PlanetTogether alternative for small manufacturers, PlanetTogether APS software compared with a flat per plant scheduler
ProductionPlanning.ai is a PlanetTogether alternative for small and mid sized plants that need a finite capacity schedule without an enterprise APS project. PlanetTogether is a capable advanced planning and scheduling system that sits on top of an ERP such as SAP, NetSuite or Microsoft Dynamics, and since June 2026 it is owned by CAI Software. It publishes no price list; Capterra lists its Basic plan from 1,000 USD per user per month. We load every machine against its real shifts and show which orders will ship late, from 149 USD per plant a month with unlimited users. The comparison below is honest, including where PlanetTogether is the better buy.
Machine shop, This week's schedule, finite capacity per work center
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PlanetTogether is now CAI PlanetTogether
CAI Software announced the acquisition of PlanetTogether on June 24, 2026, and the product is now sold as CAI PlanetTogether. The press release says it will keep being sold and supported as a standalone product, with CAI investing in AI, analytics and cloud development. Nothing about the software changed overnight, but a new owner usually means a new sales team, new contract paper and, sooner or later, a pricing review. If your renewal or first quote lands in the next few months, it is a sensible moment to check whether you need an enterprise APS at all.
Why plants look for a PlanetTogether alternative
PlanetTogether reviewers praise its scheduling depth and its support team. Smaller plants that start looking elsewhere usually hit one of these first.
- It is priced like enterprise software. There is no public price, the Capterra listing starts at 1,000 USD per user per month, and one scheduling software vendor estimates first year totals for a mid size deployment at 80,000 to 300,000 USD
- It assumes an ERP underneath. PlanetTogether's own site lists connectors for SAP, NetSuite, Kinaxis Maestro, AVEVA and Aptean Ross. A 20 person shop running QuickBooks and a spreadsheet has nothing for it to plug into
- The rollout is a project. Discovery call, data mapping, integration and training come before the first published schedule
- Seats are counted. Every planner who edits the schedule is a licensed user, so the plan tends to stay with one person
- The plant needs one thing. It already knows its orders and routings; what it lacks is finite capacity on each machine and a list of the orders that will be late
If most of that list fits your plant, the choice is not between two APS vendors. It is between an enterprise optimizer and a scheduler you can run this week.
What PlanetTogether APS includes
This is the capability list from PlanetTogether's own site and its listings on Capterra and SoftwareConnect. It is a serious product with deep scheduling features.
| Area | What PlanetTogether covers |
|---|---|
| Finite capacity scheduling | Yes, with constraint management across machines, people and materials |
| Optimization | Rule based optimization run on imported ERP data, then manual adjustment and publication |
| Scenarios | What if planning before a schedule is published |
| Real time visibility | Dashboards and analytics across the plant |
| ERP connectors named on its site | SAP, NetSuite, Kinaxis Maestro, AVEVA, John Galt, Aptean Ross, Shiftboard |
| Other integrations listed on SoftwareConnect | SAP Business One, Infor, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Oracle E-Business Suite |
| Industries it names | Food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, chemicals, industrial |
| Pricing | Not published. Capterra lists a Basic plan from 1,000 USD per user per month |
| Owner | CAI Software since June 2026, headquarters in San Diego |
The shape matters more than any single row. PlanetTogether is built to optimize a schedule inside a large ERP landscape. We are built to give a smaller plant a trustworthy schedule on its own, next to whatever it uses today.
PlanetTogether vs ProductionPlanning.ai, side by side
| What matters | ProductionPlanning.ai | PlanetTogether |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Finite capacity production scheduling software | Enterprise advanced planning and scheduling on top of an ERP |
| Pricing model | Flat per plant | Per user, quoted |
| Users | Unlimited on every plan | Each licensed user is a seat |
| Published price | Yes, on the pricing page | No, demo and quote through sales |
| Entry price | 149 USD per plant per month | Capterra lists 1,000 USD per user per month for Basic |
| Needs an ERP to run | No, works from a spreadsheet import or manual entry | Built around ERP data from SAP, NetSuite, Dynamics and others |
| Finite capacity on every machine and shift | Yes, on every plan | Yes |
| Late order warnings with projected finish dates | Yes | Yes |
| Sequence dependent setups and optimization | Setup times per product family and grouping on Plant | Yes, a core strength |
| Multi plant planning | Group plan, up to five plants | Yes |
| Time to first schedule | An afternoon | A project with discovery, integration and training |
| Best for | 5 to 60 person plants that ship late and want the schedule fixed now | Mid size and large manufacturers with an ERP and a planning team |
PlanetTogether publishes no dollar amounts, so every figure in its column is attributed to the listing that published it. Our plans are on the pricing page.
What a PlanetTogether seat costs next to a flat per plant price
Take one plant where a production planner, a plant manager and a scheduler on second shift all edit the plan.
| Plant situation | PlanetTogether | ProductionPlanning.ai |
|---|---|---|
| 1 planner who owns the schedule | 12,000 USD a year at the Capterra figure | Included |
| 3 people who edit the plan | 36,000 USD a year at the Capterra figure | Included |
| Operators and sales who only read it | Depends on the quote | Included |
| Implementation and ERP integration | User Solutions, a rival vendor, estimates 30,000 to 100,000 USD for a mid size deployment | None, set up in an afternoon |
| Annual maintenance | Same estimate, 18 to 22 percent of the license | Included in the subscription |
| Year one for the whole plant | Quote, likely five figures | 1,490 USD on Line, or 4,290 USD on Plant |
The fair caveat: PlanetTogether's money buys optimization depth and ERP integration that a larger plant may really need. If your schedule is already fed by SAP or NetSuite and a team of planners runs it, the price test alone is the wrong one.
Where PlanetTogether is the better choice
We would rather you buy the right system than the wrong one from us. Choose PlanetTogether if any of these applies.
- You run SAP, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics or Kinaxis Maestro and want the schedule to read from and write back to it automatically
- You are a process manufacturer in food, beverage, chemicals or packaging with heavy sequence dependent changeovers, tanks and campaigns to optimize
- You have a dedicated planning team and several plants, and scheduling mistakes cost more than the software
- You want optimization rules tuned by a vendor team during implementation
For a mid size or large manufacturer with an ERP and a planning department, PlanetTogether is a proven choice with decades of APS work behind it, and CAI's backing gives it more resources, not fewer.
Where a dedicated scheduler for small plants wins
- Finite capacity on every machine and shift, holidays and planned maintenance included, on every plan
- Projected finish dates for every open order, and the week's bottleneck named with the jobs it will make late
- Setup times per product family and automatic grouping of similar jobs on Plant
- Sequencing rules you compare before publishing: earliest due date, shortest operation first, customer priority
- Unlimited users, so the planner, shift leads, operators and sales see the same plan without a seat count
- A published price, no implementation project, and monthly plans you can cancel any time
- Works next to QuickBooks, a small ERP or a spreadsheet, so there is nothing to integrate before the first schedule
The clearest fit is a 5 to 60 person plant that has outgrown the whiteboard but not a planning department. See the machine view on machine scheduling software, the load chart on capacity planning software, and how we compare with other APS tools on advanced planning and scheduling software.
How to get a finite capacity schedule without an APS project
1. Export open orders and routings
Pull open orders with product, quantity and due date, and the operation steps with setup and run times, from your ERP, QuickBooks or a spreadsheet. Plant imports them from a spreadsheet directly.
2. Enter machines and shifts
Add a work center per machine, line or cell, with the shifts it runs and its holidays and maintenance windows. For a 20 machine plant this usually takes about an hour.
3. Run the schedule and read the bottleneck
The first run gives a projected finish date for every open order and names the work center limiting the week. It is often not the machine everyone assumed.
4. Compare sequencing rules before you publish
Save the plan as a version, try earliest due date against customer priority, and publish the one that makes fewer orders late. Operators see it on the floor the moment you do.
Questions people ask before choosing PlanetTogether
What is the best alternative to PlanetTogether?
It depends on plant size. For another enterprise APS, buyers usually compare Siemens Opcenter APS (formerly Preactor) and Kinaxis. For a 5 to 60 person plant without SAP or NetSuite, a dedicated finite capacity scheduler fits better and costs far less: ProductionPlanning.ai starts at 149 USD per plant a month with unlimited users. Our best production scheduling software roundup compares nine tools with real prices.
How much does PlanetTogether cost?
PlanetTogether does not publish pricing. Capterra lists a Basic plan starting at 1,000 USD per user per month, which is 12,000 USD a year for one planner. User Solutions, a competing vendor, estimates 80,000 to 300,000 USD in the first year for a mid size deployment including implementation. Get a written quote before you budget.
Who owns PlanetTogether?
CAI Software. It announced the acquisition on June 24, 2026, and rebranded the business as CAI PlanetTogether. The company says the product will continue to be sold and supported as a standalone product, with continued work on AI, analytics and cloud features.
Does PlanetTogether need an ERP?
In practice, yes. PlanetTogether imports orders, routings and inventory from an ERP, optimizes the schedule and publishes it back. Its site lists connectors for SAP, NetSuite, Kinaxis Maestro, AVEVA and Aptean Ross. If you run QuickBooks and spreadsheets, a scheduler that works without an ERP is the simpler route.
Is PlanetTogether good for small manufacturers?
It can work, but it is sized for mid size and large plants. Review sites describe its best fit as mid sized to large manufacturers in high mix, low volume work, and per user pricing plus an implementation project weighs heavily on a 20 person plant. Small plants usually get more from a per plant scheduler they can start this week.
Is PlanetTogether an MRP or an APS?
It is an APS, advanced planning and scheduling software. It does not replace your MRP or ERP; it takes their data and builds a finite capacity schedule on top. That is also what we do, at a smaller scale, and our MRP systems page explains where MRP stops and scheduling starts.
Get a finite capacity schedule this week, for a flat price per plant
Start on the Line plan at 149 USD a month with the whole plant included, or run the demo on a sample week of orders first. You will see your own bottleneck the same afternoon.
Your data stays yours. Export or delete it any time. No card to try the demo.