Top 10 Free & Open-Source IoT Infrastructure Platforms for Manufacturing

Industrial IoT is no longer about dashboards. At scale, it is about infrastructure: device connectivity, data ingestion, rules, security, storage, and integration with analytics, MES, and CMMS systems.

Many vendors sell “IIoT platforms” as closed black boxes. In practice, the most resilient industrial stacks are built on open-source infrastructure that can run on-prem, scale horizontally, and integrate with OT protocols without locking you into a single ecosystem.

What qualifies as an IoT infrastructure platform here

Included platforms support most of the following:

• Device connectivity (MQTT, HTTP, OPC UA, Modbus via gateways)
• Ingestion of high-volume telemetry
• Rules, processing, or routing of data
• Integration with databases, analytics, and dashboards
• On-prem or self-hosted deployment

Pure visualization tools and hardware-locked systems are excluded.

1. ThingsBoard Community Edition

ThingsBoard CE is one of the most complete open-source IIoT platforms available. It provides device management, MQTT/HTTP/CoAP connectivity, rule chains, alarms, and dashboards in a single stack. In manufacturing, it is often used as:

• a machine telemetry hub
• an alarm and condition monitoring layer
• a lightweight MES-adjacent IIoT platform

License: Apache 2.0, open source.
Best for: End-to-end IIoT platform with dashboards and rules.

2. Kaa IoT Platform (Kaa Community Edition)

Kaa is a modular IoT platform focused on device lifecycle management and data ingestion. It supports MQTT, REST, and integrates cleanly with Kafka and analytics stacks. Often used when:

• you need large-scale device fleets
• dashboards are secondary to data pipelines
• analytics happens downstream

License: Apache 2.0, open source.
Best for: Scalable device management and data pipelines.

3. EMQX (Open Source Edition)

EMQX is a high-performance MQTT broker designed for millions of connections. It is widely used in industrial and automotive IIoT systems. Typical roles:

• core MQTT message broker
• gateway between OT devices and IT systems
• ingestion layer for analytics and monitoring

License: Apache 2.0, open source (core).
Best for: Industrial MQTT backbone.

4. Eclipse Mosquitto

Mosquitto is the most widely deployed open-source MQTT broker. It is simple, stable, and perfect for small to mid-scale industrial setups.

Used when:

• you want minimal infrastructure
• devices publish telemetry to a central hub
• other systems handle analytics and storage

License: EPL / EDL, open source.
Best for: Lightweight MQTT deployments.

5. Fledge (LF Edge)

Fledge is an open-source edge platform designed specifically for industrial environments. It supports plugins for OPC UA, Modbus, and custom protocols, buffering data locally before sending it upstream. In factories, Fledge is often:

• installed on edge gateways
• used to normalize OT data
• paired with cloud or on-prem analytics platforms

License: Apache 2.0, open source.
Best for: Industrial edge data collection.

6. Node-RED

Node-RED is not a full IoT platform, but it is a critical infrastructure component. It excels at wiring devices, APIs, databases, and rules together. Manufacturing uses:

• decoding PLC or sensor payloads
• transforming and routing data
• triggering alerts or actions

License: Apache 2.0, open source.
Best for: Low-code integration and IoT workflows.

7. ChirpStack

ChirpStack is an open-source LoRaWAN network server. It is widely used for battery-powered sensors measuring vibration, temperature, energy, and environmental conditions. In industrial settings:

• remote assets
• energy monitoring
• hard-to-wire equipment

License: MIT, open source.
Best for: LoRaWAN and low-power industrial IoT.

8. EdgeX Foundry

EdgeX Foundry is a microservices-based edge platform for industrial IoT. It focuses on protocol abstraction, data normalization, and secure northbound integration. It is often chosen for:

• complex OT environments
• multi-vendor device landscapes
• long-term industrial architectures

License: Apache 2.0, open source.
Best for: Vendor-neutral industrial edge architecture.

9. OpenRemote

OpenRemote is an open-source IoT platform focused on asset modeling and rules. It is commonly used in smart infrastructure and industrial monitoring projects. Strengths include:

• asset hierarchies
• rule-based automation
• flexible integrations

License: AGPLv3, open source.
Best for: Asset-centric IoT platforms.

10. Mainflux

Mainflux is a modern open-source IoT platform designed around microservices, APIs, and message brokers. It integrates with MQTT, HTTP, and popular databases. Best suited for:

• cloud-native IIoT backends
• custom industrial applications
• developer-centric teams

License: Apache 2.0, open source.
Best for: Cloud-native, API-driven IoT infrastructure.

Free IoT Platforms Comparison

How manufacturers actually combine these tools

A realistic open IIoT stack often looks like:

• Devices & PLCs: OPC UA, Modbus, sensors
• Edge: Fledge + Node-RED
• Messaging: EMQX or Mosquitto
• Platform: ThingsBoard or Kaa
• Storage & analytics: ClickHouse, TimescaleDB, or data lake
• Visualization: Grafana or Superset

This avoids vendor lock-in and keeps control of production data inside your own infrastructure.

Final Thoughts

Industrial IoT infrastructure is no longer about buying a single platform that promises everything. The winning architectures in 2025 are modular, open, and composable.

These open-source platforms give manufacturers the freedom to start small, scale gradually, and integrate deeply with MES, CMMS, analytics, and digital twin systems. The value is not in the logo on the platform, but in owning your data and your architecture.

About MDCplus

Our key features are real-time machine monitoring for swift issue resolution, power consumption tracking to promote sustainability, computerized maintenance management to reduce downtime, and vibration diagnostics for predictive maintenance. MDCplus's solutions are tailored for diverse industries, including aerospace, automotive, precision machining, and heavy industry. By delivering actionable insights and fostering seamless integration, we empower manufacturers to boost Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), reduce operational costs, and achieve sustainable growth along with future planning.