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Manufacturing · head to head

IBM Maximo Application Suite vs Ignition

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
Ignition logo

Ignition

Manufacturing

Industrial automation platform for SCADA, HMI and MES

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Ignition requires real engineering to implement; it is a platform rather than a finished application
  • They diverge on capability: IBM Maximo Application Suite covers AppPoint pooling, Ignition covers Unlimited-client licensing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where IBM Maximo Application Suite and Ignition differ
AttributeIBM Maximo Application SuiteIgnition
Starting price$3150/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer year by AppPoint poolPer-server licensing with published module pricing; unlimited clients and tags
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, On-premise, iOS, Android, LinuxWindows, Linux, macOS, Web

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 IBM Maximo Application Suite

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

Only in Ignition

  • Unlimited-client licensing
  • SCADA and HMI
  • Historian
  • MES modules
  • Web-based clients
  • Wide PLC support

What people use each for

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

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 Ignition
  • An airline or rail operator needing configuration control and maintenance history depth that survives a regulator audit going back yearsnot Ignition
  • A manufacturer wanting condition-based maintenance and work order execution in the same system rather than integrating a predictive tool to a separate CMMSnot Ignition
  • A defence or nuclear estate where the industry solution and long-term vendor viability matter more than the licence costnot Ignition

Ignition

  • Plants where per-tag licensing has made expansion a budget conversationnot IBM Maximo Application Suite
  • Replacing installed operator terminals with browser-based clientsnot IBM Maximo Application Suite
  • Connecting plant floor data to SQL and business systemsnot IBM Maximo Application Suite

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Ignition

  • Requires real engineering to implement; it is a platform rather than a finished application
  • Steep learning curve, and Inductive Automation runs its own training programme because of it
  • Self-hosted and self-supported by default, so plant IT carries the availability burden
  • Module-based pricing means the entry figure is rarely the final one

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Ignition

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Ignition review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Ignition if

  • You need unlimited-client licensing.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, macOS, Web.
  • You also want scada and hmi.
Ignition review

Questions people ask

Is IBM Maximo Application Suite or Ignition better?
Neither clearly leads. IBM Maximo Application Suite starts at $3150/month and Ignition at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IBM Maximo Application Suite or Ignition?
IBM Maximo Application Suite starts at $3150/month and Ignition at On request.
Does IBM Maximo Application Suite or Ignition run on more platforms?
IBM Maximo Application Suite runs on Web, Cloud, On-premise, iOS, Android, Linux. Ignition runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, Web.
What is IBM Maximo Application Suite best used for?
IBM Maximo Application Suite is most often used for a transmission utility managing hundreds of thousands of linear and point assets with regulatory reporting that a mid-market cmms cannot produce, an airline or rail operator needing configuration control and maintenance history depth that survives a regulator audit going back years, a manufacturer wanting condition-based maintenance and work order execution in the same system rather than integrating a predictive tool to a separate cmms, a defence or nuclear estate where the industry solution and long-term vendor viability matter more than the licence cost. Of those, a transmission utility managing hundreds of thousands of linear and point assets with regulatory reporting that a mid-market cmms cannot produce and an airline or rail operator needing configuration control and maintenance history depth that survives a regulator audit going back years are not what Ignition is typically brought in for.
What can IBM Maximo Application Suite do that Ignition cannot?
IBM Maximo Application Suite covers AppPoint pooling, Maximo Manage, Maximo Health and Predict, Maximo Visual Inspection. Ignition covers Unlimited-client licensing, SCADA and HMI, Historian, MES modules.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Ignition: What does Ignition cost?

It publishes per-server module pricing with unlimited clients, tags and connections, so cost does not scale with how many people use it.

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.

Ignition: Why does unlimited-client licensing matter?

Traditional SCADA is licensed per tag or per screen, which turns adding an operator terminal into a purchase. Ignition removes that ceiling.

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.

Ignition: Is it a finished application?

No, it is a platform. Screens, tags and logic are built for the specific plant, which is real engineering work.

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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