Houston - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

Houston is a no-code, multi-tenant continuous improvement platform purpose-built for manufacturing operations. It connects problem capture, root cause analysis, corrective actions and KPI verification into one closed loop, so every improvement action is tied to the metric it should influence and effectiveness is measured automatically.

Houston is developed by STAGE 2 BV (Ghent, Belgium) and built by the team behind Solvace, deployed at L'Oréal, Danone, AbbVie and 100+ manufacturing sites worldwide.

Core functions:

- Structured problem capture: non-conformities (NCR), EHS incidents, near-misses, customer complaints, audits, deviations.

- Root cause analysis: 5-Why, 8D, A3, fishbone, with AI-assisted similarity search across past cases.

- Corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), each linked to the KPI it is meant to influence, with automatic verification at a defined date.

- Real-time KPI monitoring: thresholds, trend inversions, baseline vs current comparison, recurrence detection on resolved problems.

- Verified countermeasure library: only actions proven effective become reusable recommendations across teams and sites.

- No-code Object Types let operations teams design their own apps (NCR, CAPA, audits, Kaizen, SMED, preventive maintenance, training, ESG) without IT.

Platform specs

- Backend: Ruby on Rails 8 on Kubernetes (Docker, Container-Optimized OS), horizontally scalable.

- Frontend: TypeScript and Ember.js, delivered as a single-page app with WebSocket real-time updates.

- Database: MySQL 8.4 on Google Cloud SQL with point-in-time recovery and daily backups.

- Hosting: Google Cloud Platform, europe-west1 (Saint-Ghislain, Belgium). All customer data stays in the EU.

- Browser-based, no install. Runs on desktop and mobile browsers, including shop-floor tablets.

- Background processing via Sidekiq. Load balancing via GCP Cloud Load Balancer.

Integrations

- REST API following the JSON:API specification, documented with OpenAPI 3.0 at customer.gethouston.com/api-docs (allows automatic SDK generation).

- Webhooks triggered on record events, configurable in-app, for push integration with any consumer.

- OAuth2 bearer tokens and API keys for programmatic access.

- Bi-directional connector for ERP, MES, CMMS and CRM systems

- Connect Houston with 3,000+ external apps via no-code workflows a,d MAKE.co. Templates also available for Power Automate and n8n.

- Power BI as a data source for analytics dashboards. Excel import and export.

Security and Compliance

- SSO via OmniAuth: 175+ strategies including SAML 2.0, Microsoft Entra (Azure AD), Google Workspace, LDAP. Built-in email/password (BCrypt) available on customer approval.

- Role-Based Access Control with system roles (Creator, Editor, Author), custom CRUD roles per Object Type, and dynamic roles based on user fields.

- Encryption: TLS 1.2+ in transit (TLS 1.3 where supported), AES-256 at rest for both database and file storage. Customer-Managed Encryption Keys (CMEK) available.

- Signed URLs with short expiration for all file access.

- GDPR compliant. Houston is the data processor; data residency is EU-only. DPA available on request.

- Continuous security monitoring with Aikido, static analysis with Brakeman, dependency scanning with Bundler-audit, audit logging via Google Cloud Logging.

- Private cloud or on-premise deployment available for customers with enhanced compliance requirements.

- Hardened SSH for system administration access. Deleted files recoverable for 31 days, then permanently removed.

Getting started

Houston Foundations is free forever, with no credit card and no time limit. The 90-Day Performance Sprint (5,000 to 10,000 EUR plus 500 EUR/month ongoing) pairs your team with our experts to deliver a measurable result on one operational problem in 90 days. Deployment in hours, not months. No IT required.