Ignition vs WinCC vs AVEVA: How Do the Three SCADA Platforms Compare?
Ignition is web-based SCADA and MES, licensed per server with unlimited tags and clients. Siemens WinCC is tightly integrated with Siemens PLCs and TIA Portal. AVEVA System Platform, formerly Wonderware, runs large enterprise SCADA on ArchestrA objects and OMI. The right choice depends on existing hardware, licensing model and scale.
All three do the same core job: they read values from PLCs, show them to operators, raise alarms, keep history and send commands back down. Where they differ is how they are licensed, how a project is organized, which controllers they favor, and the size of system each is usually chosen for.
At a glance
| Ignition (Inductive Automation) | Siemens WinCC | AVEVA System Platform (Wonderware) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensing model | Per server (Gateway), by module. Unlimited tags, clients, screens and designers. | Per runtime, sized by tag count and number of clients. | Subscription (sold as AVEVA Operations Control) through a license server, sized by system size. |
| Architecture | One central Gateway server; desktop (Vision) and browser or mobile (Perspective) clients; Ignition Edge at the machine. | Engineered in TIA Portal with the PLCs; runs on Siemens panels up to PC-based SCADA (WinCC Unified). WinCC V7/V8 is the classic PC SCADA outside TIA Portal. | A galaxy of objects built from templates, held in a SQL Server Galaxy Repository and deployed to engines; InTouch and OMI clients; AVEVA Historian. |
| PLC / vendor affinity | Vendor-neutral: built-in drivers for Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Modbus, plus OPC UA. | Siemens S7 first; other devices through OPC UA and additional drivers. | Vendor-neutral: one OI Server per protocol family (Allen-Bradley, Modbus, Siemens and more). |
| Scripting | Python (Jython) with Ignition's system library. | JavaScript in WinCC Unified; VBScript and C in WinCC V7/V8. | QuickScript .NET; System Platform 2026 adds C# and Python for OMI. |
| Typical use | Plant-wide SCADA, MES and IIoT (MQTT and Sparkplug), from one machine to many sites. | Machines and lines on Siemens PLCs, up to plant SCADA on a Siemens standard. | Large and multi-site enterprise SCADA with a strict object model and a tiered historian. |
| Cost model | Grows with servers and modules, not with tags or clients. | Grows with tag count and clients. | Annual subscription that grows with the size of the system. |
| Try it free | Full trial, two hours at a time, resettable; Maker Edition free for personal, non-commercial use. | Time-limited trial license. | Through AVEVA or a distributor. |
Ignition
Ignition runs everything on one central server, the Gateway. Operators connect with desktop Vision clients or with Perspective sessions in a web browser or the mobile app, and engineers build projects in the Designer, launched from the Gateway's web page. Because licensing is per server rather than per tag or per client, adding screens, clients or tags does not add license cost. Scripting is Python (Jython) running on the Gateway's Java runtime. The Gateway runs on Windows, Linux or macOS, and Ignition Edge puts a small Gateway beside the machine, often publishing over MQTT and Sparkplug B.
Siemens WinCC
WinCC is Siemens's HMI and SCADA family. Its strength is integration: in TIA Portal the PLC program and the screens live in one project, so tags, alarms and diagnostics come straight from the S7 controller with little mapping. The family runs from operator panels on a single machine to PC-based SCADA. WinCC Unified is the current, web-based generation inside TIA Portal; WinCC V7/V8 is the long-standing PC SCADA engineered outside it. Licensing follows the size of the runtime, mainly tag count and clients.
AVEVA System Platform (Wonderware)
AVEVA System Platform, long sold under the Wonderware name and still known by its ArchestrA heritage, organizes a plant as a model of objects built from templates, not a flat list of tags. Change a template and every instance follows. The galaxy lives in a SQL Server Galaxy Repository and nothing reaches the plant until it is deployed. Operators use InTouch, or OMI, which builds navigation straight from the plant model. AVEVA Historian stores the time series, and the Web Client serves screens to Chrome and Edge. It runs on Windows, scripts in QuickScript .NET, and is sold on subscription as part of AVEVA Operations Control.
Which should you choose?
Your plant is standardized on Siemens PLCs. WinCC keeps the controller and the screens in one TIA Portal project, and your technicians likely know it already.
You run mixed PLC brands, or want many clients and web or mobile screens without counting licenses. Ignition's per-server licensing and browser-based Perspective clients fit, and it reaches into MES and IIoT on the same platform.
You are building a large, multi-site system that must stay consistent for years. AVEVA System Platform's template-and-instance object model and tiered historian are built for that, and many enterprises already standardize on it.
You are learning. Start where the jobs are near you. Ignition is the easiest to try (the trial is free and full-featured), and LearnSCADA's free Archestra Basics course walks through System Platform.
Questions and answers
Is Ignition better than WinCC?
Neither is better everywhere. Ignition suits mixed-vendor plants and systems with many clients, because its per-server license does not count tags or clients. WinCC suits plants standardized on Siemens PLCs, because the screens are engineered in the same TIA Portal project as the controllers.
What is the difference between AVEVA and Ignition?
AVEVA System Platform models the plant as objects built from templates, deployed from a SQL Server galaxy, on Windows, scripted in QuickScript .NET and sold on subscription. Ignition runs tags and projects on one central Gateway on Windows, Linux or macOS, is scripted in Python, and is licensed per server.
Which SCADA is cheapest?
It depends on the size of the system. Ignition's per-server license usually costs less as tags and clients grow, because neither adds license cost. A small Siemens machine HMI can cost least in WinCC. AVEVA is usually the larger investment, suited to enterprise systems. Get quotes for your own tag and client counts.
Can I try these for free?
Yes, in different ways. Ignition installs with a full trial that runs two hours at a time and can be reset, and Maker Edition is free for personal, non-commercial use. Siemens offers a time-limited trial of WinCC. For AVEVA System Platform, ask AVEVA or a distributor for an evaluation.