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Manufacturing · head to head

Fulcrum vs Petasense

Fulcrum logo

Fulcrum

Manufacturing

Field operations management for installing, inspecting and maintaining physical work

From
$39/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Petasense logo

Petasense

Manufacturing

Wireless vibration and asset reliability monitoring, now owned by AssetWatch

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fulcrum monthly pricing only available for first 12 months; after that, annual commitment required; Petasense petasense is now owned by AssetWatch, whose business is monitoring delivered as a managed service, so a buyer wanting self-service software should get the delivery model written into the contract rather than assume it.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fulcrum and Petasense actually diverge.

Attributes where Fulcrum and Petasense differ
AttributeFulcrumPetasense
Starting price$39/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWebWeb, Cloud, iOS, Android

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 Fulcrum

Nothing recorded that Petasense does not also cover.

Only in Petasense

  • Vibration Mote
  • Transmitter range
  • ARO cloud
  • VFD-specific monitoring
  • Reliability workflow
  • Mixed wired and wireless

What people use each for

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

Fulcrum

  • Capturing inspection photos and data completely offlinenot Petasense
  • Collecting field data in areas without cell coveragenot Petasense
  • Tagging asset locations with geospatial coordinatesnot Petasense
  • Automating asset maintenance work order workflowsnot Petasense

Petasense

  • A reliability team wanting continuous vibration data on assets currently covered by a quarterly walkaround routenot Fulcrum
  • A plant with variable frequency drive assets where generic vibration analytics produce too many false alarmsnot Fulcrum
  • Mixing battery sensors on accessible pumps with wired sensors on the handful of assets that would stop productionnot Fulcrum
  • A manufacturer with no in-house vibration analyst that wants the analysis delivered as a service rather than as a dashboardnot Fulcrum

Where each one falls short

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

Fulcrum

  • Monthly pricing only available for first 12 months; after that, annual commitment required
  • Additional storage costs $2.20 USD per month per 20 GB block
  • Enterprise plan requires minimum of 5 users

Petasense

  • Petasense is now owned by AssetWatch, whose business is monitoring delivered as a managed service, so a buyer wanting self-service software should get the delivery model written into the contract rather than assume it.
  • Hardware is required per measurement point and gateways are required per area, so the up-front capital for a plant-wide deployment is substantial and separate from the subscription.
  • Per-asset subscription pricing scales linearly, which makes full coverage of a large population of low-value motors uneconomic compared with route-based monitoring.
  • Nothing is published on sensor cost, subscription rate, gateway requirements or contract length, so a total cost of ownership figure requires a full sales engagement before you can compare it against anything.
  • Battery-powered wireless sensors trade measurement richness for battery life, so the sampling rate and resolution are lower than a wired analyser would give, which limits diagnosis of high-frequency bearing defects on critical machines.

Pricing, plan by plan

Fulcrum

$39/month
  • Professional$43/month
    • 100 GB storage
    • 10 data shares
    • Standard email and in-app support
  • Elite$39/month
    • 500 GB storage
    • 50 data shares
    • Priority email, in-app, and phone support
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • Custom pricing
    • Unlimited users minimum 5
    • Unlimited storage

Petasense

On request
  • Petasense ARO$undefined/year
    • Subscription priced per monitored asset
    • Vibration Mote or Transmitter hardware required per measurement point
    • Gateway hardware required for wireless deployments

Which should you pick?

Choose Fulcrum if

Nothing in the data separates Fulcrum from Petasense on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Fulcrum review

Choose Petasense if

  • You need vibration mote.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android.
  • You also want transmitter range.
Petasense review

Questions people ask

Is Fulcrum or Petasense better?
Neither clearly leads. Fulcrum starts at $39/month and Petasense at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fulcrum or Petasense?
Fulcrum starts at $39/month and Petasense at On request.
Does Fulcrum or Petasense run on more platforms?
Fulcrum runs on Web. Petasense runs on Web, Cloud, iOS, Android.
What is Fulcrum best used for?
Fulcrum is most often used for capturing inspection photos and data completely offline, collecting field data in areas without cell coverage, tagging asset locations with geospatial coordinates, automating asset maintenance work order workflows. Of those, capturing inspection photos and data completely offline and collecting field data in areas without cell coverage are not what Petasense is typically brought in for.
What can Fulcrum do that Petasense cannot?
Petasense covers Vibration Mote, Transmitter range, ARO cloud, VFD-specific monitoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fulcrum: How much does Fulcrum cost per user?

Professional and Elite plans cost $43 per month for monthly billing or $55 per user per month when billed annually. Enterprise pricing is custom and requires contacting Fulcrum.

Source
Petasense: Is Petasense still a separate product?

Yes. It trades under its own name with its own product line, but the owner since January 2024 is AssetWatch.

Fulcrum: What is Fulcrum's storage limit?

Professional includes 100 GB storage, Elite includes 500 GB storage, and Enterprise includes unlimited storage. Additional storage blocks of 20 GB cost $2.20 USD per month.

Source
Petasense: Do I have to buy Petasense hardware?

Yes. The platform is built around its own Motes and Transmitters; it is not a bring-your-own-sensor analytics product.

Fulcrum: Are there restrictions on monthly billing for Fulcrum?

Monthly pricing is only available during the first 12 months as a Fulcrum customer. After 12 months, the company learns your usage pattern and offers pricing with an annual commitment required.

Source
Petasense: Can I get monitoring as a service?

Yes, through parent AssetWatch, whose model is condition monitoring engineers reviewing your data. Clarify which model your quote covers.

Petasense: How is it priced?

Per monitored asset on subscription, plus sensors and gateways. Nothing is published.

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