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Manufacturing · head to head

COPA-DATA zenon vs Waites Sensor Technologies

COPA-DATA zenon logo

COPA-DATA zenon

Manufacturing

HMI, SCADA and energy automation platform licensed by I/O tag count

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Waites Sensor Technologies logo

Waites Sensor Technologies

Manufacturing

Wireless multi-point vibration and temperature monitoring sold as a monitored service, not software

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: COPA-DATA zenon the I/O count that determines your licence band is a weighted calculation, not a variable tally, so projects sized from a tag list routinely land in a higher and more expensive band than budgeted.; Waites Sensor Technologies the radio protocol, gateways, sensors and analytics are a single proprietary stack, so the hardware investment cannot later be redirected at a different analytics vendor.
  • They diverge on capability: COPA-DATA zenon covers I/O-banded licensing, Waites Sensor Technologies covers Multi-point nodes.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which COPA-DATA zenon and Waites Sensor Technologies actually diverge.

Attributes where COPA-DATA zenon and Waites Sensor Technologies differ
AttributeCOPA-DATA zenonWaites Sensor Technologies
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 COPA-DATA zenon

  • I/O-banded licensing
  • IEC 61850 native
  • zenon Logic
  • Pharmaceutical compliance
  • Multi-project engineering
  • Redundancy

Only in Waites Sensor Technologies

  • Multi-point nodes
  • Full-spectrum vibration
  • Long-range radio
  • Long battery life
  • High-temperature variant
  • Machine learning analysis
  • Analyst review
  • Stainless steel housing

What people use each for

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

COPA-DATA zenon

  • A pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the SCADA layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic HMInot Waites Sensor Technologies
  • A utility automating substations that wants IEC 61850 SCL import and DNP3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver optionsnot Waites Sensor Technologies
  • A machine builder shipping identical HMI applications to many customers who wants one engineering project reused across machine and line levelnot Waites Sensor Technologies
  • A food and beverage site in German-speaking Europe where local integrator availability for zenon is strong and Rockwell coverage is notnot Waites Sensor Technologies

Waites Sensor Technologies

  • A plant instrumenting hundreds of motor and pump trains where six-point nodes cut the battery and radio maintenance burdennot COPA-DATA zenon
  • A food processing site needing washdown-rated wireless sensors that survive daily sanitationnot COPA-DATA zenon
  • Monitoring high-temperature equipment where conventional wireless sensors fail before the bearing doesnot COPA-DATA zenon
  • A reliability team with no in-house vibration analyst that needs findings, not spectra, delivered as a servicenot COPA-DATA zenon

Where each one falls short

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

COPA-DATA zenon

  • The I/O count that determines your licence band is a weighted calculation, not a variable tally, so projects sized from a tag list routinely land in a higher and more expensive band than budgeted.
  • The integrator and engineering talent pool is concentrated in German-speaking Europe; a North American or Asian site can find itself dependent on a single partner with no competitive quote available.
  • English-language documentation and community material lag the German equivalents, which slows engineers who are learning the product without formal COPA-DATA training.
  • The annual software maintenance contract is a percentage of licence value, so a large I/O estate carries a recurring cost that does not fall even when the plant is stable and nothing is changing.
  • Third-party ecosystem extensions are far fewer than for Ignition or FactoryTalk, so requirements outside the box tend to become custom engineering billed at partner day rates.

Waites Sensor Technologies

  • The radio protocol, gateways, sensors and analytics are a single proprietary stack, so the hardware investment cannot later be redirected at a different analytics vendor.
  • No pricing is published while the marketing claims a fraction of competitors cost, so the central claim cannot be verified without entering a sales process.
  • A multi-point node is a single point of failure for six measurement points; when the node or its battery fails, six machines go dark rather than one.
  • Wired accelerometer runs back to the node reintroduce cable routing and mechanical protection work that single-sensor wireless products were meant to eliminate.
  • The company is small and its presence is concentrated in North America, so installation support, spares and analyst coverage outside that region depend on partners rather than direct service.

Pricing, plan by plan

COPA-DATA zenon

On request
  • zenon$undefined/year
    • Runtime licensed in bands by calculated I/O count
    • Numeric variables weighted upward in the I/O calculation, binary counted singly
    • Engineering Studio licensed separately from runtime

Waites Sensor Technologies

On request
  • Waites condition monitoring$undefined/year
    • Priced per monitored machine or measurement point on an annual programme
    • Hardware, gateways, platform access and analyst review bundled in the programme fee
    • Installation and sensor mounting quoted as a services engagement

Which should you pick?

Choose COPA-DATA zenon if

  • You need i/o-banded licensing.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want iec 61850 native.
COPA-DATA zenon review

Choose Waites Sensor Technologies if

  • You need multi-point nodes.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want full-spectrum vibration.
Waites Sensor Technologies review

Questions people ask

Is COPA-DATA zenon or Waites Sensor Technologies better?
Neither clearly leads. COPA-DATA zenon starts at On request and Waites Sensor Technologies at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, COPA-DATA zenon or Waites Sensor Technologies?
COPA-DATA zenon starts at On request and Waites Sensor Technologies at On request.
Does COPA-DATA zenon or Waites Sensor Technologies run on more platforms?
COPA-DATA zenon runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Waites Sensor Technologies runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is COPA-DATA zenon best used for?
COPA-DATA zenon is most often used for a pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the scada layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic hmi, a utility automating substations that wants iec 61850 scl import and dnp3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver options, a machine builder shipping identical hmi applications to many customers who wants one engineering project reused across machine and line level, a food and beverage site in german-speaking europe where local integrator availability for zenon is strong and rockwell coverage is not. Of those, a pharmaceutical plant needing audit trail and electronic signature in the scada layer without building a validation wrapper around a generic hmi and a utility automating substations that wants iec 61850 scl import and dnp3 in the base product rather than as chargeable driver options are not what Waites Sensor Technologies is typically brought in for.
What can COPA-DATA zenon do that Waites Sensor Technologies cannot?
COPA-DATA zenon covers I/O-banded licensing, IEC 61850 native, zenon Logic, Pharmaceutical compliance. Waites Sensor Technologies covers Multi-point nodes, Full-spectrum vibration, Long-range radio, Long battery life.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

COPA-DATA zenon: How is a zenon licence sized?

By calculated I/O count. Numeric variables are weighted upward in that calculation and binary values counted singly, so ask your partner for the calculated figure, not the variable count, before signing.

Waites Sensor Technologies: How many points does one node monitor?

Up to six, using wired accelerometers back to a single wireless node.

COPA-DATA zenon: Is zenon only for factories?

No. A significant part of its installed base is electrical substation automation, where IEC 61850 support is native rather than an add-on.

Waites Sensor Technologies: Is analyst review included?

Waites includes analyst review in its programme model rather than selling it as separate consultancy, which is the main structural difference from sensor-only vendors.

COPA-DATA zenon: Is there a free version?

There is a demo mode for evaluation and a free educational licence, but production runtime always needs a paid, I/O-banded licence.

Waites Sensor Technologies: What is the wireless range?

Around 3,000 feet line of sight, which usually means fewer gateways per plant than short-range mesh alternatives.

COPA-DATA zenon: Can zenon replace a PLC?

zenon Logic is an IEC 61131-3 soft PLC and can control non-safety-critical processes, but most deployments keep a hardware PLC and use zenon for visualisation and supervision.

Waites Sensor Technologies: Can I export the raw data?

There is an API, but the sensors and radio are proprietary, so the data path runs through the Waites platform.

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