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Manufacturing · head to head

AMFG vs LabVIEW

AMFG logo

AMFG

Manufacturing

Automated quoting and production workflow software for machine shops and additive bureaus

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
LabVIEW logo

LabVIEW

Manufacturing

Graphical dataflow programming for automated test, measurement and instrument control

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AMFG no pricing is published in any form, and the product is sold by module and site, so total cost is invisible until you are several sales calls in.; LabVIEW nI is now part of Emerson, completing in 2023, so LabVIEW sits inside an industrial automation conglomerate rather than being the flagship of a dedicated test company; roadmap priorities and support pricing follow the parent, not the user base.
  • They diverge on capability: AMFG covers Geometric auto-quoting, LabVIEW covers Graphical dataflow programming.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AMFG and LabVIEW actually diverge.

Attributes where AMFG and LabVIEW differ
AttributeAMFGLabVIEW
PlatformsWeb, CloudWindows, Linux, macOS

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

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 AMFG

  • Geometric auto-quoting
  • 2D drawing analysis
  • Production planning and scheduling
  • Shop-floor control
  • Quality tracking
  • Customer portal
  • CAD and CAM plugins

Only in LabVIEW

  • Graphical dataflow programming
  • Front panels
  • Instrument driver library
  • Hardware integration
  • Real-time and FPGA targets
  • Analysis and signal processing
  • Application builder
  • Nigel AI assistant

What people use each for

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

AMFG

  • A machine shop losing work because quoting takes three days and competitors answer in three hoursnot LabVIEW
  • An additive bureau that needs one system for order intake, build scheduling and traceability across several machinesnot LabVIEW
  • A manufacturer running AM and CNC in the same facility and wanting one production record across bothnot LabVIEW
  • Replacing an email and spreadsheet ordering process with a customer portal that produces priced quotes automaticallynot LabVIEW

LabVIEW

  • An automotive supplier building an end-of-line test rig that must drive a power supply, read a scope and log pass/fail against a serial numbernot AMFG
  • A semiconductor lab characterising devices across a PXI chassis where deterministic timing between instruments mattersnot AMFG
  • A medical device manufacturer needing a validated, documented test system with an operator front panel a technician can run unsupervisednot AMFG
  • A research group prototyping a control loop on CompactRIO where part of the logic must compile down to an FPGAnot AMFG

Where each one falls short

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

AMFG

  • No pricing is published in any form, and the product is sold by module and site, so total cost is invisible until you are several sales calls in.
  • Automated quoting only becomes accurate once your cost model, machine rates and material data are properly loaded, so the value arrives months after go-live and early quotes need human checking.
  • The product started in additive manufacturing and has pivoted its marketing towards CNC machine shops, which means some CNC-specific depth is newer than the additive lineage and worth testing against your actual process mix.
  • It overlaps heavily with ERP and MES scope, so shops with an existing ERP face an ownership decision over scheduling and customer records that is a political problem, not a technical one.
  • It is a comparatively small vendor against established shop-floor systems, so integration work into an incumbent ERP will fall largely on you or a partner rather than on a pre-built certified connector.

LabVIEW

  • NI is now part of Emerson, completing in 2023, so LabVIEW sits inside an industrial automation conglomerate rather than being the flagship of a dedicated test company; roadmap priorities and support pricing follow the parent, not the user base.
  • No prices appear anywhere on the NI site for commercial editions; Base, Full, Professional and the LabVIEW+ suite are all quoted through NI or a reseller, so a buyer cannot compare cost against a Python-plus-PyVISA alternative without opening a sales conversation.
  • Graphical source code diffs badly. Merging two engineers’ changes to the same virtual instrument in git is impractical without NI’s own comparison tools, so team development on LabVIEW is slower and more serialised than on text-based languages.
  • The pool of engineers who write LabVIEW is small and ageing relative to the pool who write Python, so hiring a replacement for the person who built your test rig is materially harder and more expensive than replacing a general software engineer.
  • The environment pulls you toward NI hardware and NI add-on toolkits, and licences for real-time, FPGA and vision modules are sold separately on top of the base edition, so the quoted LabVIEW price is rarely the delivered cost of a working test system.

Pricing, plan by plan

AMFG

On request
  • AMFG$undefined/year
    • Automated quoting and estimating
    • Production planning and scheduling
    • Shop-floor control and quality tracking

LabVIEW

On request
  • LabVIEW Community EditionFree
    • Free for personal, non-commercial use only
    • Full LabVIEW feature set for hobbyists
    • No commercial deployment rights
  • LabVIEW Base$undefined/year
    • Core acquisition, control and user interface capability
    • Suited to simple test and measurement applications
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence
  • LabVIEW Full$undefined/year
    • Adds advanced analysis and signal processing
    • Recommended where mathematics and filtering are required
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence
  • LabVIEW Professional$undefined/year
    • Adds application builder, source control and deployment tooling
    • Includes the Nigel AI assistant
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence

Which should you pick?

Choose AMFG if

  • You need geometric auto-quoting.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want 2d drawing analysis.
AMFG review

Choose LabVIEW if

  • You need graphical dataflow programming.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, macOS.
  • You also want front panels.
LabVIEW review

Questions people ask

Is AMFG or LabVIEW better?
Neither clearly leads. AMFG starts at On request and LabVIEW at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AMFG or LabVIEW?
AMFG starts at On request and LabVIEW at On request.
Does AMFG or LabVIEW run on more platforms?
AMFG runs on Web, Cloud. LabVIEW runs on Windows, Linux, macOS.
What is AMFG best used for?
AMFG is most often used for a machine shop losing work because quoting takes three days and competitors answer in three hours, an additive bureau that needs one system for order intake, build scheduling and traceability across several machines, a manufacturer running am and cnc in the same facility and wanting one production record across both, replacing an email and spreadsheet ordering process with a customer portal that produces priced quotes automatically. Of those, a machine shop losing work because quoting takes three days and competitors answer in three hours and an additive bureau that needs one system for order intake, build scheduling and traceability across several machines are not what LabVIEW is typically brought in for.
What can AMFG do that LabVIEW cannot?
AMFG covers Geometric auto-quoting, 2D drawing analysis, Production planning and scheduling, Shop-floor control. LabVIEW covers Graphical dataflow programming, Front panels, Instrument driver library, Hardware integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AMFG: Does AMFG replace my ERP?

No. It covers quoting through shop-floor execution and quality. Finance, purchasing and inventory usually stay in the ERP, and you must decide which system owns scheduling.

LabVIEW: Who owns LabVIEW now?

NI, formerly National Instruments, was acquired by Emerson in an acquisition that completed in 2023. LabVIEW is now an Emerson product.

AMFG: Is it only for 3D printing?

No, though that is where it started. It now targets CNC machine shops as well and markets quoting for machining, sheet metal and additive.

LabVIEW: Can I still buy a perpetual licence?

Yes. NI offers both subscription and perpetual licences and states there are no functional or feature-level differences between them.

AMFG: How accurate is automated quoting out of the box?

Not accurate until your machine rates, materials and cost model are configured. Treat the first months of quotes as assisted rather than automatic.

LabVIEW: Is there a free version?

LabVIEW Community Edition is free for personal, non-commercial use. It carries no commercial deployment rights.

AMFG: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by number of users, sites and selected modules.

LabVIEW: How much does it cost?

NI does not publish commercial edition prices. Base, Full, Professional and LabVIEW+ are all quoted through NI or a reseller.

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