The two best mobile apps in the CMMS market, head to head. MaintainX wins on price of entry and procedure workflows; UpKeep wins on maturity and pure work-order simplicity. Both charge real money for the compliance and analytics layer — which is where the decision usually gets harder than the marketing suggests.
Mobile-first CMMS with a strong app and simple work orders.
Procedure-first CMMS with best-in-class mobile and a free tier.
| UpKeep | MaintainX | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $24/user/mo | Free; Essential $16/user/mo |
| Mobile app | Excellent — the original mobile-first CMMS | Excellent — procedures and checklists best-in-class |
| Preventive maintenance | Starter tier and up | Basic on Essential; meter-based needs Premium ($49) |
| Procedures / checklists | Available | The core strength — deepest in class |
| Compliance tracking | Higher tiers | Premium and up |
| Reporting & analytics | Basic on lower tiers | Basic on lower tiers; advanced needs Premium |
| API access | Professional and up | Premium ($49/user) |
| Free tier | Trial only | Yes — capped but genuinely usable |
Both platforms are mobile-first work order tools at heart — and both gate compliance tracking, audit trails, and serious reporting behind their upper tiers. If your operation is asset-led — statutory inspections, compliance evidence, asset registers with history — that layer isn't an upgrade, it's the job. AssetOS includes compliance tracking, audit trails, and RBAC on every plan from $17/user/mo, with a free-forever solo tier and free done-for-you migration on annual plans.
At entry, yes — MaintainX has a usable free tier and Essential at $16/user/mo versus UpKeep from $24/user/mo. But like-for-like at the feature level teams actually need (meter-based PMs, analytics, API), MaintainX Premium is $49/user/mo, which lands in the same territory as UpKeep's higher tiers. Compare at the tier you'll end up on, not the tier you'll start on.
It's the closest call in the category — both are excellent. MaintainX edges ahead for procedure and checklist execution; UpKeep's app is the more mature all-rounder. Field teams rarely regret either on mobile grounds alone.
Neither is built compliance-first — both treat compliance tracking as an upper-tier feature. Operations managing statutory inspections (LOLER, PAT, MOT, fire equipment) across many assets should look at asset-first platforms where compliance scheduling and audit trails are included by default, such as AssetOS.
Yes — both support CSV export of assets, work orders, and parts, and both accept CSV imports. The real cost of switching is re-training the team and rebuilding procedures, which is why it's worth comparing at your target tier before committing either way.
Compliance, audit trails, and reporting on every AssetOS plan — with a free trial and free migration on annual plans.
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