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Databases · head to head

Canary Labs vs Materialise Magics

Canary Labs logo

Canary Labs

Databases

Industrial process historian with published per-tag pricing and no client licence fees

From
$3000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Materialise Magics logo

Materialise Magics

Manufacturing

Industrial build preparation and data repair for metal and polymer additive manufacturing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Canary Labs pricing steps by tag band rather than actual tags, so a site sitting just above a threshold pays the next band in full; growth from 3,400 to 3,600 tags is a licence purchase, not a rounding error.; Materialise Magics new seats and modules have been subscription only since 15 May 2024, so the perpetual purchase route is closed and existing perpetual holders are on a shrinking island.
  • They diverge on capability: Canary Labs covers Loss-less compression, Materialise Magics covers Mesh repair.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Canary Labs and Materialise Magics actually diverge.

Attributes where Canary Labs and Materialise Magics differ
AttributeCanary LabsMaterialise Magics
Starting price$3000/yearOn request
Pricing modelPer tag band per yearquote
PlatformsWindows, WebWindows
CategoryDatabasesManufacturing

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Canary Labs

  • Loss-less compression
  • Unlimited clients
  • Store and forward
  • Views service
  • Sparkplug B
  • Calculation engine
  • Axiom
  • ODBC and REST

Only in Materialise Magics

  • Mesh repair
  • Part orientation and nesting
  • Support generation
  • Build Processors
  • Simulation module
  • Structures module
  • Reporting and traceability

What people use each for

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

Canary Labs

  • A manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a PI System enterprise agreementnot Materialise Magics
  • A water utility replacing SCADA-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next SCADA replacementnot Materialise Magics
  • An Ignition site that wants long-term storage and trending without paying per-client for dashboardsnot Materialise Magics
  • A plant with regulatory data-retention obligations where swinging-door compression would not survive an auditnot Materialise Magics

Materialise Magics

  • A service bureau running several brands of metal printer that wants one preparation environment instead of five vendor slicersnot Canary Labs
  • Repairing badly formed STL or scan-derived meshes that a machine slicer will not acceptnot Canary Labs
  • Automating support generation on metal parts where manual support editing is the bottleneck in the processnot Canary Labs
  • Simulating and compensating for build distortion before committing an expensive metal buildnot Canary Labs

Where each one falls short

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

Canary Labs

  • Pricing steps by tag band rather than actual tags, so a site sitting just above a threshold pays the next band in full; growth from 3,400 to 3,600 tags is a licence purchase, not a rounding error.
  • CustomerCare at 18 percent of licence cost is effectively mandatory on perpetual licences because lapsing it removes upgrades, so the perpetual option is not really a one-time cost.
  • The storage format is proprietary; getting data out at volume means the ODBC connector, an additional 2,500 USD one-time or 1,000 USD a year, or writing against the REST API.
  • Canary is a small vendor with a limited partner network outside North America, so support coverage and integrator availability in Europe and Asia are thinner than for AVEVA or Ignition.
  • It is a Windows-only server product with no Linux or container deployment, which complicates placing collectors in modern edge estates.

Materialise Magics

  • New seats and modules have been subscription only since 15 May 2024, so the perpetual purchase route is closed and existing perpetual holders are on a shrinking island.
  • Build Processors are licensed separately per machine family, so adding a new printer brand adds a licence line as well as capital cost, and a mixed fleet multiplies the software bill.
  • The modules that deliver the biggest labour saving, notably e-Stage automated support generation, are paid extras, so the base seat alone leaves you doing manual support work.
  • Materialise publishes no prices anywhere, and quotes vary by region and reseller, so two similar bureaus can pay materially different amounts for the same configuration.
  • It is Windows only and remains a desktop application, which sits awkwardly with the cloud direction of Materialise CO-AM and means preparation capacity is tied to specific workstations and licence seats.

Pricing, plan by plan

Canary Labs

$3000/year
  • Subscription, 3,500 tags$3000/year
    • Unlimited Axiom clients
    • Unlimited Excel clients
    • Support and upgrades included
  • Perpetual, 3,500 tags$8730/one-time
    • 7,400 USD licence plus 1,330 USD first-year CustomerCare
    • CustomerCare renews at 18 percent of licence cost per year
    • Unlimited clients
  • Private cloud, 3,500 tags$12320/year
    • Hosted by Canary
    • 1,500 USD one-time setup fee per system
    • Scales to around 58,684 USD per year at 60,000 tags
  • Enterprise unlimited$undefined/year
    • Unlimited tags
    • Negotiated licensing terms
    • Quoted pricing

Materialise Magics

On request
  • Magics Essentials$undefined/year
    • Mesh repair and editing
    • Part orientation and platform placement
    • Basic support generation
  • Magics with modules$undefined/year
    • Everything in Essentials
    • e-Stage automated supports, Simulation, Structures priced individually
    • Build Processors licensed per machine family

Which should you pick?

Choose Canary Labs if

  • You need loss-less compression.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want unlimited clients.
Canary Labs review

Choose Materialise Magics if

  • You need mesh repair.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want part orientation and nesting.
Materialise Magics review

Questions people ask

Is Canary Labs or Materialise Magics better?
Neither clearly leads. Canary Labs starts at $3000/year and Materialise Magics at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Canary Labs or Materialise Magics?
Canary Labs starts at $3000/year and Materialise Magics at On request.
Does Canary Labs or Materialise Magics run on more platforms?
Canary Labs runs on Windows, Web. Materialise Magics runs on Windows.
What is Canary Labs best used for?
Canary Labs is most often used for a manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a pi system enterprise agreement, a water utility replacing scada-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next scada replacement, an ignition site that wants long-term storage and trending without paying per-client for dashboards, a plant with regulatory data-retention obligations where swinging-door compression would not survive an audit. Of those, a manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a pi system enterprise agreement and a water utility replacing scada-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next scada replacement are not what Materialise Magics is typically brought in for.
What can Canary Labs do that Materialise Magics cannot?
Canary Labs covers Loss-less compression, Unlimited clients, Store and forward, Views service. Materialise Magics covers Mesh repair, Part orientation and nesting, Support generation, Build Processors.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Canary Labs: What does Canary cost?

8,730 USD for a 3,500 tag perpetual system including first-year CustomerCare, or 3,000 USD a year on subscription.

Materialise Magics: Can I still buy a perpetual Magics licence?

No. Since 15 May 2024 Materialise sells new seats and new modules on subscription only. Existing perpetual licences continue to work but new capacity is subscription.

Canary Labs: Are client licences extra?

No. Unlimited Axiom browser clients and unlimited Excel clients are included on every tier.

Materialise Magics: Do I need a separate Build Processor for each printer?

You need one per machine family, licensed separately from the Magics seat. Budget for it before you buy the printer.

Canary Labs: Is perpetual cheaper than subscription?

Canary states perpetual pays off after roughly three years, and after that you still pay 18 percent CustomerCare annually.

Materialise Magics: Is Magics the same as CO-AM?

No. Magics is desktop build preparation. CO-AM is the Materialise cloud platform for AM workflow and production management, which absorbed the former Link3D product.

Canary Labs: Does it use lossy compression?

No. Canary stores every collected value rather than approximating the trend, which matters for regulated data retention.

Materialise Magics: Does Magics slice?

It prepares and supports the build and hands off through a Build Processor, which produces the machine-ready file. The machine-specific processing lives in the Build Processor.

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