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Willow vs UpKeep

Two AI-first products for running buildings and assets after handover that start from different places, so this is only partly like-for-like. Willow is an operational AI platform that builds a knowledge graph and digital twin from building data, prioritizes faults across systems and can act on building systems within set limits; UpKeep is an AI-native maintenance management system (CMMS) for work orders, preventive maintenance, safety and training, with its Nova AI. Desk research from vendor sites read Oct 31, 2026; no winner.

DESK RESEARCH FROM VENDOR SITES. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Willow Nov 1, 2026; UpKeep Nov 2, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: Willow (Building operations AI; no public prices (quote / sales)) vs UpKeep (AI-native CMMS & asset operations; vendor publishes prices). Facts last checked Willow Nov 1, 2026; UpKeep Nov 2, 2026. No winner declared; desk research from vendor sites.

Side by side

Willow vs UpKeep: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowWillowUpKeep
CategoryBuilding operations AIAI-native CMMS & asset operations
AI role (our label)AI-firstAI-first
What it does"Operational AI" for buildings and infrastructure. Willow unifies facility data (sensors, HVAC, occupancy) into a digital twin and knowledge graph, connects live conditions with equipment history and system relationships, detects faults with root-cause diagnostics, and prioritizes issues by cost, energy, comfort and risk. Agents run coordinated multi-step workflows and route work orders with supporting context; Willow Copilot lets teams ask about assets, spaces, live conditions and work history and create custom briefings; Active Control adjusts building-system operation within configured limits, with defined permissions, visible actions and operator overrides; and Functional Testing tracks conditions after an intervention within diagnostic and preventive maintenance workflows. Platform pages: Willow Copilot, Knowledge Graph, Digital Twin and Activate Packs (data connectors and AI skills). Partners listed: Microsoft, Carahsoft and HPE; solutions for education, airports and healthcare. Maintenance-cost, downtime, carbon and energy figures and avoidable-cost examples are vendor claims not used here.AI-native CMMS and asset operations platform with work orders, preventive maintenance, inventory, EHS, training, IoT sensors and Nova AI. It covers work orders, preventive maintenance, parts and inventory, mobile technician tools, plus Safety (EHS, with permits, lockout/tagout and inspections on the same work orders), Learn (LMS built from SOPs and completed work orders), Fleet, Edge IoT sensors (temperature, vibration, runtime readings that can open work orders when they drift), Nova Workflows for automating hand-offs between steps, and Nova AI. The AI Maintenance page describes Nova as one assistant across UpKeep that answers plain-language questions from live records, runs scheduled reviews, drafts work orders (including from voice notes), checks new requests against open work on the same asset, catches bad data, answers field questions by voice, captures meeting action items and builds custom apps, with every AI output waiting in a review queue for a person to approve; the plan table lists Nova features such as App Builder, Smart Scheduler, Voice Fill and Smart Checklist Builder. Company counts and review ratings are vendor claims and are not used.
Who it's forOwners and facilities teams in higher education, healthcare, retail, aviation, and more.Maintenance and reliability teams in manufacturing, multi-site facilities, food service, fleet, healthcare and related industries.
Pricing (as publicly stated)No public prices. The vendor site has no pricing or plans link in its navigation or footer, /pricing and /plans return not found, and the call to action is Get a demo. Confirm pricing with the vendor.Essential $24/user/month (unlimited work orders and locations, Nova AI). Premium $55/user/month (adds Studio, PM scheduling, checklists, parts costing, time/labor, 30-day analytics). Professional and Enterprise: request a quote (offline mobile, request portal, full analytics, multi-site, API/SSO on Enterprise). Monthly Nova credits by plan: 250 ($25 value) on Essential, 500 ($50) on Premium, 750 ($75) on Professional and 1,000 ($100) on Enterprise. Paid onboarding packages: Training Only $500, Quickstart implementation and training $1,500 (within 45 days), Expanded Training $5,000, and custom Enterprise Implementation by contact. Free trial with no credit card required to start.
User reviewsNo reviews yet. Read or writeNo reviews yet. Read or write
Vendor links
Sources

Facts last checked: Willow Nov 1, 2026; UpKeep Nov 2, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • Not like-for-like: Willow works from building-system data such as live conditions, equipment history and design, spec and telemetry data, and routes work orders with context. UpKeep is where work orders, preventive maintenance, parts and asset history are kept. Some owners could use both, so ask how each would connect to the other systems you run.
  • Willow (vendor statements): Insights prioritize issues by cost, energy, comfort and risk, with root-cause diagnostics across related assets; agents run multi-step workflows and route work orders; Active Control adjusts building-system operation within configured limits, with defined permissions, visible actions and operator overrides; Willow Copilot answers questions about assets, spaces, live conditions and work history and creates briefings; Functional Testing checks outcomes after an intervention. Activate Packs supply data connectors and AI skills. Willow names Microsoft, Carahsoft and HPE as partners and lists education, airports and healthcare solutions.
  • UpKeep (vendor statements): work orders, preventive maintenance, parts and asset history with a mobile app; Safety puts permits, lockout/tagout and inspections on the same work orders; Learn builds training courses from SOPs and completed work orders; Edge sensors track temperature, vibration and runtime and open a work order when a reading drifts. UpKeep says Nova builds custom apps, generates work orders, catches bad data and answers field questions by voice.
  • AI (our reading): both are AI-first. Willow's AI reasons across building systems and can change how equipment runs within limits the owner sets; UpKeep's Nova works on the maintenance records and workflows inside the CMMS.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 31, 2026): Willow publishes no prices (/pricing returns a not-found page; Get a demo). UpKeep lists Essential at $24 per user per month with 250 Nova credits a month and Premium at $55 per user per month with 500 credits, both with a free trial and no card required; Professional (750 credits) and Enterprise (1,000 credits) are by quote. UpKeep also lists paid implementation and training options from $500 to $5,000, with custom enterprise implementation by contact.
  • Not used here: Willow's example avoidable-cost figures and customer savings quotes, and UpKeep's company and review counts and case-study downtime figures (vendor material), plus customer logos on both sites. Facts for both come from vendor websites (desk research).

Paraphrased from the sources listed above. Vendor claims are reported as claims.

What users say

The facts above come from vendor websites. Whether either tool is any good for your work is something only people who use them can say. These are member reviews, all ratings shown, never edited or removed for being negative.

Used either of these? Share your take

Good or bad, an honest review from an estimator, PM or super helps the next team more than another vendor demo. You post under a handle; your email is never shown.

Questions to ask in your review

  • Whether your gap is finding and fixing building-system problems or managing maintenance work
  • Whether Willow connects to the CMMS you use (or would use) and how work orders flow between them
  • What Willow costs for your portfolio, and which UpKeep plan and Nova credit level your team would need
  • What did you use it for, on what kind of work and project size?
  • How long did setup and training take, and who on your team did it?
  • What does it cost you in practice, compared with what the sales call said?

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