A computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) schedules preventive maintenance, manages breakdown work orders, tracks spare parts and keeps the history of every machine, so an Indian plant can cut unplanned downtime and prove maintenance was done. Plants with a small team and a few hundred assets can start on global tools with published pricing such as MaintainX, UpKeep and Fiix, or on India-built Asset Infinity, which publishes a dollar price by asset count. Manufacturers already on an ERP can use its maintenance module, such as Odoo Maintenance or SAP PM. The decision turns on three things: how many technicians need mobile access, whether spares must integrate with ERP purchasing and stores, and whether you need condition monitoring from sensors now or later.
Executive summary
- Preventive maintenance compliance is the first win. Most plants that move from registers and spreadsheets to a CMMS gain first by making preventive jobs visible and tracking completion, before any predictive analytics.
- Published CMMS prices are per technician user, in USD. MaintainX lists Essential at $20 and Premium at $65 per user per month billed annually, with requester accounts free. UpKeep lists Essential at $24 and Premium at $55 per user per month. Fiix lists Basic at $45 and Professional at $75 per user per month.
- Asset-count pricing exists too. Asset Infinity lists a Standard plan at $130 per month for up to 500 assets and items.
- Safety law raises the stakes. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is one of the four Labour Codes in force from 21 November 2025. Maintenance records, permits to work and lockout procedures form part of demonstrating safe working conditions.
- Industrial growth means more assets to maintain. MoSPI's May 2026 IIP release shows manufacturing growth of 5.5% and electricity and gas supply growth of 9.9% year on year.
Market context
There is no official government figure for India's CMMS or enterprise asset management software market, and we do not quote private estimates. Primary sources describe the industrial base, MSME schemes and safety regulation relevant to maintenance.
Industrial activity. MoSPI's Quick Estimates of the Index of Industrial Production for May 2026 (base year 2022-23) show the index up 5.1% year on year, manufacturing up 5.5% and electricity and gas supply up 9.9%. Higher utilisation of machines, compressors, boilers, transformers and utilities increases the cost of each hour of unplanned downtime.
MSME plants. The Ministry of MSME reported over 7.83 crore Udyam registrations as of 28 February 2026, and listed the MSME Champions scheme, including the MSME-Competitive (Lean) and MSME-Sustainable (ZED) components, among its measures for technology upgradation. Maintenance practice is part of the production and safety parameters in ZED; the ZED scheme subsidises certification costs at 80% for micro, 60% for small and 50% for medium enterprises.
Safety regulation. The Government made the four Labour Codes effective from 21 November 2025, including the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. For maintenance teams, the practical implication is disciplined records: equipment inspections, statutory tests where applicable to your equipment and state, permits to work, and lockout-tagout steps built into work orders.
Data protection. CMMS systems hold technician names, phone numbers, work history and sometimes location from mobile apps. The DPDP Rules, 2025 phase in obligations over 18 months from November 2025.
CMMS vs EAM vs asset tracking.
| Tool type | Focus | Typical Indian buyer |
|---|---|---|
| CMMS | Work orders, preventive maintenance, spares, asset history | Single or few plants, maintenance-led |
| Enterprise asset management (EAM) | Full asset lifecycle, capital planning, multi-site standardisation, deep ERP integration | Large manufacturers, utilities, infrastructure |
| Asset tracking | Asset register, tagging (barcode, QR, RFID), location, custody and audits | Companies tracking movable assets, tools and IT or office equipment |
For IT assets such as laptops and servers, see IT asset management and ITSM software.
Evaluation framework
App Advisor methodology: weighted criteria for CMMS and asset tracking software for Indian plants. Weights total 100.
| Criterion | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Work orders and mobile app | 20 | Breakdown requests from operators, assignment, mobile checklists, photos, offline mode, QR scan to open asset |
| Preventive maintenance scheduling | 20 | Calendar and meter-based schedules, auto-generated work orders, compliance reports |
| Asset register and history | 15 | Hierarchy (plant, line, machine, component), criticality, full history, documents and manuals |
| Spares and inventory | 15 | Min-max, reservations against work orders, stores integration, purchase requests |
| Safety and permits | 10 | Lockout-tagout steps, permit to work, mandatory safety checklists |
| Analytics and condition monitoring | 10 | MTBF, MTTR, downtime Pareto; sensor or meter integration |
| Cost and integration | 10 | Clear pricing basis; ERP integration for spares and costs |
Vendor comparison
Official pricing only. USD as published; no currency conversion. Taxes extra unless stated.
| Product | Type | Published pricing (official page) | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| MaintainX | Mobile-first CMMS | Basic $0 per user/month (free forever); Essential $20 per user/month billed annually or $25 monthly; Premium $65 annually or $75 monthly; Enterprise custom; requester accounts complimentary (pricing) | Plants wanting quick mobile adoption with free requester access for operators |
| UpKeep | Mobile CMMS | Essential $24/user/month; Premium $55/user/month; Professional and Enterprise by quote (pricing) | Single-site teams moving to preventive maintenance |
| Fiix | Cloud CMMS (Rockwell Automation) | Free plan; Basic $45 per user per month; Professional $75 per user per month; Enterprise custom; monthly or annual subscription; no setup fees stated (pricing) | Manufacturers wanting integration with automation and MES environments |
| Limble CMMS | Cloud CMMS | Standard, Premium+ and Enterprise tiers; prices through an online calculator, not displayed on the page we could access (pricing) | Mid-size maintenance teams |
| Asset Infinity | Indian asset management and maintenance platform | Standard $130/month for up to 500 assets and items; Enterprise custom (pricing) | Indian companies wanting asset tagging, audits and maintenance |
| SAP PM | ERP-integrated plant maintenance | Quote | SAP-based manufacturers |
| Odoo (Maintenance app) | ERP maintenance module | Standard plan Rs 725–950 per user per month yearly, all apps (pricing) | SMEs using Odoo for manufacturing and inventory |
Total cost of ownership
Illustrative model — assumptions stated. A single auto component plant with 12 maintenance technicians and planners, 60 operators who raise requests, and about 450 assets compares MaintainX Premium and Fiix Professional over one year.
Assumptions:
- 12 licensed users on both tools. MaintainX states requester accounts are complimentary, so the 60 operators raise requests at no licence cost. For Fiix, we assume operators raise requests through a supervisor or a request form; the Lite License add-on is "contact for pricing", so it is excluded.
- MaintainX Premium at $65 per user per month billed annually. Fiix Professional at $75 per user per month.
- Asset register build: 450 assets × 30 minutes at an assumed ₹600 per hour = ₹1,35,000 on both routes.
- QR asset labels: 450 × assumed ₹40 = ₹18,000 on both routes.
- Preventive maintenance plan creation: 80 hours at an assumed ₹800 per hour = ₹64,000 on both routes.
- Technician training: 12 × 1 day at an assumed ₹2,500 per day = ₹30,000 on both routes.
- Exchange-rate movement and GST excluded; USD lines stay in USD.
| Cost line | MaintainX Premium | Fiix Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Licences | 12 × $65 × 12 = $9,360 | 12 × $75 × 12 = $10,800 |
| Asset register build | ₹1,35,000 | ₹1,35,000 |
| QR labels | ₹18,000 | ₹18,000 |
| PM plan creation | ₹64,000 | ₹64,000 |
| Training | ₹30,000 | ₹30,000 |
| Year-1 total | $9,360 + ₹2,47,000 | $10,800 + ₹2,47,000 |
Benefit side. Capture three months of baseline data before rollout: breakdown hours on your top 20 critical machines, preventive maintenance compliance, emergency spares purchases and overtime for breakdowns. A CMMS pays back only through measured improvement on those numbers, so do not rely on vendor average-savings claims.
Implementation roadmap
| Phase | Weeks | Activities | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Asset criticality | 1–3 | Build asset hierarchy; rank criticality by safety, quality and production impact; collect manuals and existing PM schedules | Critical asset list |
| 2. Selection | 3–6 | Trial 2 tools with 3 technicians for 2 weeks; test offline mode in plant areas with poor signal; test spares flow | Selected CMMS |
| 3. Asset register and tagging | 6–10 | Enter assets, locations, specifications; attach QR labels; link documents | Tagged register |
| 4. Preventive maintenance plans | 8–12 | Create time and meter-based PM for critical assets first; build safety steps and lockout-tagout into work orders | PM schedule |
| 5. Spares | 10–13 | Load critical spares with min-max levels; link to assets; connect to stores or ERP | Spares master |
| 6. Go-live | 13–14 | Operators raise requests via QR or app; technicians close jobs on mobile; paper registers withdrawn | Live CMMS |
| 7. Reliability review | 14–26 | Monthly downtime Pareto; adjust PM frequencies; start condition monitoring on 3–5 critical assets | Reliability improvement plan |
Risks and compliance checklist
- Safety procedures in work orders. Build isolation, lockout-tagout and permit-to-work steps into job templates for electrical, pressure and height work, consistent with the OSH Code now in force.
- Statutory equipment inspections. Maintain schedules and certificates for equipment that requires periodic statutory examination under applicable central and state rules; confirm the list with your safety officer.
- Contract technicians. Record competence and authorisation of contractors who work on equipment.
- Offline data loss. Test sync when technicians close jobs without signal.
- Spares data mismatch. If stores run in the ERP, avoid a second spares master that drifts out of sync.
- Technician data. Mobile apps record names, timestamps and sometimes location; set access and retention under the DPDP framework.
- Vendor lock-in. Ensure full export of asset history and work orders.
- Currency exposure. USD per-user subscriptions rise in rupee terms if the rupee weakens.
KPIs to track
| KPI | Definition | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Preventive maintenance compliance | PM work orders completed on time ÷ PM due | First indicator of maintenance discipline |
| Planned maintenance percentage | Planned maintenance hours ÷ total maintenance hours | Shift from reactive to planned |
| Mean time between failures (MTBF) | Operating time ÷ number of failures | Asset reliability |
| Mean time to repair (MTTR) | Total repair time ÷ number of repairs | Responsiveness and spares availability |
| Unplanned downtime hours | Breakdown hours on critical assets | Production impact |
| Maintenance backlog | Open work orders in weeks of crew capacity | Resource planning |
| Spares stock-outs | Work orders delayed for spares | Stores planning |
| Maintenance cost per unit produced | Maintenance spend ÷ output | Links maintenance to business |
How to choose
- Count licensed users correctly. Separate technicians and planners from operators who only raise requests; free requester accounts change the economics.
- Start with critical assets. A CMMS with 50 well-maintained critical assets beats one with 5,000 incomplete records.
- Test the mobile app on the shop floor. Gloves, noise, poor signal and shared devices are the real conditions.
- Decide on spares integration. If stores and purchase are in an ERP, check integration or consider the ERP maintenance module.
- Plan for condition monitoring later. Check sensor and meter integration options, but do not make them a day-one requirement.
- Ask for full pricing. Include add-ons for requester or light users, API access and single sign-on.
Questions to ask vendors before signing
- Who needs a paid licence? Ask how operators, store keepers, contractors and managers who only view reports are licensed.
- Can the app work offline on the shop floor? Test closing a work order, adding photos and consuming a spare without signal.
- How are preventive schedules triggered? Confirm support for calendar, runtime hours, production counts and meter readings, and how missed jobs are escalated.
- How are spares linked to ERP stores? Ask whether reservations and issues post to the ERP, or whether the CMMS keeps a separate stock that must be reconciled.
- Can safety steps be enforced? Check whether mandatory checklist items such as isolation and lockout confirmation can block job closure until completed.
- What sensor or PLC integrations exist? Ask for supported protocols and whether condition-based work orders can be created automatically.
- What reports come standard? MTBF, MTTR, PM compliance and downtime Pareto should not need custom development.
- How is pricing billed? Confirm currency, annual versus monthly terms, and price protection at renewal.
Related reading: quality management software for manufacturers, MRP and production planning software, field service management software for maintenance at customer sites, HRMS for manufacturing companies, the manufacturing software category and IT management.
FAQs
What is a CMMS?
A computerised maintenance management system is software that manages maintenance work: asset records, preventive maintenance schedules, breakdown work orders, spare parts and maintenance history.
What is the difference between CMMS and EAM?
A CMMS focuses on maintenance execution. Enterprise asset management (EAM) covers the full asset lifecycle, including capital planning, multi-site standards and deeper financial integration. Many products sit between the two.
How much does CMMS software cost?
Published examples include MaintainX Essential at $20 and Premium at $65 per user per month billed annually, UpKeep Essential at $24 and Premium at $55 per user per month, and Fiix Basic at $45 and Professional at $75 per user per month. Asset Infinity lists $130 per month for up to 500 assets and items.
Is there a free CMMS?
MaintainX lists a free Basic plan for small teams, and Fiix lists a free plan with limited users. Check the limits on assets, work orders and features before relying on a free plan.
Can operators raise maintenance requests without a paid licence?
MaintainX states that requester accounts are complimentary. Other vendors handle requesters differently, for example through request portals or light licences, so ask during evaluation.
Do I need sensors for predictive maintenance?
Not to start. Most plants gain first from preventive maintenance compliance and breakdown tracking. Add condition monitoring (vibration, temperature, current) on a few critical assets once basic discipline is in place.
Can a CMMS track asset location and audits?
Many CMMS and asset management tools support QR or barcode tags, locations and audits. Asset Infinity, for example, positions its platform around asset tracking, maintenance and purchase. Confirm RFID or GPS support if you need it.
Sources
- IIP Quick Estimates, May 2026 (MoSPI): https://www.mospi.gov.in/uploads/latestReleases/latest_release_1782727994645_1af6a37e-b7fb-4ee8-bf52-96fcea2a47e2_IIP_Press_release_May_2026.pdf
- Udyam registrations and MSME schemes (PIB, Ministry of MSME): https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2246892®=3&lang=1
- ZED subsidy on cost of certification (Ministry of MSME): https://zed.msme.gov.in/subsidy-on-cost-of-certification
- Four Labour Codes made effective (PIB): https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2192463®=3&lang=2
- DPDP Rules, 2025 notified (PIB): https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2190014®=3&lang=2
- MaintainX pricing: https://www.getmaintainx.com/pricing
- UpKeep pricing: https://upkeep.com/pricing/
- Fiix pricing: https://www.fiixsoftware.com/cmms/pricing/
- Limble pricing: https://limble.com/pricing/
- Asset Infinity pricing: https://www.assetinfinity.com/pricing
- Odoo pricing: https://www.odoo.com/pricing
