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Manufacturing · head to head

Fictiv vs IBM Maximo Application Suite

Fictiv logo

Fictiv

Manufacturing

On-demand custom manufacturing with instant CAD quoting, now owned by MISUMI

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IBM Maximo Application Suite logo

IBM Maximo Application Suite

Manufacturing

Enterprise asset management suite licensed by a shared pool of AppPoints rather than by named user

From
$3150/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fictiv this is a manufacturing service, not software you licence, so there is nothing to deploy or own and switching means re-sourcing parts rather than exporting data.; IBM Maximo Application Suite appPoints are consumed by users, applications and environments at once, so a routine decision like adding a test environment or enabling Health quietly eats pool capacity and can trigger a true-up nobody budgeted for.
  • They diverge on capability: Fictiv covers Instant CAD quoting, IBM Maximo Application Suite covers AppPoint pooling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fictiv and IBM Maximo Application Suite actually diverge.

Attributes where Fictiv and IBM Maximo Application Suite differ
AttributeFictivIBM Maximo Application Suite
Starting priceOn request$3150/month
Pricing modelquotePer year by AppPoint pool
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb, Cloud, On-premise, iOS, Android, Linux

Identical on both: 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 Fictiv

  • Instant CAD quoting
  • Design for manufacturing feedback
  • Multi-region network
  • Multiple processes
  • Quality documentation
  • Order and revision tracking
  • Bridge to production

Only in IBM Maximo Application Suite

  • AppPoint pooling
  • Maximo Manage
  • Maximo Health and Predict
  • Maximo Visual Inspection
  • Industry solutions
  • OpenShift deployment

What people use each for

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

Fictiv

  • An engineering team needing machined prototypes in days without qualifying a machine shop firstnot IBM Maximo Application Suite
  • Moving a part between regions to change landed cost or tariff exposure without re-sourcing a suppliernot IBM Maximo Application Suite
  • Bridge production between prototype tooling and a committed high-volume suppliernot IBM Maximo Application Suite
  • Getting design-for-manufacturing feedback on a part before committing to injection mould toolingnot IBM Maximo Application Suite

IBM Maximo Application Suite

  • A transmission utility managing hundreds of thousands of linear and point assets with regulatory reporting that a mid-market CMMS cannot producenot Fictiv
  • An airline or rail operator needing configuration control and maintenance history depth that survives a regulator audit going back yearsnot Fictiv
  • A manufacturer wanting condition-based maintenance and work order execution in the same system rather than integrating a predictive tool to a separate CMMSnot Fictiv
  • A defence or nuclear estate where the industry solution and long-term vendor viability matter more than the licence costnot Fictiv

Where each one falls short

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

Fictiv

  • This is a manufacturing service, not software you licence, so there is nothing to deploy or own and switching means re-sourcing parts rather than exporting data.
  • A broker sits between you and the shop cutting your part, so at stable production volumes direct sourcing usually beats the platform price and the platform knows it.
  • You do not choose or generally know the specific supplier, which makes process control, supplier audits and traceability harder in regulated or aerospace work.
  • MISUMI completed a $350 million acquisition in June 2025, so roadmap and pricing now answer to a Japanese industrial components group rather than to an independent platform strategy.
  • Instant quotes are geometry-driven and complex or tightly toleranced parts drop into engineer review, so the speed advantage that justified the choice disappears exactly on the parts that are hardest to source.

IBM Maximo Application Suite

  • AppPoints are consumed by users, applications and environments at once, so a routine decision like adding a test environment or enabling Health quietly eats pool capacity and can trigger a true-up nobody budgeted for.
  • Pools are commonly sized from headcount rather than concurrency and application mix, and licence reviews frequently find them over-provisioned by a large margin, meaning organisations pay for entitlement they never consume.
  • Implementation, data migration, customisation and integrator fees routinely cost two to three times the first-year licence, so a business case built on the subscription figure will be materially wrong.
  • MAS requires Red Hat OpenShift, which for a customer-hosted deployment adds a container platform, its licensing and the specialist administration skills to run it, none of which the previous standalone Maximo needed.
  • Maximo is deep and slow to change; configuration is a specialist skill, upgrades are projects rather than updates, and organisations without a dedicated Maximo team end up permanently dependent on an implementation partner.

Pricing, plan by plan

Fictiv

On request
  • Per-part quoting$undefined/month
    • No subscription or platform fee
    • Priced per part by geometry, material, process and quantity
    • Instant quotes for many processes, engineer review for complex parts

IBM Maximo Application Suite

$3150/month
  • Essentials (SaaS)$3150/month
    • Entry SaaS tier for a small user population
    • One production environment
    • Core Manage functionality
  • Standard (SaaS)$undefined/month
    • Larger AppPoint pool
    • Additional applications and environments
    • Priced on application
  • Premium (SaaS)$undefined/month
    • Full application set including Predict and Visual Inspection
    • Multiple environments
    • Priced on application
  • Customer hosted$undefined/year
    • AppPoint entitlement bought outright and run on your own OpenShift cluster
    • Infrastructure, OpenShift and administration costs are yours
    • Annual support and subscription contract required

Which should you pick?

Choose Fictiv if

  • You need instant cad quoting.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want design for manufacturing feedback.
Fictiv review

Choose IBM Maximo Application Suite if

  • You need apppoint pooling.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, On-premise, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want maximo manage.
IBM Maximo Application Suite review

Questions people ask

Is Fictiv or IBM Maximo Application Suite better?
Neither clearly leads. Fictiv starts at On request and IBM Maximo Application Suite at $3150/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fictiv or IBM Maximo Application Suite?
Fictiv starts at On request and IBM Maximo Application Suite at $3150/month.
Does Fictiv or IBM Maximo Application Suite run on more platforms?
Fictiv runs on Web, Cloud. IBM Maximo Application Suite runs on Web, Cloud, On-premise, iOS, Android, Linux.
What is Fictiv best used for?
Fictiv is most often used for an engineering team needing machined prototypes in days without qualifying a machine shop first, moving a part between regions to change landed cost or tariff exposure without re-sourcing a supplier, bridge production between prototype tooling and a committed high-volume supplier, getting design-for-manufacturing feedback on a part before committing to injection mould tooling. Of those, an engineering team needing machined prototypes in days without qualifying a machine shop first and moving a part between regions to change landed cost or tariff exposure without re-sourcing a supplier are not what IBM Maximo Application Suite is typically brought in for.
What can Fictiv do that IBM Maximo Application Suite cannot?
Fictiv covers Instant CAD quoting, Design for manufacturing feedback, Multi-region network, Multiple processes. IBM Maximo Application Suite covers AppPoint pooling, Maximo Manage, Maximo Health and Predict, Maximo Visual Inspection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fictiv: Is Fictiv software I can buy?

No. It is an on-demand manufacturing service with a quoting and order management platform. You pay for parts, not for the software.

IBM Maximo Application Suite: Is Maximo still sold per user?

No. The Maximo Application Suite licenses a shared AppPoint pool consumed by users, applications and environments. Per-seat Maximo is the old model.

Fictiv: Is Fictiv still independent?

No. MISUMI Group completed its acquisition, valued at $350 million, in June 2025. Fictiv continues to trade under its own name.

IBM Maximo Application Suite: What does the entry SaaS tier cost?

The Essentials package starts around $3,150 per month for a small user population and one production environment. Larger tiers are quoted.

Fictiv: Do I know which factory makes my part?

Generally not. Fictiv manages a vetted network and allocates work within it, which is a limitation if your quality system requires named and audited suppliers.

IBM Maximo Application Suite: Do non-production environments cost AppPoints?

Yes. Development, test and training environments draw from the same pool, which is the most common sizing surprise.

Fictiv: Is it cheaper than sourcing directly?

For prototypes and low volumes, usually yes once you count the cost of finding and qualifying a supplier. At stable production volumes, direct sourcing is normally cheaper.

IBM Maximo Application Suite: Can I run MAS without OpenShift?

No. OpenShift is the deployment platform whether you host it yourself or consume MAS as a service from IBM.

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