Softwr

Maritime · head to head

Danaos vs Kaleris

Danaos logo

Danaos

Maritime

Ship management suite covering purchasing, maintenance, crewing and safety in one database

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kaleris logo

Kaleris

Maritime

Terminal operating, yard, rail and vessel software assembled from acquired supply chain brands

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Danaos sales, implementation and support are concentrated in Greece and Cyprus, so an owner elsewhere gets a thinner local bench and has to rely on remote support across time zones.; Kaleris the portfolio was assembled by acquisition, so the single platform description is commercial rather than technical, and connecting two Kaleris products often requires professional services and a custom interface.
  • They diverge on capability: Danaos covers Planned maintenance, Kaleris covers Terminal operating system.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Danaos and Kaleris actually diverge.

Attributes where Danaos and Kaleris differ
AttributeDanaosKaleris
PlatformsWindows, Web, On-premiseWeb, On-premise, Private cloud

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maritime).

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 Danaos

  • Planned maintenance
  • Purchasing
  • Inventory
  • Crewing
  • Safety and quality
  • Dry-docking
  • Budgeting
  • Ship to shore replication

Only in Kaleris

  • Terminal operating system
  • Yard management
  • Transportation management
  • Carrier and vessel solutions
  • Rail visibility
  • Maintenance and repair operations
  • Execution and visibility platform
  • Equipment control integration

What people use each for

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

Danaos

  • A Greek or Cypriot owner replacing a mix of legacy planned maintenance and purchasing systems with one databasenot Kaleris
  • A third-party ship manager that must report vessel operating expenditure to multiple owners in a consistent structurenot Kaleris
  • An owner whose procurement and maintenance data never reconcile because they sit in separate productsnot Kaleris
  • A fleet needing full function on board when the satellite link is slow or intermittentnot Kaleris

Kaleris

  • A container terminal replacing a legacy or in-house terminal operating system before an automation programmenot Danaos
  • A port authority standardising several terminals on one operating system and reporting layernot Danaos
  • An ocean carrier that needs stowage planning and vessel performance tooling alongside terminal systemsnot Danaos
  • A rail or intermodal operator trying to reduce demurrage exposure with asset level visibilitynot Danaos

Where each one falls short

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

Danaos

  • Sales, implementation and support are concentrated in Greece and Cyprus, so an owner elsewhere gets a thinner local bench and has to rely on remote support across time zones.
  • The suite is configuration-heavy, and a superintendent generally cannot change a maintenance form or approval route without vendor involvement, which turns small changes into chargeable requests.
  • The architecture is traditional, with vessel-side installations replicating to shore, so the browser experience trails newer cloud entrants and IT carries software to maintain on every ship.
  • Public documentation and product information are sparse, so a buyer cannot evaluate the product independently and is dependent on vendor demonstrations and reference calls.
  • Because everything shares one database, partial adoption gives away most of the benefit and replacing a single module later means unpicking the whole suite rather than swapping a component.

Kaleris

  • The portfolio was assembled by acquisition, so the single platform description is commercial rather than technical, and connecting two Kaleris products often requires professional services and a custom interface.
  • A terminal operating system implementation runs 12 to 24 months with parallel operation, and the software licence is a minor line next to integration, equipment interfaces and retraining crane and gate staff.
  • Private equity ownership means the roadmap is shaped by acquisition strategy and an eventual exit, and a terminal signing a decade-long dependency has no visibility of who the next owner will be.
  • Configuration expertise is concentrated in the vendor and a small consultancy pool, so terminals end up buying vendor services for changes an internal team should be able to make.
  • The strength is container handling, and bulk, breakbulk and ro-ro terminals get a thinner functional fit that has to be closed with configuration and workarounds.

Pricing, plan by plan

Danaos

On request
  • WAVES$undefined/year
    • Quoted by fleet size and modules licensed
    • Vessel installations and shore server scoped separately
    • Implementation, data migration and training charged as services

Kaleris

On request
  • Kaleris platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted per site, by throughput and modules taken
    • Implementation and integration services are the larger share of first-year cost
    • Equipment and gate interfaces scoped and priced individually

Which should you pick?

Choose Danaos if

  • You need planned maintenance.
  • You work on Windows, Web, On-premise.
  • You also want purchasing.
Danaos review

Choose Kaleris if

  • You need terminal operating system.
  • You work on Web, On-premise, Private cloud.
  • You also want yard management.
Kaleris review

Questions people ask

Is Danaos or Kaleris better?
Neither clearly leads. Danaos starts at On request and Kaleris at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Danaos or Kaleris?
Danaos starts at On request and Kaleris at On request.
Does Danaos or Kaleris run on more platforms?
Danaos runs on Windows, Web, On-premise. Kaleris runs on Web, On-premise, Private cloud.
What is Danaos best used for?
Danaos is most often used for a greek or cypriot owner replacing a mix of legacy planned maintenance and purchasing systems with one database, a third-party ship manager that must report vessel operating expenditure to multiple owners in a consistent structure, an owner whose procurement and maintenance data never reconcile because they sit in separate products, a fleet needing full function on board when the satellite link is slow or intermittent. Of those, a greek or cypriot owner replacing a mix of legacy planned maintenance and purchasing systems with one database and a third-party ship manager that must report vessel operating expenditure to multiple owners in a consistent structure are not what Kaleris is typically brought in for.
What can Danaos do that Kaleris cannot?
Danaos covers Planned maintenance, Purchasing, Inventory, Crewing. Kaleris covers Terminal operating system, Yard management, Transportation management, Carrier and vessel solutions.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Danaos: Is this the same company as the listed shipowner Danaos Corporation?

No. Danaos Management Consultants is the software business and a separate entity, although the names are shared and both are based in Piraeus.

Kaleris: Is Kaleris the same thing as Navis?

No. Navis is the terminal operating system product line, now owned by Kaleris after Cargotec sold it to Accel-KKR in 2021. Kaleris is the parent group and sells several other product lines alongside it.

Danaos: Does it run on board with poor connectivity?

Yes. Vessels run local installations that replicate to shore, which is a deliberate design choice for constrained satellite links.

Kaleris: Who owns Kaleris?

It is backed by the private equity firm Accel-KKR and assembled from acquired software businesses.

Danaos: Can I license only the planned maintenance module?

Technically yes, but the value comes from the shared database linking maintenance, purchasing and budgets, so partial adoption is uncommon.

Kaleris: How long does a terminal operating system deployment take?

Plan for 12 to 24 months at a working container terminal, including parallel running. Anything shorter usually means a limited scope or a small facility.

Danaos: Is pricing published?

No. Everything is quoted by fleet size and by the modules licensed.

Kaleris: Does it suit bulk or breakbulk terminals?

Less well. The functional depth is in container handling, and other cargo types require significant configuration.

Share

Related pages

More on Danaos

More on Kaleris

Keep looking

Other head to heads