--- title: "IoTFlows vs Guidewheel: Sensors, Data and Price" description: "IoTFlows vs Guidewheel on what the sensor sees, part counts, machine health, maintenance, scheduling and price, every Guidewheel fact sourced and dated." source_url: "https://www.iotflows.com/compare/iotflows-vs-guidewheel" --- Compare # IoTFlows vs Guidewheel More than a power reading. Guidewheel infers machine state from the current on the power leads, on meters bought from third parties.[1],[2] IoTFlows builds its own sensor, so it counts parts, filters short stops and scores machine health. [Compare side by side](https://www.iotflows.com/compare/iotflows-vs-guidewheel#at-a-glance) The lower trace illustrates the case Guidewheel’s own pages describe: machines that stay energised between parts can read as running, and part counting is an additional sensor.[1],[3] The short answer ## IoTFlows reads the machine itself. Guidewheel “reads power, not process.” “It reads power, not process.” Guidewheel, on when it is not the right tool.[1] A sensor we design ourselves mounts with a magnet and reads each cut, so the same device counts parts, keeps short pauses out of your downtime and tells you when a spindle starts to wear. Maintenance, spare parts and scheduling run on the same platform. From one sensorIoTFlowsGuidewheel[1],[3],[4] - Running or stoppedYesFrom current - No panel to openYesClamp in the panel - Part countsYesExtra sensor - Cut and idle told apartYesAfter tuning - Machine healthYesNot offered - Work orders and partsBuilt inNot offered At a glance ## IoTFlows and Guidewheel, side by side. Every Guidewheel line links to its source at the bottom of the page. Guidewheel details as of October 13, 2026. | Compared | IoTFlows | Guidewheel | | --- | --- | --- | | What the sensor reads | Vibration, on our own sensor | Current on the power leads; state inferred from it[1],[6] | | Where it installs | A magnet on the outside of the machine | Inside the power panel, a clamp around phase 1[4] | | Installation | Ships configured; no visit, no installation fee | Self-install, or its team on site; no installation price published[5],[11] | | Who makes the hardware | Designed and built by IoTFlows, firmware and all | Bought from third-party suppliers, per its terms[2] | | Part counts | From the same sensor | An additional sensor[3] | | Machines powered between parts | Cutting and idle told apart by vibration | Can read as running until thresholds are tuned[1] | | Machine health | A health score from SenseAi Embedded | “It is not predictive maintenance”[1] | | Controller data | MTConnect, OPC UA and more, on Enterprise | “It reads power, not process”[1] | | Plant network | Not needed, on the 4G/LTE router | Not needed on LTE meters; Wi-Fi meters need IT allow-listing[7] | | Maintenance work orders | Built in (Maintain) | “Does not raise work orders”[1] | | Spare-parts inventory | Built in | None[1] | | Production scheduling | Add-on Production Scheduler, from $1,500 a month | Left to the ERP[8] | | Alerts | Email, SMS, push, Slack, Teams, webhooks | Text and email[9] | | Prices on its website | $119 per machine a month, less on longer terms | From $15,000 a year for 10 machines on landing pages, before hardware and installation; a custom quote on its pricing page[2],[10],[11] | | Contract | Monthly, annual or three years | One year, renewing; renewal increases up to 7% a year[2] | | Single sign-on | SAML on Enterprise | SAML or OIDC[12] | Part counts ## Parts counted from the cut itself SenseAi reads each cutting burst and counts the part when the cut ends, so cycle times can change from part to part and still count right. **No second sensor, no tie-in to the control.** Lists part counting as an additional sensor; its current signal gives machine state.[3] [Set up part counting](https://www.iotflows.com/docs/production/cnc-machines) Install ## A magnet, not an electrician A current clamp has to go around a single phase. Most machines take their power through one cable that carries all three, and around that cable the currents cancel out. So the clamp goes where the phases run separately: inside the power panel, or on a cable an electrician has opened up. On a floor of big machines, that is an electrician’s visit for every one. SenseAi ships configured to its machine: mount it with a magnet and it calibrates in under five minutes. **No electrician, no installer’s visit, no installation fee.** Its installation guide: “Installing Guidewheel requires accessing the machine’s power panel,” and the sensor clips “around this phase 1 cable.” It can be self-installed, or “our team is also available for on-site installation.”[4],[5] [How it mounts](https://www.iotflows.com/products/senseai/specs) 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. Its terms say its hardware is purchased from third-party suppliers, and its IT setup page lists eGauge’s domains for the meters.[2],[7] [See SenseAi](https://www.iotflows.com/products/senseai) Machine health ## Know a spindle is wearing before it fails [SenseAi Embedded](https://www.iotflows.com/products/senseai-embedded) scores each machine’s health against its own healthy baseline, and a falling score can alert your team and open a work order before the part fails. Its own page: “It is not predictive maintenance. It does not forecast failures or diagnose components.”[1] [See predictive maintenance](https://www.iotflows.com/solutions/predictive-maintenance) 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](https://www.iotflows.com/platform/maintain). Close it, and the parts leave stock. “Guidewheel does not raise work orders and does not hold maintenance records,” and does no inventory.[1] [See Maintain and Inventory](https://www.iotflows.com/platform/maintain) Scheduling ## A schedule that fixes its own conflicts The [Production Scheduler](https://www.iotflows.com/platform/production-scheduler) flags a double-booked machine, and the optimizer proposes the moves that clear it. Add it from $1,500 a month. Leaves production scheduling to the ERP.[8] [See the Production Scheduler](https://www.iotflows.com/platform/production-scheduler) Controller data ## Want the control’s data too? Add it. On Enterprise, the IoTFlows edge device reads controls and PLCs over **MTConnect, OPC UA, Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP, Profinet and MQTT**, and alarms feed the same rules as the sensors. Live in one week to a month, priced by scope. “It reads power, not process”: no controller tags. For servo presses, its own stamping page says PLC integration is often needed.[1],[13] [See custom integrations](https://www.iotflows.com/platform/custom-integrations) Price ## More platform. At least 18% less. Part counts, machine health, maintenance and spare parts on one platform. Here is the first year for 10 machines, the fleet Guidewheel’s landing-page price includes,[10] at each company’s published prices. Ours includes the sensors and installation; Guidewheel’s $15,000 is the subscription alone, with hardware and installation on top at prices it doesn’t publish.[2] 10 SenseAi sensors$149 each, once $1,490 10 Pro subscriptions$1,069 per machine a year $10,692 InstallationShips configured, no visit $0 First year, sensors and installation included $12,182 Less on longer terms and with more machines. Maintain and Inventory from $500 a month, unlimited users. Subscription, first 10 machines“From $15,000 a year” on its landing pages $15,000.00 HardwareA lease or a purchase on the order form + Not published InstallationOn the order form, or you install it + Not published First year, before hardware and installation $15,000 + The subscription from its own landing pages. Its terms add the hardware, and installation when the order form includes it; its pricing page says custom quote, and more machines need a quote.[2],[5],[10],[11] Customer story ## Datwyler cut shift-changeover downtime in half Datwyler molds precision components on more than 20 injection molding machines in California. Every stop now carries a reason, and the weekly and monthly reports show which ones to fix next. 50% less shift-changeover downtime 30% less material-changeover downtime 20% higher efficiency across 20+ machines ### Challenge Supervisors could see that machines were down, but not why. With no reasons on the stops, every fix was a guess, and nobody could tell whether it had worked. ### Solution SenseAi on every molding machine, with short stops and the start and end of each shift classified automatically. Operators and supervisors put a reason on the rest, and the team reviews the Downtimes report week over week and month over month. ### Products [SenseAi](https://www.iotflows.com/products/senseai) and the Downtimes report. [Read the Datwyler story](https://www.iotflows.com/customers/datwyler) > “By tracking downtime categorization week to week and month to month, we could see exactly where our biggest problems were and track whether our fixes actually worked. The 50% reduction in shift changeover time came directly from acting on patterns we saw in the historical reports.” Brien Stevenson, Site Director, Datwyler Criollos Foods cut downtime 45% on its bagging lines and setup time by 20 minutes. [Read the Criollos Foods story](https://www.iotflows.com/customers/criollos-foods). ## Questions people ask ### What is the difference between IoTFlows and Guidewheel? Both monitor machines without a PLC. Guidewheel clips current sensors onto the power leads and infers machine state from the electrical signature, on meters its terms say are bought from third-party suppliers. IoTFlows designs its own sensor, which reads vibration: it counts parts, tells cutting from idle on machines that stay powered between parts, and scores machine health. IoTFlows also includes maintenance work orders and spare-parts inventory, and offers a production scheduler; Guidewheel’s own pages say it does not raise work orders, holds no inventory and leaves scheduling to the ERP. ### Can Guidewheel count parts? Its pages list part counting as an additional sensor; the current signal gives machine state. IoTFlows counts parts from the same SenseAi that reports running and stopped, by reading each cutting burst, and BeamTracker counts units on a line. ### What happens on machines that stay powered between parts? Guidewheel’s own page says assets that keep hydraulics, heaters or drives energised between parts can read as running when they are idle, until the thresholds are tuned for that asset class. SenseAi reads vibration instead of current, so the cut and the pause between parts look different to the sensor, and Momentum keeps short pauses out of the downtime record. ### Who makes Guidewheel’s hardware? Guidewheel’s terms say any hardware it provides is purchased by Guidewheel on behalf of the customer from third-party suppliers, and its IT setup article lists eGauge domains for its meters. IoTFlows designs SenseAi, SenseAi Embedded and BeamTracker itself, the electronics, housing and firmware, with signed updates over the air. ### Does installing Guidewheel mean opening the power panel? Its own installation guide says installing Guidewheel “requires accessing the machine’s power panel”, where the current sensor clips around the phase 1 cable. A clamp has to go around a single phase: around a cable that carries all three, the currents cancel and it reads next to nothing. In most plants, opening a power panel is a job for an electrician. Guidewheel can be self-installed, or its team installs on site; it publishes no price for installation. SenseAi ships configured to its machine, mounts on the outside with a magnet and calibrates in under five minutes: nothing electrical is opened, no installer visits and there is no installation fee. ### Does Guidewheel do predictive maintenance? Its own page about when it is not the right tool says it is not predictive maintenance: it does not forecast failures or diagnose components. SenseAi Embedded scores machine health from vibration against the machine’s own healthy baseline, and a health alert can open a work order in Maintain. ### Does IoTFlows include maintenance work orders and inventory? Yes. Maintain opens a work order from a downtime, a machine event, a meter or a request from the floor, and Inventory tracks the spare parts, which leave stock when the work order closes. Guidewheel says it does not raise work orders or hold maintenance records, and does no inventory; it can create a work order in a separate CMMS through its API. ### How much does IoTFlows cost compared with Guidewheel? IoTFlows is $149 per SenseAi, once, with no installation fee, plus a subscription per machine: Pro is $119 a month billed monthly, less on annual and three-year terms. For 10 machines on an annual plan paid upfront, the first year comes to about $12,182 with the sensors. Guidewheel’s landing pages say from $15,000 a year including the first 10 machines, while its pricing page says custom quote. That figure is the subscription: its terms put the hardware on the order form as a lease or a purchase, and installation too when the order form includes it, and neither price is published. ### Can IoTFlows run alongside Guidewheel during a pilot? Yes. The sensor mounts on the outside of the machine and needs no connection to the control, the PLC or the electrical cabinet, 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 - [Guidewheel alternativesSeven options, scored on what a power reading cannot tell you.](https://www.iotflows.com/compare/guidewheel-alternatives) - [IoTFlows vs MachineMetricsThe whole floor, not just the CNCs.](https://www.iotflows.com/compare/iotflows-vs-machinemetrics) - [MachineMetrics alternativesSeven options, scored on what a CNC shop needs.](https://www.iotflows.com/compare/machinemetrics-alternatives) - [All comparisonsIoTFlows against other platforms and approaches.](https://www.iotflows.com/compare) ## Documentation Want the detail? These guides walk through each feature step by step. - [Configure tracking for CNC mills and lathesPart counts from each cutting burst.](https://www.iotflows.com/docs/production/cnc-machines) - [Choose a machine health baselineHealth scores against the machine’s own normal.](https://www.iotflows.com/docs/monitoring/baseline-profiles) - [Maintain overviewWork orders from downtimes, events, meters and requests.](https://www.iotflows.com/docs/maintain/overview) ## See what your machines are really doing 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 the dates listed below. Pages change: [tell us](https://www.iotflows.com/company/support) if something here is out of date and we will correct it. Product names are trademarks of their owners. - [1]Guidewheel | When Guidewheel Is Not the Right Tool[www.guidewheel.com/blog/guidewheel-not-right-tool](https://www.guidewheel.com/blog/guidewheel-not-right-tool)Read October 13, 2026 - [2]Guidewheel: Terms and Conditions of Use[www.guidewheel.com/terms-and-conditions](https://www.guidewheel.com/terms-and-conditions)Read October 13, 2026 - [3]Guidewheel: Continuously Improve Factory Performance with Data[www.guidewheel.com/solutions/continuously-improve](https://www.guidewheel.com/solutions/continuously-improve)Read October 13, 2026 - [4]Guidewheel Installation Guide (Official), linked from its Help Center[downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/gb6f37lu/1609638821/031f49bc81b35d20badf73af2d4e/Guidewheel+Installation+Guide+%28Official%29+%281%29.pdf](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/gb6f37lu/1609638821/031f49bc81b35d20badf73af2d4e/Guidewheel+Installation+Guide+%28Official%29+%281%29.pdf)Read October 14, 2026 - [5]Guidewheel: Empower Teams with Tools to Drive Factory Performance[www.guidewheel.com/solutions/equip-teams](https://www.guidewheel.com/solutions/equip-teams)Read October 14, 2026 - [6]llms.txt (Guidewheel)[www.guidewheel.com/llms.txt](https://www.guidewheel.com/llms.txt)Read October 13, 2026 - [7]Set up for IT teams | Guidewheel Help Center[support.guidewheel.app/en/articles/8365555-set-up-for-it-teams](https://support.guidewheel.app/en/articles/8365555-set-up-for-it-teams)Read October 13, 2026 - [8]Guidewheel | Production Tracking, Scheduling & Management Software Compared[www.guidewheel.com/blog/production-tracking-software-compared](https://www.guidewheel.com/blog/production-tracking-software-compared)Read October 13, 2026 - [9]Guidewheel | Best OEE Software in 2026[www.guidewheel.com/blog/best-oee-software-compared](https://www.guidewheel.com/blog/best-oee-software-compared)Read October 13, 2026 - [10]#1 OEE Monitoring Software[www.guidewheel.com/lp/oee](https://www.guidewheel.com/lp/oee)Read October 13, 2026 - [11]Guidewheel Pricing: Simple, Scalable Plans for Smarter FactoryOps[www.guidewheel.com/pricing](https://www.guidewheel.com/pricing)Read October 13, 2026 - [12]How to Set Up Single Sign On (SSO) with Guidewheel | Guidewheel Help Center[support.guidewheel.app/en/articles/14175623-how-to-set-up-single-sign-on-sso-with-guidewheel](https://support.guidewheel.app/en/articles/14175623-how-to-set-up-single-sign-on-sso-with-guidewheel)Read October 13, 2026 - [13]Guidewheel | Chasing Uptime: Top Monitoring Platforms for Stamping Presses Compared[www.guidewheel.com/blog/top-monitoring-platforms-stamping-presses-compared](https://www.guidewheel.com/blog/top-monitoring-platforms-stamping-presses-compared)Read October 13, 2026