For fixed sensors in a commercial building, LoRaWAN is usually the cheapest radio to run over five years, for one blunt reason: you own the network, so nobody bills you per device. NB-IoT and LTE-M ride the mobile operator's network instead. That saves you a gateway but attaches a SIM fee to every single sensor, forever. Which side of that trade wins depends on how many devices you have and where they sit, so let's put numbers on it.
Three Radios, Three Cost Shapes
All three are low-power wide-area technologies, and all three will carry a sensor reading reliably. The difference is who runs the network and how you pay for it.
| LoRaWAN | NB-IoT | LTE-M | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs the network | You (private, unlicensed 868 MHz) | Mobile operator | Mobile operator |
| Per-device fees | None | SIM plan per device | SIM plan per device |
| Gateway needed | Yes, one-off purchase | No | No |
| Battery life | 5–10+ years | 5–10 years | Shorter; radio draws more power |
| Data rate | Low; sensor readings | Low to medium | Medium; firmware updates, voice |
| Moving devices | Within your gateway coverage | Poor handover between cells | Good; built for mobility |
A Five-Year Example You Can Check
Take a building with 100 fixed sensors. For LoRaWAN, price it with hardware from our own shelves: 100 sensors in the class of the Milesight EM300-TH at €45 each, plus one Milesight UG56 indoor gateway at €237. The network server (The Things Stack or ChirpStack) can be self-hosted at no licence cost. That is €4,737 up front and nothing per device after that.
For NB-IoT or LTE-M, there is no gateway to buy. The cellular version of a given sensor tends to cost somewhat more than its LoRaWAN twin, and every device needs a SIM plan. Operator pricing varies a lot by country and volume, so take €1 per device per month as a planning figure and replace it with your own operator's quote.
| Cost over 5 years, 100 fixed sensors | LoRaWAN (private) | NB-IoT / LTE-M |
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | 100 × €45 = €4,500 | Comparable or higher per unit |
| Gateway | €237, one-off | None needed |
| Connectivity fees | €0 (self-hosted server) | At €1/device/month: €6,000 |
| Five-year total | ≈ €4,737 | Hardware + ≈ €6,000 in fees |
When Cellular Is the Right Answer
A gateway only pays for itself when enough devices share it. Cellular wins in three situations we see often.
Mixing is normal, by the way. Many of the sensors we stock exist in both LoRaWAN and NB-IoT versions, so a project can run a private network in the main building and drop a few cellular devices at outlying sites, all feeding one dashboard. Dragino's catalogue is a good example: the same soil, water-leak and temperature sensors come in LoRaWAN and NB-IoT variants.
If you are leaning toward a private network, our guide to LoRaWAN deployment in Europe covers frequencies, duty cycle rules and gateway planning, and our piece on LoRaWAN's position in 2026 looks at where the ecosystem is heading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LoRaWAN connectivity really free?
The airtime is. LoRaWAN uses the unlicensed 868 MHz band in Europe, so there is no operator and no per-device charge. You pay for the hardware once, and optionally for a hosted network server if you prefer not to run ChirpStack or The Things Stack yourself.
Does NB-IoT need a gateway?
No. NB-IoT devices connect through the mobile operator's base stations, the same way a phone does. That is its main appeal for scattered single devices, and the reason every device carries a SIM subscription.
Which reaches a basement better?
Both penetrate well, but the control differs. NB-IoT depends on how strong the operator's signal happens to be at your site. With LoRaWAN you place the gateway yourself, so a weak corner is fixed by moving an antenna rather than by negotiating with a carrier.
Can one project mix LoRaWAN and cellular devices?
Yes, and it is common. A private LoRaWAN network covers the main site while NB-IoT devices handle outliers, with both feeding the same application platform. Many sensor models ship in both radio versions, which keeps payload decoding consistent.
Match the Radio to the Site, Then Do the Arithmetic
Count your devices, mark them on a map, and the choice usually makes itself. Clustered and fixed means a private LoRaWAN network earns back its gateway quickly and then runs fee-free. Scattered or moving means cellular, and the SIM fee is simply the price of someone else's towers. When a project has both, build both, and let each radio do what it is good at.
Pricing a Building Monitoring Project?
The shopioT engineering team helps B2B buyers compare radio options for a specific site, size the gateway coverage, and ship the hardware pre-configured for the network.