NB-IoT vs LoRaWAN: Choosing a Low-Power Wide-Area Network
Both solve the same basic problem — long-range, low-power sensor connectivity — but in fundamentally different ways. Here's how to choose.
NB-IoT: built on existing cellular infrastructure
Narrowband IoT runs on existing cellular network infrastructure, meaning it benefits from wide coverage wherever a mobile network already reaches, with no need to install your own gateway. The trade-off is an ongoing data subscription cost per device, paid to the cellular carrier, similar in principle to a SIM card plan.
LoRaWAN: your own private network, no subscription
LoRaWAN requires installing your own gateway, which then covers a radius of several kilometres for all your own devices with no ongoing per-device subscription cost to a carrier — the upfront gateway investment is offset by no recurring data fees, which matters for a large deployment with many low-cost sensors.
How to actually decide between them
For a small number of devices spread over a wide area where installing your own gateway isn't practical, NB-IoT's reliance on existing cellular coverage is often simpler. For a large number of devices concentrated on one property (a farm, an industrial campus), LoRaWAN's one-time gateway cost typically becomes more economical than paying per-device cellular subscriptions at scale.
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