Probatus vs Calibration Control
Both keep calibration records, but they were built for different jobs. This page sets out where Calibration Control is the better choice, where Probatus is, and what to ask before deciding.
Last reviewed November 2026
The short answer
Calibration Control from Ape Software is a Windows program for tracking equipment and calibrations, sold as a one-time licence per seat with an optional support agreement. If you want to buy software once, keep the database on your own network and manage your own equipment, it is a straightforward choice.
Probatus is a cloud subscription built for calibrating at customer sites on a phone or tablet, with the customer portal and invoicing that a service company needs.
Side by side
The Probatus column describes the product as it is today. The Calibration Control column is limited to what Ape Software and public software listings say about it. Where we are not sure, it says what to ask.
| Topic | Probatus | Calibration Control |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Calibration service companies and field teams that calibrate instruments for customers, and backflow testers. | Companies and labs tracking calibration of their own equipment. |
| Where the work is recorded | On a phone or tablet at the instrument. Readings save on the device first and sync when there is a signal. | A Windows desktop application with a shared database. Ask about use on a phone or tablet in the field. |
| Customers | Each instrument belongs to a customer. Customers sign in to a portal for their instruments, certificates and invoices, and can request service. | Ask how records for external customers are separated and shared with them. |
| Customising | Fixed certificate layout with your logo. Procedures and tolerances are configurable. | Reports, labels and permissions can be customised, down to the SQL. |
| Decision rules and uncertainty | Simple, guarded and non-binary decision rules per job, uncertainty budgets per test point, and the reference standards on every certificate. | Ask how uncertainty and the decision rule are recorded and printed. |
| After the calibration | Supervisor approval, signed PDF certificate, work orders, invoices and QuickBooks Online. | Calibration records, certificates, labels and due alerts. |
| Licensing | Cloud by default: a subscription per technician who records work in the month, with certificates, instruments and office users unlimited. It can also be run on your own servers, which you then install and update yourself; ask us about terms. | A one-time licence per seat with a support and maintenance agreement, installed by you. |
| Track record | A new product. | An established product with public reviews on software directories. |
When Calibration Control is the better choice
- You prefer to pay once and own the licence.
- You want the database on your own network, not in the cloud.
- You manage your own equipment and work at a Windows computer.
- You want to design your own reports and labels.
When Probatus is the better choice
- Your technicians calibrate at customer sites, often with no signal, and paper field sheets get typed up later.
- Every instrument belongs to a customer, and customers ask for their certificates and history online.
- A supervisor has to approve work before a certificate is issued.
- You do not want to install or back up anything yourself.
- You want the job to end in an invoice.
Questions to ask either vendor
- Can a technician record a calibration with no connection, and what happens to it when the connection returns?
- What is on the certificate, and can we see one produced from our own data?
- How is a correction to a reading recorded, and can the original still be seen?
- How do our customers get their certificates?
- What does it cost for our number of technicians and office staff, in a busy month and a quiet one?
- How do we get our records out if we leave?
You can test the first three on Probatus without talking to anyone: the free certificate generator and as-found / as-left sheet use the same calculations as the product.
Other comparisons
- Probatus vs GAGEtrak: manufacturers managing their own gages, with gage R&R studies and tool crib tracking.
- Probatus vs IndySoft: in-house and commercial calibration labs that want a configurable system, in the cloud or on their own servers.
- Probatus vs Qualer: calibration and service providers and the asset owners they serve, including in regulated industries.
- Probatus vs Beamex CMX: process plants calibrating their own instrumentation, especially with Beamex documenting calibrators.
- Probatus vs GageList: manufacturers tracking their own gages in the cloud, with a free plan for a small number of gages.
- Probatus vs Fluke MET/TEAM: calibration labs, often electrical and RF, that automate procedures with Fluke MET/CAL.
Or see all of them on one page.
Calibration Control is a trademark of its owner. Probatus is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ape Software. Product details change, so confirm anything that matters to your decision with the vendor.
Questions
- Is a one-time licence cheaper than a subscription?
- Often, over several years, for a fixed number of seats at desks. A subscription costs more over time but includes hosting, backups and updates, and Probatus charges only for technicians who recorded work in the month. Work out both for your own team size and how many people only need to look things up.
- Can I move my records from Calibration Control to Probatus?
- Probatus imports instruments and past calibration history from Excel or CSV files, up to 2,000 rows at a time. If you can export your equipment list and calibration records from your current system to a spreadsheet, they can be brought in. There is no direct Calibration Control importer.
- Does Probatus make a lab ISO/IEC 17025 accredited?
- No software does. Accreditation is granted to a laboratory by an accreditation body. Probatus keeps the records an assessor asks to see: readings, the standards used, uncertainty, the decision rule, who did the work and who approved it.
Keep reading
Calibration management software compared
Calibration software falls into a few kinds, built for different organisations. This page sorts the well-known products by who they are for, with a closer comparison of each against Probatus.
Calibration software for small labs
A lab with a handful of technicians does not need an enterprise quality system. It needs readings captured once, certificates that are right the first time and records it can find at an audit.
Preparing calibration records for an ISO/IEC 17025 audit
An assessor picks a certificate and follows it backwards: to the readings, the reference standard, the person who did the work and the procedure they used. This guide covers what that trail has to contain and how to check yours before they do.
See it on one of your own jobs
Add a few instruments, calibrate one on your phone and download the certificate. No card is needed, and your current system can keep running alongside.