Alternatives

Best Golioth alternatives in 2026

Data compiled by Toolradar Updated November 2, 2026 How we rate

Cite this list: Toolradar, best Golioth alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/golioth

3 direct alternatives to Golioth and 5 more tools in the same category, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.

Quick answer

Balena is the top alternative to Golioth on our list, followed by Mainflux and Particle.
4 of the 8 alternatives have a free plan, starting with Balena.
Highest rated: EMnify, 4.9 out of 5 from 92 ratings, Mar 2026.

Publications that cover the tools tracked here

8 alternatives
3 direct
4 with a free plan

Balena
#1 Top pick
Powerful IoT device management made simple with secure container-based technology.
Starting price
From $159 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026
4.8 /5 on G2 · 24 ratings, Sep 2026
Our take
Best overall
Read the review
Mainflux
#2
Open-source IoT platform for secure, performant, and scalable connected solutions.
Starting price
From $500 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026
Read the review
Particle
#3
An integrated IoT Platform-as-a-Service for intelligent devices, from hardware to cloud.
Starting price
From $299 /mo
Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026
Read the review

Golioth vs 8 alternatives

Golioth and its alternatives compared on starting price (cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026), free plan and average user rating, and how directly each replaces it.
Tool	Starting price (Nov 2026)	Free plan	Rating	Fit
Golioth Compared tool	Price: Not published	Free plan: No	4.5 out of 5, from 67 ratings across G2 and Capterra (67)
Balena	Price: $159/mo	Free plan: Yes	4.8 out of 5, from 24 ratings on G2 (24)	Direct alternative
Mainflux	Price: $500/mo	Free plan: Yes	n/a	Direct alternative
Particle	Price: $299/mo	Free plan: Yes	n/a	Direct alternative
Rhombus Systems	Price: $12.42/mo	Free plan: No	4.6 out of 5, from 610 ratings on G2 (610)	Same category as Golioth
Telnyx	Price: Not published	Free plan: No	4.4 out of 5, from 808 ratings across G2, Capterra and SourceForge (808)	Same category as Golioth
Arduino Cloud	Price: $1.67/mo	Free plan: Yes	4.5 out of 5, from 147 ratings on G2 (147)	Same category as Golioth
EMnify	Price: Not published	Free plan: No	4.9 out of 5, from 92 ratings on G2 (92)	Same category as Golioth
PortaOne Telecom Billing	Price: $1/mo	Free plan: No	4.5 out of 5, from 111 ratings across G2, SourceForge and Capterra (111)	Same category as Golioth

Why people consider alternatives to Golioth

Golioth provides a complete device-to-cloud foundation specifically designed for hardware teams building IoT products. It eliminates the need for extensive custom cloud infrastructure development, allowing teams to focus on their core…

Here are the real cost and limitation gotchas that push teams to look elsewhere:

Connect bills every active device every month. Sleepy sensors still count if they stay connected.
Long-term retention is $0.001/MB. Short windows (14/30 days) are free.
Annual contract: accrue usage for volume discounts, up to 10% more if you pre-pay.
High-bandwidth OTA is the silent bill. Occasional updates they call effectively free in the copy, but the meter is still $0.0095/MB.

The 3 direct alternatives below cover the same core job (IoT platforms) with different trade-offs. The 5 tools marked "Same category as Golioth" fit the category but replace Golioth less directly.

See full Golioth review Best iot platforms tools How we rank

Golioth by the numbers

Toolradar data: It is listed as an alternative to 11 other tools on Toolradar, ranking #9 of 56 in Infrastructure as Code. As of Nov 2026.

#6 (joint) most-listed alternative in IoT Platforms, out of 84 tools in IoT Platforms. Source: Toolradar data, Nov 2026.

Golioth compared with 56 Infrastructure as Code tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
Metric	Golioth	Peer median	Position (1 is best)
Free plan	Yes	80% have one	n/a
Listed as an alternative to	11 tools	2	#9 of 56
User rating	4.5/5 (across the web, 67 ratings)	4.4/5	#4 of 13 (joint) tools with 20+ reviews

Listed as an alternative to: #9 on 2026-10-16 to #9 on 2026-11-02 (rank among 56 tools, 1 is best).

Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. All Infrastructure as Code data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position.

Cite this: Toolradar, “Golioth by the numbers”, Nov 2026.

IoT Platforms leaderboards from Toolradar data

Toolradar ranks IoT Platforms tools on one measure at a time, only where at least 8 tools have data. As of Nov 2026.

CSV

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 17 tools with no stated price unit, verified price.

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit, IoT Platforms tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
#	Tool	Entry plan
1	PortaOne Telecom Billing	$1/mo
2	1NCE	$10/mo, billed monthly
3	Rhombus Systems	$12.42/mo, billed yearly
4	Kaa IoT Platform	$15/mo, billed monthly
5	Conserv	$24.58/mo, billed yearly

A position exists only when at least 8 tools have data for that metric. 17 of 84 IoT Platforms tools have a verified price; the others publish none we could read (often "contact sales"). Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source. How we compute this. Cite this: Toolradar, “IoT Platforms leaderboards”, Nov 2026. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. All IoT Platforms statistics.

8 alternatives to Golioth

Direct alternatives come first, ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review. Tools marked "Same category as Golioth" follow, ranked the same way.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Golioth?

Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to Golioth are Balena, Mainflux, Particle. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.

Is there a free alternative to Golioth?

There is no fully free alternative in this list. Balena is freemium: a permanent free tier plus paid plans (Powerful IoT device management made simple with secure container-based technology).

Why do people look for Golioth alternatives?

Common reasons teams switch away from Golioth: pricing that scales aggressively, missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in iot platforms. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with different trade-offs.

Side-by-side comparisons

In-depth comparison pages for Golioth versus each alternative.

Golioth vs Balena Golioth vs Mainflux Golioth vs Particle

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Still considering Golioth?

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Full Golioth review Visit Golioth

Top 3 alternatives to Golioth

Balena

Mainflux

Particle