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Manufacturing · head to head

COPA-DATA zenon vs Kepware Server

COPA-DATA zenon logo

COPA-DATA zenon

Manufacturing

HMI, SCADA and energy automation platform licensed by I/O tag count

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: COPA-DATA zenon the I/O count that determines your licence band is a weighted calculation, not a variable tally, so projects sized from a tag list routinely land in a higher and more expensive band than budgeted.; 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: COPA-DATA zenon covers I/O-banded licensing, 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 COPA-DATA zenon and Kepware Server actually diverge.

Attributes where COPA-DATA zenon and Kepware Server differ
AttributeCOPA-DATA zenonKepware Server
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebWindows, 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 COPA-DATA zenon

  • I/O-banded licensing
  • IEC 61850 native
  • zenon Logic
  • Pharmaceutical compliance
  • Multi-project engineering
  • Redundancy

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.

COPA-DATA zenon

  • A pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the SCADA layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic HMInot Kepware Server
  • A utility automating substations that wants IEC 61850 SCL import and DNP3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver optionsnot Kepware Server
  • A machine builder shipping identical HMI applications to many customers who wants one engineering project reused across machine and line levelnot Kepware Server
  • A food and beverage site in German-speaking Europe where local integrator availability for zenon is strong and Rockwell coverage is notnot Kepware Server

Kepware Server

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

Where each one falls short

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

COPA-DATA zenon

  • The I/O count that determines your licence band is a weighted calculation, not a variable tally, so projects sized from a tag list routinely land in a higher and more expensive band than budgeted.
  • The integrator and engineering talent pool is concentrated in German-speaking Europe; a North American or Asian site can find itself dependent on a single partner with no competitive quote available.
  • English-language documentation and community material lag the German equivalents, which slows engineers who are learning the product without formal COPA-DATA training.
  • The annual software maintenance contract is a percentage of licence value, so a large I/O estate carries a recurring cost that does not fall even when the plant is stable and nothing is changing.
  • Third-party ecosystem extensions are far fewer than for Ignition or FactoryTalk, so requirements outside the box tend to become custom engineering billed at partner day rates.

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

COPA-DATA zenon

On request
  • zenon$undefined/year
    • Runtime licensed in bands by calculated I/O count
    • Numeric variables weighted upward in the I/O calculation, binary counted singly
    • Engineering Studio licensed separately from runtime

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 COPA-DATA zenon if

  • You need i/o-banded licensing.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want iec 61850 native.
COPA-DATA zenon 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 COPA-DATA zenon or Kepware Server better?
Neither clearly leads. COPA-DATA zenon 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, COPA-DATA zenon or Kepware Server?
COPA-DATA zenon starts at On request and Kepware Server at On request.
Does COPA-DATA zenon or Kepware Server run on more platforms?
COPA-DATA zenon runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Kepware Server runs on Windows, Linux.
What is COPA-DATA zenon best used for?
COPA-DATA zenon is most often used for a pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the scada layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic hmi, a utility automating substations that wants iec 61850 scl import and dnp3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver options, a machine builder shipping identical hmi applications to many customers who wants one engineering project reused across machine and line level, a food and beverage site in german-speaking europe where local integrator availability for zenon is strong and rockwell coverage is not. Of those, a pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the scada layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic hmi and a utility automating substations that wants iec 61850 scl import and dnp3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver options are not what Kepware Server is typically brought in for.
What can COPA-DATA zenon do that Kepware Server cannot?
COPA-DATA zenon covers I/O-banded licensing, IEC 61850 native, zenon Logic, Pharmaceutical compliance. Kepware Server covers 150-plus device drivers, OPC UA server, IoT Gateway, DataLogger.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

COPA-DATA zenon: How is a zenon licence sized?

By calculated I/O count. Numeric variables are weighted upward in that calculation and binary values counted singly, so ask your partner for the calculated figure, not the variable count, before signing.

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.

COPA-DATA zenon: Is zenon only for factories?

No. A significant part of its installed base is electrical substation automation, where IEC 61850 support is native rather than an add-on.

Kepware Server: Is a perpetual licence still available?

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

COPA-DATA zenon: Is there a free version?

There is a demo mode for evaluation and a free educational licence, but production runtime always needs a paid, I/O-banded licence.

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.

COPA-DATA zenon: Can zenon replace a PLC?

zenon Logic is an IEC 61131-3 soft PLC and can control non-safety-critical processes, but most deployments keep a hardware PLC and use zenon for visualisation and supervision.

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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