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Manufacturing · head to head

Flow Software vs Oden Technologies

Flow Software logo

Flow Software

Manufacturing

Manufacturing KPI and OEE calculation engine with published list prices, licensed by measure count

From
$11390/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Oden Technologies logo

Oden Technologies

Manufacturing

Process analytics for continuous production, strongest in plastics extrusion and moulding

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Flow Software the 11,390 dollar Starter licence caps at 250 measures and events, which a multi-line plant exhausts quickly once each line contributes a dozen calculations, forcing a jump to the 62,230 dollar tier.; Oden Technologies the depth is in plastics and continuous processing, so a discrete job shop with short runs and frequent changeovers does not generate the repetition the analysis needs and will get little from it.
  • They diverge on capability: Flow Software covers Calculation engine, Oden Technologies covers High frequency data collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Flow Software and Oden Technologies actually diverge.

Attributes where Flow Software and Oden Technologies differ
AttributeFlow SoftwareOden Technologies
Starting price$11390/one-timeOn request
Pricing modelOne-time purchasequote
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb, API

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 Flow Software

  • Calculation engine
  • Measure model
  • Historian connectors
  • Manual data entry
  • Event framing
  • Excel and Power BI output
  • Flow dashboards
  • AI Gateway

Only in Oden Technologies

  • High frequency data collection
  • Reference run analysis
  • Scrap and yield analytics
  • Line and plant dashboards
  • PLC and historian connectivity
  • Alerting on process drift

What people use each for

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

Flow Software

  • A brewery replacing a fragile network of OEE spreadsheets with governed calculations from the same historian datanot Oden Technologies
  • Reporting specific energy consumption per tonne against an ISO 50001 audit where the calculation method must be documentednot Oden Technologies
  • Feeding Power BI plant dashboards from a historian without giving analysts direct tag-level accessnot Oden Technologies
  • A site that needs lab results typed in and combined with automated tag data in the same yield calculationnot Oden Technologies

Oden Technologies

  • A plastics extrusion plant losing material to scrap when settings drift between shifts and operatorsnot Flow Software
  • A moulder that wants to know which parameter combination produced its best historical run of a given partnot Flow Software
  • A continuous processor whose historian holds years of data that nobody has turned into operating guidancenot Flow Software
  • A multi site group wanting comparable line performance figures across plants that currently report differentlynot Flow Software

Where each one falls short

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

Flow Software

  • The 11,390 dollar Starter licence caps at 250 measures and events, which a multi-line plant exhausts quickly once each line contributes a dozen calculations, forcing a jump to the 62,230 dollar tier.
  • The Unlimited licence requires every engine on a single server or VM, so any multi-server or multi-site topology goes straight to Distributed at roughly double the price with no intermediate option.
  • Maintenance renews at about fifteen percent of the installed base annually, so a large perpetual estate carries a five-figure recurring cost that the headline perpetual price hides.
  • It is a Windows product with a Microsoft data stack, so Linux or container-native deployment strategies do not apply and the server has to be managed on the plant Windows estate.
  • It calculates and reports but does not collect from equipment itself, so an existing historian or OPC layer is a prerequisite and Flow adds cost on top of that rather than replacing it.

Oden Technologies

  • The depth is in plastics and continuous processing, so a discrete job shop with short runs and frequent changeovers does not generate the repetition the analysis needs and will get little from it.
  • It depends on fast process data from PLCs or a historian, so a plant with older machines that have no controller data must pay for instrumentation before the software does anything, which is the opposite of a low friction rollout.
  • Realising the benefit requires process engineers who can act on the findings, and a plant without that capability ends up with analysis nobody converts into standard operating conditions.
  • Pricing is per line and not published, so a plant with many small lines pays in proportion to line count rather than to output value, and the economics favour fewer high value lines.
  • It overlaps with historian and SCADA investments a plant may already have, and buyers frequently have to justify why an existing AVEVA or Ignition estate cannot be made to do a version of the same job.

Pricing, plan by plan

Flow Software

$11390/one-time
  • Starter$11390/one-time
    • 250 KPI measures and events
    • Single server deployment
    • First year of software maintenance included
  • Unlimited$62230/one-time
    • Unlimited KPI measures and events
    • All engines must run on one server or dedicated VM
    • First year of maintenance included
  • Distributed$128450/one-time
    • Unlimited measures with engines distributed across multiple servers
    • Required for multi-server and multi-site deployments
    • Available as an annual subscription at 34,250 USD instead

Oden Technologies

On request
  • Oden$undefined/year
    • Per line data collection and analytics
    • Reference run and yield analysis
    • Connectivity to PLCs and historians

Which should you pick?

Choose Flow Software if

  • You need calculation engine.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want measure model.
Flow Software review

Choose Oden Technologies if

  • You need high frequency data collection.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want reference run analysis.
Oden Technologies review

Questions people ask

Is Flow Software or Oden Technologies better?
Neither clearly leads. Flow Software starts at $11390/one-time and Oden Technologies at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Flow Software or Oden Technologies?
Flow Software starts at $11390/one-time and Oden Technologies at On request.
Does Flow Software or Oden Technologies run on more platforms?
Flow Software runs on Windows, Web. Oden Technologies runs on Web, API.
What is Flow Software best used for?
Flow Software is most often used for a brewery replacing a fragile network of oee spreadsheets with governed calculations from the same historian data, reporting specific energy consumption per tonne against an iso 50001 audit where the calculation method must be documented, feeding power bi plant dashboards from a historian without giving analysts direct tag-level access, a site that needs lab results typed in and combined with automated tag data in the same yield calculation. Of those, a brewery replacing a fragile network of oee spreadsheets with governed calculations from the same historian data and reporting specific energy consumption per tonne against an iso 50001 audit where the calculation method must be documented are not what Oden Technologies is typically brought in for.
What can Flow Software do that Oden Technologies cannot?
Flow Software covers Calculation engine, Measure model, Historian connectors, Manual data entry. Oden Technologies covers High frequency data collection, Reference run analysis, Scrap and yield analytics, Line and plant dashboards.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Flow Software: Does Flow publish real prices?

Yes. Starter is 11,390 USD perpetual for 250 measures, Unlimited is 62,230 USD perpetual or 16,595 USD a year, and Distributed is 128,450 USD perpetual or 34,250 USD a year.

Oden Technologies: Is it suitable for a machine shop?

Not really. It is built for continuous and repetitive high volume processes, not short run discrete machining.

Flow Software: Is perpetual licensing still offered?

Yes, at every tier, with the first year of maintenance included and renewal at roughly fifteen percent per year. Subscription is available on Unlimited and Distributed only.

Oden Technologies: Does it need a historian?

No, it can collect directly from PLCs, but it will read from an existing historian where one is present.

Flow Software: Do I need a historian as well?

Effectively yes. Flow reads from historians, databases and OPC sources; it is a calculation layer, not a data collector.

Oden Technologies: What is the main measurable outcome?

Scrap reduction and throughput improvement on repeated products, rather than labour savings.

Flow Software: What counts as a measure?

Each configured KPI or event definition. A single line typically consumes ten to thirty, which is what makes the 250 Starter cap tighter than it looks.

Oden Technologies: Will it work on machines without PLC data?

No. Those machines need instrumenting first, and that cost belongs in the business case.

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