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Manufacturing · head to head

Litmus Edge vs PROGNOST Systems

Litmus Edge logo

Litmus Edge

Manufacturing

Industrial edge platform that collects, normalises and forwards OT data to cloud and enterprise systems

From
$1500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PROGNOST Systems logo

PROGNOST Systems

Manufacturing

SIL 3 rated online monitoring and diagnostics for reciprocating compressors

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Litmus Edge pricing is by site and data point, so a large tag count at one plant can cost more than a modest tag count spread over several, which is the opposite of how most manufacturers plan a rollout.; PROGNOST Systems nothing about price is published, and because the system is instrumented per machine train, there is no per-point comparison that lets a buyer benchmark it against general-purpose condition monitoring.
  • They diverge on capability: Litmus Edge covers Prebuilt driver library, PROGNOST Systems covers Segmented vibration analysis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Litmus Edge and PROGNOST Systems actually diverge.

Attributes where Litmus Edge and PROGNOST Systems differ
AttributeLitmus EdgePROGNOST Systems
Starting price$1500/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer site by data point countquote
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, On-premiseWindows, On-premise

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 Litmus Edge

  • Prebuilt driver library
  • Unified data model
  • Litmus Edge Manager
  • Edge applications
  • Store and forward
  • Cloud and broker outputs

Only in PROGNOST Systems

  • Segmented vibration analysis
  • Dynamic rod position
  • Online pV diagram
  • Dynamic rod load
  • SIL 3 machine protection
  • Damage pattern library
  • PROGNOST-Predictor
  • Remote expert service

What people use each for

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

Litmus Edge

  • A manufacturer with twenty plants and five PLC brands that needs one data acquisition standard rather than twenty bespoke integrationsnot PROGNOST Systems
  • Feeding a cloud data warehouse or lakehouse with normalised production data without asking the controls team to write cloud connectorsnot PROGNOST Systems
  • Retrofitting data collection onto old CNC machines and robots where the protocol support is the hard part, not the analyticsnot PROGNOST Systems
  • Adding local buffering and computation at sites with unreliable WAN links so cloud outages do not create gaps in production historynot PROGNOST Systems

PROGNOST Systems

  • A refinery hydrogen recycle compressor where an unplanned trip costs more per day than the monitoring systemnot Litmus Edge
  • Replacing a separate protection system and a separate condition monitoring system with one SIL 3 rated installationnot Litmus Edge
  • Gas transmission stations needing valve and rider ring wear diagnosis without opening the machinenot Litmus Edge
  • A plant moving reciprocating compressors from time-based overhaul to condition-based intervals with evidence a regulator will acceptnot Litmus Edge

Where each one falls short

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

Litmus Edge

  • Pricing is by site and data point, so a large tag count at one plant can cost more than a modest tag count spread over several, which is the opposite of how most manufacturers plan a rollout.
  • The entry package sits around $1,500 per month, an awkward number for a single-site pilot given that the product is infrastructure with no visible output of its own until something downstream consumes it.
  • Litmus does no analytics, so the business case always depends on a second purchase; the platform on its own produces no result a plant manager can see.
  • Full pricing beyond the entry tier is not published and the Growth and Scale packages are quoted, so scaling costs are unknown at the point you commit to the architecture.
  • A capable controls team can approximate a single-site deployment with an open-source broker and a driver gateway for a fraction of the cost, so the value case depends entirely on how many sites you are managing centrally.

PROGNOST Systems

  • Nothing about price is published, and because the system is instrumented per machine train, there is no per-point comparison that lets a buyer benchmark it against general-purpose condition monitoring.
  • Installation requires proximity probes, rod position sensors and pressure instrumentation on the machine, which usually means a planned outage and mechanical work before any data exists.
  • The value is concentrated in reciprocating compressors; for general rotating equipment across a whole plant it is a far more expensive route than a broad vibration programme.
  • SIL 3 certification brings the configuration into functional safety scope, so changes to thresholds and logic go through management of change rather than being adjusted by a reliability engineer.
  • The company is small and German-based, so response times and spares logistics for remote sites depend on a partner network rather than a global direct service organisation.

Pricing, plan by plan

Litmus Edge

$1500/month
  • Foundation$1500/month
    • Entry package sized by site count and data points
    • Core driver library and edge runtime
    • Store and forward to cloud and brokers
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Larger site and data point allowance
    • Litmus Edge Manager fleet management
    • Priced on application
  • Scale$undefined/month
    • Enterprise multi-site deployment
    • Higher data point ceilings and support tier
    • Priced on application

PROGNOST Systems

On request
  • PROGNOST-NT$undefined/year
    • Priced per machine train as an instrumented system
    • Sensors, proximity probes, rod position and pressure instrumentation included in scope
    • Installation typically requires a machine outage for probe fitting

Which should you pick?

Choose Litmus Edge if

  • You need prebuilt driver library.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want unified data model.
Litmus Edge review

Choose PROGNOST Systems if

  • You need segmented vibration analysis.
  • You work on Windows, On-premise.
  • You also want dynamic rod position.
PROGNOST Systems review

Questions people ask

Is Litmus Edge or PROGNOST Systems better?
Neither clearly leads. Litmus Edge starts at $1500/month and PROGNOST Systems at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Litmus Edge or PROGNOST Systems?
Litmus Edge starts at $1500/month and PROGNOST Systems at On request.
Does Litmus Edge or PROGNOST Systems run on more platforms?
Litmus Edge runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, On-premise. PROGNOST Systems runs on Windows, On-premise.
What is Litmus Edge best used for?
Litmus Edge is most often used for a manufacturer with twenty plants and five plc brands that needs one data acquisition standard rather than twenty bespoke integrations, feeding a cloud data warehouse or lakehouse with normalised production data without asking the controls team to write cloud connectors, retrofitting data collection onto old cnc machines and robots where the protocol support is the hard part, not the analytics, adding local buffering and computation at sites with unreliable wan links so cloud outages do not create gaps in production history. Of those, a manufacturer with twenty plants and five plc brands that needs one data acquisition standard rather than twenty bespoke integrations and feeding a cloud data warehouse or lakehouse with normalised production data without asking the controls team to write cloud connectors are not what PROGNOST Systems is typically brought in for.
What can Litmus Edge do that PROGNOST Systems cannot?
Litmus Edge covers Prebuilt driver library, Unified data model, Litmus Edge Manager, Edge applications. PROGNOST Systems covers Segmented vibration analysis, Dynamic rod position, Online pV diagram, Dynamic rod load.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Litmus Edge: Does Litmus Edge do analytics or dashboards?

Only lightweight edge computation and basic visualisation. It is a data acquisition and normalisation layer; the analysis happens in whatever you send the data to.

PROGNOST Systems: Does it replace the compressor protection system?

It can. PROGNOST-NT is SIL 3 rated for machine protection, which is the main reason sites choose it over advisory-only monitoring.

Litmus Edge: How is it priced?

By number of sites and number of data points, in packages. The entry package starts around $1,500 per month; larger tiers are quoted.

PROGNOST Systems: Can it be retrofitted to an existing compressor?

Yes, but fitting rod position and internal instrumentation generally needs a machine outage.

Litmus Edge: Can it replace my historian?

No. It buffers and forwards but is not a long-term historian. Most deployments send data into a historian, warehouse or lakehouse.

PROGNOST Systems: Does it work on centrifugal machines?

PROGNOST offers products for general rotating equipment, but the differentiated diagnostics are for reciprocating compressors.

Litmus Edge: Does it need Litmus hardware?

No. It runs on standard industrial PCs, virtual machines or containers; there is no proprietary appliance requirement.

PROGNOST Systems: Is it available on new Burckhardt machines?

Yes, Burckhardt Compression offers PROGNOST-NT as a factory-fitted condition monitoring option.

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