

Energy

Digital solutions for energy and automation

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Uplight logo

Uplight

Energy

Customer engagement, rebate marketplaces and demand flexibility software sold to regulated utilities

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ABB Ability the Internet Archive's capture of ABB Ability's page on 19 December 2021 showed it is sold only through a 'Find Your Sales Partner' channel across industry verticals (Automotive, Buildings, Data Centers, EV Charging, Manufacturing, Mining, Oil & Gas, Power, and others), with no price list published.; Uplight the product assumes a regulated utility with commission-approved programmes, so competitive retailers and aggregators find much of the reporting and measurement machinery irrelevant while still paying for it.
  • They diverge on capability: ABB Ability covers Asset health monitoring, Uplight covers Energy marketplace.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ABB Ability and Uplight actually diverge.

Attributes where ABB Ability and Uplight differ
AttributeABB AbilityUplight
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, ApiWeb, iOS, Android, API
Founded1988Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Energy).

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 Ability

  • Asset health monitoring
  • Predictive maintenance
  • Performance optimization
  • Energy management
  • Grid automation
  • Remote diagnostics
  • Advanced analytics
  • Digital twin technology

Only in Uplight

  • Energy marketplace
  • Personalised recommendations
  • Rates engagement
  • Demand response
  • Distributed energy resource management
  • Programme reporting
  • Home energy reports
  • OEM and device partnerships

What people use each for

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

ABB Ability

  • Asset performance managementnot Uplight
  • Predictive maintenancenot Uplight
  • Grid optimizationnot Uplight
  • Energy efficiencynot Uplight

Uplight

  • A regulated utility that must deliver an approved energy efficiency programme and evidence the savings to its commissionnot ABB Ability
  • A utility launching a residential demand response programme built on customer-owned thermostats and batteriesnot ABB Ability
  • A utility moving customers onto time-of-use tariffs that needs enrolment journeys rather than a billing change alonenot ABB Ability
  • A utility that wants rebates applied at the point of purchase instead of processing claim forms after the factnot ABB Ability

Where each one falls short

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

ABB Ability

  • The Internet Archive's capture of ABB Ability's page on 19 December 2021 showed it is sold only through a 'Find Your Sales Partner' channel across industry verticals (Automotive, Buildings, Data Centers, EV Charging, Manufacturing, Mining, Oil & Gas, Power, and others), with no price list published.

Uplight

  • The product assumes a regulated utility with commission-approved programmes, so competitive retailers and aggregators find much of the reporting and measurement machinery irrelevant while still paying for it.
  • Procurement runs through long RFPs tied to rate cases and programme approvals, so implementation dates are set by a regulator rather than by the utility or the vendor and slip when filings slip.
  • The investor group of Schneider Electric, AES and Octopus Energy Group is made up of active energy market participants, which is a governance question a utility should raise in diligence rather than discover later.
  • The platform spans engagement, marketplace and demand management, and those capabilities were built or acquired separately, so a buyer taking one module gets less of the integration benefit than the platform story implies.
  • The reference base and product depth are strongest in North America, so a European or Asia-Pacific utility gets fewer comparable deployments and less functionality built around local market rules.

Pricing, plan by plan

ABB Ability

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the ABB Ability review.

Uplight

On request
  • Uplight platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted per utility programme by customer count and modules
    • Frequently structured around approved programme budgets and performance targets
    • Marketplace economics include product fulfilment and rebate handling

Which should you pick?

Choose ABB Ability if

  • You need asset health monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Api.
  • You also want predictive maintenance.
ABB Ability review

Choose Uplight if

  • You need energy marketplace.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want personalised recommendations.
Uplight review

Questions people ask

Is ABB Ability or Uplight better?
Neither clearly leads. ABB Ability starts at On request and Uplight at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ABB Ability or Uplight?
ABB Ability starts at On request and Uplight at On request.
Does ABB Ability or Uplight run on more platforms?
ABB Ability runs on Web, Mobile, Api. Uplight runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
What is ABB Ability best used for?
ABB Ability is most often used for asset performance management, predictive maintenance, grid optimization, energy efficiency. Of those, asset performance management and predictive maintenance are not what Uplight is typically brought in for.
What can ABB Ability do that Uplight cannot?
ABB Ability covers Asset health monitoring, Predictive maintenance, Performance optimization, Energy management. Uplight covers Energy marketplace, Personalised recommendations, Rates engagement, Demand response.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Uplight: Who owns Uplight?

It is privately held and backed by Schneider Electric, AES Corporation and Octopus Energy Group.

Uplight: Can a competitive energy retailer use it?

It can, but the product is designed around regulated programme delivery and measurement, so a retailer pays for machinery it does not need.

Uplight: Does Uplight do demand response as well as efficiency?

Yes. It acquired the AutoGrid distributed energy resource platform from Schneider Electric in 2024, which added device control and dispatch to the engagement business.

Uplight: Is pricing published?

No. Deals are quoted per programme and usually sized against an approved programme budget.

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