Pilla vs MaintainX (2026): AI that acts inside the work, or a CMMS for assets, parts and PMs

Liam Jones

Founder of Pilla

Date Modified

15 September 2026

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I wrote this because I keep getting asked whether Pilla replaces MaintainX. I ran restaurants for years. I know the job: you want the floor to do the work without you chasing every check.

Autodesk completed the MaintainX acquisition on 3 August 2026. You still log into MaintainX at getmaintainx.com. Technicians run work orders and procedures on a phone or tablet. Managers plan preventive maintenance, keep an asset register, track parts and purchase orders, and report on uptime. MaintainX Assist, on Enterprise, answers questions from manuals and work history, suggests steps, and drafts procedures and summaries.

I built Pilla so you can turn a process you already know into a workflow on a canvas. Your team runs it on a phone, tablet or the web app. Pilla can fetch, decide and act while the work is happening. You keep the judgement calls.

If you want to try it on a process you already run, open the canvas.

I would pick Pilla when I want AI to act inside the work. I would pick MaintainX when I want a CMMS with assets, parts and preventive maintenance.

How did we compare them?

I ask the same twelve questions on every comparison. For Pilla I describe what the product does today. For MaintainX I went back to their help and the live pricing page on 15 September 2026. Where they stay quiet, I stay quiet.

I am Liam Jones. I founded Pilla after more than ten years running hospitality operations, food safety and frontline teams. On 15 September 2026 I sat with MaintainX help: procedure fields, about procedures, about work orders, MaintainX Assist, AI basics, about messaging, about reporting, mobile versus the web app, trigger a work order, add pictures or files to a work order, and the live pricing page. I have not lived in a paid MaintainX account for this write-up. I am telling you what their docs say.

What should you take away?

I would pick Pilla if I wanted a process I already know drawn on a canvas, with branching, not a procedure field list
I would pick Pilla if I wanted AI to fetch, decide and act inside the run, not Assist suggestions that cannot execute without me
I would keep MaintainX if I needed a CMMS with assets, parts and preventive maintenance
I would not switch expecting Pilla to take over work orders, spare parts or IoT sensors

How do Pilla and MaintainX compare at a glance?

Capability	Pilla	MaintainX
Core job	AI work management for deskless teams	AI-powered CMMS and asset management for industrial frontline
Design the work	Visual canvas, branching, reusable workflows	Procedure field lists with nested templates and if-then logic
Provide guidance	Written, photo and video guidance beside each step	Written, photo and video on steps; Assist Q&A on Enterprise
Run the work	Phone, tablet, or web app	Phone, tablet, or web app
Capture evidence	Photos, video, audio, files, signatures, ratings, numbers, checklists, dates and location	Photos, files, signatures, numbers, checklists, dates; video on work orders
Check the work	AI fetching, decisions and actions inside the work	Assist suggestions and anomaly flags
Follow up	Human and AI follow-ups	Corrective work orders and escalation alerts
Talk to the team	DMs and group chats	DMs, team chats, and group chats
Connect other software	MCP server, API, integrations	REST API, named integrations, Zapier
See what happened	Workflow records and evidence	Work order records, procedure history, reports, CSV
What you pay for	Unlimited users, usage based on workflows	Per paid user; free Basic; Assist on Enterprise
Best for	Operators who want AI to act inside the work	Maintenance teams who need a CMMS with assets, parts, and PMs

I built Pilla for AI work management on the floor. MaintainX sells a CMMS for work orders, assets, parts and preventive maintenance.

Why do people like Pilla?

You open Pilla on the phone you already carry. You see the next step, read how to do it, take the photo or sign, and move on. The record lands while you work. Pilla checks it against the rules you set and follows up when something needs you.

I hear the same thing from managers: they draw the process once and stop asking all day whether it happened. The team likes it because they can see what good looks like before they start.

“Pilla helps me have a day off knowing that procedures will be followed”

Charles, owner of 11 hospitality sites

When does switching from MaintainX to Pilla make sense?

You want Pilla to check the work as it comes in
You want to draw the process on a canvas and branch it
You want ratings, stored audio or GPS on the step
You want an MCP server as well as an API
You want unlimited users paid on workflow usage
You are happy to keep assets, parts and PMs somewhere else

What do you pay for?

Capability	Pilla	MaintainX
What you pay for	Unlimited users, usage based on workflows	Per paid user; free Basic; Assist on Enterprise
Public price	Starter is £49 a month for 500 processed workflows. Pro is £99 a month for 1,000.	Basic $0. Essential $20/user/month annual ($25 monthly). Premium $65 annual ($75 monthly). Enterprise custom.
Trial	14-day free trial of every Pro feature, with no card	Try for Free on Essential and Premium. I could not find a length in days on the live pricing page.

A user is someone who uses the MaintainX app with a unique login. Requester accounts are free on every plan. Basic caps attached procedures at 2, repeating work orders at 2, image attachments at 5 a month, and analytics history at 1 month. Essential caps procedures on work orders at 3. Parts, purchase orders, meter PM, time and cost, and the REST API sit on Premium. Assist, Report Builder, SSO, custom permissions, IoT sensors, global procedures and parts, and workstation mode sit on Enterprise. I could not find a trial length in days on the live pricing page.

See full Pilla pricing.

How long does setup take, and how hard is it?

You can open Pilla the same day. Every new account gets a 14-day trial of Pro, with no card. I usually see a first workflow take an afternoon. MaintainX lets you Get Started on Basic, or Try for Free on Essential and Premium, with no credit card. I could not find a trial length in days on the live pricing page. Assist, IoT sensors and workstation mode are on Enterprise.

If you move, you rebuild the procedures on the canvas. Photos and history stay in MaintainX unless you export them by hand. Run both for a while. Keep the asset register, spare parts, purchase orders and preventive maintenance on MaintainX or another vendor. I did not build Pilla to be a CMMS.

Does the answer change by budget or size?

If you want a process on a canvas today, start with Pilla. If you need assets, parts and preventive maintenance from one vendor, stay with MaintainX. If money is tight, I publish prices, and MaintainX has a free Basic plan with caps. If you want AI in the run and an MCP server, I would pick Pilla even in a small team.

What is each one used for?

MaintainX works well for

Reactive and preventive work orders on plant or facility equipment
Digital inspection checklists with Pass, Flag or Fail and corrective work orders
Meter or sensor-triggered maintenance
Spare-parts inventory and purchase orders
Safety and compliance procedures with signatures and photo proof
Technician chat on the job, plus vendor external work orders
Asset-health reporting, MTTR and MTBF, and Report Builder on Enterprise
Assist Q&A against OEM manuals during a repair, on Enterprise

Pilla works well for

Opening and closing the team can follow on their phone
Showing someone how to do a step with writing, a photo or a video
Collecting photos, video, audio, files and signatures as the work happens
Letting AI fetch, decide and act while the run is live
Following up yourself, or letting Pilla follow up
Talking in DMs and group chats next to the work
Connecting other software through MCP, API and integrations
Paying for workflows with as many people as you need

What is MaintainX designed to do?

MaintainX keeps physical assets running. You create and assign work orders. You attach inspection procedures. You schedule calendar and meter-based preventive maintenance. You hold spare parts and purchase orders. You prove the work with photos, signatures and timestamps. I would stay on MaintainX for that CMMS depth: asset records, meters, parts, purchase orders, and time and cost on work orders. IoT sensors are an Enterprise add-on.

What is Pilla designed to do?

I built Pilla so you can turn the processes you already know into workflows on a canvas. Your team follows them on a phone, tablet or the web app. Pilla checks completed work and handles the follow-up you configured. You keep judgement, coaching and the awkward calls. I left shift scheduling, payroll and HR out on purpose.

What differences actually matter?

How do they check the work?

On Pilla I put AI fetching, decisions and actions in the run. On MaintainX, Assist can brief a work order, suggest how to complete a step, and flag unusual readings. Help says AI does not execute changes without your intervention. I could not find an AI step that continues the work on its own.

How do you design the work?

On Pilla you draw a visual canvas with branching and reuse the workflow. On MaintainX you build a procedure as a field list, nest templates, and show extra fields with if-then logic. Recurrence is calendar or meter-based work orders. I could not find a visual canvas.

How do you provide guidance?

On Pilla you sit written, photo and video guidance beside each step. On MaintainX you put written instructions, reference images and videos on procedures. Assist, on Enterprise, answers questions on a selected step from manuals and past work. I could not find a dedicated video-guidance field type.

What evidence can the floor capture?

On Pilla you capture ratings, stored audio and GPS in the step, plus photos, video, files, signatures, numbers, checklists and dates. MaintainX is strong on photos, files, signatures, numbers, checklists and dates. Work orders accept .mp4 video. I could not find a rating-scale field, a stored audio field or a GPS field on a procedure step.

How do they connect other software?

Pilla publishes an MCP server, a REST API and integrations. MaintainX documents a REST API on Premium and Enterprise, named integrations, Zapier and webhooks. I could not find a MaintainX MCP server.

What are you paying for?

On Pilla you pay for processed workflows, with unlimited people, and you get a 14-day trial of every Pro feature with no card. MaintainX charges per paid user. Basic is free with caps. Essential is $20 per user per month billed annually ($25 monthly). Premium is $65 annually ($75 monthly). Assist is on Enterprise. I could not find a trial length in days on the live pricing page.

Which should you pick?

If I needed a real CMMS, with asset records, spare parts, purchase orders and preventive maintenance, I would keep MaintainX. That stack is a fair reason to stay. If I wanted the work drawn on a canvas and AI acting inside the run, with MCP and unlimited users, I would use Pilla, and I would keep assets, parts and PMs somewhere else.

Frequently asked questions

Is MaintainX still independent?

Autodesk completed the acquisition on 3 August 2026. The product, help centre and getmaintainx.com site still run as MaintainX. The former CoPilot name is now MaintainX Assist in current help and pricing.

Does MaintainX have AI inside the work the way Pilla does?

MaintainX Assist, on Enterprise, answers questions, suggests procedure steps, drafts procedures and work orders, briefs a job, and summarises voice notes. Anomaly detection flags odd readings. Help says AI does not execute changes without your intervention. I could not find an AI step that fetches, decides and acts as a continuing step inside the work.

Can staff chat in MaintainX?

Yes. You get private 1:1 messages, team chats, group chats and an All Team conversation, plus work-order comments. Messaging is on the free Basic plan.

What evidence can a MaintainX procedure capture?

A procedure can take photos or files, signatures, numbers, amounts, meter readings, checklists, dates with optional time, text, pass/flag/fail, and yes/no. Work orders also accept .mp4 video files. I could not find a rating-scale field, a stored audio field or a GPS location field on a procedure step. Voice notes are transcribed then discarded.

How much does MaintainX cost compared to Pilla?

Basic is free with caps. Essential is $20 per user per month billed annually ($25 monthly). Premium is $65 annually ($75 monthly). Enterprise is quoted. Requesters are free. Assist is on Enterprise. I could not find a trial length in days on the live pricing page. I do not charge per person. Starter is £49 a month with 500 processed workflows included. Pro is £99 a month with 1,000 included, and adds AI automations inside Pilla. Every new account gets a 14-day trial of every Pro feature, with no card.

Does switching to Pilla replace MaintainX parts, meters or IoT?

No. I did not build Pilla as a CMMS, or for shift scheduling, payroll or HR. If you need the asset register, spare parts, purchase orders or sensor-triggered PMs, keep those on MaintainX or another product.

How long does it take to switch from MaintainX to Pilla?

You rebuild the procedures on the canvas. A first workflow usually takes an afternoon. Running both side by side can take days or a couple of weeks, depending on how many procedures you have. Photos and history stay in MaintainX unless you move them by hand.

How did you compare Pilla and MaintainX?

I read MaintainX public docs on 15 September 2026 and answered the same twelve questions I use on every comparison. I described Pilla as it works today. I left out anything MaintainX does not publish.

Where did these facts come from?

MaintainX claims on this page come from their own public docs. Pilla claims come from the current product.

Pilla is AI work management for deskless teams. Try every Pro feature free for 14 days, with no card. Start a free trial or visit MaintainX.

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