Softwr

Manufacturing · head to head

OpenBOM vs TrendMiner

OpenBOM logo

OpenBOM

Manufacturing

Cloud bill of materials and part catalogue management priced per seat, with free read-only users

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TrendMiner logo

TrendMiner

Manufacturing

Search-driven time series analytics for process engineers, now owned by Proemion rather than Software AG

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OpenBOM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: OpenBOM pricing has three axes, editing seats plus data record count plus per-seat CAD add-ins at $25 to $45 each, so the real annual cost is well above the advertised per-seat figure.; TrendMiner ownership moved from Software AG to Proemion in a 47 million euro sale during the Silver Lake break-up, so the integration roadmap tied to webMethods and Cumulocity is gone and the new owner is far smaller.
  • They diverge on capability: OpenBOM covers Multi-level BOMs, TrendMiner covers Pattern search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenBOM and TrendMiner actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenBOM and TrendMiner differ
AttributeOpenBOMTrendMiner
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer user per monthquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, APIWeb, Windows, Linux

Identical on both: 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 OpenBOM

  • Multi-level BOMs
  • Part catalogue
  • CAD add-ins
  • Change management
  • Free read-only users
  • REST API

Only in TrendMiner

  • Pattern search
  • Value-based search
  • Monitors
  • Soft sensors
  • Context items
  • Dashboards
  • Machine learning models
  • ContextHub

What people use each for

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

OpenBOM

  • A hardware startup replacing a shared BOM spreadsheet before its first contract manufacturing runnot TrendMiner
  • A contract manufacturer sharing structured BOMs with customers who should see but not edit themnot TrendMiner
  • An electronics team pulling BOMs straight out of Altium and mechanical CAD instead of retyping themnot TrendMiner
  • A small manufacturer that needs part numbering and revision discipline but cannot fund a PLM projectnot TrendMiner

TrendMiner

  • Finding every prior occurrence of a heat exchanger fouling signature to estimate cleaning frequency from history rather than from a rule of thumbnot OpenBOM
  • Comparing golden batches against off-spec ones in a pharmaceutical process without exporting to a data science teamnot OpenBOM
  • Building a monitor that flags the early temperature signature that preceded the last three compressor tripsnot OpenBOM
  • Giving a process engineer a way to answer a question in an afternoon that previously required a historian export and a spreadsheet weeknot OpenBOM

Where each one falls short

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

OpenBOM

  • Pricing has three axes, editing seats plus data record count plus per-seat CAD add-ins at $25 to $45 each, so the real annual cost is well above the advertised per-seat figure.
  • Paying yearly nearly halves the seat price, from $55 to $30 and $165 to $90, so monthly billing carries an unusually heavy penalty for teams that want flexibility.
  • Change management, revision control and CAD file management are absent from the entry Team plan, so the cheapest tier is a catalogue rather than a working PLM.
  • It lacks the approval workflows, effectivity dating and audit depth that regulated medical and aerospace suppliers need, so companies pursuing ISO 13485 or AS9100 typically migrate away.
  • Record count is metered separately and a large imported part library can push a small team into a higher data tier without adding a single user.

TrendMiner

  • Ownership moved from Software AG to Proemion in a 47 million euro sale during the Silver Lake break-up, so the integration roadmap tied to webMethods and Cumulocity is gone and the new owner is far smaller.
  • It is built for continuous time series and handles discrete manufacturing, relational quality data and event-driven production poorly, so plants that are not continuous process get limited value.
  • Value depends entirely on historian data quality and tag naming; sites with inconsistent tag descriptions and missing asset context spend months on data preparation before the search features are usable.
  • Licensing is by named analyst user, and the population who genuinely use pattern search is small, so organisations that buy broadly pay for seats that log in occasionally.
  • It reads history but does not fix it: there is no data collection layer, so an existing historian is mandatory and TrendMiner is always an additional cost on top of it.

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenBOM

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 2,000 data records
    • Basic BOM and catalogue management
    • Non-commercial and educational use
  • Professional Team$55/month
    • $30 per seat per month billed yearly
    • BOM management, part catalogue, inventory
    • RFQ and purchase orders
  • Company$165/month
    • $90 per seat per month billed yearly
    • Everything in Team
    • CAD file management and revision control
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Single sign-on
    • Custom integrations
    • Private or custom hosting

TrendMiner

On request
  • TrendMiner$undefined/year
    • Annual subscription sized by named users and connected historian tag volume
    • Separate licence tiers for full analyst users and view-only dashboard consumers
    • Historian connectors quoted per source system

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenBOM if

  • You need multi-level boms.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, API.
  • You also want part catalogue.
OpenBOM review

Choose TrendMiner if

  • You need pattern search.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want value-based search.
TrendMiner review

Questions people ask

Is OpenBOM or TrendMiner better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenBOM starts at Free and TrendMiner at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenBOM or TrendMiner?
OpenBOM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OpenBOM and On request for TrendMiner.
Does OpenBOM or TrendMiner run on more platforms?
OpenBOM runs on Web, Windows, macOS, API. TrendMiner runs on Web, Windows, Linux.
Can I use OpenBOM for free?
Yes. OpenBOM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. TrendMiner starts at On request.
What is OpenBOM best used for?
OpenBOM is most often used for a hardware startup replacing a shared bom spreadsheet before its first contract manufacturing run, a contract manufacturer sharing structured boms with customers who should see but not edit them, an electronics team pulling boms straight out of altium and mechanical cad instead of retyping them, a small manufacturer that needs part numbering and revision discipline but cannot fund a plm project. Of those, a hardware startup replacing a shared bom spreadsheet before its first contract manufacturing run and a contract manufacturer sharing structured boms with customers who should see but not edit them are not what TrendMiner is typically brought in for.
What can OpenBOM do that TrendMiner cannot?
OpenBOM covers Multi-level BOMs, Part catalogue, CAD add-ins, Change management. TrendMiner covers Pattern search, Value-based search, Monitors, Soft sensors.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OpenBOM: Is OpenBOM free?

There is a genuine free tier limited to 2,000 data records and aimed at non-commercial and educational use. Commercial teams start at $30 per seat per month billed yearly.

TrendMiner: Who owns TrendMiner now?

Proemion, a German industrial analytics company backed by Battery Ventures, which bought it from Software AG for 47 million euros in 2024.

OpenBOM: Do I pay for people who only look at BOMs?

No. Read-only users are unlimited and free on every paid plan, which is the main reason the total cost undercuts seat-for-seat PLM tools.

TrendMiner: Does it replace my historian?

No. It connects to PI, IP.21, PHD, Exaquantum and others and reads from them. The historian remains the system of record.

OpenBOM: Are the CAD add-ins included?

No. They are $25 per seat per month billed yearly, $45 monthly, and require an active Team or Company subscription.

TrendMiner: Do I need a data scientist to use it?

No, and that is the point. The pattern search and soft sensor tooling are aimed at process engineers with no coding background.

OpenBOM: Can OpenBOM replace a full PLM?

For a startup, usually yes. For regulated manufacturing needing controlled workflows and full audit trails, no.

TrendMiner: Is pricing per user?

Yes, largely, with tiers for analyst and view-only access plus charges for historian connectors and data volume.

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