Both PetroBench and RodStar solve the wave equation to simulate rod pump systems. Both handle vertical and deviated wells. The differences are in how they're built, licensed, and deployed.
RodStar Background
RodStar is developed by Theta Oilfield Services, now part of Dover Artificial Lift under ChampionX. It's been the industry standard for rod pump design for over 25 years. The latest release is 2025 Rel 5. It's part of a broader suite that includes XDIAG (diagnostics), XBAL (balancing), XROD (advanced design), XTOOLS (calculators), and XSPOC (production optimization with over 1 billion pump cards collected across 135,000 wells).
Architecture
RodStar is a Windows desktop application. The executable files are RSWINV.exe (vertical wells) and RSWIND.exe (deviated wells). It requires local installation, and designs are stored as local files (.rsdx for deviated, .rsvx for vertical).
PetroBench is browser-based. No installation, no local files. All data lives in a shared cloud environment. Engineers access the same wells and simulations from any device.
Licensing
RodStar is licensed per seat. RODSTAR-V (vertical) and RODSTAR-D (deviated/diagnostic) are separate products with separate licenses. If you need both vertical and deviated well support plus diagnostics, you are purchasing multiple licenses. XDIAG, XBAL, and other tools in the ChampionX suite are additional.
PetroBench is a single platform with transparent pricing. Design, diagnostics, comparison, reporting, and collaboration are all included in one license. No separate products for vertical vs deviated wells. See current pricing at petrobench.com/pricing.
Language and Localization
RodStar's public documentation does not reference multi-language support. Release notes mention "improvements for different regional settings" but the interface is English.
PetroBench supports 10+ languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic, and Russian. Arabic includes full right-to-left (RTL) interface support. Date and number formatting adapts to locale. This matters for operators with teams in the Middle East, Latin America, or North Africa where field engineers don't work in English.
Unit Systems
RodStar's public feature set does not document unit system switching between measurement standards.
PetroBench has three built-in unit systems: Imperial, Metric, and International. Each user sets their preference and the platform auto-converts all values. An engineer in Saudi Arabia sees meters and bar while their Houston colleague sees feet and psi, viewing the same simulation with the same underlying data.
Wellbore Resolution
RodStar uses fixed step lengths for survey interpolation in the wave equation solver.
PetroBench offers configurable step length with cubic spline interpolation. You can run at 10-ft steps instead of the industry-standard 50-ft, giving up to 100x higher resolution on the wellbore trajectory. In deviated wells with tight doglegs, this resolves side load spikes and wear zones that coarser step lengths miss entirely.
Collaboration and Version Control
RodStar designs are local files shared via email, USB drives, or network folders. There's no built-in mechanism for tracking who changed what or reverting to a previous design.
PetroBench automatically versions every simulation change. You can see who modified a design, when, compare any two versions side by side with a diff view that highlights every changed field, and restore a previous state. Teams work in a shared environment rather than passing files back and forth.
Organization Structure
RodStar does not have built-in organizational hierarchy or role-based access control.
PetroBench supports enterprise hierarchy: HQ > Divisions > Regions, with scoped permissions and equipment libraries at each level. Regions inherit equipment standards from their parent division. SSO integration supports Azure AD, Okta, and SAML providers with SCIM provisioning for automated user management.
Onboarding
RodStar offers recorded training webinars through ChampionX Production Academy, covering system design, dyno card matching, and deviated well design.
PetroBench has 10+ interactive guided tours built into the application itself. New engineers can walk through simulation setup, results interpretation, well management, and reporting without leaving the platform or watching external videos.
Design Comparison
RodStar supports scenario analysis but comparing designs requires opening separate files and manually comparing outputs.
PetroBench has a dedicated comparison view that places up to five rod string designs side by side, showing loads, stresses, production estimates, and dynamometer card overlays in a single view.
API and Integration
RodStar does not publish a REST API. XSPOC (the production optimization platform in the ChampionX suite) handles data collection and well surveillance, but design data stays in the desktop application.
PetroBench is API-first. Simulation data can flow to Snowflake, Databricks, WellView, and custom dashboards via REST API and Event Hub. Automated workflows can trigger simulations from SCADA data or push results to external systems.
File Compatibility
PetroBench imports RodStar's .rsdx and .rsvx files directly. Well data, directional surveys, rod strings, and operating parameters transfer without manual re-entry. You can bulk import hundreds of files at once.
What RodStar Does Well
RodStar has been the standard for 25+ years. The simulation engine is proven across thousands of wells worldwide. The ChampionX ecosystem (XDIAG, XBAL, XSPOC) provides a complete artificial lift management stack. XSPOC's database of over 1 billion pump cards is unmatched for pattern recognition and diagnostic benchmarking. For teams that work primarily on standalone workstations in a single office, RodStar is a proven, reliable tool.
Migration Path
Import your existing RodStar files into PetroBench, verify the data transferred correctly, and run your first simulations. No big-bang migration required - teams can run both tools in parallel while transitioning.
The engineering is the same. Both tools solve the wave equation. The difference is in the workflow around it.
