Overview

Datacake brings real-time sensor dashboards, alerts, and reports together for uses such as cold-chain monitoring, temperature and humidity, indoor air quality, soil moisture, and industrial noise. Custom dashboards, real-time stream processing, and anomaly detection suit teams that need to watch changing conditions rather than review data only after the fact. The no-code dashboard approach lowers the barrier to building views, while integrations let teams route sensor data into existing systems.

The strongest differentiator is its managed LoRaWAN Network Server, included in every plan with unlimited gateways and no per-gateway fees. That can simplify network operations and avoid gateway-based charges, though it does not remove plan limits on devices, rules, or webhooks. Datacake was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Vreden, Germany.

Key features

LoRaWAN devices and networking

Datacake provides more than 400 LoRaWAN device templates across over 125 manufacturers, including payload decoders and dashboards. For deployments using supported hardware, those ready-made pieces can reduce integration work. Teams with devices outside that catalog may see less benefit. The included network server is especially attractive when keeping gateway management within the monitoring platform matters.

Dashboards, alerts, and data flow

Teams can build live sensor dashboards without coding and use thresholds or rules to trigger email, SMS, or webhook alerts. Data can also flow outward through MQTT, HTTPS webhooks, and a REST API, which makes Datacake more practical when sensor readings must feed other software. Outgoing webhook allowances are capped on Light, Standard, and Plus, so integration-heavy deployments should check those limits before choosing a tier.

Mobile, AI, and customer deployments

Native iOS and Android apps support dashboard access, device onboarding, alert creation, and push notifications, giving field users more than read-only mobile views. The OpenAI-powered assistant can analyze sensor data and help create dashboards, rules, and decoders; it requires confirmation before changes are made. White-label branding and multi-tenancy support system integrators, distributors, and OEMs that need to operate customer-facing deployments under their own structure.

Support and data history

Free users get best-effort support. Paid Standard and Premium support packages state first-response targets of under five hours and under 60 minutes during working hours, respectively. Paid Hobby, Light, Standard, and Plus plans include one year of retention; Light, Standard, and Plus can extend that to two years with an add-on. Teams with long-term historical analysis needs should account for the shorter base retention and any extension cost.

Pricing

Datacake is freemium, with a free plan and paid plans from €25/mo. There is no free trial, so the free tier is the way to assess fit before committing to a paid subscription.

Plan	Price	Included limits
Free	0.00 USD per free	5 devices
Hobby	25.00 EUR per month	Up to 25 devices, one year of retention, 5 advanced rules per workspace, and 1 workspace
Light	159.00 EUR per month	Up to 50 devices, one year of retention, 10 advanced rules per workspace, and 2 outgoing webhooks
Standard	399.00 EUR per month	Up to 200 devices, one year of retention, 50 advanced rules per workspace, and 2 outgoing webhooks
Plus	659.00 EUR per month	Up to 1000 devices, one year of retention, 100 advanced rules per workspace, and 5 outgoing webhooks
Enterprise	Custom pricing	1000+ devices, with custom retention, advanced rules, workspaces, webhooks, and dashboard edit backups

Free is a small-scale starting point at five devices, not a broad deployment tier. Hobby raises the ceiling to 25 devices and adds one workspace, but offers just five advanced rules per workspace and no stated outgoing webhook allowance. Light costs 159.00 EUR per month for 50 devices and introduces two outgoing webhooks; Standard costs 399.00 EUR per month for 200 devices, 50 rules, and the same two-webhook cap. Plus reaches 1000 devices and five outgoing webhooks for 659.00 EUR per month. The price jumps make it important to project device growth and integration needs rather than select solely on current usage. Enterprise is the route for deployments beyond 1000 devices or those needing custom operating limits and dashboard edit backups.

All paid tiers retain data for one year by default. Light, Standard, and Plus can add a second year, while Hobby is not included among the plans with that extension option. The managed network server's unlimited gateways and lack of per-gateway fees are valuable across tiers, but they do not offset device and feature caps.

Platforms

Datacake supports web, API, iOS, and Android. Its mobile apps cover dashboards, onboarding, alert creation, and push notifications, while API access and MQTT or HTTPS webhook integrations provide routes for moving data into other systems. The platform's documented integrations favor connecting to external services; teams seeking a self-hosted deployment should assess their deployment requirements carefully.

Who it's for

Datacake makes the most sense for teams running LoRaWAN sensors that want device templates, network management, dashboards, and alerting in one platform. Its breadth also suits system integrators and OEMs that need white-label branding and multi-tenancy for customer deployments. It is less convincing for small teams whose needs fit the five-device free tier but may soon outgrow it, or for deployments where the paid device and webhook caps push costs beyond the monitoring budget.

Pros and cons

Pro: More than 400 LoRaWAN templates across over 125 manufacturers include decoders and dashboards, reducing setup effort for supported hardware.
Pro: Every plan includes a managed LoRaWAN Network Server with unlimited gateways and no per-gateway fees.
Pro: Mobile apps combine dashboards and onboarding with alert creation and push notifications, useful for teams that need to act away from a desktop.
Pro: White-labeling and multi-tenancy provide concrete tools for integrators and OEMs operating customer services.
Con: The free tier stops at five devices, and paid plans step from 25 devices at 25.00 EUR per month to 50 devices at 159.00 EUR per month.
Con: Light and Standard both allow only two outgoing webhooks, which can constrain deployments that distribute readings to several external systems.
Con: Base paid retention is one year, and the two-year extension is offered only on Light, Standard, and Plus.
Con: No free trial means teams evaluating beyond the free tier must decide whether the plan limits and monthly commitment fit without a separate trial period.

Alternatives

ThingsBoard is worth comparing for teams seeking freemium pricing across a broad set of platforms, including self-hosted options; its free plan includes five devices, five assets, and 1M data points per month, and it offers a free trial.

Losant Enterprise IoT Platform is an alternative for teams evaluating a paid launch tier with a defined payload allowance and 90-day retention; its Launch plan is 250.00 USD per month for 100,000 payloads per month.

OpenRemote is another option for teams considering a free platform with self-hosting.

Ubidots may suit non-commercial projects that fit its STEM offer of three free devices, or teams comparing a paid Professional tier starting at 99.00 USD per month.

Cumulocity IoT is worth considering when a paid platform with a stated uptime guarantee and unlimited users is a better fit; its Starter plan is 215.00 EUR per month billed annually and includes 30-day data retention.

Arduino IDE is a different kind of tool: choose it when the requirement is open-source embedded development rather than a hosted sensor-monitoring platform.

Kaa IoT Platform offers a five-device free plan and a Kaa Cloud 5 option at 9.99 USD per month, making it a comparison point for smaller device counts.

Mender is a better starting point when the core need is open-source over-the-air updates for Linux devices rather than sensor dashboards and alerts.

For broader discovery, see IoT Device Management Platforms and IoT Analytics Software.

Verdict

Choose Datacake when LoRaWAN coverage, managed gateway networking, and customer-ready monitoring tools matter more than minimizing subscription cost. Its templates, mobile workflows, integrations, and multi-tenant options make it a credible operational platform for sensor teams and service providers. Look elsewhere if your deployment is likely to outgrow the low device tiers quickly, needs more outgoing webhooks than the plan allows, or depends on longer history without paying for an extension.

	AVEVA Insight	Datacake
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	—	€25/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Android, api, iOS, Web
Stream processing	real-time	real-time
Custom dashboards	Yes	Yes
Anomaly detection	Yes	Yes
Machine learning tools	Yes	—
Free plan	—	Yes
Device limit	—	25 devices

AVEVA Insight vs Datacake

AVEVA Insight

Datacake