Softwr

Manufacturing · head to head

LabVIEW vs Samotics

LabVIEW logo

LabVIEW

Manufacturing

Graphical dataflow programming for automated test, measurement and instrument control

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Samotics logo

Samotics

Manufacturing

Condition monitoring of motor-driven assets using electrical signature analysis from the motor control cabinet

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: LabVIEW nI is now part of Emerson, completing in 2023, so LabVIEW sits inside an industrial automation conglomerate rather than being the flagship of a dedicated test company; roadmap priorities and support pricing follow the parent, not the user base.; Samotics sAM4 only sees what reaches the motor electrically, so it covers the driven train and misses un-driven equipment, structures, process conditions and anything downstream of a mechanical decoupling.
  • They diverge on capability: LabVIEW covers Graphical dataflow programming, Samotics covers Electrical signature analysis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LabVIEW and Samotics actually diverge.

Attributes where LabVIEW and Samotics differ
AttributeLabVIEWSamotics
PlatformsWindows, Linux, macOSWeb, Cloud

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 LabVIEW

  • Graphical dataflow programming
  • Front panels
  • Instrument driver library
  • Hardware integration
  • Real-time and FPGA targets
  • Analysis and signal processing
  • Application builder
  • Nigel AI assistant

Only in Samotics

  • Electrical signature analysis
  • Switchroom installation
  • Energy and efficiency measurement
  • Submersible and hazardous area coverage
  • Fault classification
  • Fleet view

What people use each for

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

LabVIEW

  • An automotive supplier building an end-of-line test rig that must drive a power supply, read a scope and log pass/fail against a serial numbernot Samotics
  • A semiconductor lab characterising devices across a PXI chassis where deterministic timing between instruments mattersnot Samotics
  • A medical device manufacturer needing a validated, documented test system with an operator front panel a technician can run unsupervisednot Samotics
  • A research group prototyping a control loop on CompactRIO where part of the logic must compile down to an FPGAnot Samotics

Samotics

  • A water utility monitoring submersible and borehole pumps that no vibration sensor can be fitted to without lifting the pumpnot LabVIEW
  • A chemical plant with assets in ATEX zones where certifying and maintaining in-field sensors is more expensive than the monitoring itselfnot LabVIEW
  • A food plant that wants pump and mixer condition data without opening guarding or taking a hygiene-critical line down to fit sensorsnot LabVIEW
  • A site building an energy reduction case, where measured motor efficiency and waste give the business case a payback that reliability alone would notnot LabVIEW

Where each one falls short

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

LabVIEW

  • NI is now part of Emerson, completing in 2023, so LabVIEW sits inside an industrial automation conglomerate rather than being the flagship of a dedicated test company; roadmap priorities and support pricing follow the parent, not the user base.
  • No prices appear anywhere on the NI site for commercial editions; Base, Full, Professional and the LabVIEW+ suite are all quoted through NI or a reseller, so a buyer cannot compare cost against a Python-plus-PyVISA alternative without opening a sales conversation.
  • Graphical source code diffs badly. Merging two engineers’ changes to the same virtual instrument in git is impractical without NI’s own comparison tools, so team development on LabVIEW is slower and more serialised than on text-based languages.
  • The pool of engineers who write LabVIEW is small and ageing relative to the pool who write Python, so hiring a replacement for the person who built your test rig is materially harder and more expensive than replacing a general software engineer.
  • The environment pulls you toward NI hardware and NI add-on toolkits, and licences for real-time, FPGA and vision modules are sold separately on top of the base edition, so the quoted LabVIEW price is rarely the delivered cost of a working test system.

Samotics

  • SAM4 only sees what reaches the motor electrically, so it covers the driven train and misses un-driven equipment, structures, process conditions and anything downstream of a mechanical decoupling.
  • Each monitored motor needs hardware installed in the motor control centre by a qualified electrician, and in older switchrooms that installation, including any required outage, can cost more than a year of the subscription.
  • Per-asset subscription pricing means the cost scales linearly with the number of motors, so a plant with a thousand small motors faces a bill that a fixed-price plant-wide vibration system would not impose.
  • Electrical signature analysis on variable-speed drives is harder than on direct-on-line motors, and results vary with drive type, so a heavily VSD estate should insist on a pilot on its own drives before committing.
  • Nothing is published on price, contract length or minimum deployment size, and the vendor sells multi-year subscriptions, so early exit terms are a negotiation you have to raise yourself.

Pricing, plan by plan

LabVIEW

On request
  • LabVIEW Community EditionFree
    • Free for personal, non-commercial use only
    • Full LabVIEW feature set for hobbyists
    • No commercial deployment rights
  • LabVIEW Base$undefined/year
    • Core acquisition, control and user interface capability
    • Suited to simple test and measurement applications
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence
  • LabVIEW Full$undefined/year
    • Adds advanced analysis and signal processing
    • Recommended where mathematics and filtering are required
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence
  • LabVIEW Professional$undefined/year
    • Adds application builder, source control and deployment tooling
    • Includes the Nigel AI assistant
    • Available as subscription or perpetual licence

Samotics

On request
  • SAM4$undefined/year
    • Subscription priced per monitored asset
    • SAM4 sensor hardware required in each motor control centre
    • Electrical installation by a qualified electrician, quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose LabVIEW if

  • You need graphical dataflow programming.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, macOS.
  • You also want front panels.
LabVIEW review

Choose Samotics if

  • You need electrical signature analysis.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want switchroom installation.
Samotics review

Questions people ask

Is LabVIEW or Samotics better?
Neither clearly leads. LabVIEW starts at On request and Samotics at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LabVIEW or Samotics?
LabVIEW starts at On request and Samotics at On request.
Does LabVIEW or Samotics run on more platforms?
LabVIEW runs on Windows, Linux, macOS. Samotics runs on Web, Cloud.
What is LabVIEW best used for?
LabVIEW is most often used for an automotive supplier building an end-of-line test rig that must drive a power supply, read a scope and log pass/fail against a serial number, a semiconductor lab characterising devices across a pxi chassis where deterministic timing between instruments matters, a medical device manufacturer needing a validated, documented test system with an operator front panel a technician can run unsupervised, a research group prototyping a control loop on compactrio where part of the logic must compile down to an fpga. Of those, an automotive supplier building an end-of-line test rig that must drive a power supply, read a scope and log pass/fail against a serial number and a semiconductor lab characterising devices across a pxi chassis where deterministic timing between instruments matters are not what Samotics is typically brought in for.
What can LabVIEW do that Samotics cannot?
LabVIEW covers Graphical dataflow programming, Front panels, Instrument driver library, Hardware integration. Samotics covers Electrical signature analysis, Switchroom installation, Energy and efficiency measurement, Submersible and hazardous area coverage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LabVIEW: Who owns LabVIEW now?

NI, formerly National Instruments, was acquired by Emerson in an acquisition that completed in 2023. LabVIEW is now an Emerson product.

Samotics: Does Samotics replace vibration monitoring?

For motor-driven assets it often does, and it reaches assets vibration cannot. For un-driven equipment and structures it does not apply at all.

LabVIEW: Can I still buy a perpetual licence?

Yes. NI offers both subscription and perpetual licences and states there are no functional or feature-level differences between them.

Samotics: Do I have to buy Samotics hardware?

Yes. SAM4 requires the vendor's sensors fitted in the motor control centre; there is no software-only option.

LabVIEW: Is there a free version?

LabVIEW Community Edition is free for personal, non-commercial use. It carries no commercial deployment rights.

Samotics: Does it work on variable-speed drives?

It can, but performance depends on the drive and the operating profile. Pilot it on your own VSD assets rather than accepting a reference from a direct-on-line site.

LabVIEW: How much does it cost?

NI does not publish commercial edition prices. Base, Full, Professional and LabVIEW+ are all quoted through NI or a reseller.

Samotics: How is it priced?

Subscription per monitored asset, quoted, typically on a multi-year term, with hardware and electrical installation on top.

Share

Related pages

More on LabVIEW

More on Samotics

Keep looking

Other head to heads