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Manufacturing · head to head

Augury vs SolidWorks

Augury logo

Augury

Manufacturing

Machine health monitoring sold as a per-machine annual service including sensors, installation and analyst diagnostics

From
On request
Rated
-
SolidWorks logo

SolidWorks

Manufacturing

Parametric desktop 3D CAD from Dassault Systemes, now sold as named-user subscription on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform

From
$2820/year
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Augury the per-machine annual fee never stops, so over a five to eight year horizon the total exceeds buying sensors and software outright and running the programme yourself.; SolidWorks the desktop application is Windows only, so Mac and Linux users need a virtual machine, a Windows workstation or the separate cloud xDesign product at 2,580 USD a year.
  • They diverge on capability: Augury covers Halo sensors, SolidWorks covers 3D solid modeling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Augury and SolidWorks actually diverge.

Attributes where Augury and SolidWorks differ
AttributeAugurySolidWorks
Starting priceOn request$2820/year
Pricing modelquotePer user per year
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows
FoundedUnknown1993

Identical on both: 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 Augury

  • Halo sensors
  • Diagnostics as a Service
  • Named fault diagnosis
  • Process Health
  • CMMS integration
  • Installation included
  • Fleet views
  • Unlimited users

Only in SolidWorks

  • 3D solid modeling
  • Assembly design
  • Technical drawings
  • Simulation
  • Rendering
  • PDM systems
  • ERP systems
  • CAM software

What people use each for

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

Augury

  • A food plant with 200 similar motors and pumps and no vibration analyst on staffnot SolidWorks
  • A multi-site manufacturer that needs one reliability picture across plants without standardising their maintenance teamsnot SolidWorks
  • An operator whose capex budget will not approve sensor hardware but whose opex budget will approve a servicenot SolidWorks
  • A site trying to move from calendar-based motor overhauls to condition-based intervals with defensible evidencenot SolidWorks

SolidWorks

  • Product designnot Augury
  • Engineering analysisnot Augury
  • Manufacturing documentationnot Augury
  • Prototypingnot Augury
  • Quality controlnot Augury

Where each one falls short

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

Augury

  • The per-machine annual fee never stops, so over a five to eight year horizon the total exceeds buying sensors and software outright and running the programme yourself.
  • Coverage is aimed at standard rotating equipment; reciprocating compressors, very low-speed machinery and non-rotating assets are poorly served, so you still need a second monitoring approach.
  • Diagnoses depend on Augurys analysts, which means the quality of your programme is set by a vendor queue you do not control and turnaround is not something you can escalate internally.
  • The sensors and the analytics are one system, so leaving Augury means removing the hardware and starting again; there is no path to keep the sensors and change the software.
  • Pricing is unpublished and negotiated per fleet, so buyers have no benchmark and comparable plants can pay materially different per-machine rates.

SolidWorks

  • The desktop application is Windows only, so Mac and Linux users need a virtual machine, a Windows workstation or the separate cloud xDesign product at 2,580 USD a year.
  • Perpetual licences are no longer sold through the vendor online store and come only through resellers, and a perpetual licence still needs a paid annual service contract to get upgrades and support, so buying once and paying nothing again is not really on offer.
  • Named-user subscription is per person rather than floating, so an organisation where several engineers each use CAD occasionally pays full seats for part-time use unless it negotiates otherwise.
  • History-based parametric modelling breaks noisily: a change high in the feature tree can cascade rebuild errors through an assembly, which is a real productivity cost compared with direct modelling tools.
  • Large assemblies stress single-threaded desktop performance, and teams routinely resort to configurations, simplified representations and expensive workstations rather than the software scaling on its own.
  • The Maker licence watermarks its files so they can only be opened on other Maker licences, which means hobby work cannot be carried into a commercial seat later without exporting to neutral formats and losing the feature history.

Pricing, plan by plan

Augury

On request
  • Machine Health$undefined/year
    • Flat annual fee per monitored machine
    • Sensors, gateway, connectivity and installation included
    • Unlimited users and unlimited diagnostic reviews

SolidWorks

$2820/year
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Standard$2820/year
    • 235 USD per month billed annually, or 846 USD per quarter
    • Per named user, excluding local tax
    • Part and assembly modelling and 2D drawings
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Professional$3456/year
    • 288 USD per month billed annually, or 1,038 USD per quarter
    • Everything in Standard
    • Intelligent CAD libraries of standard fasteners
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Premium$4716/year
    • 393 USD per month billed annually, or 1,416 USD per quarter
    • Everything in Professional
    • Linear static analysis for parts and assemblies
  • SOLIDWORKS xDesign$2580/year
    • 810 USD per quarter
    • Browser-based cloud modelling, no local install
    • Runs on Mac, Chromebook and tablets as well as Windows

Which should you pick?

Choose Augury if

  • You need halo sensors.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want diagnostics as a service.

Choose SolidWorks if

  • You need 3d solid modeling.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want assembly design.

Questions people ask

Is Augury or SolidWorks better?
Neither clearly leads. Augury starts at On request and SolidWorks at $2820/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Augury or SolidWorks?
Augury starts at On request and SolidWorks at $2820/year.
Does Augury or SolidWorks run on more platforms?
Augury runs on Web, iOS, Android. SolidWorks runs on Windows.
What is Augury best used for?
Augury is most often used for a food plant with 200 similar motors and pumps and no vibration analyst on staff, a multi-site manufacturer that needs one reliability picture across plants without standardising their maintenance teams, an operator whose capex budget will not approve sensor hardware but whose opex budget will approve a service, a site trying to move from calendar-based motor overhauls to condition-based intervals with defensible evidence. Of those, a food plant with 200 similar motors and pumps and no vibration analyst on staff and a multi-site manufacturer that needs one reliability picture across plants without standardising their maintenance teams are not what SolidWorks is typically brought in for.
What can Augury do that SolidWorks cannot?
Augury covers Halo sensors, Diagnostics as a Service, Named fault diagnosis, Process Health. SolidWorks covers 3D solid modeling, Assembly design, Technical drawings, Simulation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Augury: Do I buy the sensors?

No. Sensors, gateways, connectivity and installation are included in the per-machine annual fee.

SolidWorks: Can you still buy a SOLIDWORKS perpetual licence?

Not from the vendor online store, which sells only term subscriptions. Perpetual licences remain available through resellers, but they still require a paid annual subscription service contract for upgrades and support.

Augury: Is there a per-user licence?

No. The web application allows unlimited users; the meter is monitored machines.

SolidWorks: How much does SOLIDWORKS cost per year?

The 3DS store lists Standard at 2,820 USD, Professional at 3,456 USD and Premium at 4,716 USD per named user per year, excluding local tax. Quarterly terms are 846, 1,038 and 1,416 USD.

Augury: Who does the diagnosis?

Machine-learning models flag issues and Augury vibration analysts review them before a finding is released to you.

SolidWorks: What is the difference between desktop SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE cloud tiers?

The desktop application still does the modelling and installs locally on Windows. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform adds cloud storage, versioning, mark-up and shared review around it. SOLIDWORKS xDesign is the separate browser-native modeller at 2,580 USD a year, and it runs on Mac and Chromebook.

Augury: What happens if we cancel?

The sensors are part of the service and monitoring stops; you do not retain a usable standalone system.

SolidWorks: Is there a cheap version for hobbyists?

Yes. 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS for Makers is 48 USD a year or 15 USD a month, limited to personal use with project sales under 2,000 USD a year, and its files are watermarked for Maker licences only.

SolidWorks: Does SOLIDWORKS run on a Mac?

Not natively. Use the browser-based xDesign, or run the desktop application in a Windows virtual machine.

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