Compare · Siemens Polarion
OpenV as a Polarion alternative: hosted OpenV beside Polarion X
Siemens Polarion is a full application lifecycle management suite, offered in the cloud as Polarion X, with requirements, tests, Word round trips, e-signatures and variant configuration. OpenV is a narrower hosted tool for requirements, traceability and verification evidence that you can start free today, with AI agents on your own AI subscription. It has no electronic signatures, Word import or variant configuration.
Checked by Desktop Machine Shop, the makers of OpenV, against each vendor’s own pages. Something out of date? Tell us.
Which to choose
- You want requirements, tests and the wider ALM in one Siemens suite.
- Stakeholders must e-sign specifications as reviewed or approved.
- Your authors work in Word and need a round trip back into the tool.
- You configure product variants, which Polarion Variant Configurator handles.
- You want requirements and V&V without a full ALM suite, starting free today.
- You want AI agents on an AI subscription you already have, rather than an AI add-on.
- You want every export on every plan, never behind a paywall.
- You want the option to self-host the same product free.
Side by side
Each statement about Siemens Polarion is what Siemens says on its own pages, linked beside it.
| OpenV (hosted) | Siemens Polarion | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Single User plan free; team plans are coming soon, and workspaces created during the alpha keep every feature free. | Priced through Siemens sales: the Polarion X plans page offers a call with sales and a trial. Siemens |
| Hosted service | Hosted at openv.app by Desktop Machine Shop, the makers of OpenV. Also free to self-host under the MIT License. | Polarion X, hosted by Siemens, with everything in on-premises Polarion. Siemens |
| Traceability and baselines | Typed, rule-checked links from needs to requirements, design, hazards and tests; suspect links; a traceability matrix and gap reports; immutable baselines with comparison. | Custom link roles, suspect links, and baselines at document and project level. Siemens |
| Test management | Built in: test runs recorded against test-case versions, evidence with SHA-256 digests, and a V&V status report. | Test management is part of Polarion ALM and Polarion QA. Siemens |
| Reviews and approval | Review rounds and a review queue; public read-only links, and reviewer links that let an outside reviewer sign in and comment without editing. No electronic signatures and no separate approver role. | Stakeholders can e-sign specifications as reviewed or approved. Siemens |
| ReqIF and other formats | ReqIF 1.x import and export. Round trips are tested OpenV to OpenV; exchange with other tools has not been tested yet. Export to PDF, Word, Excel, CSV, JSON and ReqIF on every plan. Import reads JSON and ReqIF only. | Built-in ReqIF exchange; Word and Excel import with round trip; Word and PDF export. Siemens |
| AI | AI agents run on your own Claude Code, Codex or Gemini subscription and, by default, propose changes for a person to approve. | Polarion Copilot checks wording against INCOSE rules and finds similar and inconsistent items; an add-on on the Polarion X Standard, Advanced, Automotive and Premium plans. Siemens |
| Variants and programmes | Programmes as linked projects: subsystems and suppliers refine the requirements above them and verification rolls up. | Polarion Variant Configurator, which replaced Polarion VARIANTS in release 2606. Siemens |
| Getting started | A free account with no card, today. | A free trial of Polarion X in the cloud, or a download of self-managed Polarion. Siemens |
Moving to OpenV
Export ReqIF from Polarion and import it into a new OpenV project, then check counts by type, a sample of bodies, links on artifacts you know well and every enumeration.
OpenV’s ReqIF exchange with Polarion has not been tested yet, so run the first move as a pilot on one document and open an issue with anything that does not come across.
The ReqIF page says what an import and an export carry.
What OpenV does not do
- No electronic signatures, so 21 CFR Part 11 and similar rules are not met by OpenV alone.
- No Word, Excel or CSV import: requirements come in by ReqIF or OpenV’s own JSON.
- No variant or product-line configuration management.
- ReqIF exchange with DOORS, DOORS Next, Polarion or Jama has not been tested yet; treat a first move as a pilot.
- OpenV is in alpha: features and screens still change between releases.