Free SCADA Alternative for Small Facilities - awtSCADA vs Wonderware vs Ignition

Why I Built a Free SCADA Alternative

Commercial SCADA systems are insanely expensive:

• Wonderware (AVEVA): $25,000+ license
• Ignition: $4,000-$50,000/year
• WinCC (Siemens): $15,000+ Windows-only

For small water treatment plants, solar farms, or educational labs this is overkill.

Meet awtSCADA

A complete SCADA/HMI that runs from a single HTML file. No installation, no server, no license fees for the demo.

What Makes It Different

9 Industrial Protocols

• IEC 61850 (MMS, GOOSE, Sampled Values) - unique for browser-based SCADA
• OPC UA - universal industrial connectivity
• Modbus TCP/RTU - PLCs, sensors, power meters
• MQTT - IoT and edge devices
• SNMP, BACnet, DNP3, IEC 60870-5-104, REST API

53 Function Blocks

PID controllers, timers, counters, logic gates, math operations, filters, comparators, interlocks.

65 Graphic Elements

Pumps, valves, motors, tanks, vessels, pipes, sensors, gauges, trends - drag and drop to build your HMI.

Architecture

Browser (Single HTML)  <-->  Python Gateway  <-->  Real Equipment
        |                                            |
   SQLite DB                                    PLC / RTU / IED

The HTML file contains the full HMI engine. The Python gateway (FastAPI + asyncio) handles communication with physical devices.

Who Is This For?

1. Small facilities - water treatment, solar farms, building automation
2. Education - teach SCADA without expensive licenses
3. Prototyping - quick HMI mockups for client demos
4. Digital substations - full IEC 61850 for power utilities
5. Security research - safe ICS/SCADA lab environment

Try It

• Live Demo
• GitHub
• Download Free Demo (20 MB, 2-hour trial)

Full source code available on Gumroad - $5,000 one-time, no recurring fees.

What SCADA system do you use? Would a browser-based alternative be useful in your workflow?