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Field Service · head to head

IFS Ultimo EAM vs MaintainX

IFS Ultimo EAM logo

IFS Ultimo EAM

Field Service

Dutch enterprise asset management with role-based user tiers, now sold inside the IFS portfolio

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MaintainX logo

MaintainX

Field Service

Mobile-first maintenance and work order management for frontline teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MaintainX has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: IFS Ultimo EAM iFS sells two overlapping EAM products, Ultimo and IFS Cloud EAM, and a buyer signing a multi-year term is depending on the vendor funding both roadmaps at current levels.; MaintainX per-user pricing punishes organisations with many occasional users, and the requester-only seat model does not solve this as cleanly as it appears
  • They diverge on capability: IFS Ultimo EAM covers Three user licence types, MaintainX covers Mobile work orders.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IFS Ultimo EAM and MaintainX actually diverge.

Attributes where IFS Ultimo EAM and MaintainX differ
AttributeIFS Ultimo EAMMaintainX
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFreemium, per user per month
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Field Service).

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 IFS Ultimo EAM

  • Three user licence types
  • Industry solutions
  • Safety and compliance
  • Mobile maintenance
  • Spare parts management
  • Contractor management
  • Fleet management module
  • Condition-based triggers

Only in MaintainX

  • Mobile work orders
  • Offline mode
  • Preventive maintenance
  • Digital procedures
  • Parts inventory
  • Asset history

What people use each for

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

IFS Ultimo EAM

  • A hospital where hundreds of ward staff must report faults but only the estates planners need full maintenance functionalitynot MaintainX
  • A manufacturer needing permits to work and lockout-tagout tied to the same work order as the maintenance tasknot MaintainX
  • A public transport operator managing vehicle maintenance and depot facilities in one system rather than twonot MaintainX
  • A mid-sized European site that wants an EAM configured for its industry in weeks rather than a blank platform implementationnot MaintainX

MaintainX

  • Maintenance teams replacing paper work orders and whiteboardsnot IFS Ultimo EAM
  • Plants needing technicians to log work at the machine rather than back at a terminalnot IFS Ultimo EAM
  • Multi-site facilities operations wanting one asset history across locationsnot IFS Ultimo EAM
  • Organisations that must evidence preventive maintenance for audit or insurancenot IFS Ultimo EAM

Where each one falls short

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

IFS Ultimo EAM

  • IFS sells two overlapping EAM products, Ultimo and IFS Cloud EAM, and a buyer signing a multi-year term is depending on the vendor funding both roadmaps at current levels.
  • IFS does not publish list pricing for Ultimo, so the widely quoted entry figures come from third-party review sites rather than the vendor and should not be used to build a budget.
  • Strength is concentrated in Europe, and organisations needing local-language support, partners and implementation resource in North America or Asia will find the channel much thinner.
  • The industry solution templates that accelerate go-live also encode assumptions, and organisations whose processes differ from the template spend the saved time on reconfiguration instead.
  • Reporting and analytics beyond the standard set generally push customers to Power BI, so plan for a separate business intelligence licence and the modelling work behind it.

MaintainX

  • Per-user pricing punishes organisations with many occasional users, and the requester-only seat model does not solve this as cleanly as it appears
  • Reporting is adequate rather than deep, and teams wanting genuine reliability analytics generally export to a BI tool
  • Parts inventory sits behind the Premium tier, which is a steep jump from Essential for a feature many maintenance teams treat as core
  • Integration with heavyweight ERP is available but real SAP or Oracle projects need work beyond the connector
  • Less suited to complex asset hierarchies and condition-based maintenance than an established enterprise asset management platform

Pricing, plan by plan

IFS Ultimo EAM

On request
  • IFS Ultimo EAM$undefined/month
    • Priced per user with Self-Service, Light and Full tiers at different rates
    • Price per user does not change with the number of industry solutions enabled
    • Cloud subscription is the standard route; on-premise is legacy

MaintainX

Free
  • BasicFree
    • Unlimited work orders
    • Unlimited assets
    • 2 procedure templates
  • Essential$21/user/month
    • Unlimited procedures
    • Preventive maintenance
    • Advanced reporting
  • Premium$69/user/month
    • Parts inventory
    • Purchase orders
    • Meter-based triggers
  • Enterprise$undefined/user/month
    • SSO and SCIM
    • Custom integrations
    • Dedicated success manager

Which should you pick?

Choose IFS Ultimo EAM if

  • You need three user licence types.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want industry solutions.
IFS Ultimo EAM review

Choose MaintainX if

  • You need mobile work orders.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want offline mode.
MaintainX review

Questions people ask

Is IFS Ultimo EAM or MaintainX better?
Neither clearly leads. IFS Ultimo EAM starts at On request and MaintainX at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IFS Ultimo EAM or MaintainX?
MaintainX has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for IFS Ultimo EAM and Free for MaintainX.
Does IFS Ultimo EAM or MaintainX run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use MaintainX for free?
Yes. MaintainX has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IFS Ultimo EAM starts at On request.
What is IFS Ultimo EAM best used for?
IFS Ultimo EAM is most often used for a hospital where hundreds of ward staff must report faults but only the estates planners need full maintenance functionality, a manufacturer needing permits to work and lockout-tagout tied to the same work order as the maintenance task, a public transport operator managing vehicle maintenance and depot facilities in one system rather than two, a mid-sized european site that wants an eam configured for its industry in weeks rather than a blank platform implementation. Of those, a hospital where hundreds of ward staff must report faults but only the estates planners need full maintenance functionality and a manufacturer needing permits to work and lockout-tagout tied to the same work order as the maintenance task are not what MaintainX is typically brought in for.
What can IFS Ultimo EAM do that MaintainX cannot?
IFS Ultimo EAM covers Three user licence types, Industry solutions, Safety and compliance, Mobile maintenance. MaintainX covers Mobile work orders, Offline mode, Preventive maintenance, Digital procedures.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IFS Ultimo EAM: Is Ultimo still sold separately from IFS Cloud EAM?

Yes. IFS positions Ultimo at the mid-market and IFS Cloud EAM at large enterprises, and sells both.

MaintainX: Is the free tier actually usable?

Yes. It allows unlimited work orders and assets with the full mobile app, and small teams run on it indefinitely. The limits that push teams to pay are procedure templates, preventive maintenance scheduling and reporting.

IFS Ultimo EAM: How does the user licensing work?

Three tiers: Self-Service for request and view, Light for occasional use, Full for planners and managers. Rates differ per tier.

MaintainX: How does it compare to UpKeep?

Both are mobile-first CMMS aimed at the same buyer. MaintainX is generally stronger on procedures and the free tier; UpKeep has a longer history with parts and purchasing. The decision usually comes down to which mobile app the technicians prefer in a trial.

IFS Ultimo EAM: Does enabling more industry solutions cost more per user?

No. The per-user price stays the same regardless of how many industry solutions you select.

MaintainX: Does it work without signal?

Yes. Offline mode is a core feature rather than an add-on, which matters in plant areas and basements where a web-only CMMS is unusable.

IFS Ultimo EAM: Is on-premise still available?

Cloud subscription is the route IFS sells. On-premise exists in the installed base but is not the direction of travel.

MaintainX: Can it handle multiple sites?

Yes, from the Premium tier. Multi-site asset hierarchies and cross-site reporting are not available on Essential.

MaintainX: What is the real cost for a 20-person team?

On Premium at list, roughly 16,560 USD a year before negotiation. Most of the saving comes from designating occasional staff as requesters rather than full users, so count your true licensed seats before comparing quotes.

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