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Manufacturing · head to head

Guidewheel vs Kepware Server

Guidewheel logo

Guidewheel

Manufacturing

Machine monitoring from a clamp on the power cord, so equipment age and protocol stop mattering

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: Guidewheel current draw shows that a machine is consuming power, not that it is producing good parts, so scrap, rework and quality still require operator entry or additional sensors and the OEE quality factor is not measured automatically.; 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: Guidewheel covers Clamp on current sensing, 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 Guidewheel and Kepware Server actually diverge.

Attributes where Guidewheel and Kepware Server differ
AttributeGuidewheelKepware Server
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, 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 Guidewheel

  • Clamp on current sensing
  • Automatic uptime and downtime
  • Downtime categorisation
  • Real time alerting
  • Shift and OEE reporting
  • Energy visibility

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.

Guidewheel

  • A plant running equipment built in the 1980s and 1990s that no controller based monitoring product can readnot Kepware Server
  • A mixed floor of presses, ovens, compressors and fabrication equipment from many manufacturers with no common protocolnot Kepware Server
  • A manufacturer that needs evidence of real capacity before agreeing to buy another machinenot Kepware Server
  • A plant wanting immediate notification when an unattended overnight process stopsnot Kepware Server

Kepware Server

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

Where each one falls short

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

Guidewheel

  • Current draw shows that a machine is consuming power, not that it is producing good parts, so scrap, rework and quality still require operator entry or additional sensors and the OEE quality factor is not measured automatically.
  • Cycle counting depends on a distinct load signature for each cycle, so machines with flat continuous draw such as ovens, some extruders and continuous mixers give poor or unusable part counts.
  • Installation involves fitting a clamp around a live power conductor inside or near an electrical panel, which in many plants requires a qualified electrician and a scheduled shutdown rather than a plug in setup.
  • It is monitoring, not execution, so there is no routing, scheduling, work order or traceability capability and it must sit alongside an ERP or MES rather than replacing either.
  • Pricing is per monitored machine, so a plant with two hundred small machines faces a bill proportional to machine count rather than to plant size, and the economics work better on fewer larger assets.

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

Guidewheel

On request
  • Guidewheel$undefined/year
    • Per machine monitoring hardware and platform access
    • Downtime and OEE reporting
    • Alerting and energy visibility

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 Guidewheel if

  • You need clamp on current sensing.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want automatic uptime and downtime.
Guidewheel 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 Guidewheel or Kepware Server better?
Neither clearly leads. Guidewheel 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, Guidewheel or Kepware Server?
Guidewheel starts at On request and Kepware Server at On request.
Does Guidewheel or Kepware Server run on more platforms?
Guidewheel runs on Web, iOS, Android. Kepware Server runs on Windows, Linux.
What is Guidewheel best used for?
Guidewheel is most often used for a plant running equipment built in the 1980s and 1990s that no controller based monitoring product can read, a mixed floor of presses, ovens, compressors and fabrication equipment from many manufacturers with no common protocol, a manufacturer that needs evidence of real capacity before agreeing to buy another machine, a plant wanting immediate notification when an unattended overnight process stops. Of those, a plant running equipment built in the 1980s and 1990s that no controller based monitoring product can read and a mixed floor of presses, ovens, compressors and fabrication equipment from many manufacturers with no common protocol are not what Kepware Server is typically brought in for.
What can Guidewheel do that Kepware Server cannot?
Guidewheel covers Clamp on current sensing, Automatic uptime and downtime, Downtime categorisation, Real time alerting. Kepware Server covers 150-plus device drivers, OPC UA server, IoT Gateway, DataLogger.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Guidewheel: Does it work on machines with no controller or network port?

Yes. That is the reason it exists. It measures the power cable, so machine age and protocol are irrelevant.

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.

Guidewheel: Will it count parts?

Sometimes. It works where each cycle produces a distinct electrical signature and does not work on continuous draw equipment.

Kepware Server: Is a perpetual licence still available?

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

Guidewheel: Do I need IT involvement?

Less than with controller based monitoring, but you do need electrical work to fit the sensors and a path for the gateway to reach the internet.

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.

Guidewheel: Is it an MES?

No. It monitors equipment. Work orders, routings and traceability need a separate system.

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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