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Government · head to head

OnBase vs Trimble Unity Maintain

OnBase logo

OnBase

Government

Enterprise Information Platform

From
$400/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trimble Unity Maintain logo

Trimble Unity Maintain

Government

GIS-centric public asset and work management, the product formerly sold as Cityworks

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: OnBase pricing starts at 2,000 USD per month, making it expensive for small agencies; Trimble Unity Maintain esri ArcGIS is a hard prerequisite, so an organisation without it faces a second substantial licence and a GIS programme before the maintenance system can be used at all.
  • They diverge on capability: OnBase covers Content Management, Trimble Unity Maintain covers Built on ArcGIS.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OnBase and Trimble Unity Maintain actually diverge.

Attributes where OnBase and Trimble Unity Maintain differ
AttributeOnBaseTrimble Unity Maintain
Starting price$400/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, iOS, Android, Windows
Founded1991Unknown

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

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 OnBase

  • Content Management
  • Workflow Automation
  • Case Management
  • Records Management
  • Intelligent Capture
  • Microsoft 365
  • Salesforce
  • Epic

Only in Trimble Unity Maintain

  • Built on ArcGIS
  • Service requests
  • Work order management
  • Permits and licensing
  • Mobile field access
  • Storeroom and inventory
  • Operational Insights
  • AgileAssets convergence

What people use each for

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

OnBase

  • Citizen Servicesnot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • Records Managementnot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • Public Safetynot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • Civic Engagementnot Trimble Unity Maintain

Trimble Unity Maintain

  • A water utility wanting valve exercising and hydrant flushing recorded against the same GIS features the engineering team maintainsnot OnBase
  • A city consolidating a citizen service request line, work orders and inspections into one location-based systemnot OnBase
  • A state transportation department managing pavement and bridge assets with linear referencing rather than point assetsnot OnBase
  • A public works department that has already licensed ArcGIS Enterprise and wants to avoid rekeying its asset inventorynot OnBase

Where each one falls short

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

OnBase

  • Pricing starts at 2,000 USD per month, making it expensive for small agencies
  • Complex implementation and configuration required for government-specific workflows
  • Requires significant IT resources for deployment and ongoing management

Trimble Unity Maintain

  • Esri ArcGIS is a hard prerequisite, so an organisation without it faces a second substantial licence and a GIS programme before the maintenance system can be used at all.
  • The product is mid-rename from Cityworks to Trimble Unity Maintain with transition timelines Trimble has not committed to publicly, leaving contracts, documentation and integrator experience split between two names.
  • CVE-2025-0994, a deserialisation flaw in Cityworks, was exploited in the wild and listed by CISA in February 2025, which makes on-premise deployments a patching obligation rather than a set-and-forget install.
  • Because assets live in the GIS, changing the asset model is a GIS division change, so maintenance teams cannot restructure their own hierarchy without another department in the loop.
  • It is built for North American public sector practice, and the permitting, funding source and reporting models do not map cleanly onto other countries or onto private industrial estates.

Pricing, plan by plan

OnBase

$400/month
  • Government$400/month
    • Content Management
    • Process Automation
    • Case Management

Trimble Unity Maintain

On request
  • Trimble Unity Maintain$undefined/year
    • Annual subscription sized by population served, asset volume and user count
    • Esri ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Online licensing required separately
    • Hosted and on-premise deployment priced differently

Which should you pick?

Choose OnBase if

  • You need content management.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want workflow automation.
OnBase review

Choose Trimble Unity Maintain if

  • You need built on arcgis.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want service requests.
Trimble Unity Maintain review

Questions people ask

Is OnBase or Trimble Unity Maintain better?
Neither clearly leads. OnBase starts at $400/month and Trimble Unity Maintain at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OnBase or Trimble Unity Maintain?
OnBase starts at $400/month and Trimble Unity Maintain at On request.
Does OnBase or Trimble Unity Maintain run on more platforms?
OnBase runs on Web, Mobile. Trimble Unity Maintain runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
What is OnBase best used for?
OnBase is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what Trimble Unity Maintain is typically brought in for.
What can OnBase do that Trimble Unity Maintain cannot?
OnBase covers Content Management, Workflow Automation, Case Management, Records Management. Trimble Unity Maintain covers Built on ArcGIS, Service requests, Work order management, Permits and licensing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OnBase: What is OnBase used for in government?

OnBase is used for digital permitting, inspections, and plan review processes. Government agencies use it to streamline workflows, enable online forms, automate approvals, and provide citizen access to application status.

Source
Trimble Unity Maintain: Is Cityworks discontinued?

Not discontinued, renamed. It is becoming Trimble Unity Maintain, converging with AgileAssets, and Trimble has not published a final transition date.

OnBase: Does OnBase support mobile access?

Yes. Mobile access is a key feature of OnBase, allowing users to manage documents and cases on the go.

Source
Trimble Unity Maintain: Do I need Esri ArcGIS?

Yes. The product is built on ArcGIS and cannot be deployed without an Esri licence.

OnBase: What document management capabilities does OnBase provide?

OnBase provides centralized document storage with version control, search and retrieval tools, records management across physical and electronic lifecycles, and compliance with policies and regulations.

Source
Trimble Unity Maintain: Was there a security incident?

Yes. CVE-2025-0994 in Cityworks was exploited in the wild and added to the CISA known exploited vulnerabilities catalogue in February 2025.

OnBase: Can OnBase workflows be customized?

Yes. OnBase is flexible and configurable with user-defined workflows for case management, streamlining processes like accounts payable, employee onboarding, and contract management.

Source
Trimble Unity Maintain: Can it handle roads and pavement as well as pipes?

Yes, through the AgileAssets lineage now inside the Unity Maintain family, which adds linear referencing for transportation assets.

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