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The short answer
IoTFlows counts the line on a counter we build. Then reads every other machine too.
“Factbird works with off-shelf external sensors.” Factbird, on its DUO gateway.[1]
BeamTracker is our own laser counter, firmware and all, with a touchscreen on the device. SenseAi reads the presses, mixers and machines around the line on the same platform, and maintenance, spare parts and scheduling come with it.
At a glance
IoTFlows and Factbird, side by side.
Every Factbird line links to its source at the bottom of the page.
| Compared | IoTFlows | Factbird |
|---|---|---|
| What counts the line | BeamTracker, our laser counter, ±2% count accuracy | Off-the-shelf photoelectric or inductive sensors on its DUO gateway[1],[4] |
| Who makes the hardware | Counter and firmware designed by IoTFlows | Its own DUO gateway; the sensors off-the-shelf, yours or supplied by Factbird[1],[2] |
| Install | Bolts on with the supplied mount in 10 to 20 minutes | Under an hour from box to data, installed by the customer[1] |
| Plant network | Not needed, on the 4G/LTE router | Cellular or Wi-Fi on the DUO[1] |
| Machines beyond the line | Any machine, with SenseAi | Sold and monitored by the production line, one input per line[3] |
| Machine health | Health scores from SenseAi Embedded | Condition monitoring as an add-on[3] |
| Maintenance work orders | Built in (Maintain) | Preventive and cycle-based, in its Connected Operations app[3],[6] |
| Spare-parts inventory | Built in | None found[3] |
| Production scheduling | Add-on Production Scheduler, from $1,500 a month | Shift and batch scheduling[3] |
| Prices on its website | $119 per device a month, less on longer terms | From $399 per line a month, plus the platform from $1,000 per site a month[3] |
| Hardware price | $299 per BeamTracker, once | Agreed separately; bought by the customer[2] |
| Contract | Monthly, annual or three years | 12 months, renewing 12 months at a time; 90 days’ notice to end it[2] |
| Trial or pilot | 10 to 25 machines for four weeks, no commitment to buy | A 45-day trial that becomes a paid licence unless cancelled; hardware back within 14 days or paid in full[2],[5] |
Counting the line
Count what the line ships
BeamTracker bolts on with the supplied mount in 10 to 20 minutes beside the conveyor and counts every unit that crosses its laser, ±2% count accuracy. The dashboard shows the rate, every stop and what the line really made.
Hardware
Built, not bought
We design SenseAi, SenseAi Embedded and BeamTracker ourselves: the electronics, the housing and every line of firmware, so we know exactly what each device can do. It decides when a machine runs, filters short pauses at the machine, and gets better with every signed update.
A kit assembled from other makers’ boxes runs firmware from several companies. Every box is one more thing to set up, update and fail, and no one owns the whole chain.
Which machine
The line stopped. See where.
A BeamTracker after each step turns one line into a cascade: when the capper stops, its count freezes first, and the alert names it while the filler keeps running.
Each line includes one input; a second input on the same line costs extra.[3]
Beyond the line
The machines around the line, too
A SenseAi attaches magnetically in seconds and calibrates in under five minutes on a press, a mixer, a molding machine or a lathe, and it sits on the same dashboard as the BeamTracker lines, with the same states and the same reports.
Sells and monitors by the production line.[3]
Maintenance and parts
The stop, the work order and the part. One system.
A stop, an alarm or a meter opens the work order in Maintain. Close it, and the parts leave stock in Inventory.
Scheduling
A schedule that fixes its own conflicts
The Production Scheduler flags a double-booked machine, and the optimizer proposes the moves that clear it. Add it from $1,500 a month.
Offers shift and batch scheduling in Production Insights.[3]
Price
More platform. At least 80% less.
Line counts, the machines around the line, maintenance and spare parts on one platform. Here is the first year for 4 lines, one count point each, at each company’s published prices.[3]
- 4 BeamTrackers$299 each, once
- $1,196
- 4 Pro subscriptions$1,188 per device a year
- $4,752
- InstallationBolts on in minutes, no visit
- $0
First year, hardware and installation included
$5,948
Less on longer terms and with more devices. Maintain and Inventory from $500 a month, unlimited users.
- Production Insights, 4 linesFrom $4,788 per line a year ($399 a month)
- $19,152
- Factbird Platform, one siteFrom $12,000 per site a year ($1,000 a month)
- $12,000
- HardwarePriced separately, bought by the customer
- + Not published
- InstallationNot part of its service, per its terms
- By you
First year, before hardware
$31,152 +
One input per line included; maintenance work orders are a separate app at $399 per line a month.[2],[3]
Customer story
Criollos Foods raised bagging-line productivity 35%
Criollos Foods packs bagged and canned foods in Medley, Florida. BeamTracker counts every bag on its lines against a target of 30 bags a minute.
- 35%
- more output on the bagging lines
- 92%
- of lines hitting their target rate
- 20 min
- faster product changeovers
Challenge
Some operators ran a line at 20 bags a minute against a target of 30, and nobody could see who, on which product, or why. Changeovers between products went untimed.
Solution
BeamTracker counts every bag and shows the live rate against target for every line, operator and product, with every stop classified. Supervisors coached the operators behind target and cut the slow changeovers.
Products
BeamTracker and SenseAi.
“Within weeks of targeted coaching based on the IoTFlows data, our newer operators were hitting 30 bags per minute. This platform has transformed how we manage our bagging operations.”
Altium Packaging reads first pass yield live at every step of its ten bottling lines. Read the Altium Packaging story. Storm Power Components doubled machine utilization, and Hilco Vision knows by mid-afternoon where a shift will land.
Questions people ask
Both count production lines without a PLC and calculate OEE in the cloud. Factbird wires off-the-shelf photoelectric or inductive sensors, yours or supplied by Factbird, to its own DUO gateway, and sells by the line plus a platform fee per site. IoTFlows designs its own counter, BeamTracker, firmware and all, and its SenseAi reads any other machine in the plant on the same platform, with maintenance work orders, spare-parts inventory and a production scheduler.
Factbird’s terms describe its gateway as hardware developed by Factbird, and its DUO page says it works with off-the-shelf external sensors: the customer’s own, or ones Factbird provides. BeamTracker is IoTFlows’ own laser counter, with the electronics, housing, touchscreen and firmware designed by IoTFlows.
Factbird publishes “from” prices: Production Insights from $399 per line a month, and the Factbird Platform that every app needs from $1,000 per site a month. One input per line is included; more cost extra, and hardware is priced separately. For 4 lines that is about $31,152 for the first year before hardware. On IoTFlows, 4 BeamTrackers and an annual Pro plan come to about $5,948 for the first year, hardware included; Pro is $119 per device a month billed monthly.
Its terms set a 12-month contract that extends automatically 12 months at a time, ended with 90 days’ written notice, and let Factbird raise the licence fee for significant updates with three months’ notice. Its 45-day trial converts to a paid licence unless cancelled, and after a cancelled trial the hardware has to come back within 14 days or be paid for in full. IoTFlows runs monthly, annual or three-year plans, and a pilot on 10 to 25 machines for four weeks with no commitment to buy.
Yes. SenseAi mounts on the outside of any machine, a press, a lathe, a mixer or a molding machine, and reports running, stopped and part counts on the same platform as the BeamTracker lines. Factbird sells and monitors by the production line, with one input per line included.
Its Connected Operations app, $399 per line a month, adds preventive and cycle-based work orders and an Andon ticket queue; no spare-parts inventory was found on its pages. IoTFlows’ Maintain opens work orders from downtimes, events and meters, and Inventory moves the parts when a work order closes.
Yes. A BeamTracker bolts on with the supplied mount in 10 to 20 minutes beside the conveyor, with no connection to the line’s PLC, and on the 4G/LTE router it stays off the plant network. A pilot puts IoTFlows on 10 to 25 machines for four weeks with no commitment to buy.
Other comparisons
Documentation
Want the detail? These guides walk through each feature step by step.
Count your lines with a counter we build
Start with 10 to 25 machines for four weeks, with no commitment to buy, alongside whatever you run today.
Sources
Every statement about another company on this page comes from that company’s own public pages, read on October 13, 2026. Pages change: tell us if something here is out of date and we will correct it. Product names are trademarks of their owners.
- [1]Factbird DUO: Plug-and-Play Industrial IoT Gatewaywww.factbird.com/product/factbird-duoRead October 13, 2026
- [2]Terms and Conditions | Factbirdwww.factbird.com/eulaRead October 13, 2026
- [3]Pricing | Manufacturing Intelligence from $399 per linewww.factbird.com/pricingRead October 13, 2026
- [4]A simple guide to manufacturing sensors | Factbirdwww.factbird.com/blog/manufacturing-sensors-guideRead October 13, 2026
- [5]Factbird Free Trialwww.factbird.com/free-trialRead October 13, 2026
- [6]Preventive Maintenance Software for Manufacturing | Factbirdwww.factbird.com/features/preventive-maintenance-softwareRead October 13, 2026