The client compares two quotes: WinCC Unified from a Siemens partner and Ignition from an Inductive Automation distributor. The quotes have radically different licensing philosophies, so a direct price comparison on page 3 makes no sense. The real question is: what will the whole system cost over 5 years, including things you don't currently think will be needed. Here's the breakdown for a 5,000-tag SCADA with 12 operator stations and 3 redundant servers — a typical mid-size manufacturing plant.
Licensing models — two worlds
WinCC Unified (Siemens) — per-tag + per-client model
- **Engineering licence** (TIA Portal V19 + WinCC Unified Engineering): one-off ~**€8–12k** depending on configuration (Standard / Advanced / Comfort).
- **Runtime licence** by PowerTag count: 5,000 PowerTags = **~€18–24k** (Siemens 6AV2103-2HD06-0xxxx, packs of 100/1,500/8k tags). PowerTag = each unique tag with real-time monitoring; archived tags outside the PowerTag count, but need a HistorianStorage licence.
- **Client licence** per Unified Client: each operator station needs its own licence, **~€800–1,500 / station** depending on functionality (read-only viewer vs operate). 12 stations = **€10–18k**.
- **Web client licence** for mobile HMI: **€500–1,200 / concurrent user.**
- **Redundancy** (Hot Standby): an additional licence, **~€8–12k** per server.
**Total for 5,000-tag, 12 stations, 3 redundant servers: €60–90k of licences.**
Ignition (Inductive Automation) — unlimited-tag + per-server model
- **Ignition Standard** (one server, unlimited tags, unlimited clients): from **$24,000** (~€22k).
- **Ignition Enterprise / Cloud Edition**: from **$28–35k**.
- **Redundancy**: a second server for hot-failover = a second licence ~€20–25k. A third server for disaster recovery = a third licence. **3 redundant servers = €60–75k.**
- **Modules** are paid separately:
- - SQL Bridge: **~€7k**
- - OPC UA Server: **~€7k** (included in Standard from 8.1, but historically paid)
- - Mobile Module: **~€7k**
- - Vision Module / Perspective Module: **€7k each** (Vision is the older HMI, Perspective is web-responsive)
- - MQTT Transmission/Distributor (Cirrus Link, often needed for OT/IT bridge): **€6–9k**
- - Reporting Module: **€4–6k**
- **Unlimited operator stations** for free (this is Ignition's main USP) — the client is just Java/Browser, no per-seat licence.
**Total for 5,000-tag, 12 stations, 3 redundant servers, a typical module mix: €85–115k of licences.**
At first glance WinCC looks cheaper. But the licence is only the start.
Hardware — a radically different profile
WinCC Unified hardware
- WinCC Unified is primarily **on-premise**, designed for Siemens IPC or Industrial Server. Typically **Siemens SIMATIC IPC847E** (industrial PC, server-grade): **€6–9k / unit.** 3× redundant setup = **€18–27k.**
- **Microsoft SQL Server** licence (Standard or Enterprise for redundancy): the WinCC historian uses SQL Server, which Siemens distributes, but the Microsoft licence is per-core. 3 servers × 8 cores = 24 cores × **$3,700** (Standard CAL model) = **€70–90k of Microsoft SQL.**
- SQL Server Express exists for smaller deployments, but a 5,000-tag historian with multi-year retention outgrows Express limits (10 GB database) within 6–12 months.
**Hardware + DB: €90–120k.**
Ignition hardware
- Ignition runs on Linux (Ubuntu Server / RHEL) or Windows Server, no hardware constraints from the supplier. **Commercial servers (Dell PowerEdge R660, HPE DL380 Gen11)**: **€5–8k / unit.** 3× = **€15–24k.**
- **Database**: Ignition supports **PostgreSQL (free), MariaDB (free), MS SQL Server (paid), Oracle (paid).** In 90% of deployments PostgreSQL is chosen — zero licensing cost, performance on a 5,000-tag historian is sufficient (PostgreSQL 16 handles 50k inserts/s on standard HW).
- **Linux licence**: Ubuntu Server free, RHEL ~€500/server/year if you want paid support.
**Hardware + DB: €18–30k.**
Here Ignition climbs back — saves €60–90k on hardware + database.
Engineering hours — the biggest hidden block
This is where the 5-year TCO is most heavily shaped.
WinCC Unified engineering
- **TIA Portal learning curve:** Siemens's own ecosystem, own workflow. An engineer with 6+ months of Step 7 / Classic WinCC experience needs 2–3 months to be productive on Unified (a completely different engineering paradigm — web-based, JavaScript scripting instead of VBS, a newer object structure).
- **Hours for first setup** of a 5,000-tag system: typically **800–1,400 hours** (taglist mapping from PLC, screen design in Unified Workspace, alarms, archive, recipe, user management, redundancy, deployment).
- **Hourly rate of a certified integrator with TIA Portal in SK/CZ**: **€60–95/h.** At 1,000 h = **€60–95k engineering.**
- **Changes during 5 years**: typically 200–400 h/year for extensions, new screens, integrations. **5 years × 300 h × €70/h = €105k.**
Ignition engineering
- **Ignition Designer (Vision and Perspective)**: web-based, Python scripting (Jython 2.7 + Jython 3 in newer versions). Shorter learning curve — 4–6 weeks for a Python-friendly engineer.
- **Hours for first setup**: typically **500–900 hours** (Ignition is generally faster to develop on thanks to tag templates, UDT inheritance, Perspective components).
- **Hourly rate**: certified Ignition integrators in SK/CZ are fewer, but the rate is comparable **€55–90/h.** At 700 h = **€38–63k.**
- **Changes during 5 years**: 150–300 h/year. **5 years × 220 h × €70/h = €77k.**
WinCC Unified overall: **€165–200k engineering over 5 years.** Ignition overall: **€115–140k engineering over 5 years.**
Difference of ~€50k in Ignition's favour — mostly because of the shorter development cycle and Python-based scripting that's quicker to learn.
Mobile + web access
WinCC Unified has built-in web/mobile support, but at the cost of **additional Web Client licences**. At 20 mobile users × €1,000 = **€20k.**
The Ignition Perspective Module has **unlimited concurrent web/mobile users** included in the module price. No additional cost.
On a real production hall with 20+ mobile users this difference is **€15–25k.**
MQTT / Cloud / OT-IT bridge
More modern SCADA architectures (Industry 4.0, IIoT) need an MQTT bridge to cloud / data lake. Profiles differ here:
- **WinCC Unified**: has built-in OPC UA Server/Client, MQTT via S7-1500 via CPU 1518F-3 PN/MQTT or via a third-party OPC UA → MQTT bridge (Kepware $5k–10k).
- **Ignition**: **Cirrus Link MQTT Transmission/Distributor** module (~€6–9k one-off), Sparkplug B compliance out-of-box, integration with AWS IoT, Azure IoT, GCP Pub/Sub.
Ignition is noticeably more advanced and cheaper here, if the IIoT roadmap is part of the 5-year plan.
Service fees and SUPS
- **WinCC Unified Software Update Service (SUPS)**: ~**20% of licence value per year.** 5 years × €15k = **€75k.**
- **Ignition annual maintenance**: **20% of licence value per year.** 5 years × €20k = **€100k** but includes unlimited version updates, unlimited technical support, and access to all new modules.
Here Ignition costs a touch more, but also offers more.
5-year TCO — final comparison
| Item | WinCC Unified | Ignition | |------|---------------|----------| | Licences (initial) | €60–90k | €85–115k | | Hardware + DB | €90–120k | €18–30k | | Engineering year 1 | €60–95k | €38–63k | | Engineering years 2–5 | €105k | €77k | | Mobile/web licences | €15–25k | 0 | | MQTT/IIoT bridge | €5–10k | €6–9k (module) | | Annual maintenance 5 yr | €75k | €100k | | **TCO 5 years** | **€410–520k** | **€324–394k** |
Ignition comes out about **20–25% cheaper** over 5 years for a 5,000-tag system. This shifts on smaller installations — for a 500-tag mini-SCADA WinCC Basic + a Comfort Panel HMI is cheaper ($3–8k), because Ignition's full server licence isn't activated. The crossover sits around **1,200–1,500 tags.**
Grafana as a third choice — for what and when
Some clients consider Grafana instead of a full SCADA. Here the use case has to be split cleanly:
- **Grafana = read-only dashboard and alerting.** Connects via Modbus exporter, OPC UA Telegraf input, or directly to a historian on PostgreSQL/InfluxDB. No device control, no recipes, no user management in the SCADA sense.
- **Suitable for**: KPI dashboards for management, oilfield monitoring, BMS dashboards in smaller buildings, prototyping until a full SCADA decision.
- **Price**: Grafana OSS free. Grafana Enterprise (LDAP, audit log, RBAC) **$1,000–3,000 / month.** Plus engineering for dashboards (200–400 h one-off).
Grafana **is not a SCADA replacement**, it's a layer on top of SCADA data. In fully automated production you need WinCC or Ignition, plus Grafana can be added as a KPI layer for management. The hybrid is often optimal: Ignition on the floor, Grafana in the boardroom.
Our defaults
- **Tag count < 500** and **1–2 stations**: WinCC Basic + Comfort/Unified Comfort Panel HMI. Cheapest. The Siemens stack is unbeatable for small installations.
- **Tag count 500–2,000** with growth: we consider both, often Ignition for web-friendliness and unlimited clients.
- **Tag count 2,000+ and an IIoT/MQTT/cloud roadmap**: Ignition with high probability. Unlimited tags, Python scripting, open DB, MQTT-native — these features are paid line by line on WinCC.
- **Existing Siemens-only fleet** (S7-1500 PLCs, PCS 7 distributed control): WinCC for interoperability. Force-fitting Ignition would cost integration you don't get back.
- **Greenfield with no legacy load**: Ignition is the better choice for most sectors outside regulated pharmaceutical (where Siemens / Wonderware / Aveva have a tradition of validated stacks).
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*This comparison framework has evolved across a dozen implementations of both platforms in the last three years. If you're thinking about a SCADA replacement or a greenfield project, the first consultation (90 minutes) walks through tag count, redundancy requirements and roadmap and gives you indicative TCOs for both paths before you sign a 5-year-forward licence agreement.*