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Manufacturing · head to head

Duro PLM vs Kepware Server

Duro PLM logo

Duro PLM

Manufacturing

Hosted PLM for hardware startups, sold in fixed user bands with no published price

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kepware Server logo

Kepware Server

Manufacturing

Industrial connectivity server translating 150-plus PLC protocols into OPC UA, formerly KEPServerEX

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Duro PLM no pricing is published anywhere, so budgeting requires a sales conversation and buyers cannot compare against alternatives without entering a pipeline.; Kepware Server the base server is the small part of the bill; driver suites are priced by protocol family, and a mixed-vendor plant buys several, which is how a connectivity layer alone reaches tens of thousands of dollars.
  • They diverge on capability: Duro PLM covers Part library, Kepware Server covers 150-plus device drivers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Duro PLM and Kepware Server actually diverge.

Attributes where Duro PLM and Kepware Server differ
AttributeDuro PLMKepware Server
PlatformsWebWindows, Linux

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 Duro PLM

  • Part library
  • Multi-level BOMs
  • Change orders
  • CAD integrations
  • Supplier and cost data
  • User band plans

Only in Kepware Server

  • 150-plus device drivers
  • OPC UA server
  • IoT Gateway
  • DataLogger
  • Redundancy Master
  • Security Policies
  • Configuration API
  • Kepware Edge

What people use each for

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

Duro PLM

  • A robotics startup imposing change control on a design before releasing it to a contract manufacturernot Kepware Server
  • A consumer electronics team tracking supplier part numbers and costs against every item in the BOMnot Kepware Server
  • A hardware company whose engineers keep overwriting each other's BOM spreadsheet versionsnot Kepware Server
  • A venture-funded startup that needs a defensible change history before a first production buildnot Kepware Server

Kepware Server

  • Feeding a historian from a mixed plant of Allen-Bradley and Siemens PLCs without writing per-protocol driversnot Duro PLM
  • Publishing CNC machine state from FANUC and Haas controls to an OEE system over MQTTnot Duro PLM
  • Bridging legacy serial Modbus devices into an OPC UA architecture during a phased controller replacementnot Duro PLM
  • Running redundant collection servers so a cloud analytics pipeline does not lose data during Windows patchingnot Duro PLM

Where each one falls short

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

Duro PLM

  • No pricing is published anywhere, so budgeting requires a sales conversation and buyers cannot compare against alternatives without entering a pipeline.
  • Plans are sold in fixed user bands rather than per seat, so hiring an eleventh engineer moves you to the next tier instead of adding one seat.
  • Storage allowances are capped at 25, 50 and 100 GB, which is tight for teams keeping native CAD files rather than only neutral formats.
  • There is no self-hosted or on-premises option, which rules Duro out for defence and some aerospace suppliers with data residency or ITAR handling constraints.
  • Scope stops at engineering data: no requirements management, no quality module and no manufacturing process planning, so it does not replace the systems a company needs at production scale.

Kepware Server

  • The base server is the small part of the bill; driver suites are priced by protocol family, and a mixed-vendor plant buys several, which is how a connectivity layer alone reaches tens of thousands of dollars.
  • KEPServerEX to Kepware Server 7 is a migration rather than an in-place upgrade, and driver entitlements do not always transfer cleanly, so budget for revalidating every channel.
  • The full driver portfolio is Windows-only; the Linux product, Kepware Edge, supports a subset of drivers and is subscription-licensed by tag count, so an edge-first architecture cannot simply reuse the Windows configuration.
  • Three names have been in circulation for the same lineage, and quotes, forum answers and integrator experience still mix KEPServerEX, ThingWorx Kepware Server and Kepware Server, which produces mismatched proposals.
  • It is a translation layer with no storage, contextualisation or visualisation of its own, so it is always an addition to a historian or platform purchase rather than a substitute for one.

Pricing, plan by plan

Duro PLM

On request
  • Team$undefined/year
    • Up to 10 users
    • 25 GB data storage
    • Part library, BOMs and change orders
  • Business$undefined/year
    • Up to 20 users
    • 50 GB data storage
    • CAD integrations
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • 20 or more users
    • 100 GB data storage
    • Extended support

Kepware Server

On request
  • Kepware Server$undefined/year
    • Base server as a perpetual licence with annual maintenance, or subscription
    • Driver suites priced by protocol family and bought separately from the server
    • Advanced plug-ins such as IoT Gateway, DataLogger and Redundancy Master licensed individually

Which should you pick?

Choose Duro PLM if

  • You need part library.
  • You also want multi-level boms.
Duro PLM review

Choose Kepware Server if

  • You need 150-plus device drivers.
  • You work on Windows, Linux.
  • You also want opc ua server.
Kepware Server review

Questions people ask

Is Duro PLM or Kepware Server better?
Neither clearly leads. Duro PLM starts at On request and Kepware Server at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Duro PLM or Kepware Server?
Duro PLM starts at On request and Kepware Server at On request.
Does Duro PLM or Kepware Server run on more platforms?
Duro PLM runs on Web. Kepware Server runs on Windows, Linux.
What is Duro PLM best used for?
Duro PLM is most often used for a robotics startup imposing change control on a design before releasing it to a contract manufacturer, a consumer electronics team tracking supplier part numbers and costs against every item in the bom, a hardware company whose engineers keep overwriting each other's bom spreadsheet versions, a venture-funded startup that needs a defensible change history before a first production build. Of those, a robotics startup imposing change control on a design before releasing it to a contract manufacturer and a consumer electronics team tracking supplier part numbers and costs against every item in the bom are not what Kepware Server is typically brought in for.
What can Duro PLM do that Kepware Server cannot?
Duro PLM covers Part library, Multi-level BOMs, Change orders, CAD integrations. Kepware Server covers 150-plus device drivers, OPC UA server, IoT Gateway, DataLogger.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Duro PLM: How much does Duro cost?

Duro does not publish prices. Plans are fixed annual subscriptions quoted by sales against a user band, billed Net 30.

Kepware Server: Is KEPServerEX discontinued?

The name is. KEPServerEX and ThingWorx Kepware Server have been unified into Kepware Server, currently version 7, and the older names are being retired.

Duro PLM: Can I run Duro on my own servers?

No. It is cloud only, which is a hard blocker for organisations with data residency or export control requirements.

Kepware Server: Is a perpetual licence still available?

Yes for the Windows server, with annual maintenance. Kepware Edge on Linux is subscription-only.

Duro PLM: What happens when we exceed our user band?

You move to the next tier rather than adding individual seats, so growth arrives as a step change in cost.

Kepware Server: What drives the price?

The number and type of driver suites, not the number of tags on the Windows product. Kepware Edge is priced by tag count.

Duro PLM: Is Duro suitable for medical device work?

Its change control is real but the workflow configuration and audit depth are lighter than dedicated regulated-industry PLM, so most ISO 13485 programmes need more.

Kepware Server: Can I evaluate it before buying?

Yes. The runtime works for two hours at a time without a licence, indefinitely, which is enough to prove connectivity but not to run production.

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