Machine Control Cost in Canada: Hardware, Install, Files, Rental

Machine control cost in Canada is a number most makers will only give you on a quote, after a sales call, for your machine. This page puts the one price we control on the table, the XFIX EX30 at $14,499 CAD for the hardware, and walks through everything else that goes into the cost of excavator guidance: installation, the design files, corrections, rental and training. We sell the EX30 and fit it, so read it knowing that; the parts that apply to any brand are marked.

The hardware

	What it is	Cost
XFIX EX30, 3D guidance kit	EX30 instrument on the stick, BS05 bucket unit, EX30B base station, AT85 in-cab tablet with the XFIX app	$14,499 CAD, before tax, no subscription
Factory grade control on a new excavator	Option from the machine maker, 2D or 3D, any brand	About $15,000 to $35,000 CAD by a 2026 Canadian price guide
Trimble Earthworks, Topcon 3D-MC, Leica iCON	Aftermarket or OEM 3D systems, with automatics on supported machines	Dealer quote only; no published Canadian price

The EX30 price is ours, as shown on the product page. The factory range is from a published 2026 Canadian price guide. The big brands publish no price; see the comparison pages. Checked November 6, 2026.

Installation and calibration

Any brand: the sensors have to be mounted and the system has to be calibrated to the machine’s geometry (boom, stick and bucket lengths and pivots) and to the site’s control. On the EX30 the mounts are magnetic and the bucket unit needs no drilling, so the fit is a day on most machines. We quote installation for your excavator, make and model, before you pay anything, and the operator is trained on the screen before we leave. Site calibration, which ties the design to your control points, is redone when the machine moves to a new site; it takes a morning and we can do it or train your crew to.

The design files

Any 3D brand: the engineer’s drawings become a surface and linework the system can measure against. A contractor with a modelling department builds them in Trimble Business Center, MAGNET or Civil 3D. An owner-operator sends us the DWG, the model or the PDF plans and we build and test them; see machine control data prep, quoted per job. A 2D system has no design file; the operator types a grade and a slope.

Corrections

Any 3D brand: the GNSS on the machine needs a correction. Your own base is a one-time cost and works with no cell coverage; the EX30 kit includes its base, with radio to about 5 km. A network subscription is a recurring cost and needs a cell signal at the machine; the EX30 tablet can take one over 4G/5G. See RTK corrections cost in Ontario for the arithmetic.

Rental

For one job, the EX30 rents by the week, priced to the job, with fitting, calibration and removal in the quote. A crew that rents twice usually buys the third time, and we say so when we quote.

Software, training and support

The EX30 has no subscription: the guidance app is on the tablet and stays there. Three months of online training come with every kit, and emergency calls are answered 24 hours a day; see hands-on support. The big brands’ software terms are per dealer, and their office-to-cab cloud services are part of what the quote pays for; the comparison pages are honest about what those buy you.

What it saves

We do not print a payback number, because it depends on your rates, your crew and your over-dig. What changes on the ground is concrete: no grade checker in the trench, no stakes to set and re-set, no over-excavation and backfill to design, and one operator working to the model from the first bucket. Put your own numbers to that and the arithmetic is usually short.