EtherCAT VS IEC 61850
As of 30 October 2026, IEC 61850 is named by 247 companies and EtherCAT by 278; EtherCAT skews to companies under 200 people (46% vs 33%), IEC 61850 to companies over 1,000 (39% vs 31%).
As of 30 October 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: EtherCAT's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, IEC 61850 rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- EtherCAT: 2–200 employees
- 46%
- IEC 61850: 2–200 employees
- 33%
- EtherCAT: 1,000+ employees
- 31%
- IEC 61850: 1,000+ employees
- 39%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.7 · 4.4
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | EtherCAT | share | IEC 61850 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 5 | 2% | 1 | 0% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 22 | 8% | 16 | 6% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 44 | 16% | 27 | 11% | EtherCAT |
| 51-200 employees | 63 | 23% | 39 | 16% | EtherCAT |
| 201-500 employees | 41 | 15% | 44 | 18% | IEC 61850 |
| 501-1000 employees | 16 | 6% | 23 | 9% | IEC 61850 |
| 1001-5000 employees | 35 | 13% | 47 | 19% | IEC 61850 |
| 5001-10000 employees | 13 | 5% | 6 | 2% | EtherCAT |
| 10,001+ employees | 39 | 14% | 44 | 18% | IEC 61850 |
| Segment | EtherCAT | share | IEC 61850 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing & industry | 179 | 64% | 51 | 21% | EtherCAT |
| Business & finance services | 22 | 8% | 41 | 17% | IEC 61850 |
| Technology & software | 21 | 8% | 37 | 15% | IEC 61850 |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 13 | 5% | 53 | 21% | IEC 61850 |
| Automotive | 8 | 3% | 1 | 0% | EtherCAT |
| Commerce & trade | 7 | 3% | 1 | 0% | EtherCAT |
| Consumer services & leisure | 6 | 2% | 5 | 2% | even |
| Property & construction | 5 | 2% | 49 | 20% | IEC 61850 |
| Public, community & associations | 4 | 1% | 4 | 2% | even |
| Health care | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Media & content | 3 | 1% | 5 | 2% | even |
| Segment | EtherCAT | share | IEC 61850 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 142 | 51% | 120 | 49% | EtherCAT |
| Germany | 47 | 17% | 26 | 11% | EtherCAT |
| United Kingdom | 12 | 4% | 24 | 10% | IEC 61850 |
| France | 8 | 3% | 5 | 2% | even |
| Spain | 7 | 3% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 2% | 6 | 2% | even |
| Austria | 5 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Canada | 5 | 2% | 9 | 4% | even |
| Italy | 5 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Sweden | 5 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| India | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Singapore | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Poland | – | – | 6 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Australia | – | – | 5 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| United Arab Emirates | – | – | 4 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Switzerland | – | – | 4 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Romania | – | – | 4 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Brazil | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | EtherCAT | share | IEC 61850 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering (non-software) | 555 | 55% | 778 | 60% | IEC 61850 |
| Software engineering | 231 | 23% | 80 | 6% | EtherCAT |
| Skilled trades and field service | 39 | 4% | 62 | 5% | even |
| Sales | 18 | 2% | 61 | 5% | IEC 61850 |
| IT operations & business systems | 16 | 2% | 75 | 6% | IEC 61850 |
| Data & AI | 14 | 1% | 7 | 1% | even |
| Customer service & success | 9 | 1% | 15 | 1% | even |
| Quality, safety & environment | 9 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Product, program & project management | 7 | 1% | 15 | 1% | even |
| Logistics warehouse and transport | 3 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Marketing & communications | 3 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Research and science | 3 | 0% | 5 | 0% | even |
| Construction and civil | – | – | 11 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| General management & consulting | – | – | 6 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Education & training | – | – | 5 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using EtherCAT →
Companies using IEC 61850 →
iot platforms protocols ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
IEC 61850 is named by 247 companies in job postings and EtherCAT by 278; 0 name both. (Breaknorm, 30 October 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/ethercat-vs-iec-61850)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
EtherCAT vs IEC 61850: questions
Which is more used, EtherCAT or IEC 61850?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, EtherCAT (278) over IEC 61850 (247). By website-and-DNS footprint, IEC 61850 (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses EtherCAT?
46% of EtherCAT companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 33% for IEC 61850. 31% of EtherCAT companies have over 1,000 employees, against 39% for IEC 61850.
Do companies run both?
0 companies name both in their postings, usually EtherCAT in marketing and IEC 61850 in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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