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Manufacturing · head to head

Rockwell FactoryTalk vs Shima Seiki

Rockwell FactoryTalk logo

Rockwell FactoryTalk

Manufacturing

Rockwell Automation software portfolio for HMI, historian, analytics and industrial data

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shima Seiki logo

Shima Seiki

Fashion

Knit design and visualization software

From
$250/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Rockwell FactoryTalk factoryTalk is a brand, not a product, so a quote that says FactoryTalk may cover any of six separately licensed things; buyers repeatedly find that the demo they saw needed View plus Historian plus a Hub subscription.; Shima Seiki the Internet Archive's capture of Shima Seiki's homepage on 29 December 2020 named five distinct product categories, Knitting Machines, Design System/Software, CAD/CAM Systems, Inkjet Printing Machine, and PLM Solutions, all sold via an Inquiry form with no price figure published.
  • They diverge on capability: Rockwell FactoryTalk covers FactoryTalk View SE and ME, Shima Seiki covers Knit design.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Rockwell FactoryTalk and Shima Seiki actually diverge.

Attributes where Rockwell FactoryTalk and Shima Seiki differ
AttributeRockwell FactoryTalkShima Seiki
Starting priceOn request$250/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWindows, Linux, Web, CloudWindows
CategoryManufacturingFashion
FoundedUnknown1962

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

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 Rockwell FactoryTalk

  • FactoryTalk View SE and ME
  • FactoryTalk Historian
  • FactoryTalk Optix
  • FactoryTalk Batch
  • FactoryTalk Hub
  • Native Logix tags

Only in Shima Seiki

  • Knit design
  • Stitch pattern creation
  • Color selection
  • Machine control
  • Production planning
  • Visualization
  • Shima Seiki machines
  • CAM systems

What people use each for

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

Rockwell FactoryTalk

  • A plant standardised on ControlLogix that needs supervisory HMI without building and maintaining an OPC layer between controller and screennot Shima Seiki
  • A hybrid manufacturer needing ISA-88 batch execution audited against recipes, where FactoryTalk Batch is already validated in the industrynot Shima Seiki
  • Consolidating machine-level HMI screens across many Allen-Bradley lines under one tag model and one alarm schemenot Shima Seiki
  • Adding a plant historian quickly where the site has Rockwell distribution support but no PI administrator on staffnot Shima Seiki

Shima Seiki

  • Knit designnot Rockwell FactoryTalk
  • Machine programmingnot Rockwell FactoryTalk

Where each one falls short

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

Rockwell FactoryTalk

  • FactoryTalk is a brand, not a product, so a quote that says FactoryTalk may cover any of six separately licensed things; buyers repeatedly find that the demo they saw needed View plus Historian plus a Hub subscription.
  • Licensing units differ per product, tags for Historian, display tags and clients for View, another scheme for Optix, which makes forecasting the cost of a plant expansion genuinely hard.
  • The migration of products onto FactoryTalk Hub subscriptions converts what used to be a perpetual licence into an annual payment where lapsing stops the software, changing a capital purchase into an operating one you cannot exit.
  • Value drops sharply outside an Allen-Bradley estate; against a Siemens or Mitsubishi PLC you are back to OPC UA and lose the main reason to buy FactoryTalk at all.
  • There is no public price list and buying is through distribution, so two plants of identical size in the same company can pay materially different amounts depending on when and how they negotiated.

Shima Seiki

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Shima Seiki's homepage on 29 December 2020 named five distinct product categories, Knitting Machines, Design System/Software, CAD/CAM Systems, Inkjet Printing Machine, and PLM Solutions, all sold via an Inquiry form with no price figure published.

Pricing, plan by plan

Rockwell FactoryTalk

On request
  • FactoryTalk$undefined/year
    • Sold through Rockwell distribution, not direct or self-service
    • View licensed by display tag count and client seats
    • Historian licensed by tag count

Shima Seiki

$250/month
  • Essential$250/month
    • Basic design
    • Standard features
  • Professional$500/month
    • Advanced design
    • Integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Full solution

Which should you pick?

Choose Rockwell FactoryTalk if

  • You need factorytalk view se and me.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web, Cloud.
  • You also want factorytalk historian.
Rockwell FactoryTalk review

Choose Shima Seiki if

  • You need knit design.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want stitch pattern creation.
Shima Seiki review

Questions people ask

Is Rockwell FactoryTalk or Shima Seiki better?
Neither clearly leads. Rockwell FactoryTalk starts at On request and Shima Seiki at $250/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Rockwell FactoryTalk or Shima Seiki?
Rockwell FactoryTalk starts at On request and Shima Seiki at $250/month.
Does Rockwell FactoryTalk or Shima Seiki run on more platforms?
Rockwell FactoryTalk runs on Windows, Linux, Web, Cloud. Shima Seiki runs on Windows.
What is Rockwell FactoryTalk best used for?
Rockwell FactoryTalk is most often used for a plant standardised on controllogix that needs supervisory hmi without building and maintaining an opc layer between controller and screen, a hybrid manufacturer needing isa-88 batch execution audited against recipes, where factorytalk batch is already validated in the industry, consolidating machine-level hmi screens across many allen-bradley lines under one tag model and one alarm scheme, adding a plant historian quickly where the site has rockwell distribution support but no pi administrator on staff. Of those, a plant standardised on controllogix that needs supervisory hmi without building and maintaining an opc layer between controller and screen and a hybrid manufacturer needing isa-88 batch execution audited against recipes, where factorytalk batch is already validated in the industry are not what Shima Seiki is typically brought in for.
What can Rockwell FactoryTalk do that Shima Seiki cannot?
Rockwell FactoryTalk covers FactoryTalk View SE and ME, FactoryTalk Historian, FactoryTalk Optix, FactoryTalk Batch. Shima Seiki covers Knit design, Stitch pattern creation, Color selection, Machine control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rockwell FactoryTalk: Is FactoryTalk Historian the same as AVEVA PI?

It is built on the PI engine under an OEM arrangement, tuned for Rockwell integration. If you already run PI enterprise-wide, buying Historian too usually duplicates a system you have.

Rockwell FactoryTalk: Can I still buy FactoryTalk perpetually?

Some products yes, but the direction is toward FactoryTalk Hub subscriptions. Confirm per product before assuming a capital purchase is available.

Rockwell FactoryTalk: Does FactoryTalk work with non-Rockwell PLCs?

Yes, through OPC UA and drivers, but the native tag browse advantage disappears and the case for FactoryTalk over a cheaper independent SCADA weakens.

Rockwell FactoryTalk: Where do I find pricing?

You cannot without a distributor. Rockwell publishes no list pricing for the FactoryTalk portfolio.

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