Softwr

Manufacturing · head to head

COPA-DATA zenon vs MachineMetrics

COPA-DATA zenon logo

COPA-DATA zenon

Manufacturing

HMI, SCADA and energy automation platform licensed by I/O tag count

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MachineMetrics logo

MachineMetrics

Manufacturing

Collect, monitor, analyze and drive action with machine data

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: COPA-DATA zenon the I/O count that determines your licence band is a weighted calculation, not a variable tally, so projects sized from a tag list routinely land in a higher and more expensive band than budgeted.; MachineMetrics no specific pricing published; vendor uses volume-based subscription model requiring sales contact
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which COPA-DATA zenon and MachineMetrics actually diverge.

Attributes where COPA-DATA zenon and MachineMetrics differ
AttributeCOPA-DATA zenonMachineMetrics
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebWeb

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 COPA-DATA zenon

  • I/O-banded licensing
  • IEC 61850 native
  • zenon Logic
  • Pharmaceutical compliance
  • Multi-project engineering
  • Redundancy

Only in MachineMetrics

Nothing recorded that COPA-DATA zenon does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

COPA-DATA zenon

  • A pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the SCADA layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic HMInot MachineMetrics
  • A utility automating substations that wants IEC 61850 SCL import and DNP3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver optionsnot MachineMetrics
  • A machine builder shipping identical HMI applications to many customers who wants one engineering project reused across machine and line levelnot MachineMetrics
  • A food and beverage site in German-speaking Europe where local integrator availability for zenon is strong and Rockwell coverage is notnot MachineMetrics

MachineMetrics

  • Tracking real-time machine performance and outputnot COPA-DATA zenon
  • Identifying and analyzing production downtime causesnot COPA-DATA zenon
  • Detecting equipment issues before failures happennot COPA-DATA zenon
  • Managing job scheduling with drag-and-drop toolsnot COPA-DATA zenon
  • Syncing shop floor data to ERP automaticallynot COPA-DATA zenon

Where each one falls short

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

COPA-DATA zenon

  • The I/O count that determines your licence band is a weighted calculation, not a variable tally, so projects sized from a tag list routinely land in a higher and more expensive band than budgeted.
  • The integrator and engineering talent pool is concentrated in German-speaking Europe; a North American or Asian site can find itself dependent on a single partner with no competitive quote available.
  • English-language documentation and community material lag the German equivalents, which slows engineers who are learning the product without formal COPA-DATA training.
  • The annual software maintenance contract is a percentage of licence value, so a large I/O estate carries a recurring cost that does not fall even when the plant is stable and nothing is changing.
  • Third-party ecosystem extensions are far fewer than for Ignition or FactoryTalk, so requirements outside the box tend to become custom engineering billed at partner day rates.

MachineMetrics

  • No specific pricing published; vendor uses volume-based subscription model requiring sales contact
  • Costs scale with number of connected machines; exact rates not disclosed publicly
  • Customers must book demo or request quote to receive pricing

Pricing, plan by plan

COPA-DATA zenon

On request
  • zenon$undefined/year
    • Runtime licensed in bands by calculated I/O count
    • Numeric variables weighted upward in the I/O calculation, binary counted singly
    • Engineering Studio licensed separately from runtime

MachineMetrics

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the MachineMetrics review.

Which should you pick?

Choose COPA-DATA zenon if

  • You need i/o-banded licensing.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want iec 61850 native.
COPA-DATA zenon review

Choose MachineMetrics if

Nothing in the data separates MachineMetrics from COPA-DATA zenon on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

MachineMetrics review

Questions people ask

Is COPA-DATA zenon or MachineMetrics better?
Neither clearly leads. COPA-DATA zenon starts at On request and MachineMetrics at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, COPA-DATA zenon or MachineMetrics?
COPA-DATA zenon starts at On request and MachineMetrics at On request.
Does COPA-DATA zenon or MachineMetrics run on more platforms?
COPA-DATA zenon runs on Windows, Linux, Web. MachineMetrics runs on Web.
What is COPA-DATA zenon best used for?
COPA-DATA zenon is most often used for a pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the scada layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic hmi, a utility automating substations that wants iec 61850 scl import and dnp3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver options, a machine builder shipping identical hmi applications to many customers who wants one engineering project reused across machine and line level, a food and beverage site in german-speaking europe where local integrator availability for zenon is strong and rockwell coverage is not. Of those, a pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the scada layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic hmi and a utility automating substations that wants iec 61850 scl import and dnp3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver options are not what MachineMetrics is typically brought in for.
What can COPA-DATA zenon do that MachineMetrics cannot?
COPA-DATA zenon covers I/O-banded licensing, IEC 61850 native, zenon Logic, Pharmaceutical compliance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

COPA-DATA zenon: How is a zenon licence sized?

By calculated I/O count. Numeric variables are weighted upward in that calculation and binary values counted singly, so ask your partner for the calculated figure, not the variable count, before signing.

MachineMetrics: How much does MachineMetrics cost?

MachineMetrics does not publish specific pricing rates on its website. The company uses a volume-based subscription model where the more machines you connect, the less it costs per machine. Exact pricing requires contacting the company for a custom quote or booking a demo.

Source
COPA-DATA zenon: Is zenon only for factories?

No. A significant part of its installed base is electrical substation automation, where IEC 61850 support is native rather than an add-on.

MachineMetrics: What are MachineMetrics' pricing tiers?

MachineMetrics offers three tiers: Core Platform for entry-level machine connectivity, Intelligent MES for mid-tier with ERP integration, and Enterprise for multi-site support with business intelligence. Exact pricing is based on machine count and requires a quote.

Source
COPA-DATA zenon: Is there a free version?

There is a demo mode for evaluation and a free educational licence, but production runtime always needs a paid, I/O-banded licence.

MachineMetrics: What support is included with MachineMetrics plans?

All MachineMetrics plans include customer support with unlimited remote assistance and training, regardless of tier selection.

Source
COPA-DATA zenon: Can zenon replace a PLC?

zenon Logic is an IEC 61131-3 soft PLC and can control non-safety-critical processes, but most deployments keep a hardware PLC and use zenon for visualisation and supervision.

Share

Related pages

More on COPA-DATA zenon

More on MachineMetrics

Keep looking

Other head to heads