The Best OEE Software
The best OEE software helps manufacturers monitor machine output and identify production losses in real time. Explore our expert buyer’s guide and top-rated OEE tools for automotive, food and beverage, electronics, and other high-throughput industries.
- Full visibility into production
- Unified CMMS and condition monitoring
- Fast plug-and-play deployment with easy scaling
- Platform is adaptable to wide range of business types
- Implementation takes 8-12 weeks on average
- Offers role-based access
- Has connectivity to Oracle and SQL Server databases, along with others
- Manages cross-functional operations
- No-code, low-code, and drag-and-drop customization
After evaluating over 15 OEE software systems, we’ve selected the top options based on real-time monitoring, usability, and industry fit. Explore our top picks and buyer’s guide below.
- Tractian OEE: Best Overall
- ShopVue MES: Best MES System
- Tulip: Most Customizable
- Epicor Advanced MES: Best for Discrete Manufacturing
- HYDRA X: Best for Machine Performance Monitoring
- Evocon: Easy Setup
Tractian OEE - Best Overall
Tractian OEE uses its own proprietary IoT sensors to track OEE, so it doesn’t need access to your PLCs. The sensors clip onto equipment and send data over a cellular connection, so you’re not waiting on IT to open the plant network. That matters on an older floor with a mix of machine brands, where tapping into the controls on every machine can stall a project before it starts.
That sensor data feeds real-time dashboards that show availability, performance, and quality by station, and you can benchmark OEE across production lines and plants. Tractian’s AI flags slowdowns and micro-stops from the sensor data, not just full stops. Those are the losses a shift-end downtime sheet tends to miss. Operators still label each downtime event, but Tractian suggests the likely cause.
Additionally, the OEE system integrates directly with its CMMS and condition-monitoring platform. So when performance drops or there’s a downtime event, your maintenance team can instantly put out a work order to fix the issue fast, bridging monitoring and corrective action.
Tractian is best for industrial manufacturing companies with 100+ employees, where monitoring OEE is critical to operations. And while pricing requires a custom quote, it’s more affordable than investing in an entire MES system if you just want to track OEE.
ShopVue MES - Best MES System
ShopVue MES offers detailed OEE tracking through its modular MES platform. It collects real-time machine data over OPC UA, without manual input, and calculates key metrics like downtime, machine availability, and production yields.
These values feed into live, color-coded dashboards that provide visibility into production across all machines and work centers. By capturing cycle times, scrap counts, and throughput, the system supports data-driven decisions on the shop floor.
Because ShopVue is modular-based, manufacturers can adopt only the functionality they need. This may include just OEE tracking or expand to more MES features like labor management, production scheduling, traceability, and quality control. The system integrates with most major ERP platforms such as SAP, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics, enabling data to flow between operations and the back office systems.
ShopVue MES is typically used by mid-sized to enterprise-level manufacturers as it can be deployed at a single site or across multiple facilities. Unfortunately, pricing is not listed publicly and requires a consultation for a quote.
Tulip - Most Customizable
Tulip connects to networked machines over standard protocols like OPC UA and MQTT, or through its $150 Edge MC gateway, to track OEE in real time. For older machines with no network, Tulip sells a $375 Machine Kit that clamps around the machine’s power to detect when it’s running. Node-RED support also lets you sync with PLCs and smart tools, so you don’t have to replace any equipment.
Because it’s a full frontline operations platform, you build your own apps and dashboards with a no-code dashboard builder. You can drag widgets like gauges, charts, and status indicators onto a live display of availability, performance, and quality.
Those apps can drive workflows, too. When a machine stops, Tulip can pop up a downtime screen at the operator’s station, alert the right person, and escalate if no one responds. The AI is practical rather than automatic: you can ask your OEE and downtime data questions in plain English, and AI Composer can turn existing work instructions into a Tulip app.
Plans start at $100/interface/month, billed annually, with a 10-interface minimum (an interface is each station running a Tulip app). Edge-device connections require the $250/interface/month Professional plan, so 10 interfaces run $2,500/month before the machine monitoring add-on and hardware.
Epicor Advanced MES - Best for Discrete Manufacturing
Epicor Advanced MES captures data from machines and generates key metrics, from OEE, run rates, and yield to material consumption and energy performance. Its part-centric design makes it exceptionally well-suited for discrete manufacturing environments, where tracking individual components and assemblies is critical. The system captures data at a granular level, enabling real-time traceability of parts as they move between workstations.
Dashboards and automated alerts provide immediate insight into performance deviations, machine downtime, and scrap output. Statistical process control (SPC) and quality control (SQC) features are built in to detect trends early and help reduce rework.
All collected data can be linked to specific machines, jobs, or part numbers, giving manufacturers a clear view of where losses occur. For root-cause work, Sage Clarity, an Epicor partner, offers an add-on called ABLE that can perform real-time root cause analysis.
The system can be deployed on-premise or in a hybrid environment and integrates with most major ERP platforms. It’s typically used in industries such as automotive, aerospace, plastics, and industrial equipment, where part-level accuracy and traceability are essential. To receive pricing on Epicor Advanced MES, you must request a consultation to discuss your unique OEE and manufacturing requirements.
HYDRA X - Best for Machine Performance Monitoring
HYDRA X’s machine performance KPI module is highly effective for manufacturers of all types. The system automatically calculates OEE for every workplace using historical and real time data from your ERP and IoT devices. From there, it creates a report of consolidated OEE figures, so you can view your entire production floor in one place.
The KPI module also provides other crucial statistics on configurable dashboards. These include mean time between failure (MTBF), mean time between repair (MTBR), and capacity utilization. It even has separate figures for availability, efficiency, and quality to see how it calculates the OEE. And because it’s configurable, you can add KPIs specific to your manufacturing industry, like batch yield for food and beverage.
HYDRA X includes several modules and capabilities within its broader MES suite. Because of this, it’s best for growing and enterprise-level manufacturers in sectors like automotive, food and beverage, and electronics. Unfortunately, prices are not listed publicly, so you’ll need a custom quote for specific figures.
Evocon - Easy Setup
Evocon makes it simple to get OEE tracking off paper. It can pick up a signal from a sensor you add, from a sensor already on the machine, or from a PLC output via a relay. Your line then appears in a live shift view with stops and output counts, so short jams and slow cycles are recorded rather than reconstructed from memory at shift end.
Evocon also publishes its pricing, which is uncommon in this space. The Basic plan is $219/machine/month on a one-year contract, plus $24/month for the IIoT device. Sensors and cables are extra, and you can request a free trial before you commit. The Professional plan adds automatic scrap monitoring, which helps on high-volume lines where operators can’t log every reject by hand.
Evocon’s checklists module triggers quality and maintenance checks based on production events, like after a set number of units, and logs the results on the production timeline. Operators still pick reason codes for each stop, and integrations are an add-on on the Professional plan.
What is OEE Software?
OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) software grabs measurements of machine availability, throughput, and quality and turns them into a score that grades your manufacturing performance. This OEE score is considered a key performance indicator (KPI). These KPIs can be configured with alarms and analyzed to ensure maximum production on your manufacturing shop floor. Examples of data captured include downtime, counters, design speeds, and contextual data.
OEE systems help implement a continuous improvement cycle in your business and measure equipment effectiveness by identifying the ratio of fully productive time to planned production time to determine lost time. OEE is a method of measuring the potential for improvement in your production process. OEE is calculated by:
Availability X Throughput (Performance) X Quality = OEE
- Availability is calculated by dividing run time by planned production time. This takes into account all events that halt planned production for longer than expected periods.
- Throughput (performance) is calculated by multiplying the ideal cycle time by the total count and dividing that by run time. This monitors the root causes of anything slowing down the manufacturing process.
- Quality is calculated by dividing the good count by the total count. This includes parts that require specific or unique quality standards and reworked parts.
Go more in-depth by reading our How to Calculate OEE page.
The goal of overall equipment effectiveness software is to help eliminate waste and implement a lean manufacturing process. OEE solutions can be applied to discrete manufacturing processes (the most common) as well as continuous processes. OEE data can be entered manually via PC or mobile smartphones, imported from gauges, or imported from Excel.
OEE software is often part of a larger MES software in a manufacturing environment. This is because MES applications allow decision-makers to use OEE to their advantage through reports, Pareto charts, and a corporate overview of performance. Those with more manual processes (and thus, no MES system in place) may want to consider OLE (overall labor effectiveness), which helps measure how effective your workforce is through their productivity levels (such as how much they are producing per day).
Key Features
- OEE Data Collection: Calculate machine availability, productivity, quality ratio, TEEP, actual cycle time, actual speed, and productivity.
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Create performance measurements measuring the success of your manufacturing processes or of particular manufacturing activities.
- Performance Feedback: Display real-time visibility of performance to your production team. Intelligent systems will take into account slow periods (such as a cycle taking longer than ideal due to a low-sales period) or pauses in production (due to occasional idling or work stoppages due to staffing issues).
- Downtime Management: Track downtime at the company level, department level, or at a specific machine. Traceability is provided by root cause analysis and can help identify needed revisions. Ensure downtime hours do not go over the specified allotments.
Benefits
OEE software is an incredibly valuable tool that management can use to uncover capacity they didn’t think possible, which will help lower production times and/or reduce overtime expenditures. This type of production tracking software has a number of benefits your business can take advantage of. Some of the top benefits of OEE software include:
Reduce Downtime and Rate Losses
Downtime can be defined as an event that occurs for a long enough period that a reason is assigned for the occurrence. Downtime is one of the leading reasons a manufacturing plant may have poor overall equipment effectiveness. This is because downtime takes away from valuable planned production time. Without good insight into where this downtime is coming from and why it’s happening, it can be difficult to fix.
OEE software will help collect the lifecycle performance of your manufacturing equipment. This will help find, fix, and improve downtime—no matter how big or small. Even the tiniest variations in overall equipment effectiveness will affect the business performance of your manufacturing plant.
The condition-monitoring data provided by OEE Solutions can help you schedule and handle any events or needed responses to issues on your plant floor. This complete visibility into your operations will help you maximize the availability of your machinery and production line and ensure you can increase production whenever possible.
Improved Operational Cost Control
Many manufacturers pride themselves on the quality of their products. A high-quality product can be one of the key reasons you receive return business from your customers. This is of huge importance to ensuring your quality of cost stays at an appropriate level.
Cost of quality, or COQ, can be described through a number of varying costs involved in production:
- Prevention costs: Associated with the maintenance of a quality management system.
- Appraisal costs: Associated with an evaluation of purchased materials and services.
- Internal failure costs: Associated with failed work that doesn’t meet quality standards detected before transfer to customers.
- External failure costs: Associated with failed work that doesn’t meet quality standards detected after transfer to customers.
These hidden costs can be hard to detect but greatly affect machine priority. OEE software is intended to eliminate these weaknesses in your quality management process.
OEE is a great metric to identify if you are incurring losses in your manufacturing operations. Most job costing software will track your material costs, labor costs, and overhead costs. Once you improve the quality of your product, you’ll see the greatest return. This is because quality impacts all cost elements. When you incur a quality loss, you have to consider how many goods you’ll need to produce to offset the lost costs.
Improved Manufacturing Performance
A quick way to improve your manufacturing performance is by focusing on top losses, which is the smallest set of improvement actions that will yield the biggest results. In other words, it’s the low-hanging fruit of your production processes.
OEE software can create top loss reports. These reports show sources of lost production time and any increase in rates the loss is responsible for. As long as your team has an idea of where their top losses are (data provided by a top-notch OEE system), they will be able to take the appropriate actions and minimize the number of resources that are affected.
An example of appropriate actions to take includes improvement cycles, improved scheduling, improved procurement practices, and better shop floor management.
Integrated OEE and SPC
Overall equipment effectiveness software ties in closely with statistical process control (SPC) software:
- OEE software creates the KPIs that show a high-level appraisal of operational performance
- SPC software is in charge of collecting quality and performance data in real-time for statistical analysis.
Data from OEE systems gives insight into your manufacturing performance and can help reduce costs by ensuring you get the most use out of your equipment and facilities. SPC data is used to identify product quality issues and process variations, and allows management to take corrective action before issues occur.
There are many benefits to applying SPC to OEE data. According to Northwest Analytics, a manufacturing analytics provider:
An isolated OEE value provides only a small amount of decision support. The single value can be compared to a specification, but it does not provide any indication of previous process behavior and reasonable expectations for future performance. When put into context with SPC, that same OEE delivers substantially greater process management information. “Combine OEE and SPC for Real Decision Support” - Northwest Analytics
Some real-life examples of their combined effectiveness include:
- Analysis of the correlation between downtime and quality issues
- An integrated approach to keying in both OEE and SPC data and avoiding double-entry
- Complying with all major regulations
OEE Pricing Guide
Most OEE software is priced per machine or per production line, billed monthly, with many vendors keeping rates behind a custom quote. Standalone monitoring tools publish starting prices, while OEE delivered inside a full MES almost always requires a consultation.
- Entry-Level ($0–$200/machine/month): Best for single lines or small shops that want availability, downtime, and a basic OEE score without a long rollout. A few tools offer free plans or trials. Example: Evocon (from $219/month).
- Mid-Range ($200–$1,000/month): Fits growing manufacturers monitoring several machines or lines who want real-time dashboards, loss analysis, and reporting. Examples: MachineMetrics, Tractian OEE, Tulip.
- High-End ($1,000–$5,000+/month): Suited to multi-line or multi-plant operations that need predictive analytics and benchmarking across sites. Example: MachineMetrics predictive tier.
- Enterprise / MES-Integrated (custom quote, commonly $25,000–$100,000+/year plus implementation): For manufacturers running OEE as one module inside a broader MES, with traceability, scheduling, and quality. Examples: ShopVue MES, Epicor Advanced MES, HYDRA X.
How to Choose
Choosing the right OEE software involves evaluating how well each solution aligns with production needs, technical infrastructure, and long-term goals. The following factors can help guide the selection process:
Machine Integration: Assess whether the software supports direct data collection from equipment using PLCs, OPC UA, or IIoT devices. Automated data capture improves accuracy and reduces manual input.
Real-Time Dashboards: Look for systems that display live metrics such as OEE, availability, downtime, and throughput using configurable, easy-to-read dashboards.
Deployment Model: Determine whether a cloud-based, on-premise, or hybrid deployment fits best with IT resources, data governance, and scalability requirements.
ERP and MES Compatibility: Consider whether the platform integrates with existing ERP, MES, or SCADA systems. Seamless integration supports data consistency and end-to-end traceability.
Modular Design: Opt for solutions that allow phased implementation—starting with core OEE tracking and expanding to modules for labor, scheduling, or quality control as needed.
Data Analysis and Reporting: Evaluate the system’s ability to generate detailed reports, such as downtime analysis, top loss tracking, and trend identification across shifts or machines.
Support and Training: Review available onboarding tools, documentation, and technical support. Reliable vendor support is important for implementation and long-term use.
These considerations can help manufacturers select a system that tracks overall equipment effectiveness and supports broader operational improvement efforts.
