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Energy · head to head

AVEVA PI System vs Solace PubSub+

AVEVA PI System logo

AVEVA PI System

Energy

Industrial data infrastructure for real-time insights

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Solace PubSub+ logo

Solace PubSub+

Databases

Multi-protocol event broker sold as software, cloud service or a hardware appliance

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Solace PubSub+ has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: AVEVA PI System pricing is not published and comes through an account representative; Solace PubSub+ no pricing is published at any tier, so evaluation requires a sales engagement before you can even judge whether it is in budget, and broker tier sizing determines cost in ways buyers frequently get wrong.
  • They diverge on capability: AVEVA PI System covers Real-time data collection, Solace PubSub+ covers Multi-protocol broker.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AVEVA PI System and Solace PubSub+ actually diverge.

Attributes where AVEVA PI System and Solace PubSub+ differ
AttributeAVEVA PI SystemSolace PubSub+
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelone-timequote
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsDesktop, Web, Mobile, ApiLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance
CategoryEnergyDatabases
Founded1967Unknown

Identical on both: 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 AVEVA PI System

  • Real-time data collection
  • Time-series data storage
  • Asset framework
  • Visualization
  • Analytics
  • Event management
  • Notifications
  • Data integration

Only in Solace PubSub+

  • Multi-protocol broker
  • Dynamic message routing
  • Hardware appliance
  • Event Portal
  • Guaranteed delivery
  • Mission Control
  • Topic hierarchies and wildcards
  • Kafka and MQ bridging

What people use each for

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

AVEVA PI System

  • Industrial data collection and storage for oil, gas, and chemical processingnot Solace PubSub+
  • Real-time operational data visualization and HMI dashboardsnot Solace PubSub+
  • Supply chain and asset performance monitoring across sitesnot Solace PubSub+
  • Compliance and audit trail management for regulated industriesnot Solace PubSub+
  • Integration with SCADA systems and manufacturing executionnot Solace PubSub+

Solace PubSub+

  • A bank building an event mesh across regions where a Java JMS application and an MQTT mobile client must share the same topic spacenot AVEVA PI System
  • An exchange or trading platform with a latency budget that needs the hardware appliance rather than a software brokernot AVEVA PI System
  • An airline distributing operational events to ground systems, aircraft and partner APIs over different protocolsnot AVEVA PI System
  • A manufacturer bridging factory MQTT telemetry into an enterprise Kafka estate without writing translation servicesnot AVEVA PI System

Where each one falls short

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

AVEVA PI System

  • Pricing is not published and comes through an account representative
  • The vendor is moving to a subscription commercial model, so perpetual licence expectations no longer hold
  • Made up of several separately named components, including PI Server, PI Vision, Edge Data Store and the adapters and connectors needed per data source

Solace PubSub+

  • No pricing is published at any tier, so evaluation requires a sales engagement before you can even judge whether it is in budget, and broker tier sizing determines cost in ways buyers frequently get wrong.
  • The free Standard edition has hard capacity and support limits, which makes it useful for development but means any real deployment triggers a commercial negotiation.
  • The proprietary SMF protocol gives the best performance and feature coverage, so teams that lean on it acquire real switching costs even though open protocols are supported.
  • Operating a self-managed high availability broker pair with disaster recovery is a specialist task, and Solace expertise is scarce in the hiring market compared with Kafka skills.
  • Event Portal and Mission Control are licensed as part of platform packages, so the governance tooling that makes an event mesh manageable is not simply included with the broker.

Pricing, plan by plan

AVEVA PI System

On request
  • Data Archive$undefined/license
    • Time-series data storage
    • High-speed data collection
    • Data compression
  • Operations$undefined/license
    • PI Vision dashboards
    • AF analytics
    • Event frames
  • Enterprise$undefined/license
    • PI Integrator
    • Cloud connectivity
    • Advanced analytics

Solace PubSub+

Free
  • Software Event Broker StandardFree
    • Free for production within capacity limits
    • Single node, capped connections and queues
    • No vendor support
  • Solace Cloud$undefined/year
    • Managed brokers in tiers from ENT-250 to ENT-100K
    • Foundation, Accelerate and Scale platform packages
    • Fixed subscription or annual consumption drawdown
  • Software Enterprise self-managed$undefined/year
    • Deploy in your own Kubernetes, VMs or data centre
    • High availability and disaster recovery
    • Support with SLA
  • Hardware appliance$undefined/year
    • Purpose-built appliance with FPGA message offload
    • Deterministic low latency
    • Sold with support contract

Which should you pick?

Choose AVEVA PI System if

  • You need real-time data collection.
  • You work on Desktop, Web, Mobile, Api.
  • You also want time-series data storage.
AVEVA PI System review

Choose Solace PubSub+ if

  • You need multi-protocol broker.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance.
  • You also want dynamic message routing.
Solace PubSub+ review

Questions people ask

Is AVEVA PI System or Solace PubSub+ better?
Neither clearly leads. AVEVA PI System starts at On request and Solace PubSub+ at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AVEVA PI System or Solace PubSub+?
Solace PubSub+ has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for AVEVA PI System and Free for Solace PubSub+.
Does AVEVA PI System or Solace PubSub+ run on more platforms?
AVEVA PI System runs on Desktop, Web, Mobile, Api. Solace PubSub+ runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Hardware appliance.
Can I use Solace PubSub+ for free?
Yes. Solace PubSub+ has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. AVEVA PI System starts at On request.
What is AVEVA PI System best used for?
AVEVA PI System is most often used for industrial data collection and storage for oil, gas, and chemical processing, real-time operational data visualization and hmi dashboards, supply chain and asset performance monitoring across sites, compliance and audit trail management for regulated industries. Of those, industrial data collection and storage for oil, gas, and chemical processing and real-time operational data visualization and hmi dashboards are not what Solace PubSub+ is typically brought in for.
What can AVEVA PI System do that Solace PubSub+ cannot?
AVEVA PI System covers Real-time data collection, Time-series data storage, Asset framework, Visualization. Solace PubSub+ covers Multi-protocol broker, Dynamic message routing, Hardware appliance, Event Portal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AVEVA PI System: What is AVEVA PI System pricing?

AVEVA does not list PI System pricing on its website. AVEVA markets industrial software through enterprise sales channels with custom quotes.

Source
Solace PubSub+: Is there a free version of Solace?

Yes, the Standard edition of the software event broker is free for production within capacity limits, with no vendor support.

AVEVA PI System: Does AVEVA offer a Flex Subscription Program?

AVEVA mentions Flex Subscription Program on its site for flexible product access, but pricing and terms are not published publicly.

Source
Solace PubSub+: Does Solace publish prices?

No. Cloud, software and appliance are all quoted, based on broker tier from ENT-250 to ENT-100K and licensing model.

AVEVA PI System: Is AVEVA PI System available in the cloud?

AVEVA offers cloud options for its products, but per-seat or usage-based pricing for cloud deployments is not disclosed on the vendor website.

Source
Solace PubSub+: Why buy an appliance in 2026?

Deterministic low latency with message processing offloaded to hardware, which matters in capital markets and little elsewhere.

Solace PubSub+: Can it replace Kafka?

Not for log retention and stream reprocessing. It is stronger at multi-protocol routing and guaranteed delivery, and the two are often bridged.

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