If you’re a technician or an asset/property manager, you know how overwhelming it can be to keep track of every maintenance request and asset on your property. There is always a broken light to be fixed, some machine that needs repair, or the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) that needs an adjustment.
The good news is that a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can help you streamline all this and restore some order to the chaos of maintenance work. The bad news is that CMMS solutions are typically pricey.
This is because these systems are normally targeted at large businesses in industries such as production and manufacturing, facility maintenance, field service maintenance, or fleet maintenance. These businesses already heavily invest in their assets and thus don’t mind splurging a little more to obtain specialized software to maintain those assets.
However, small and midsize businesses or independent technicians can’t afford to spend as much on a CMMS solution. To help such buyers we’ve prepared a list of the best free and open source CMMS tools.
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To be considered for this list, tools had to offer the following functionalities:
What does “best” mean? Each of the three tools included in this article had a minimum user rating of 4.0 on Capterra’s software directory over the past two years.
For more details on how we selected these products, you can read our methodology here.
Fiix is a cloud-based CMMS and asset maintenance software tool with a free version for individual users. The free version allows managing a maximum of 20 assets, with further limitations such as only 25 work orders per month, 10 notifications for preventive maintenance, and 500 inventory parts and supplies. The free version supports only one language—English—and 250 MB of document storage.
Dashboard in Fiix (Source)
The free version also offers a mobile app, complete with onboarding, asset tagging, and push notifications. Among other important features, it offers a calendar and custom dashboard to help track maintenance activities and requirements.
Assistance for the free version is limited to embedded video tutorials and the chat option on the website and does not include access to the help desk or assistance on configuration and technical account management.
Reviewers of Fiix on Capterra share the following pros and cons:
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Users find tracking maintenance and work orders via the tool easy. | Users state that the mobile app needs improvements in user interface and functionalities. |
They also state that the tool gives a clear picture of the status and tasks performed on each asset. | They also feel that batch meter reading should be faster and not as time-consuming as it is now. |
Cost to upgrade: Plans start at $40/user/month for small businesses and go up to $110/user/month for enterprise users. | |
Mobile apps:Android, iOS | |
Most suitable for: Independent technicians/contractors or small businesses looking to maintain fewer than 20 assets. |
ManWinWin is a CMMS solution that offers both cloud and on-premise deployments. The tool’s free version, ManWinWin Express, supports a single user and up to 50 assets. It offers maintenance features such as work orders and maintenance requests and supports multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French.
Dashboard in ManWinWin (Source)
The solution offers mobile apps that can be used while on the go. The catch with the free version is that it can only be hosted on-premise. The installation requirements include Windows 7 or 10, 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor, up to 2 GB of RAM, and 1 GB of available hard disk space. Online updates for the software are free but require raising a free lifetime license request within the first 12 months of signing up.
In terms of assistance, the vendor provides a knowledge base including a user manual to handhold users through step-by-step set-up and implementation.
Reviewers of ManWinWin on Capterra share the following pros and cons:
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Users state that the solution is easy to use. | Users report that the initial set up of the software can be complicated and time-consuming. |
Some users also appreciate the flexibility of including a variety of information in work orders as well as the filter option that allows sorting and aggregating work orders. | Some users express that they would like the option to add more assets in the free version. |
Cost to upgrade: Cost for cloud or on-premise plans not publicly provided by the vendor. | |
Mobile apps:Android, iOS | |
Most suitable for: Small or midsize businesses with a single asset/property manager. |
UpKeep is a cloud-based CMMS solution geared toward independent technicians. The free version of the solution is quite similar to their paid starter pack in terms of functionalities but is limited in the number of work orders, maintenance requests, and customization options (the vendor does not specify exact limitations on the website). It allows only one user.
Creating a work order in UpKeep (Source)
The solution offers mobile apps that can be used while on the go. The free version does not allow users to generate reports and create shared work orders or purchase orders. Instead, they can generate shareable links for work orders. Another significant limitation of the free version is that technicians cannot view their work order history.
Assistance from the vendor is also limited to a knowledge base of articles and training webinars and the chat option on the website and does not include phone support, onsite implementation or training, or a dedicated account manager.
Reviewers of UpKeep on Capterra share the following pros and cons:
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Users report that the software has a friendly interface. | Users report that the learning curve can be tough, especially when alternating between the desktop version and the mobile app. |
Users also appreciate the flexibility the solution offers in adding information to work orders, including adding pictures and annotations where needed. | Some users also state that the initial set up of assets is cumbersome. |
Cost to upgrade: Plans start at $40/user/month for small businesses and go up to $180/user/month for enterprises with a minimum of 25 users. | |
Mobile apps:Android, iOS | |
Most suitable for: Independent technicians looking to streamline their work or small businesses looking to manage their assets or property. |
Now that you have reviewed the best free and open source CMMS solutions, it’s time to ask yourself which one would you need. Below are some considerations you should keep in mind while evaluating CMMS solutions on the market:
If you are currently using a CMMS solution, or have used one in the past, feel free to share your experience with us in the comments below.
For more information on CMMS solution, check out the following resources: |
Methodology
Based on secondary research (via Incognito Google search) 37 products were considered for evaluation. 10 products that appeared (on third-party listings) at least twice during the secondary research were shortlisted for further evaluation.
These 10 products were evaluated against our definition of CMMS: CMMS solutions help businesses organize and standardize their maintenance practices, supervise maintenance operations and procedures, report progress, and more. Facilities use CMMS for assigning maintenance requests to staff and technicians as well as tracking equipment usage and inventory levels.
Products that met the market definition also needed a minimum of 20 reviews published on the CMMS software category page between January 2, 2018, and January 20, 2020. During the same period, the products had to also have a rating higher than 4.0 out of 5.
For the products that met the above requirements, we checked if a free version was available. We classify a product as free if:
The three products that met all the above criteria have been included in this article.
Disclaimer: Listed pros and cons are derived from features listed on the product website and product user reviews on Gartner Digital Markets domains (Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice). They do not represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Capterra or its affiliates.
Looking for CMMS software? Check out Capterra's list of the best CMMS software solutions.