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Mining · head to head

CorePlan vs Wenco

CorePlan logo

CorePlan

Mining

Drilling programme management for mineral exploration teams and drilling contractors

From
$1350/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wenco logo

Wenco

Mining

Fleet management and dispatch for open-pit mines, sold on an explicit open interoperability stance

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CorePlan pricing is usage based on plods or shifts and billed annually with overage calculated monthly, so an intense drilling quarter generates an unbudgeted overage invoice, and finance teams that need a fixed annual number will struggle to get one.; Wenco wenco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery, so the open interoperability position sits inside an equipment manufacturer and buyers should test the autonomy roadmap against that ownership rather than the marketing.
  • They diverge on capability: CorePlan covers Digital plods, Wenco covers Fleet dispatch.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CorePlan and Wenco actually diverge.

Attributes where CorePlan and Wenco differ
AttributeCorePlanWenco
Starting price$1350/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer month by shift or plod volumequote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, Web, In-cab hardware

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Mining).

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 CorePlan

  • Digital plods
  • Rig scheduling
  • Contractor reconciliation
  • Sample and core tracking
  • Field Operations module
  • Advanced Analytics
  • Forms subscription
  • Interoperability service

Only in Wenco

  • Fleet dispatch
  • Machine guidance
  • Asset health
  • Asset management
  • Stockpile management
  • Safety technology
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Open interfaces

What people use each for

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

CorePlan

  • A junior explorer running a two rig programme that wants cost per metre visible weekly instead of when the contractor invoice arrivesnot Wenco
  • A drilling contractor with crews across several client sites submitting plods digitally to cut invoice disputesnot Wenco
  • An exploration manager reconciling contractor billing against recorded shift hours before approving paymentnot Wenco
  • A multi project mid tier miner consolidating hole planning and sample dispatch across sites that currently each run their own spreadsheetnot Wenco

Wenco

  • An open-pit mine running trucks from more than one manufacturer that does not want dispatch tied to a single OEMnot CorePlan
  • A site replacing manual radio dispatch and paper cycle records with measured truck assignmentnot CorePlan
  • An operation adding machine guidance to drills and shovels alongside existing dispatchnot CorePlan
  • A group standardising fleet management across several pits with different equipment historiesnot CorePlan

Where each one falls short

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

CorePlan

  • Pricing is usage based on plods or shifts and billed annually with overage calculated monthly, so an intense drilling quarter generates an unbudgeted overage invoice, and finance teams that need a fixed annual number will struggle to get one.
  • Only the Starter tier price is published; Professional, Enterprise and Corporate are all quote only, so comparing CorePlan against a competitor requires entering a sales process before you know the number.
  • Core modules are unbundled: field operations, advanced analytics and custom forms are separately priced add-ons that each start in the hundreds of dollars per month, so the realistic monthly cost is well above the advertised entry price.
  • It is a drilling operations system, not a geological database or modelling package, so it must sit alongside acQuire, Datashed or equivalent and the integration between them is a project rather than a switch.
  • The customer base and support depth are concentrated in Australia and the company is small and venture funded, which means teams in the Americas or Africa get thinner local implementation support and carry the usual supplier concentration risk on a system that sits in the middle of drilling spend.

Wenco

  • Wenco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery, so the open interoperability position sits inside an equipment manufacturer and buyers should test the autonomy roadmap against that ownership rather than the marketing.
  • It has the smallest installed base of the three fleet management vendors, so experienced dispatch engineers and superintendents are harder to recruit than staff trained on the larger competitor.
  • A deployment is a capital project covering in-pit wireless coverage, in-cab hardware and a dispatch control room, and the software licence is a minor line in a much larger number.
  • Underground coverage is weaker than surface, so an operation running both open pit and underground generally ends up maintaining two fleet management systems and two sets of skills.
  • The return depends on a permanently staffed and competent dispatch function, so mines that install the system and then leave it unattended see the productivity gain evaporate within months.

Pricing, plan by plan

CorePlan

$1350/month
  • Starter$1350/month
    • One project
    • Up to two rigs
    • Digital plods and rig scheduling
  • Professional$undefined/month
    • Multi-project management for mid-tier explorers
    • Higher rig and shift allowances
    • Priced on quotation
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Large-scale operations
    • Complex data integration
    • Priced on quotation
  • Field Operations add-on$800/month
    • Pre-starts and inspections
    • Field compliance forms
    • From this price

Wenco

On request
  • Wenco fleet management$undefined/year
    • Quoted per site by fleet size and modules
    • In-cab hardware and installation priced separately
    • In-pit network design and coverage usually a separate capital item

Which should you pick?

Choose CorePlan if

  • You need digital plods.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want rig scheduling.
CorePlan review

Choose Wenco if

  • You need fleet dispatch.
  • You work on Windows, Web, In-cab hardware.
  • You also want machine guidance.
Wenco review

Questions people ask

Is CorePlan or Wenco better?
Neither clearly leads. CorePlan starts at $1350/month and Wenco at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CorePlan or Wenco?
CorePlan starts at $1350/month and Wenco at On request.
Does CorePlan or Wenco run on more platforms?
CorePlan runs on Web, iOS, Android. Wenco runs on Windows, Web, In-cab hardware.
What is CorePlan best used for?
CorePlan is most often used for a junior explorer running a two rig programme that wants cost per metre visible weekly instead of when the contractor invoice arrives, a drilling contractor with crews across several client sites submitting plods digitally to cut invoice disputes, an exploration manager reconciling contractor billing against recorded shift hours before approving payment, a multi project mid tier miner consolidating hole planning and sample dispatch across sites that currently each run their own spreadsheet. Of those, a junior explorer running a two rig programme that wants cost per metre visible weekly instead of when the contractor invoice arrives and a drilling contractor with crews across several client sites submitting plods digitally to cut invoice disputes are not what Wenco is typically brought in for.
What can CorePlan do that Wenco cannot?
CorePlan covers Digital plods, Rig scheduling, Contractor reconciliation, Sample and core tracking. Wenco covers Fleet dispatch, Machine guidance, Asset health, Asset management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CorePlan: Is CorePlan a geological database?

No. It manages drilling operations, plods, scheduling and sample dispatch. Geological data still lives in acQuire, Datashed or similar.

Wenco: Who owns Wenco?

Hitachi Construction Machinery. It is a wholly owned subsidiary based in Vancouver.

CorePlan: Can drilling contractors use it too?

Yes, and that is the point. Contractors submit plods on the same platform their client uses, which removes the invoice reconciliation argument.

Wenco: Does it work with non-Hitachi equipment?

Yes, and mixed fleet support is the main reason mines shortlist it. Verify the specific interfaces for your equipment during evaluation rather than assuming.

CorePlan: What does it actually cost?

Starter is 1,350 US dollars a month for one project and two rigs, billed annually. Everything above that is quoted, and the analytics and field modules add several hundred dollars a month each.

Wenco: Does it cover underground mining?

Coverage is much weaker than surface. Underground operations usually select a different system.

CorePlan: Does it work without mobile signal?

Yes, field capture works offline and syncs when the rig comes back into coverage.

Wenco: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted per site by fleet size, modules and the hardware and network work involved.

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