Work Instruction Software Pricing: What Every Platform Costs in 2026
The hardest part of buying work instruction software is figuring out what it actually costs. Most vendors hide their pricing behind “contact sales” buttons. You fill out a form, get a demo, talk to an account executive, maybe get a quote two weeks later – and then discover the platform requires a 50-user minimum or a multi-year contract.
This page does the research for you. We compiled pricing information for 10 work instruction platforms from published pricing pages, review platforms (G2, Capterra), press releases, and verified user reports. Where vendors don’t publish pricing, we note what is publicly known and what requires a sales conversation.
Full disclosure: this page is published by Manual.to. We are one of the platforms reviewed. We publish our pricing openly, and we believe buyers benefit when every vendor does the same.
TL;DR: Work instruction software pricing in 2026 ranges from free to six figures per year. At the accessible end: Manual.to starts with a free AI-generated manual (no account needed), Tulip offers a free plan, and MaintainX has a free tier. At the enterprise end: Dozuki starts at ~$850/month with a 50-user minimum (~$10,200/year before implementation), VKS reportedly costs ~$350/user/month, and Operations1 starts at EUR 10,000/year plus EUR 3,000-50,000 in implementation fees. Poka, Augmentir, and Proceedix use custom enterprise pricing without published rates. The biggest pricing surprise is usually not the license fee – it is the implementation, training, and integration costs that can double or triple the first-year investment.
The Pricing Landscape at a Glance
| Platform | Published Pricing | Free Entry | Minimum | Pricing Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual.to | Free manual (no account), 7-day trial, then paid plans | Yes – free manual + trial | No minimum | Tiered plans |
| Dozuki | From ~$850/month (~$17/user at 50 users) | No | 50 users | Per-site license |
| Poka (IFS) | Not published | No | Enterprise minimum | Custom quote |
| VKS | Reports suggest ~$350/user/month | No | Not published | Per-user |
| Augmentir | Not published | No | Enterprise minimum | Custom quote |
| Tulip | Free plan available; paid plans not published | Yes – free plan | No minimum (free) | Tiered plans |
| Proceedix | Not published | No | Enterprise minimum | Custom quote |
| Operations1 | From EUR 10,000/year + implementation | No | Annual commitment | Annual license |
| Azumuta | Not published (modular pricing reported) | No | Not published | Per-module |
| L2L (formerly SwipeGuide) | $150/user/month | No | Not published | Per-user |
Platform-by-Platform Pricing Breakdown
Below is what we know about each platform’s pricing, based on publicly available data. We distinguish between confirmed published pricing and figures reported by users or review platforms.
Manual.to Pricing
FREE ENTRY PRICING PUBLISHEDManual.to offers the lowest barrier to entry in the market. Anyone can generate a free AI-powered manual on the homepage – no account, no credit card, no sales call. This produces a complete visual manual from video in about 60 seconds with 200+ languages and text-to-speech.
After the free manual, a 7-day trial opens the full platform. Paid plans scale from individual users to enterprise deployments with no minimum user count. Enterprise plans include SSO/SAML, Microsoft EntraID, dedicated EU hosting, ISO 27001, and native Microsoft Teams and SharePoint integration.
Pricing approach: Manual.to publishes its pricing and does not require a sales conversation to get started. No minimum user count. No multi-year lock-in required. Enterprise terms available for larger deployments.
Dozuki Pricing
PER-SITE LICENSEDozuki uses a per-site licensing model. Based on publicly available information, pricing starts at approximately $850 per month with a 50-user minimum. This comes to roughly $17 per user per month at the minimum tier, or about $10,200 per year before any implementation, training, or integration costs.
Dozuki does not offer a free trial or free tier. Evaluation requires a demo request and a sales conversation. Implementation costs are additional and vary based on complexity, integrations (SAP, ERP), and compliance requirements (FDA CFR 21 Part 11, ITAR).
Cost considerations: The 50-user minimum means small teams pay for capacity they may not use. Implementation and compliance setup can add significant costs. No self-service evaluation path. Read the full Dozuki comparison.
Poka (IFS) Pricing
CUSTOM QUOTE ONLYPoka does not publish pricing. As part of the IFS ecosystem since the June 2023 acquisition, pricing is handled through IFS enterprise sales. Based on Poka’s positioning as a full connected worker suite serving Fortune 500 manufacturers (Nestle, Mars, Bosch, Danone, L’Oreal), pricing is at the enterprise end of the spectrum.
What makes Poka’s pricing harder to predict post-acquisition is the IFS factor. Buyers may be evaluating Poka as a standalone product or as part of a broader IFS Cloud (ERP/EAM/FSM) deal, which changes the pricing conversation entirely.
Cost considerations: No published pricing. No free trial. Requires enterprise sales process. Post-acquisition, the pricing relationship with IFS Cloud is unclear. Small and mid-size teams may find the entry point out of reach. Read the full Poka comparison.
VKS Pricing
PER-USERVKS does not publish official pricing, but multiple user reports on review platforms suggest pricing around $350 per user per month. For a team of 50 users, that would mean approximately $17,500 per month or $210,000 per year – making VKS one of the more expensive options in the market.
VKS does not offer a free trial. Evaluation requires a demo and sales process. Per-user pricing means costs scale linearly with team size, which can become significant for large deployments.
Cost considerations: At reported pricing, VKS is among the most expensive options per user. Linear per-user scaling means costs grow quickly with team size. ~14 languages. No free trial. Manufacturing-only.
Augmentir Pricing
CUSTOM QUOTE ONLYAugmentir does not publish pricing. As a VC-backed platform focused on enterprise manufacturing with AI personalization and the Industrial AI Agent Studio, pricing is negotiated through enterprise sales. No public data points are widely available on review platforms.
The AI personalization angle (instructions that adapt to individual worker skill levels) is unique and may justify premium pricing for organizations where variable worker proficiency is a significant cost driver.
Cost considerations: No published pricing. No free trial. Requires enterprise sales. AI personalization requires sufficient usage data to be effective – value increases over time but is limited at launch.
Tulip Pricing
FREE PLANTulip offers a free plan for small teams, making it one of the few platforms with genuine self-service entry alongside Manual.to. The free plan provides access to the no-code app builder, which lets you create custom frontline applications including work instructions.
Paid plans are not publicly detailed, but Tulip’s positioning as a composable frontline operations platform (not just a work instruction tool) means pricing likely scales based on usage, users, and the specific modules or connectors needed.
Cost considerations: Free plan exists but has limitations on scale. Paid plan pricing is not published. The platform’s power comes with a learning curve – you are building apps, not authoring manuals. Time investment in building should be factored into total cost.
Proceedix (SymphonyAI) Pricing
CUSTOM QUOTE ONLYProceedix does not publish pricing. As part of SymphonyAI’s enterprise portfolio, pricing is negotiated through enterprise sales. The platform’s specialization in hands-free operation (smart glasses), offline-first architecture, and GxP compliance positions it at the enterprise end of the market.
Smart glass deployments add a hardware cost layer on top of software licensing – a consideration that is unique to Proceedix among the platforms on this page.
Cost considerations: No published pricing. No free trial. Enterprise sales process. Smart glass hardware adds cost. SymphonyAI platform coupling may affect long-term pricing leverage.
Operations1 Pricing
ANNUAL LICENSEOperations1 publishes partial pricing information. The platform starts at EUR 10,000 per year for the software license, with implementation costs ranging from EUR 3,000 to EUR 50,000 depending on complexity, integrations, and scope. This puts the first-year investment between approximately EUR 13,000 and EUR 60,000.
For large manufacturers in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) with SAP integration requirements, the pricing reflects a traditional enterprise software model. Customers include Bosch, Daimler Truck, ThyssenKrupp, Trumpf, and Stabilo.
Cost considerations: Implementation fees (EUR 3,000-50,000) can significantly increase the first-year cost. Only 2 languages (English, German). Limited presence outside DACH. Annual commitment. No free trial.
Azumuta Pricing
MODULAR PRICINGAzumuta does not publish detailed pricing. The platform uses a modular pricing model – you select and pay for the modules you need (Digital Work Instructions, Quality Management, Training & Skills, Audits & Checklists). This means the total price depends on which combination of modules you deploy.
User reports suggest per-user monthly pricing, but exact figures are not consistently documented on review platforms. Azumuta offers a demo rather than a self-service trial.
Cost considerations: Modular pricing can be cost-effective if you need only one module, or expensive if you need the full suite. No published rates. No free trial. Requires demo and sales process. Read the full Azumuta comparison.
L2L Pricing (formerly SwipeGuide)
PER-USERL2L acquired SwipeGuide in September 2024 and integrated its features into the L2L Connected Manufacturing Operations Platform. Pricing is published at $150 per user per month. The standalone SwipeGuide product no longer exists – swipeguide.com redirects to l2l.com.
For a team of 50 users, L2L costs approximately $7,500 per month or $90,000 per year. The platform is positioned as a full manufacturing operations suite, not just a work instruction tool.
Cost considerations: $150/user/month is a significant investment, especially for teams that primarily need work instructions. The broader platform may include capabilities you don’t need. Former SwipeGuide users experienced a forced migration. Read the full SwipeGuide analysis.
Four Pricing Models Explained
Work instruction vendors use different pricing structures, and understanding the model matters as much as the price itself. Each model creates different incentives and cost trajectories as your team grows.
Model 1
Per-User Pricing
You pay a fixed amount for each user who accesses the platform. Simple to understand, but costs scale linearly. Adding 100 frontline workers at $150/user means $15,000/month more.
Used by: VKS (~$350/user/mo), L2L ($150/user/mo)
Watch out for: Defining “user” – does it include view-only workers? Do you pay for authors and consumers differently?
Model 2
Per-Site / Flat Tier
A flat fee per site or location, regardless of user count. Predictable, but the base price is higher. Good for large sites with many workers; expensive for small teams.
Used by: Dozuki (~$850/mo per site, 50-user min)
Watch out for: Minimum user requirements that force you to pay for seats you don’t fill.
Model 3
Tiered Plans
Structured tiers (e.g. Starter, Professional, Enterprise) with increasing features and user counts. Easy to compare, and you upgrade as needs grow.
Used by: Manual.to (free entry, tiered plans, no minimum)
Watch out for: Whether key features (SSO, compliance, integrations) are locked behind the highest tier.
Model 4
Custom Enterprise Quote
No published pricing. Everything is negotiated through a sales conversation. Common in enterprise software, but makes comparison shopping difficult.
Used by: Poka, Augmentir, Proceedix, Azumuta
Watch out for: Multi-year lock-ins, auto-renewal clauses, and price escalation on renewal. Get the first renewal price in writing before signing.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About
The license fee is rarely the full cost. When budgeting for work instruction software, factor in these costs that often double or triple the first-year investment:
Implementation
Professional services to configure the platform, set up workflows, build templates, and integrate with existing systems. Some vendors charge separately; others bundle it. Operations1 explicitly lists EUR 3,000-50,000. For enterprise platforms, six-figure implementations are common.
Training
Training authors, administrators, and end users on the platform. More complex platforms (Tulip, Azumuta, VKS) require more training investment. Simple platforms (Manual.to, Knowby) require less – Manual.to’s video-to-manual workflow needs minimal training because the AI does the authoring.
Integration
Connecting to ERP (SAP, IFS, Oracle), MES, QMS, CMMS, or HR systems. Custom API work, middleware, data mapping, and testing. This cost is highly variable – a simple SSO setup costs far less than a bidirectional SAP integration.
Content Migration
Moving existing SOPs, work instructions, and training materials from paper, PDFs, or a previous platform into the new system. Some platforms offer AI-assisted migration (Manual.to generates from video, eliminating the need to migrate written docs). Others require manual re-entry or professional services.
Internal Administration
Someone needs to manage the platform day-to-day – user accounts, permissions, content reviews, version control, analytics. Enterprise platforms often require a dedicated administrator. Simpler platforms can be managed as part of an existing role.
Renewal Price Increases
Enterprise vendors sometimes offer discounted first-year pricing that increases significantly at renewal. Always negotiate the renewal price, not just the initial contract. Get the Year 2 and Year 3 pricing in writing before signing Year 1.
Total Cost of Ownership: Three Scenarios
License pricing only tells part of the story. Below are three realistic first-year cost scenarios based on publicly available pricing data. These are illustrative estimates – actual costs vary based on your specific requirements.
Scenario 1: Small Team (10 users, single site, basic needs)
Scenario 2: Mid-Size Deployment (100 users, 2-3 sites, integrations needed)
Scenario 3: Enterprise Rollout (500+ users, global, compliance, full integrations)
Pricing Transparency: Who Publishes and Who Hides
Pricing transparency matters because it respects the buyer’s time. When you can see what something costs before talking to sales, you can make faster, better-informed decisions. Here is how the market breaks down:
Transparent: You Can Evaluate Before Talking to Sales
Manual.to publishes pricing and offers a free AI-generated manual with no account needed. You can evaluate the core product in 60 seconds. Tulip offers a free plan you can sign up for directly. L2L publishes $150/user/month. Operations1 publishes a starting price (EUR 10,000/year).
Opaque: You Must Talk to Sales First
Poka, Augmentir, Proceedix, and Azumuta require a demo request and sales conversation before you learn what the platform costs. Dozuki and VKS do not publish pricing directly but pricing information is available through review platforms and user reports.
There is nothing wrong with enterprise sales processes for complex deployments. But if your team has 10-50 users and just needs work instructions, being forced into a multi-week enterprise sales cycle to learn the price is a cost in itself – your team’s time.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Pricing
Related Comparisons
- Best Digital Work Instruction Software 2026 – Feature-by-feature comparison of 8 platforms
- AI Work Instruction Software – How AI is changing manual creation in 2026
- Connected Worker Alternatives Beyond Manufacturing – Platforms for healthcare, logistics, retail, and more
- Manual.to vs Dozuki – Comparing with the most established name in work instructions
- Manual.to vs Poka – What changed after the IFS acquisition
- Manual.to vs Azumuta – Two Belgian platforms, two different approaches
- Azumuta vs Dozuki vs Manual.to – Three-way comparison
- Manual.to vs SwipeGuide – What happened after the L2L acquisition
- Manual.to vs Knowby – Comparing with a lightweight video instruction tool
The Bottom Line
Work instruction software pricing in 2026 ranges from free to six figures. The gap is not just about features – it reflects fundamentally different buying experiences. Some platforms let you generate a manual in 60 seconds for free and scale at your own pace. Others require weeks of sales conversations before you see a price. Manual.to offers the most accessible entry in the market: a free AI-generated manual on the homepage, no account, no minimum, no multi-year lock-in. It is also the only platform where the AI eliminates most hidden costs (no content migration, minimal training, no complex implementation). Dozuki justifies higher pricing with 15 years of FDA/ITAR compliance expertise. Poka and Augmentir serve enterprise manufacturers who need a full connected worker suite or AI personalization. VKS commands premium pricing for deep traceability. Tulip offers genuine free entry for teams that want composable app-building. The best way to start comparing? Generate a free manual on Manual.to in 60 seconds. It gives you a benchmark for what AI can do – and it costs nothing.
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