Best Shutdown and Turnaround (STO) Software for 2026: An Independent Comparison

How We Evaluated

This guide is independent editorial analysis based on publicly available product documentation. Reliable Magazine does not sell shutdown, turnaround, or outage software and has no commercial interest in routing buyers toward any particular platform. Reliable does not accept payment for rankings. Vendors may sponsor enhanced listings with additional detail, but editorial rankings are independent. Read our editorial policy.

We evaluated each platform across six criteria that matter for an STO buy:

• Lifecycle coverage: scope, work packs, planning, execution, closeout, or a subset
• ERP / EAM / schedule path: SAP, Maximo, Oracle, IFS, Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, or none named
• Estimating and cost control: a named estimating, ROM, budget, or cost-control module, or not
• Execution / field visibility: real-time progress, mobile, shift handover, or none named
• Who it is for: owner-operator, contractor, or both
• Price: a published list price, or not

All four platforms cover some combination of scope, planning, execution, and closeout for plant downtime events. Where they diverge is the center of gravity: direct ERP integration on the Prometheus-AI Platform, estimating and cost control, published-price AI planning, or a digital operating system for execution. That difference, more than any feature checklist, is what should drive the shortlist.

4 Best Shutdown and Turnaround (STO) Software for 2026, Ranked by Use Case

1. Prometheus STO-AI Manager: Best for SAP, Maximo, and Oracle Plants That Want STO Native to the Prometheus-AI Platform

If your asset system of record is SAP, IBM Maximo, or Oracle, Prometheus STO-AI Manager is built to plan the turnaround against that data rather than around it. The vendor names SAP Plant Maintenance and S/4HANA Asset Management, IBM Maximo, and Oracle EAM as direct integrations, treating the ERP as the source of truth. Event setup is AI-guided across dates, complexity, units, and milestones, and the AI draws on ERP revision data and past turnarounds to suggest scope and work package templates ranked by equipment type and job, then auto-populates activities, resources, materials, and crew sizes. Planners can accept, modify, or override. A budgeting module handles long-term plans, rough orders of magnitude, and definitive estimates using parameter-based models. On execution, the platform generates a full shift handover report from the live P6 schedule in seconds, tracks real-time progress, and supports isolation plans and blind lists between planners and operations, with 36-hour lookaheads for non-stock materials. The optional Prometheus DSO add-on adds constraint-based optimization for crew, equipment, and permit windows and pushes updates back into P6 automatically. STO-AI Manager is a native module within the broader Prometheus-AI Platform, which also spans EAM, APM, permitting, and contractor management. If permitting is in scope, its sibling ePAS module is reviewed in our Permit-to-Work Best-of.

Best for: SAP, Maximo, and Oracle plants that want STO native to the Prometheus-AI Platform.

Starting price: Not published on the vendor page. Annual subscription; request pricing.

2. Cleopatra Enterprise: Best for Total Turnaround Management from Estimating and Cost Control through Execution

Cleopatra Enterprise positions itself as a fully integrated STO platform for total turnaround management, from scope identification and work package preparation through execution management and cost control. The strength here is breadth in one place: scoping, work pack management, materials management, QA-QC, safeguarding, weld management, and workflow and approval processes on the preparation side; cost estimating from conceptual to detailed, scheduling, tendering and contracting on the planning side; and execution management, dashboarding, project controls, and a lessons-learned register on the delivery side. Scheduling integrates with Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project, and the vendor names SAP for material data, labor rates, rentals, and procurement details, alongside other CMMS and EAM systems. The lessons-learned register is worth calling out: insights are captured, classified, and linked to equipment scope items, work pack templates, safety instructions, or cost items, then surfaced as notifications or recommendations at stage-gates. Real-time monitoring covers field progress, resource use, work permits, job safety compliance, and isolation procedures. The vendor writes separate benefit copy for owner-operators and for contractors, so both sides of a turnaround can see themselves in the platform. Default deployment is SaaS, with on-premise as the stated alternative.

Best for: total turnaround management from estimating and cost control through execution.

Starting price: Not published on the vendor page.

3. IAMTech iPlanSTO: Best for Published Site-Licence Pricing plus AI Planning and Risk-Driven Scope

IAMTech iPlanSTO is the one platform here that puts a price on the table. A one-site licence with unlimited users is listed at £75,000 per year ($99,000), printed on the same page as a £6,250 monthly equivalent, with an individual user licence at £25,000 ($33,000) per year and discounts for additional sites. IAMTech describes iPlanSTO as an enterprise STO performance platform covering early scope identification through completions and lessons learned. AI-Scoping adds duplicate detection, risk coaching, and recommendations, while iPlanAI generates structured job plans from work descriptions, drawings, photos, and engineering documentation, producing sequential steps, trade allocations, crew sizes, manhour estimates, duration forecasts, materials, cost modelling, and confidence scoring, with planners retaining control. Risk work is quantified through a J-Factor that weighs execution cost against the reduction in business risk, with mandatory safety and regulatory work always included, and a Monte Carlo simulator produces P10, P50, and P90 duration estimates and probability of meeting budget. In-built scheduling with an interactive Gantt keeps linked work orders, labour, and progress in sync, and planning data exports into Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project. Integrations are bi-directional with SAP, IBM Maximo, IFS, P6, and MS Project, with Power BI for reporting. Oracle is named as an integration in the vendor FAQ, without a stated direction. The vendor hosts iPlanSTO, with role-based authentication and unlimited users on a site licence, and iPlanMobile captures scope, progress, and QA evidence, including offline on site. The current brochure on the page is iPlanSTO 4.0.

Best for: published site-licence pricing plus AI planning and risk-driven scope.

Starting price: £25,000 per year ($33,000) for an individual licence, per the vendor pricing table. A one-site licence with unlimited users is £75,000 per year ($99,000), also printed as a £6,250 monthly equivalent.

4. MobideoSTO: Best for a Digital STO Operating System across Preparation, Execution, and Post-Event Analysis

MobideoSTO frames itself as a digital STO operating system spanning the full lifecycle: preparation, execution, and analysis, with the goal of improving manageability of scope, cost, schedule, quality, and EHS. Preparation covers detailed planning from initiation through readiness for execution. Execution covers performance and status monitoring from the start of shutdown to the completion of startup, using digital safety checklists, interactive dashboards and digital wallcharts, automated schedule updating, and real-time views of task execution, with traceability of tools and NDE teams. The post-event side runs debrief and review plus analytics across connected data-sets, and captures actual task times so future events can baseline against real numbers. Mobideo’s FAQ names connectors to Primavera P6 and SAP, and the platform sits as an execution-focused operating layer over existing systems of record. The vendor FAQ describes MobideoSTO as cloud-based on AWS, running in an AWS Virtual Private Cloud with customer data stored in AWS S3. On-premise and private-cloud SaaS appear on the broader platform security page as customized options, not as the standard MobideoSTO SKU. The Mobideo App works online and offline on iOS, Android, and Windows. The vendor states its background is in refining, chemical, and power industries.

Best for: a digital STO operating system across preparation, execution, and post-event analysis.

Starting price: Not published on the vendor page.

Comparison Table

How to Choose Shutdown and Turnaround Software

1. Do you need direct SAP, Maximo, or Oracle integrations on a shared platform, or a standalone turnaround platform that integrates?
2. Is estimating and cost control the center of gravity, or execution visibility?
3. Do you need a published price, or will you take a quote?
4. Are you buying as an owner-operator, a contractor, or both?
5. Must the tool sit beside Primavera P6, or handle day-to-day event scheduling itself?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best shutdown and turnaround software in 2026?
It depends on the use case. Prometheus STO-AI Manager is best for SAP, Maximo, and Oracle plants that want STO native to the Prometheus-AI Platform. Cleopatra Enterprise is best for total turnaround management from estimating and cost control through execution. IAMTech iPlanSTO is best for published site-licence pricing plus AI planning and risk-driven scope. MobideoSTO is best for a digital STO operating system across preparation, execution, and post-event analysis.

What is STO software?
STO is an umbrella term for shutdown, turnaround, and outage software. The three words are often used together, and it is worth confirming how your own site uses each one. These tools manage scope, work packs, schedule, cost, contractors, and closeout for plant downtime events. Prometheus and IAMTech also name unplanned-outage coverage; do not assume that of every product.

Does STO software replace SAP or Maximo?
No. Prometheus, Cleopatra, and IAMTech name those systems as integrations, and Mobideo says it works with existing systems of record. The EAM remains the asset system of record. IAMTech’s in-built scheduling can handle day-to-day event control without a separate planning tool, but that is not the same as replacing SAP or Maximo.

Which STO platforms publish a price?
Only IAMTech iPlanSTO on the pages used here. The published starting price is £25,000 or $33,000 per year for an individual licence. A one-site licence with unlimited users is £75,000 or $99,000 per year. Prometheus, Cleopatra, and Mobideo do not publish a list price.

Is STO software the same as a CMMS or EAM?
No. A CMMS or EAM runs day-to-day maintenance and holds the asset record. STO software is built for the outage event itself, from scope through closeout. For the difference between the two systems, see the Reliable guide comparing CMMS and EAM.

How should owner-operators and contractors read this list?
Cleopatra writes separate copy for owner-operators and contractors. IAMTech supports unlimited users, including contractors and vendors, on a site licence without expanding ERP seats. Prometheus lets outside contractors enter STO data without ERP, EAM, or CMMS access, and P6 access can be limited with configurable permissions. Mobideo is aimed at turnaround groups. Confirm which side of the table you sit on before shortlisting.

Related Guides

• Best Permit-to-Work and LOTO Software for 2026
• Best EAM Software
• Best CMMS Software for 2026
• CMMS vs EAM
• Best APM Software for 2026

Sources

• Prometheus Group – Shutdown, Turnaround, and Outage (STO) Management Software (STO-AI Manager)
• Cleopatra Enterprise – STO Software for Shutdown, Turnaround, and Outage Management (total turnaround management)
• IAMTech – Shutdown Turnaround Outage Software for industry (iPlanSTO performance platform)
• Mobideo – MobideoSTO (digital STO operating system)