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Manufacturing · head to head

Fictiv vs LabVIEW

Fictiv logo

Fictiv

Manufacturing

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
LabVIEW logo

LabVIEW

Manufacturing

Graphical dataflow programming for automated test, measurement and instrument control

From
On request
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.; LabVIEW nI is now part of Emerson, completing in 2023, so LabVIEW sits inside an industrial automation conglomerate rather than being the flagship of a dedicated test company; roadmap priorities and support pricing follow the parent, not the user base.
  • They diverge on capability: Fictiv covers Instant CAD quoting, LabVIEW covers Graphical dataflow programming.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fictiv and LabVIEW actually diverge.

Attributes where Fictiv and LabVIEW differ
AttributeFictivLabVIEW
PlatformsWeb, CloudWindows, Linux, macOS

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 Fictiv

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

Only in LabVIEW

  • Graphical dataflow programming
  • Front panels
  • Instrument driver library
  • Hardware integration
  • Real-time and FPGA targets
  • Analysis and signal processing
  • Application builder
  • Nigel AI assistant

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 LabVIEW
  • Moving a part between regions to change landed cost or tariff exposure without re-sourcing a suppliernot LabVIEW
  • Bridge production between prototype tooling and a committed high-volume suppliernot LabVIEW
  • Getting design-for-manufacturing feedback on a part before committing to injection mould toolingnot LabVIEW

LabVIEW

  • An automotive supplier building an end-of-line test rig that must drive a power supply, read a scope and log pass/fail against a serial numbernot Fictiv
  • A semiconductor lab characterising devices across a PXI chassis where deterministic timing between instruments mattersnot Fictiv
  • A medical device manufacturer needing a validated, documented test system with an operator front panel a technician can run unsupervisednot Fictiv
  • A research group prototyping a control loop on CompactRIO where part of the logic must compile down to an FPGAnot 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.

LabVIEW

  • NI is now part of Emerson, completing in 2023, so LabVIEW sits inside an industrial automation conglomerate rather than being the flagship of a dedicated test company; roadmap priorities and support pricing follow the parent, not the user base.
  • No prices appear anywhere on the NI site for commercial editions; Base, Full, Professional and the LabVIEW+ suite are all quoted through NI or a reseller, so a buyer cannot compare cost against a Python-plus-PyVISA alternative without opening a sales conversation.
  • Graphical source code diffs badly. Merging two engineers’ changes to the same virtual instrument in git is impractical without NI’s own comparison tools, so team development on LabVIEW is slower and more serialised than on text-based languages.
  • The pool of engineers who write LabVIEW is small and ageing relative to the pool who write Python, so hiring a replacement for the person who built your test rig is materially harder and more expensive than replacing a general software engineer.
  • The environment pulls you toward NI hardware and NI add-on toolkits, and licences for real-time, FPGA and vision modules are sold separately on top of the base edition, so the quoted LabVIEW price is rarely the delivered cost of a working test system.

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

LabVIEW

On request
  • LabVIEW Community EditionFree
    • Free for personal, non-commercial use only
    • Full LabVIEW feature set for hobbyists
    • No commercial deployment rights
  • LabVIEW Base$undefined/year
    • Core acquisition, control and user interface capability
    • Suited to simple test and measurement applications
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence
  • LabVIEW Full$undefined/year
    • Adds advanced analysis and signal processing
    • Recommended where mathematics and filtering are required
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence
  • LabVIEW Professional$undefined/year
    • Adds application builder, source control and deployment tooling
    • Includes the Nigel AI assistant
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence

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 LabVIEW if

  • You need graphical dataflow programming.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, macOS.
  • You also want front panels.
LabVIEW review

Questions people ask

Is Fictiv or LabVIEW better?
Neither clearly leads. Fictiv starts at On request and LabVIEW at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fictiv or LabVIEW?
Fictiv starts at On request and LabVIEW at On request.
Does Fictiv or LabVIEW run on more platforms?
Fictiv runs on Web, Cloud. LabVIEW runs on Windows, Linux, macOS.
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 LabVIEW is typically brought in for.
What can Fictiv do that LabVIEW cannot?
Fictiv covers Instant CAD quoting, Design for manufacturing feedback, Multi-region network, Multiple processes. LabVIEW covers Graphical dataflow programming, Front panels, Instrument driver library, Hardware integration.

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.

LabVIEW: Who owns LabVIEW now?

NI, formerly National Instruments, was acquired by Emerson in an acquisition that completed in 2023. LabVIEW is now an Emerson product.

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.

LabVIEW: Can I still buy a perpetual licence?

Yes. NI offers both subscription and perpetual licences and states there are no functional or feature-level differences between them.

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.

LabVIEW: Is there a free version?

LabVIEW Community Edition is free for personal, non-commercial use. It carries no commercial deployment rights.

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.

LabVIEW: How much does it cost?

NI does not publish commercial edition prices. Base, Full, Professional and LabVIEW+ are all quoted through NI or a reseller.

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