English 
Français 
Español 
Deutsch 
Português 
Italiano 
العربية Kilo vs ChirpStack: which LoRaWAN stack fits your deployment?
ChirpStack is an excellent open-source LoRaWAN network server: MIT-licensed with no usage limits, LoRaWAN 1.0–1.1 with Class A/B/C, multicast and FUOTA, deep multi-tenancy, and an unusually complete gateway ecosystem. The honest framing: ChirpStack is a self-hosted connectivity layer, while Kilo is a managed application platform with the network server built in.
Compare
Kilo vs ChirpStack at a glance
| Capability | Kilo | ChirpStack |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | mioty service center only (AGPL) | ✓ MIT license, no usage limits |
| Managed / hosted option | ✓ Cloud, free for 5 devices | — Self-hosted only |
| LoRaWAN network server | ✓ Built into the platform | ✓ 1.0–1.1, Class A/B/C, multicast, FUOTA |
| Application layer (dashboards, rules, alarms) | ✓ Included | — Delegated to integrations (MQTT, HTTP, InfluxDB…) |
| Built-in mioty network server | — | |
| Gateway-side ecosystem | — | ✓ Gateway OS, Concentratord, Gateway Mesh |
| Multi-tenancy | ✓ ABAC organizations + audit trail | ✓ Tenants |
| API | REST + gRPC, scoped API keys | gRPC (REST via separate component) |
| AI assistant that acts, with confirmation gates | — | |
| 3D digital building twin (editor, DXF import) | ✓ 60+ object catalog | — |
| Alarm escalation chains + Apple-approved Critical Alerts app | — | |
| Vehicle tracker integration (OBD2/CAN/GPS) | 2,000+ tracker templates | — |
| Cost | Free 5 devices; flat plans from €25/mo | Free software; you run the infrastructure |
| Commercial support / SLA | ✓ Plans + enterprise | Author consulting + community forum |
ChirpStack column verified against public ChirpStack pages on 2026-07-02. Spot an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it.
Choose ChirpStack if…
- You want full ownership: MIT-licensed, self-hosted, no usage limits, no vendor — the network is entirely yours to operate.
- You need deep LoRaWAN mechanics — Class B/C multicast, FUOTA, all regional parameter revisions, live frame logging per gateway and device.
- Your gateways are part of the design: Gateway OS images, Concentratord, and Gateway Mesh for relay gateways without internet uplink.
- You have the ops capacity (and the message-bus preferences — MQTT, AMQP, Pulsar, Pub/Sub) to build the application layer around it.
Choose Kilo if…
- You want the outcome, not the infrastructure: Kilo runs the LoRaWAN network server for you and includes the application layer — dashboards, visual rules with step-through debugging and rollback, alarms — in one product.
- You need what a bare LNS never gives you: alarm escalation chains with an Apple-approved Critical Alerts app, a 3D building twin, and an AI assistant that acts with confirmation gates.
- You run mixed fleets: mioty terminates in the same built-in network server, and 2,000+ vehicle-tracker templates cover the mobile side.
- You want an SLA and a support contract rather than operating Postgres, Redis, and an MQTT broker yourself.
From self-hosted to managed, gradually
Gateways speaking LoRa Basics Station or the Semtech UDP packet forwarder re-point at Kilo’s built-in network server, and device payload decoding is rebuilt with inline normalization — watch the live raw payload and map fields yourself. Keep your current server running and migrate device by device. Book a call and we’ll plan the parallel run.
Compare
Kilo vs ChirpStack FAQ
Is ChirpStack free?
Yes, unconditionally — ChirpStack is MIT-licensed open source with no tiers or usage limits and no hosted paid plan. The real cost is operational: you host and operate the server and its dependencies yourself, and commercial support is a direct engagement with the author rather than a company-backed SLA. Kilo is a managed platform: free for 5 devices, flat plans from €25/month.
Is Kilo an alternative to ChirpStack?
As a way to run a LoRaWAN deployment, yes — Kilo is a managed alternative that bundles the network server with dashboards, rules, alarms, and AI, so there is nothing to host. As open-source software you fully own and can modify, ChirpStack has no equivalent on the Kilo side (Kilo’s open-source component is its mioty service center). Pick by whether you want to operate infrastructure.
Does ChirpStack include dashboards and alerting?
ChirpStack provides a management web interface with device metrics and live frame logging, but application dashboards, automation rules, and alerting are explicitly delegated to external systems through its integrations (MQTT, HTTP, InfluxDB, PostgreSQL, and others). Kilo includes that application layer natively — the network server feeds dashboards, rules, and escalation alarms in the same product.
Compare
More comparisons and alternatives
Skip the ops, keep the network
Start free with 5 devices — the network server is already running, dashboards and alarms included. Or book a call and we’ll plan a gradual migration from your self-hosted server.