Grafana vs ThingsBoard for IoT

Timo WevelsiepTimo Wevelsiep

Grafana and ThingsBoard often appear in the same IoT stack, but they are not interchangeable. Grafana is strongest for observability and dashboards. ThingsBoard adds device management, rule chains and application logic.

This Knowledge page is the short decision version. The longer editorial deep-dive is here: ThingsBoard vs Grafana.

Table of Contents

Short answer

Use Grafana when you mainly need dashboards, alerts and observability over time-series data. Use ThingsBoard when devices, tenants, rule chains and customer-facing IoT application logic are part of the product.

Feature fit for IoT

Criterion Grafana ThingsBoard
Main strength Dashboards, alerts and observability over many data sources. IoT application platform with devices, assets, rule chains and dashboards.
Device management Usually external, through ChirpStack, inventory tools or custom apps. Built into the platform model.
Data sources Excellent with Prometheus, InfluxDB, PostgreSQL and other stores. Strong when device data should live inside the platform model.
Customer portals Possible, but often needs surrounding application work. Closer to a multi-tenant IoT application out of the box.
Alerting Strong observability alerting and routing. Rule-chain based actions and platform-specific workflows.
Operations Operate dashboards, data sources, auth and alert delivery. Operate platform, devices, database, queues, rules and user model.

Practical decision rules

Grafana fits operations teams. When engineers, technicians or operators need reliable charts, alerts and system health views, Grafana is usually the leaner layer.

ThingsBoard fits IoT products. When customers, tenants, assets and rule chains are central, ThingsBoard provides more application structure.

Both can make sense in one stack. Many deployments use ThingsBoard for device workflows and Grafana for deeper technical observability.

How merkaio uses both

We choose the tool by workflow, not by preference:

  • ChirpStack or MQTT as the connectivity and ingestion layer
  • Grafana for operations dashboards, alerts and service metrics
  • ThingsBoard for device models, rule chains and user-facing portals
  • custom web apps when neither standard UI matches the workflow
  • managed updates, backups, authentication and monitoring

Grafana and ThingsBoard are trademarks of their respective owners. merkaio is independent and not affiliated with these providers.

Frequently asked questions

Can Grafana replace ThingsBoard?▼
Sometimes, if you only need dashboards and alerts. It does not replace ThingsBoard's device management and rule-chain model without additional application work.
Can ThingsBoard replace Grafana?▼
Sometimes, if the dashboards are close to the device model. Grafana is often stronger for operations observability and mixed data sources.
Which is better for customers?▼
ThingsBoard often fits customer-facing IoT portals better. Grafana fits technical and operational dashboards better.
Can merkaio operate both together?▼
Yes. We can run ChirpStack, ThingsBoard and Grafana as one managed stack with shared authentication, monitoring and backups.
NextManaged IoT platform hosting in Germany

The platform decision is only the start.

After tool selection come deployment, integrations, monitoring, backups, updates and ongoing operations. merkaio designs and operates IoT stacks with ChirpStack, ThingsBoard, Grafana, MQTT and custom applications.

Managed IoT hostingCustom IoT platform development
Timo Wevelsiep

Written by

Timo Wevelsiep

Founder, merkaio

Builds and operates LoRaWAN and IoT platforms, from ChirpStack to custom applications.

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