Build a sovereign, self-hosted IoT platform? WZ-IT designs, runs and integrates ThingsBoard on your infrastructure - in the EU, no cloud lock-in. Explore the ThingsBoard platform
ThingsBoard is an IoT platform with public source code for collecting, managing, processing and visualizing device data. It connects sensors and machines over MQTT, HTTP, CoAP, LwM2M and SNMP, processes telemetry in a visual rule engine and displays the results in configurable dashboards. The platform is multi-tenant and can be run fully self-hosted. Up to version 4.3 the Community Edition was licensed under Apache 2.0. Since version 4.4 (29 September 2026) the platform is under the Business Source License 1.1: free up to 100 devices on one server, commercially licensed beyond that (ThingsBoard, announcement). What this means for existing installations is covered in the post ThingsBoard 4.4 under BUSL 1.1.
Table of contents
- What is ThingsBoard?
- Core features of ThingsBoard
- Architecture and components
- Supported protocols (MQTT, HTTP, CoAP, LwM2M)
- Editions and licenses: CE, 4.4 and Cloud
- How much does ThingsBoard cost?
- Running ThingsBoard self-hosted
- How WZ-IT works
- Further guides
What is ThingsBoard?
ThingsBoard is an IoT platform that bundles the typical building blocks of an IoT project into one product: connect devices, ingest data, apply rules to it and make everything visible in dashboards. Instead of assembling these layers separately from an MQTT broker, a time-series database, stream processing and a visualization tool, ThingsBoard provides one integrated foundation.
The source code is public on GitHub. The current version is 4.4 of 29 September 2026 under BUSL 1.1. The last Apache 2.0 line, 4.3, is Active LTS (first released January 2026, patch 4.3.1.6 of 29 September 2026) and receives security fixes until 20 July 2027; the previous LTS 4.2 receives critical security fixes until 15 February 2027 (ThingsBoard, release policy, as of October 2026). ThingsBoard is used in production for smart metering, Industry 4.0, building automation, energy and environmental monitoring.
Core features of ThingsBoard
ThingsBoard addresses the four central tasks of an IoT platform:
- Device management: Devices are modeled, provisioned and managed through device profiles. This covers attributes, telemetry, server-side commands (RPC), firmware and software updates (OTA) and connection state. Assets, entity views and relations model complex installations as digital twins.
- Telemetry: Time-series data and attributes are persisted, queried and aggregated - the data basis for dashboards, alarms and analytics.
- Rule Engine: The visual processing layer of rule chains and linked nodes filters, transforms and enriches messages, raises alarms or calls external systems - without writing code.
- Dashboards: Real-time dashboards with more than 50 widget types (charts, maps, tables, controls) visualize data and allow devices to be controlled back.
On top of that comes multi-tenancy: ThingsBoard cleanly separates system administrator, tenant administrator and customer user. An operator can run many isolated tenants (customers) on a single instance - the basis for operator portals and white-label solutions.
Architecture and components
ThingsBoard is implemented in Java (Spring Boot), and the web frontend is built on Angular. Data storage is split in two: PostgreSQL holds entities (devices, assets, dashboards, relations), while time-series data (telemetry) can live in PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB or Cassandra depending on the load profile.
For processing, ThingsBoard relies on a message queue. In the simplest case it works in-memory; for scale, Apache Kafka or RabbitMQ are used. This yields two deployment forms:
- Monolith: A single service - ideal for pilots and smaller installations.
- Microservices: Transport, core, rule engine and web UI services run separately and scale horizontally. This is how ThingsBoard processes millions of devices and messages per second.
This separation allows a lean start that grows into a cluster when needed, without switching platforms.
Supported protocols (MQTT, HTTP, CoAP, LwM2M)
ThingsBoard connects devices over several standard protocols:
- MQTT: the most widely used protocol for IoT telemetry, lightweight and publish/subscribe based. Learn more in What is MQTT?.
- HTTP/HTTPS: simple REST connectivity for devices and backends.
- CoAP: a UDP-based protocol for resource-constrained devices and cellular networks.
- LwM2M: the Open Mobile Alliance device-management standard, common in NB-IoT scenarios.
- SNMP: to connect classic network and infrastructure devices.
For industrial environments, the ThingsBoard IoT Gateway adds protocols such as Modbus, OPC-UA and BACnet and translates them into the ThingsBoard world. LoRaWAN connects through a network server like ChirpStack - see the comparison ThingsBoard vs ChirpStack.
Editions and licenses: CE, 4.4 and Cloud
With version 4.4, ThingsBoard dropped the split into Community and Professional Edition. As of October 2026 these are the options:
| Feature | Community Edition up to 4.3 | ThingsBoard from 4.4 (self-managed) | ThingsBoard Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| License | Apache 2.0, permanently | BUSL 1.1 (source-available) | SaaS (hosted) |
| Cost | free | Free License at no cost; commercial from 99 USD/month or from 4,999 USD perpetual | from 0 USD, by devices and data points |
| Operation | self-hosted | self-hosted, license key with online check | hosted by the vendor |
| Device count | unlimited | Free License: 100 devices and one server (commercial), 1,000 devices (non-commercial); otherwise per plan | per plan |
| Granular RBAC, SSO, integrations, reports, scheduler | not included (formerly PE) | included; under the Community Grant, integrations, reports and scheduler only with the Professional Pack | included |
| White-labeling | no | commercial license only | from Pilot |
| Security updates | 4.3 until 20 Jul 2027 | ongoing | by the vendor |
| Data sovereignty | full (your infrastructure) | full (your infrastructure) | with the vendor |
The Community Edition up to 4.3 covers the functional core - device management, rule engine, dashboards and multi-tenancy - for free and with unlimited devices. The usage rights under Apache 2.0 are perpetual and irrevocable (Apache License 2.0, section 2); on 20 July 2027 only the official security updates for the 4.3 LTS line end. ThingsBoard from 4.4 also includes the former PE features such as granular RBAC, integrations, reports, scheduler and SSO; you pay for size, white-labeling, clusters in commercial use and support (license text). Existing CE installations that ran in production before 29 September 2026 can move to 4.4 free of charge at their size at that time through the Community Grant Program; registration is open until 20 July 2027. ThingsBoard Cloud is the vendor-hosted SaaS offering - convenient, but with data and license held by the vendor.
How much does ThingsBoard cost?
The Community Edition up to 4.3 is free (Apache 2.0); you only pay for your own infrastructure and operations. From 4.4, the Free License costs nothing as long as you stay within 100 devices and one server (commercial use). According to thingsboard.io/pricing (as of October 2026), the commercial license for self-managed installations costs 99 US dollars per month (Pilot, 100 devices), 299 US dollars (Startup, 500 devices) and 499 US dollars per month (Business, 1,000 devices); each extra device in the Business plan costs 0.10 US dollars. The former Maker and Prototype plans are gone. A perpetual license starts at 4,999 US dollars one-time. ThingsBoard Cloud bills per device and data points (Free 0 USD up to Business 749 USD/month).
These list prices are only part of the picture: what really matters is the total cost of infrastructure, operations and scaling. You can find the full cost comparison including self-hosted operation in the article ThingsBoard pricing.
Running ThingsBoard self-hosted
The biggest advantage of ThingsBoard for sovereign operators: the platform runs entirely on your own infrastructure - on Proxmox, Hetzner or on-premises in your own data center. Data and platform stay under your control, with no cloud lock-in. From version 4.4, every production installation needs a license key that is checked with the license server roughly every hour by default; interruptions of up to 48 hours are tolerated. Plan for this in isolated networks.
A typical setup consists of the ThingsBoard instance, PostgreSQL for entities, optionally TimescaleDB or Cassandra for time-series data and a reverse proxy for TLS. For high load, a microservice cluster with Kafka is added. Dashboards often also connect to Grafana when extensive reporting or visualization requirements exist. The article Install ThingsBoard provides a step-by-step guide.
How WZ-IT works
We design, integrate and operate ThingsBoard as a sovereign, self-hosted IoT platform on your infrastructure. This starts with the choice of license path (CE 4.3, Free License, Community Grant or commercial license - honestly aligned to your requirements, not to license revenue), covers architecture, high availability, protocol and device connectivity, the modeling of device profiles and rule chains, and the integration of Grafana, ChirpStack or existing systems. On request, we handle design, build and ongoing operations end to end - as part of our ThingsBoard expertise and IoT platform development.
Further guides
- ThingsBoard expertise - consulting, integration and operations
- ThingsBoard pricing - editions, licenses and real costs
- ThingsBoard 4.4 under BUSL 1.1 - what the license change means for operators
- What is MQTT? - the most important IoT protocol explained
- ThingsBoard vs ChirpStack - application platform vs LoRaWAN server
- Install ThingsBoard - self-hosted setup step by step
Planning your own IoT platform? Get to know us or take a look at our IoT platforms.
