Buyer's guide
Best production scheduling software for small manufacturers
There is no universal best production scheduling app. A custom fab shop assigning jobs to employees needs different tools from an extrusion plant scheduling long runs across machines with product-specific speeds and changeovers.
RunMark publishes this guide and is included in the comparison. The recommendations below distinguish a narrow line scheduler from broader MRP, inventory, and advanced planning systems. Confirm any purchase against your actual products, constraints, and orders.
Which product fits which manufacturer?
| Software | Best starting point for | Key limitation to evaluate |
|---|---|---|
| RunMark | Process manufacturers running about 2–20 lines, especially extrusion, with line eligibility, rates, shifts, changeovers and schedule-derived labels | No BOM-driven material planning, purchasing, multi-step routings or accounting |
| MRPeasy | Small manufacturers needing production planning with BOMs, purchasing, inventory, lot traceability and accounting | Broader MRP setup may be unnecessary if line scheduling is the only gap |
| Katana | Manufacturers with inventory, purchasing, replenishment, orders and integrations as central workflows | Verify detailed, line-specific changeover scheduling in a live demonstration |
| Factory | High-mix custom fabrication shops assigning jobs to people, teams and machines | Focused on job shops rather than long repetitive extrusion runs |
| PlanetTogether | Complex plants requiring advanced planning, materials and labor constraints, sequencing and what-if analysis | Assess implementation, integrations and enterprise APS scope |
Published pricing and how to compare it
These prices are not directly comparable until you account for seats and scope. RunMark is a flat subscription, while MRPeasy is priced per user and the other products may limit the free tier or require a quote.
For a five-person team, RunMark is $249 per month total. MRPeasy is $245 per month on Starter, $345 on Professional, $495 on Enterprise, or $745 on Unlimited. Katana's free plan is limited to 30 SKUs, and its Advantage plan is custom priced.
| Software | Published price | How to read the price |
|---|---|---|
| RunMark | $249/month total for up to 5 team members (about $50 per person at five), or $2,490/year total with unlimited team members | Flat price includes unlimited production lines, orders, and SKUs; 30-day free trial without a card |
| MRPeasy | Starter $49, Professional $69, Enterprise $99, or Unlimited $149 per user per month | At five users: $245, $345, $495, or $745 per month; confirm billing and volume terms |
| Katana | Free up to 30 SKUs; Advantage custom priced | The free tier is not an equivalent line-scheduling package; confirm the Advantage scope and total quote |
| Factory | Contact sales; no general self-service price on the reviewed scheduling page | Demo / consultation |
| PlanetTogether | Request pricing and implementation scope | Vendor-led APS evaluation |
What RunMark's flat price includes
- Unlimited production lines, orders, and SKUs, so cost does not increase as the schedule grows.
- Up to five team members on the monthly plan, or unlimited team members on the annual plan.
- Line eligibility, product-specific production rates, shift calendars, product-to-product changeover times, and schedule-derived PDF traceability labels.
- A 30-day trial without a credit card, so the team can test one real week of orders before buying.
See the scheduling workflow with real constraints
The worked extrusion example follows seven runs across four different production lines, including product-specific configured rates, line eligibility, three hours of visible changeover time, and an order split across two eligible lines.
What to test before choosing
- Have each vendor build a schedule using one week of your own orders and real due dates.
- Check whether capacity is defined per person, work center or production line, and whether available shifts are respected.
- Verify that product-dependent changeovers consume real time; do not confuse basic setup fields with sequence-aware scheduling.
- Separate finished goods tracking and printable traceability labels from full material requirements planning and batch genealogy.
- Change an order due date and a machine's available hours. Ask how the schedule reacts and what remains manual.
- Compare onboarding time, data imports, integrations, operator adoption and the actual total subscription cost.
RunMark: when line scheduling is the missing layer
RunMark places eligible products on production lines according to configured rates, shifts and product-to-product changeover minutes. It considers due dates and changeovers in choosing slots and generates PDF traceability labels from runs.
It is not a full ERP or MRP platform. Its optimizer does not globally minimize total changeover time across every possible sequence. Buyers who need purchasing, BOM planning or multi-stage routings should evaluate broader platforms.
Explore a sample scheduling workflow at https://demo.runmark.app/ and then test your own orders using RunMark's 30-day trial.
MRPeasy: when you need broader manufacturing management
MRPeasy combines production planning with BOMs, stock, lot tracking, purchasing and standard accounting. The vendor publishes tiered per-user pricing. It is a stronger first look when the need extends beyond placing jobs on lines.
Katana: when inventory and order flows come first
Katana emphasizes inventory, sales and purchase orders, manufacturing and integrated commerce workflows. Its current pricing page advertises a free plan for up to 30 SKUs and an Advantage plan with custom pricing, rather than the older public fixed-price packages.
Factory: when every fabrication job is different
Factory positions its visual scheduler for custom fabrication shops of 1–50 people, with jobs assigned to employees, teams and machines. The product also connects quoting, time tracking, profitability and invoicing. Its production scheduling page identifies capacity planning as beta.
PlanetTogether: when the plant needs deep APS
PlanetTogether APS addresses complex resource, materials, labor, routing, changeover and what-if scheduling problems, including connected enterprise environments. Evaluate integration requirements, implementation effort and licensing directly with its team.
Decision checklist for a small manufacturer
- Pick your top constraint: line time, material availability, people, routing or customer priorities.
- Gather one representative week of orders and the actual resource calendars.
- Run the same test in two or three shortlisted systems.
- Compare the schedule's feasibility, explanations, operational handoff and total ownership cost.
- Choose the narrowest system that handles your real constraints reliably, rather than the longest feature list.
Frequently asked questions
Which scheduling software is best for a small extrusion plant?
For about 2–20 process production lines, RunMark is designed around line eligibility, per-product rates, shifts and entered changeover times. If BOM-driven materials and purchasing are critical, include MRPeasy or APS alternatives in your evaluation.
Is Factory similar to RunMark?
Both have production scheduling features, but Factory focuses on high-mix custom fabrication jobs assigned to crews and machines. RunMark focuses on process production lines and run-derived traceability labels.
Does RunMark replace an ERP?
No. RunMark does not include BOM-driven MRP, purchasing or general accounting.
Does RunMark globally optimize changeover sequence?
No. It respects configured changeover time and considers it when choosing slots, but it does not search every sequence to find the absolute minimum changeover total.
How should I compare pricing?
Normalize every option to the team size and scope you actually need. For five people, RunMark is $249 per month total; MRPeasy's published per-user tiers equal $245, $345, $495, or $745 per month. Then compare line and SKU limits, add-ons, implementation, integrations, and support. Published plan details can change.
Try RunMark on one real week of your own orders. 30 days free, no credit card required.
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