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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 LoRaWAN network server only — it manages gateways and devices at the connectivity layer, with no application dashboards or data visualization built in. Kilo is a managed IoT application platform with the LoRaWAN network server already built in, so there is no separate ChirpStack — or any external LNS — to run. This page compares the two so you can choose the right LoRaWAN stack for your deployment.
ChirpStack is stronger when…
ChirpStack is stronger when you want full ownership of the connectivity layer — MIT-licensed, self-hosted, no usage limits and no vendor, with deep LoRaWAN mechanics (Class B/C multicast, FUOTA) and a rich gateway ecosystem. It is LoRaWAN only: dashboards, data visualization, and alerting must come from a separate application platform.
Kilo is stronger when…
Kilo is stronger when you want the whole deployment in one product — the LoRaWAN (and mioty) network server is built into the platform, so there is no separate ChirpStack to run, and dashboards, data visualization, visual rules with debugging and rollback, escalation alarms, and AI are all included, backed by an SLA instead of your own ops.
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Kilo vs ChirpStack at a glance
The table below compares the LoRaWAN network server, the application layer (dashboards, rules, alarms), device management, data visualization, and cost.
| 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 (rules, alarms, automation) | ✓ Included | — None; delegated to integrations (MQTT, HTTP, InfluxDB…) |
| Data visualization / dashboards | ✓ Live dashboards + 3D building twin | — None (management UI with device metrics only) |
| 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) | ✓ Built-in editor, 60+ objects, live sensor binding | — |
| Alarm escalation chains + Apple-approved Critical Alerts app | — | |
| Cellular devices & vehicle trackers (OBD2/CAN/GPS) | 2,000+ tracker templates; global IoT SIMs (200+ countries) | — |
| Test automation before deploy (build, step-through debugger, rollback) | ✓ Own BPMN 2.0 rules engine + CEL | — (no application layer) |
| Device Digital Twins (state persists offline) | Device records + frame logs | |
| 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, alarms, and its own BPMN 2.0 rules engine with CEL expressions that you build, test with a step-through debugger, version, and roll back like production software.
- 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.
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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’s IoT platform has a built-in LoRaWAN network server, so there is no need to run a separate ChirpStack: the network server, dashboards, rules, alarms, and AI ship as one managed product with 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?
No — ChirpStack is a LoRaWAN network server only. It provides a management web interface with device metrics and live frame logging for managing gateways and devices, but it has no data visualization: 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 built-in network server feeds dashboards, rules, and escalation alarms in the same product.
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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.