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Inventory · head to head

Katana vs Materialise Magics

Katana logo

Katana

Inventory

Smart manufacturing ERP for scaling businesses

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Materialise Magics logo

Materialise Magics

Manufacturing

Industrial build preparation and data repair for metal and polymer additive manufacturing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Katana limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated; Materialise Magics new seats and modules have been subscription only since 15 May 2024, so the perpetual purchase route is closed and existing perpetual holders are on a shrinking island.
  • They diverge on capability: Katana covers Production planning, Materialise Magics covers Mesh repair.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Katana and Materialise Magics actually diverge.

Attributes where Katana and Materialise Magics differ
AttributeKatanaMaterialise Magics
Starting price$99/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWebWindows
CategoryInventoryManufacturing
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Katana

  • Production planning
  • Real-time inventory
  • BOM management
  • Shop floor control
  • Shopify
  • WooCommerce
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero

Only in Materialise Magics

  • Mesh repair
  • Part orientation and nesting
  • Support generation
  • Build Processors
  • Simulation module
  • Structures module
  • Reporting and traceability

What people use each for

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

Katana

  • Production schedulingnot Materialise Magics
  • Material planningnot Materialise Magics
  • Work order managementnot Materialise Magics
  • Inventory optimizationnot Materialise Magics

Materialise Magics

  • A service bureau running several brands of metal printer that wants one preparation environment instead of five vendor slicersnot Katana
  • Repairing badly formed STL or scan-derived meshes that a machine slicer will not acceptnot Katana
  • Automating support generation on metal parts where manual support editing is the bottleneck in the processnot Katana
  • Simulating and compensating for build distortion before committing an expensive metal buildnot Katana

Where each one falls short

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

Katana

  • Limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning requiring manual work that should be automated
  • No native invoicing capability, making it standalone without accounting system integration
  • Limited native integrations, with heavy reliance on Zapier for non-core tools
  • Slow performance with large datasets and high SKU counts

Materialise Magics

  • New seats and modules have been subscription only since 15 May 2024, so the perpetual purchase route is closed and existing perpetual holders are on a shrinking island.
  • Build Processors are licensed separately per machine family, so adding a new printer brand adds a licence line as well as capital cost, and a mixed fleet multiplies the software bill.
  • The modules that deliver the biggest labour saving, notably e-Stage automated support generation, are paid extras, so the base seat alone leaves you doing manual support work.
  • Materialise publishes no prices anywhere, and quotes vary by region and reseller, so two similar bureaus can pay materially different amounts for the same configuration.
  • It is Windows only and remains a desktop application, which sits awkwardly with the cloud direction of Materialise CO-AM and means preparation capacity is tied to specific workstations and licence seats.

Pricing, plan by plan

Katana

$99/month
  • Essential$99/month
    • Core inventory management
    • Production scheduling
    • Stock tracking
  • Pro$299/month
    • Shop floor control
    • API access
    • Advanced reporting

Materialise Magics

On request
  • Magics Essentials$undefined/year
    • Mesh repair and editing
    • Part orientation and platform placement
    • Basic support generation
  • Magics with modules$undefined/year
    • Everything in Essentials
    • e-Stage automated supports, Simulation, Structures priced individually
    • Build Processors licensed per machine family

Which should you pick?

Choose Katana if

  • You need production planning.
  • You also want real-time inventory.
Katana review

Choose Materialise Magics if

  • You need mesh repair.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want part orientation and nesting.
Materialise Magics review

Questions people ask

Is Katana or Materialise Magics better?
Neither clearly leads. Katana starts at $99/month and Materialise Magics at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Katana or Materialise Magics?
Katana starts at $99/month and Materialise Magics at On request.
Does Katana or Materialise Magics run on more platforms?
Katana runs on Web. Materialise Magics runs on Windows.
What is Katana best used for?
Katana is most often used for production scheduling, material planning, work order management, inventory optimization. Of those, production scheduling and material planning are not what Materialise Magics is typically brought in for.
What can Katana do that Materialise Magics cannot?
Katana covers Production planning, Real-time inventory, BOM management, Shop floor control. Materialise Magics covers Mesh repair, Part orientation and nesting, Support generation, Build Processors.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Katana: What is Katana's pricing structure?

Katana starts at $99/month for the Essential plan with core MRP features. The Pro plan costs $299/month and adds shop floor control and API access. Add-ons for traceability, manufacturing, and warehouse management cost extra and can reach $747-$1,095 total.

Source
Materialise Magics: Can I still buy a perpetual Magics licence?

No. Since 15 May 2024 Materialise sells new seats and new modules on subscription only. Existing perpetual licences continue to work but new capacity is subscription.

Katana: Does Katana support multi-level bills of materials?

Katana has limited BOM explosion and lead-time offset planning capabilities. Complex multi-level BOMs with sub-assemblies require manual workarounds, which becomes increasingly problematic as SKU count grows.

Source
Materialise Magics: Do I need a separate Build Processor for each printer?

You need one per machine family, licensed separately from the Magics seat. Budget for it before you buy the printer.

Katana: Can Katana integrate with my accounting software?

Katana has no native invoicing capability and limited integrations with accounting systems. It is essentially standalone and requires manual data export or Zapier integration for most accounting workflows.

Source
Materialise Magics: Is Magics the same as CO-AM?

No. Magics is desktop build preparation. CO-AM is the Materialise cloud platform for AM workflow and production management, which absorbed the former Link3D product.

Katana: Does Katana have an offline mode?

No, Katana is a cloud-only solution requiring internet connectivity. There is no built-in offline mode for production floor access without internet.

Source
Materialise Magics: Does Magics slice?

It prepares and supports the build and hands off through a Build Processor, which produces the machine-ready file. The machine-specific processing lives in the Build Processor.

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