Comparison
Best FM software UK 2026
Compare leading FM software options for UK organisations in 2026 — broad CAFM and IWMS platforms alongside maintenance-led and service-led tools.
Category
CAFM software
CAFM software is the broad category that covers maintenance, compliance, contractors, space, and assets in a single platform. This page explains who CAFM tends to suit and how to compare the main options.
What is CAFM software?
CAFM software helps facilities teams manage day-to-day operations, assets, maintenance, and related workplace activity in one system.
CAFM stands for computer-aided facilities management. In practical terms, it is software used to help facilities teams organise maintenance, assets, compliance activity, space-related workflows, service requests, contractors, and operational records more effectively.
A CAFM platform is usually broader than a maintenance-only tool. It can still include work orders and preventive maintenance, but it is often more useful where you also need visibility over space, service delivery, workplace activity, or wider facilities operations.
Who CAFM software is for
CAFM software is usually most useful for organisations that need broader facilities control rather than just maintenance execution.
Facilities teams
Teams managing buildings, contractors, compliance activity, support services, and recurring tasks.
Multi-site organisations
Organisations that need consistent controls, records, and operational visibility across more than one site.
Estates with broader needs
Environments where space, assets, maintenance, and service workflows all matter together.
Compliance-heavy environments
Teams that need stronger scheduling, audit trails, and follow-up control across recurring obligations.
Contractor-heavy delivery models
Operations where visibility over suppliers, service standards, and task completion matters strongly.
Buyers moving beyond spreadsheets
Organisations that need more structure, reporting, and visibility than manual tools can provide.
CAFM vs CMMS: the practical difference
A simple way to think about it is that CMMS is usually more maintenance-focused, while CAFM is usually broader across facilities operations.
CAFM
Usually broader across maintenance, assets, space, services, workplace workflows, contractors, compliance, and day-to-day facilities operations.
CMMS
Usually more focused on maintenance planning, work orders, preventive maintenance, assets, downtime, and technician execution.
What a good CAFM platform should help you do
The best CAFM systems are not just databases. They help teams control work, visibility, and follow-up more effectively.
Organise maintenance
Track reactive jobs, preventive maintenance, recurring tasks, and service history clearly.
Support compliance
Keep checks, certificates, inspections, and unresolved actions visible and easier to control.
Track assets
Maintain clearer records of assets, condition, history, and lifecycle decisions.
Coordinate contractors
Manage external providers, task flow, evidence, and service visibility more consistently.
Improve reporting
Give managers clearer visibility of overdue work, backlog, status, and operational trends.
Support broader FM workflows
Handle workplace, service, space, or operational processes that sit beyond pure maintenance.
Quick shortlist by fit
Start with the recommendation that most closely matches your operating model.
Best overall UK CAFM platform
MRI Evolution
Strongest broad-fit choice if you want maintenance, compliance, contractors, and assets in one UK-relevant CAFM platform.
Best for enterprise estates
Planon
Best fit where estate scale, field services, and broader real-estate or portfolio control matter.
Best for space and asset-heavy estates
Archibus by Eptura
Strong fit for larger estates that need maintenance, space, and asset management working together.
Best for modern operational control
Spacewell Asset
Good fit for teams that want a modern FM operations platform covering maintenance, vendors, and compliance.
Best for connected multi-site CAFM
Facilio
Strong choice for portfolios that want connected workflows, compliance visibility, and portfolio-level oversight.
Comparison table
This table is designed to help you compare CAFM-style fit before booking demos.
| Software | Best for | Strongest areas | Pricing visibility | Main watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRI Evolution Estate-focused CAFM | UK organisations wanting broad FM coverage in one platform | Maintenance, compliance, contractors, assets, mobile workforce | Quote-based | likely more involved to configure and implement than lighter maintenance-led tools |
| Planon Enterprise CAFM | Larger estates needing maintenance, space, and services in one ecosystem | Reactive and preventive maintenance, field services, assets, space and real estate | Quote-based | may be heavier than smaller teams need |
| Archibus by Eptura Enterprise CAFM | Estates that need maintenance, space planning, and asset tracking together | Maintenance, space planning, asset tracking, daily operations | Quote-based | may be overkill for smaller maintenance-led teams |
| Spacewell Asset Operational CAFM | Operational teams that want maintenance, vendor, and compliance workflows in a modern FM platform | Maintenance, vendors, compliance, workflow automation, hybrid-workplace support | Quote-based | less obviously enterprise-estate-heavy than the largest IWMS-style options |
| Facilio Connected CAFM | Multi-site portfolios wanting connected maintenance, compliance, vendors, and dashboards | Maintenance, compliance, vendors, assets, workflow automation, portfolio visibility | Quote-based | less ideal if your real need is only a lightweight work-order tool |
Detailed shortlist
These summaries are intended to help you understand fit, trade-offs, and likely shortlist role before you move into demos and deeper evaluation.
Best overall UK CAFM platform
MRI Evolution
Estate-focused CAFM
A strong broad-fit CAFM option for UK facilities teams that want maintenance, compliance, contractor control, and asset visibility in one operational platform.
Why it makes the shortlist
- broad CAFM positioning rather than a narrow maintenance-only pitch
- good fit where compliance and contractor workflows matter strongly
- stronger UK FM heritage than many general global tools
What to watch
- likely more involved to configure and implement than lighter maintenance-led tools
- better fit when you genuinely need broad FM scope rather than just work orders
Best for enterprise estates
Planon
Enterprise CAFM
A strong enterprise-oriented CAFM choice for organisations that need maintenance, space, services, and broader estate control working together.
Why it makes the shortlist
- well suited to larger and more complex estates
- stronger fit where FM, field services, and wider property data need to work together
- useful when scale, process control, and breadth matter more than simplicity
What to watch
- may be heavier than smaller teams need
- likely to require a more structured buying and implementation process
Best for space and asset-heavy estates
Archibus by Eptura
Enterprise CAFM
A strong fit for estates where CAFM needs extend into space planning, asset visibility, and day-to-day operational coordination.
Why it makes the shortlist
- particularly attractive where space, assets, and maintenance all matter together
- better fit than simpler tools for larger estates with more moving parts
- useful where workplace and operational workflows need to connect
What to watch
- may be overkill for smaller maintenance-led teams
- less suitable if you mainly want a simple work-order tool
Best for modern operational control
Spacewell Asset
Operational CAFM
A good CAFM option for teams that want operational control, workflow automation, and day-to-day FM visibility without jumping straight to the heaviest enterprise stack.
Why it makes the shortlist
- good operational fit for maintenance and service-led facilities workflows
- useful where vendors and compliance need to sit alongside maintenance activity
- attractive for teams that want a modern FM operations layer
What to watch
- less obviously enterprise-estate-heavy than the largest IWMS-style options
- buyers should confirm how well it fits their exact workplace and reporting requirements
Best for connected multi-site CAFM
Facilio
Connected CAFM
A strong option for organisations that want a connected CAFM system tying together maintenance, compliance, vendors, and portfolio-level oversight.
Why it makes the shortlist
- very clear CAFM positioning on maintenance, compliance, vendors, and assets
- good fit for multi-site visibility and workflow standardisation
- useful where dashboards and cross-site oversight matter strongly
What to watch
- less ideal if your real need is only a lightweight work-order tool
- buyers should validate how well it fits their estate complexity and delivery model
How to choose between them
Keep your shortlist grounded in practical buying questions rather than the broadest feature list.
Maintenance workflows
Can the platform handle reactive work, preventive maintenance, recurring tasks, and contractor execution cleanly?
Compliance support
Will it help you manage inspections, certificates, records, and unresolved actions with enough visibility?
Space and workplace needs
Do you need CAFM to cover space planning, move management, room booking, or workplace services as well as maintenance?
Asset visibility
Can you track assets, history, service records, and lifecycle decisions clearly enough for your estate?
Ease of use
Will administrators, site teams, and contractors actually use the system consistently day to day?
Scalability
Will the platform still fit if you add sites, users, contractors, service lines, or more complex controls?
Pricing structure
Is pricing transparent enough for early budgeting, and do you understand likely implementation and add-on costs?
When CAFM is probably the right category
CAFM is often the better fit when your requirements are broader than maintenance alone.
If you mainly need work orders, preventive maintenance, and technician tasking, a CMMS may be enough. But if you also need broader facilities visibility around assets, contractors, compliance, workplace workflows, or space-related activity, CAFM is often the better category to start with.
The strongest CAFM buying decisions usually come from being clear about scope first: are you buying a maintenance tool, or a broader facilities operations platform?
Related software pages
These pages help place CAFM in the wider FM software landscape.
What to read next
Once you understand the CAFM category, the next step is usually to compare it directly with CMMS or work through pricing and implementation questions.