A Sunbird dcTrack alternative for small rooms
Last checked against the vendors' public pages · sources below
Sunbird publishes dcTrack at $19.50 per cabinet per month ($234 a year), Power IQ monitoring at $5.50 per node per month, and the DCIM Suite bundle at $27.50 per cabinet per month ($333 a year), with a one-year upfront commitment; its feature list includes asset, capacity and change management, 3D cabling visualisation, what-if and power circuit failover analysis. DC Sim is a lighter, different tool: a browser-based simulator that turns an Excel file into a 3D twin with power, cooling, liquid, fire, network and token layers, priced at $5 per rack per month or one-time per design project.
At a glance
| Sunbird (as listed on its pricing page) | DC Sim | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | DCIM operations (dcTrack) and monitoring (Power IQ) | Browser-based data center simulator and 3D twin |
| Price | dcTrack $234, Suite $333 per cabinet per year; Power IQ $66 per node per year | Monitor $60 per rack per year ($588 minimum); Design $490–3,900 one-time per project |
| Commitment | One-year upfront; US offer; unlimited users and sites | Monthly Monitor; one-time Design |
| Asset, capacity, change management | Listed | Inventory from your sheet, NetBox or Zabbix; no change workflows |
| Power and environmental monitoring | Power IQ | Reads Zabbix directly and any tool’s readings export; no own sensors |
| 3D | 3D cabling visualisation listed | 3D twin with nine layers |
| What-if | What-if analysis and power circuit failover analysis listed | Fail any power, cooling, network, liquid or fire node; estimated thermal impact |
| Three-phase balance | Listed | Per-phase load and phase-balance check |
| Tokens per kWh | Not listed on the pricing page | Token layer per server and rack |
| How you start | Sales | Excel template today; walkthrough on your own file |
Cost at list price
| Racks | dcTrack | DCIM Suite | DC Sim Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $2,340 | $3,330 | $600 |
| 20 | $4,680 | $6,660 | $1,200 |
| 50 | $11,700 | $16,650 | $3,000 |
The Suite price covers two monitoring node licenses per cabinet (two networked rack PDUs); other facility devices need extra node licenses.
When Sunbird is the better fit
- You need a full DCIM: asset, capacity and change management with workflows, plus power and environmental monitoring, for many sites and users.
- Your team wants one system of record for the data center.
When DC Sim is the better fit
- A small or mid-size room where the main question is what fails with what, and how hot it gets, without a DCIM project.
- Design before the room exists, with the same model used after go-live.
- Liquid, fire and tokens in the same model as power and cooling.
- Starting from a spreadsheet this afternoon.
Using both
Keep dcTrack as the system of record. Export racks, devices, power and cables into the template sheets and import them into DC Sim to fail things in 3D; readings from Power IQ or any other monitoring fit the Readings sheet. A direct connector is on the roadmap.
Sources
- Sunbird DCIM — Pricing (dcTrack, Power IQ, DCIM Suite bundle, terms, feature list)
- DC Sim — Pricing
- DC Sim — Sunbird dcTrack integration status
Prices are list prices in US dollars as published on the date above, before discounts, taxes and services. Product names belong to their owners; this page compares public facts and makes no claim about anyone's product beyond them. Spotted something out of date? Write to da@mustardseedmt.com and we correct it.
What does Sunbird dcTrack cost?
Sunbird publishes dcTrack at $19.50 per cabinet per month ($234 per cabinet per year), Power IQ at $5.50 per node per month ($66 per year) and the DCIM Suite bundle at $27.50 per cabinet per month ($333 per year), with a one-year upfront commitment; the offer is for the US (checked 15 October 2026).
Does Sunbird do what-if analysis?
Yes, its pricing page lists what-if analysis and power circuit failover analysis. DC Sim's what-if covers power, cooling (estimated, zonal model), liquid leaks, fire zones and the network on one 3D model, and adds tokens per kWh for AI rooms.
Is DC Sim a DCIM replacement for dcTrack?
No. dcTrack manages assets, capacity and change workflows; DC Sim has none of those workflows. DC Sim is for seeing the room in 3D and failing things before they fail, from a spreadsheet or the tools you already run.
Can DC Sim use dcTrack data?
Yes, today through exports into the template sheets (Devices, Cables, Power, Readings). A direct dcTrack connector is on the roadmap.
One Excel file. Your room in 3D.
Download the import template (v1.4, eleven sheets, only Devices required) and the filled example from our demo hall. No form, no email needed, no macros in the files.
Fill in the Devices sheet and send it with your walkthrough request; we import it on the call. What each sheet does