Comparison
CheckBadges vs MaintainX
Choose CheckBadges if you need operators to check machines before use without licensing each of them: a sticker per machine, no app or login, and problems emailed to you with photos. Choose MaintainX if you need a maintenance system — work orders, preventive maintenance, parts and analytics — and pre-use checks are one piece of that, done by people you'd license anyway.
The short answer
CheckBadges is QR code equipment checklists: operators scan a sticker on each machine with their own phone and do its pre-use check in the browser — no app, login or per-user seat. MaintainX is a maintenance and operations platform (CMMS) with work orders, procedures, preventive maintenance and asset QR codes, used through its mobile and web apps.
CheckBadges vs MaintainX at a glance
| CheckBadges | MaintainX | |
|---|---|---|
| How an operator does a check | Scan the QR sticker on the machine with the phone's camera, answer that machine's checklist in the browser, submit. About a minute. | The operator opens the MaintainX app, signs in, scans the asset's QR code or finds the work order, and completes the procedure (checklist) attached to it. |
| Does each operator need an app or login? | No. No app, account or password: operators type their name, or a 4-digit PIN if you turn PINs on. | Yes. Every operator needs their own MaintainX login, and each one is a paid user on Essential or Premium. Free requester accounts can submit work requests, not complete procedures. |
| QR codes on equipment | Every machine gets its own printed QR sticker, 8 to a page. A lost sticker is reissued in a click. | Yes: MaintainX generates QR codes and barcodes for every asset, scanned in its app. |
| When a check finds a problem | Emails you what's wrong with photos the moment it's submitted, flags the machine, and warns the next operator until it's marked fixed. | A failed check can become a work order in the same system, assigned and tracked to completion with parts and history. |
| Free plan | Free for up to 3 machines, with every feature and unlimited operators. | Basic is free, but allows only 2 work orders with attached procedures and 2 active repeating work orders. |
| Pricing | Free for up to 3 machines. Pro is $9 a month for your first 3 machines, plus $1.50 a month for each machine after that. Operators and checks are unlimited on both. | Basic is free. Essential is $25 a user a month billed monthly ($20 annually) and Premium $75 ($65), which allows unlimited procedures on work orders; Enterprise is quoted. |
| Monthly cost, 10 machines, 20 operators | $19.50/mo | $1,500/mo |
| Monthly cost, 25 machines, 50 operators | $42/mo | $3,750/mo |
| Monthly cost, 50 machines, 100 operators | $79.50/mo | $7,500/mo |
MaintainX's costs use Premium at $75 a user a month billed monthly ($65 billed annually), counting every operator as a user, because Basic and Essential allow only 2 and 3 work orders with attached procedures. CheckBadges is billed monthly. Prices were checked in October 2026 and change, so check MaintainX's site before you buy.
What it costs a month
10 machines, 20 operators
25 machines, 50 operators
50 machines, 100 operators
The biggest difference: a maintenance system vs a pre-use check
MaintainX is a CMMS built around work orders; CheckBadges is built around the two-minute check an operator does before using a machine. In MaintainX, a daily inspection is usually a procedure (a checklist) attached to a repeating work order, completed in the app by a user with their own login. That's natural for maintenance technicians. It's heavy for forklift operators, temps and shift crews who just need to confirm the machine is safe to use.
In CheckBadges the operator scans the machine's QR sticker with their own phone, answers its checklist in the browser and submits. No app, no account, no seat.
Side by side
The two overlap only at the check itself:
| CheckBadges | MaintainX | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator needs | Phone camera and browser | MaintainX app and a user login |
| Licensing | Per machine; operators free | Per user |
| QR codes | Printed sticker per machine, opens in the browser | Generated per asset, scanned in the app |
| Problem found | Email with photos at once; next operator warned | Work order in the same system |
| Work orders, preventive maintenance, parts | No | Yes |
| Works offline | No | Yes |
| Integrations and API | No | Yes |
Price
MaintainX charges per user. Basic is free but allows only 2 work orders with attached procedures; Essential, at $25 a user a month billed monthly ($20 annually), allows 3. Running daily checklists across a fleet needs Premium: $75 a user a month billed monthly, or $65 annually. Free requester accounts can submit work requests but not complete procedures, so every operator who does a check counts. Twenty operators is $1,500 a month ($1,300 annually); 50 is $3,750 ($3,250).
CheckBadges is free for 3 machines, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per machine after 3. Ten machines cost $19.50 a month with any number of operators.
Using both
Plenty of teams don't have to choose. Operators do pre-use checks in CheckBadges, and maintenance runs in a CMMS. There's no integration between them — a CheckBadges problem email is the cue to open a work order — but it keeps operator licences off your CMMS bill. Read pre-use inspection vs preventive maintenance for where one job ends and the other starts, and the glossary entry on CMMS.
MaintainX: what it does well, and where it falls short
Strengths
- A full CMMS: work orders, preventive maintenance, parts, analytics and an API.
- QR codes and barcodes generated for every asset.
- A strong mobile app that works offline.
- Free requester accounts for reporting problems as work requests.
- A large, well-known platform with a public procedure library.
Drawbacks
- Every operator who completes a checklist needs a login and a paid seat.
- Daily checklists at scale need Premium at $75 a user a month billed monthly: $1,500 for 20 operators.
- Basic and Essential cap work orders with attached procedures at 2 and 3.
- A lot of system to roll out if all you need is a pre-use check.
Choose CheckBadges if…
Choose CheckBadges if you need operators to check machines before use without licensing each of them: a sticker per machine, no app or login, and problems emailed to you with photos.
Choose MaintainX if…
Choose MaintainX if you need a maintenance system — work orders, preventive maintenance, parts and analytics — and pre-use checks are one piece of that, done by people you'd license anyway.
Frequently asked questions
How much do CheckBadges and MaintainX cost?
For 10 machines, 20 operators, CheckBadges costs $19.50/mo and MaintainX costs $1,500/mo; for 25 machines, 50 operators it's $42/mo against $3,750/mo. MaintainX's figures use Premium at $75 a user a month billed monthly ($65 billed annually), counting every operator as a user, because Basic and Essential allow only 2 and 3 work orders with attached procedures, checked in October 2026. CheckBadges is free for up to 3 machines; Pro is $9 a month for the first 3 plus $1.50 per machine after that, with unlimited operators.
Do operators need an app or login for MaintainX?
Yes. Every operator needs their own MaintainX login, and each one is a paid user on Essential or Premium. Free requester accounts can submit work requests, not complete procedures.
What's the main difference between CheckBadges and MaintainX?
MaintainX is a maintenance and operations platform (CMMS) with work orders, procedures, preventive maintenance and asset QR codes, used through its mobile and web apps. CheckBadges does one job: every machine gets a QR sticker, and operators scan it with their own phone to do that machine's pre-use check in the browser — no app, account or per-user seat — while problems email you with photos and warn the next operator.
Can MaintainX requesters complete inspection checklists?
No. MaintainX's free requester accounts submit work requests; completing a procedure (checklist) needs a user login, which is a paid seat on Essential or Premium.
Does MaintainX have QR codes for equipment?
Yes. MaintainX generates QR codes and barcodes for all assets, and users scan them in the MaintainX app to pull up the asset.
How much does MaintainX cost for daily equipment checks?
Daily checklists at scale need Premium, $75 per user a month billed monthly ($65 annually), because Basic and Essential cap work orders with attached procedures at 2 and 3. Twenty operators is $1,500 a month.
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Switching from MaintainX? Your machines could be checked by QR code today.
Stick a QR code on every machine and operators do the pre-use check on their own phone — no app, no login. Free for up to 3 machines; try it with your real machines before you sign up.