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UpKeep vs Cetaris

Source-linked differences for fleet and maintenance managers. No sponsored winner and no blended review score.

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UpKeep logo

UpKeep

Vendor-source research

UpKeep is a mobile-first CMMS with a dedicated Fleet product that layers vehicle-specific capabilities onto its core maintenance engine. It handles usage-based preventive maintenance (miles, engine hours, or calendar days), mobile work orders, digital DVIRs with photos and flagged defects, parts management, and VIN-based vehicle history. It is genuinely maintenance-first: compliance records are DOT/OSHA audit-ready, and PMs auto-generate work orders when thresholds are hit. Real-time GPS, speed, and engine diagnostics come from integrating existing telematics (Samsara, Geotab, Motive) rather than UpKeep hardware, so it is not a native-GPS platform. Pricing starts at $24/user/mo (Essential) and $55/user/mo (Premium), with Professional and Enterprise tiers on custom quotes.

Best fit
Maintenance-led fleets (mixed vehicle + facility/equipment operations) that want a mobile-first CMMS built around work orders, PMs, and DVIRs rather than GPS tracking.
Pricing visibility
From $24/user/mo (Essential)
Source check
July 17, 2026
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Cetaris logo

Cetaris

Vendor-source research

Cetaris is an enterprise fleet maintenance and asset management (CMMS/EAM) platform built around work orders, preventive maintenance, parts inventory, and a strong warranty-recovery module. It emphasizes ROI (reduced road failures, lower carrying inventory, higher labor productivity) and connects to 150-300+ external systems including ERPs, OEMs, fuel systems, DVIR providers, and telematics. It is genuinely maintenance-first software, not a telematics or GPS product.

Best fit
Large enterprise and mid-market fleets (transportation, distribution, grocery, oil & gas, utilities) that run a dedicated shop and want a maintenance/EAM platform focused on warranty recovery, parts optimization, and asset uptime ROI.
Pricing visibility
From ~$1,000/mo; quote-based
Source check
July 17, 2026
Open full research profile →
★

At a glance

How UpKeep and Cetaris line up, side by side. Rows where they differ are highlighted.

Feature UpKeep logoUpKeep Cetaris logoCetaris
Capterra rating4.6/5 (1,329)4.8/5 (34)
Starting priceFrom $24/user/mo (Essential)From ~$1,000/mo; quote-based
Best forMaintenance-led fleets (mixed vehicle + facility/equipment operations) that want a mobile-first CMMS built around work orders, PMs, and DVIRs rather than GPS tracking.Large enterprise and mid-market fleets (transportation, distribution, grocery, oil & gas, utilities) that run a dedicated shop and want a maintenance/EAM platform focused on warranty recovery, parts optimization, and asset uptime ROI.
Preventive maintenance✓✓
Work orders✓✓
Inspections & DVIR✓—
Parts inventory✓✓
Fuel tracking——
Native GPS tracking——
Asset management✓✓
Compliance✓✓
01

Which product fits which kind of fleet?

This is a fit comparison, not a universal winner. A tool built for an enterprise fleet with native telematics is not the same as one built for a small in-house shop. Validate the decisive maintenance workflow and total contract cost in both demos.

UpKeep logo

UpKeep

Start here when: Maintenance-led fleets (mixed vehicle + facility/equipment operations) that want a mobile-first CMMS built around work orders, PMs, and DVIRs rather than GPS tracking..

Pricing visibility
From $24/user/mo (Essential)
Research position
A real fleet maintenance CMMS, not pure telematics. UpKeep Fleet covers the maintenance core well (PM, work orders, DVIR inspections, parts, vehicle asset history, DOT compliance), which is why the maintenance facets are true. It has no native GPS hardware and no dedicated fuel cost/consumption tracking module (it only surfaces a live "Fuel Level" reading pulled from third-party telematics), so native_gps and fuel_tracking are false. Best fit for shops that already run maintenance in a CMMS and want vehicles in the same system, or that plug in an existing telematics provider for location data.
Cetaris logo

Cetaris

Start here when: Large enterprise and mid-market fleets (transportation, distribution, grocery, oil & gas, utilities) that run a dedicated shop and want a maintenance/EAM platform focused on warranty recovery, parts optimization, and asset uptime ROI..

Pricing visibility
From ~$1,000/mo; quote-based
Research position
Cetaris is a legitimate, maintenance-first fleet CMMS/EAM aimed at the enterprise end of the market, with deep work-order, PM, parts, and warranty functionality and strong customer-service reviews. It is not a native GPS/telematics vendor: location and fuel data arrive through integrations (Samsara, Geotab, fuel systems), so native_gps and native fuel tracking are false. Best fit for larger fleets with an in-house maintenance shop willing to invest in a detailed implementation; likely overkill and too costly for small fleets that just want simple scheduling.
02

External review evidence

Ratings are kept separate because software directories, app stores and company-location reviews measure different experiences.

Swipe horizontally to compare both products →

Review platformUpKeepCetaris
Capterra4.6/51,329 reviewsChecked July 17, 2026 · open source ↗4.8/534 reviewsChecked July 17, 2026 · open source ↗

We do not calculate a single “reputation score.” Compare rating, volume, audience and recent themes at the original source.

03

Published capabilities to verify

These items come from vendor documentation. Treat them as a demo agenda, not proof of workflow quality.

UpKeep logo

UpKeep

  • Usage-based preventive maintenance (miles, engine hours, or calendar days) that auto-triggers work ordersAsk for a live workflow
  • Mobile-first work order creation, assignment, and completion with instant technician notificationsAsk for a live workflow
  • Digital DVIRs: pre/post-trip inspections in under 30 seconds with photos, notes, and flagged defects, offline-capableAsk for a live workflow
  • Parts and inventory management with costing (Premium tier and up)Ask for a live workflow
  • VIN lookup that auto-pulls make, model, year, specs, recalls, and warranty dataAsk for a live workflow
  • Complete vehicle history log (inspections, repairs, part replacements, fault codes)Ask for a live workflow
  • Third-party telematics integration (Samsara, Geotab, Motive) for GPS, speed, and engine diagnosticsAsk for a live workflow
  • DOT/OSHA audit-ready compliance records and automated loggingAsk for a live workflow
Cetaris logo

Cetaris

  • Preventive maintenance scheduling and automation to keep assets safe and compliantAsk for a live workflow
  • Work order management (Cetaris Fix app) with technician scheduling (Cetaris Plan)Ask for a live workflow
  • Parts inventory management with AI-powered demand prediction and vendor/PO portalsAsk for a live workflow
  • Warranty tracking and reimbursement claims (auto-filled, flags warrantable parts and labor)Ask for a live workflow
  • Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) across fleet, facilities, and fixed assetsAsk for a live workflow
  • 200+ prebuilt reports, dashboards, and predictive/business-intelligence analyticsAsk for a live workflow
  • 150-300+ integrations: ERP (SAP, Oracle), telematics (Samsara, Geotab), fuel systems, OEMs, DVIRsAsk for a live workflow
  • DOT compliance and safety procedure supportAsk for a live workflow
04

Buyer fit, strengths and cautions

Research interpretation based on current positioning and official documentation—not a substitute for implementation references.

UpKeep logo

UpKeep

A real fleet maintenance CMMS, not pure telematics. UpKeep Fleet covers the maintenance core well (PM, work orders, DVIR inspections, parts, vehicle asset history, DOT compliance), which is why the maintenance facets are true. It has no native GPS hardware and no dedicated fuel cost/consumption tracking module (it only surfaces a live "Fuel Level" reading pulled from third-party telematics), so native_gps and fuel_tracking are false. Best fit for shops that already run maintenance in a CMMS and want vehicles in the same system, or that plug in an existing telematics provider for location data.

Potential strengths

  • Strong maintenance-first foundation: PM scheduling, work orders, and parts are mature, not bolted-on afterthoughts
  • Fast, easy-to-use mobile app with offline DVIRs that require little driver training
  • Handles mixed fleets plus facilities/equipment in one CMMS, useful for operations that maintain more than just vehicles
  • High, well-established review base (4.6 on Capterra across 1,329 reviews)
  • VIN lookup and automatic vehicle-history logging reduce manual data entry

Cautions to validate

  • No native GPS/telematics hardware, real-time location depends on integrating a third-party provider
  • No dedicated fuel cost/consumption tracking module; only shows a live fuel-level reading from connected telematics
  • Key features (PM scheduling, parts costing, offline mode) are gated behind higher tiers, so effective cost rises quickly
  • Per-user pricing and paid upgrades can get steep for small operations
  • Some reviewers report bugs, sync issues, and inconsistent cross-platform performance
Cetaris logo

Cetaris

Cetaris is a legitimate, maintenance-first fleet CMMS/EAM aimed at the enterprise end of the market, with deep work-order, PM, parts, and warranty functionality and strong customer-service reviews. It is not a native GPS/telematics vendor: location and fuel data arrive through integrations (Samsara, Geotab, fuel systems), so native_gps and native fuel tracking are false. Best fit for larger fleets with an in-house maintenance shop willing to invest in a detailed implementation; likely overkill and too costly for small fleets that just want simple scheduling.

Potential strengths

  • Deep, mature maintenance/EAM feature set (work orders, PM, parts, warranty) proven at enterprise scale (Walmart, Swift, Loblaw, XPO)
  • Standout warranty-recovery and parts-optimization tooling that drives measurable ROI (users cite ~51% fewer road failures, 15% lower maintenance costs)
  • Strong customer service and high retention (reviewers praise long-term support staff; ~95% retention claimed)
  • Extensive integration ecosystem lets it sit at the center of an existing ERP/telematics/fuel stack

Cautions to validate

  • Enterprise pricing (from ~$1,000+/month, quote-based) and no free trial or free version make it inaccessible to small fleets
  • Implementation is detailed and time-consuming, with added cost for changes to the initial setup
  • Some reviewers feel overwhelmed by the volume of data the system expects them to collect
  • No native GPS/telematics hardware and no native fuel tracking or DVIR capture; these depend on third-party integrations
05

Source register

Open the evidence directly. Dates describe our last check, not a promise that the vendor page has remained unchanged.

06

Run the same demo with both vendors

A fair comparison uses identical data and workflow scenarios.

  1. PM-to-work-order: Set a preventive-maintenance schedule by mileage and engine hours, then confirm a due service opens a work order automatically.
  2. Inspection defect: Complete a mobile DVIR with a failed item and follow the defect through to a closed repair without re-keying.
  3. Parts & cost: Add parts and labor to a work order, then produce a cost-per-vehicle and downtime report.
  4. Meter capture: Import odometer or engine-hour data from a fuel card or telematics integration and confirm PM stays accurate.
  5. Exit test: Export vehicles, service history, parts and inspection records in documented formats.
+

Keep one product fixed and compare the alternatives against the same evidence framework.

Fleetio vs UpKeepFrom $4/vehicle/mo (annual) · From $24/user/mo (Essential)Open comparison →Fleetio vs CetarisFrom $4/vehicle/mo (annual) · From ~$1,000/mo; quote-basedOpen comparison →Whip Around vs UpKeepFree; paid from $5-9/asset/mo · From $24/user/mo (Essential)Open comparison →Whip Around vs CetarisFree; paid from $5-9/asset/mo · From ~$1,000/mo; quote-basedOpen comparison →MaintainX vs UpKeepFree plan; paid from $20/user/mo · From $24/user/mo (Essential)Open comparison →MaintainX vs CetarisFree plan; paid from $20/user/mo · From ~$1,000/mo; quote-basedOpen comparison →Samsara vs UpKeepQuote-based (custom, per-vehicle) · From $24/user/mo (Essential)Open comparison →Samsara vs CetarisQuote-based (custom, per-vehicle) · From ~$1,000/mo; quote-basedOpen comparison →

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