Enterprise IIoT Without the Complexity
SIMBIOSYS vs ThingsBoard
An honest comparison across the criteria that matter to operational IIoT deployments.
ThingsBoard is a popular IoT platform with a strong community and broad protocol support. Since version 4.4.0 its platform code is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, which limits free commercial production use to 100 devices on 1 server. It is a capable tool, but deploying and maintaining it yourself at enterprise scale is a significant engineering undertaking: self-hosted ThingsBoard requires DevOps expertise, infrastructure management and ongoing version maintenance. ThingsBoard Cloud and Private Cloud remove that burden as managed services, and Cloud includes white-labelling from its paid Pilot plan. SIMBIOSYS is a fully managed alternative, covering data ingestion and visualisation with no infrastructure to run.
| Criteria | SIMBIOSYS | ThingsBoard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully managed hosting, no DevOps required | Fully supported | Fully supported | Both offer managed hosting. ThingsBoard Cloud and Private Cloud are run by ThingsBoard; if you self-host ThingsBoard instead, version upgrades, security patching and scaling are yours to handle |
| White-label branding for resellers | Fully supported | Fully supported | Both offer white-labelling. ThingsBoard includes it in Professional Edition and on ThingsBoard Cloud from the paid Pilot plan, set up in the interface without code; it is not in Community Edition or the Cloud plans below Pilot |
| GDPR-compliant UK/EU data residency | Fully supported | Partially / with caveats | ThingsBoard Cloud offers an EU or a North America region, and data stays in the region chosen. No UK region is listed |
| UK-based support and SLA | Fully supported | Partially / with caveats | ThingsBoard Private Cloud publishes 99.9% and 99.95% uptime SLAs. Cloud support is community-based below Pilot, then a help desk with 36-hour or 12-hour response in working shifts. A UK-based team is not stated |
| Multi-tenancy with access control | Fully supported | Fully supported | Both support multi-tenancy; ThingsBoard's model requires more configuration to set up correctly |
| Drag-and-drop dashboard builder | Fully supported | Fully supported | ThingsBoard has a capable dashboard builder; both platforms are strong here |
| Transparent, predictable pricing | Fully supported | Fully supported | ThingsBoard publishes its full price list, with plans set by device numbers. Self-hosted Community Edition is free within its licence limits, with infrastructure and management costs on top |
| Onboarding handled by vendor team | Fully supported | Not available | ThingsBoard onboarding is self-directed; professional services are available at additional cost |
| 99.9% uptime SLA | Fully supported | Partially / with caveats | ThingsBoard Private Cloud publishes 99.9% and 99.95% SLAs. ThingsBoard Cloud publishes no uptime figure, and self-hosted uptime is your responsibility |
Why Teams Switch to SIMBIOSYS
These are the three reasons organisations most frequently cite when moving from ThingsBoard to SIMBIOSYS.
No Infrastructure to Manage
SIMBIOSYS is fully managed. You do not provision servers, manage Kubernetes clusters, apply security patches or worry about database backups. Your team delivers value to clients instead of keeping the platform running.
Enterprise Security Without Enterprise Overhead
SIMBIOSYS provides 99.9% uptime SLA, GDPR-compliant data handling and UK/EU data residency by default. You get those security guarantees without the cost of running your own secure infrastructure.
From Sensor to Dashboard in Days
Our solutions team handles sensor integration, protocol configuration and initial dashboard setup. Whether you are connecting MQTT devices, Modbus PLCs or LoRaWAN sensors, we get your data flowing and visualised in days.
What switching involves
If you have evaluated ThingsBoard and concluded the self-hosting overhead is a blocker, SIMBIOSYS is a natural next step. Book a demo and see the platform configured for your specific use case. No commitment required.
See SIMBIOSYS in Action
Book a 30-minute demo with our solutions team. We will show you the platform configured for your industry, answer your questions and give you a clear picture of what switching would involve.
Book a demo