Meshtastic is free, open-source firmware that turns a cheap LoRa board into a node on a private mesh. The nodes pass each other's messages along, so coverage grows just by adding nodes, no gateway, no SIM, no internet, no monthly fee. It's the most sovereign way to carry a reading across a farm: drop a few encrypted nodes and they find each other.
What it is.
Meshtastic rides the same unlicensed sub-gigahertz LoRa bands as the LoRa page covers (915 MHz in North America), so it travels far on little power. What it adds is the mesh: every node relays for its neighbors, so two nodes that can't hear each other directly still connect through a third in between. Channels are AES-encrypted with a key only your nodes share, and you set the whole thing up from a phone over Bluetooth. It's a community open-source project, not a product you buy into.
Mesh vs LoRaWAN.
Both use LoRa radios; the difference is the shape. LoRaWAN is a star: nodes shout to gateways, gateways forward to a network server. Meshtastic is a mesh: there's no gateway and no server, every node relays for the others. LoRaWAN scales to many nodes with careful airtime planning and suits a structured, permanent deployment. Meshtastic is the choice when you want range with zero infrastructure and full ownership, nothing to stand up, nothing to depend on, nothing leaving the farm.
When to use it.
The honest comparison for carrying a reading across distance. Meshtastic wins on "no infrastructure" and sovereignty; it trades away the structured scale of LoRaWAN and the bandwidth of Wi-Fi.
| By the job | Meshtastic (mesh) | LoRaWAN | Plain LoRa (point-to-point) | Wi-Fi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range | A few km, extended by hops | A few km per gateway | A few km, one hop | About 100 m |
| What it needs | Just nodes (each relays) | A gateway + network server | Two radios | A router you have |
| Topology | Mesh (peer relay) | Star (via gateways) | Point-to-point | Star (via router) |
| Extra infrastructure | None | Gateway + server | None | None |
| Scales to many | Dozens (watch airtime) | Many, structured | No (one link) | Limited |
| Best for | Range with zero infrastructure | Many nodes, a planned deployment | One far sensor to one base | Sensors near the building |
Range is open-field and varies a lot with terrain, antennas, and obstructions. For a single far link with no relays, plain point-to-point LoRa is simpler; for a planned network of many nodes, LoRaWAN earns its gateway.
The parts you need.
Two nodes are a working mesh. Add more and coverage spreads, each new node both reports and relays.
Getting readings into Open Agriculture Technology.
Meshtastic carries the readings; oat-ods is where they live. The bridge is MQTT: turn on Meshtastic's MQTT module on one node and point it at your own broker, the same broker the rest of Open Agriculture Technology uses, and the mesh's telemetry lands as MQTT messages a thin map turns into oat-ods. The chain: node → mesh → your broker → oat-ods → your endpoint or Home Assistant. No cloud in the path. Open Agriculture Technology ships a reference bridge that does exactly this thin map for both Meshtastic and self-hosted LoRaWAN, binding each node to a stable stream so you can swap a radio without losing the history, the gather tier is a config file, not a coding project.
Keep it your broker
Meshtastic also offers a public, shared broker for the global community. Don't put farm data there. Point the MQTT module at a broker on your own network so the readings never leave the property. That's the Open Agriculture Technology rule: open transport, but yours and local.
Where it fits, and where it doesn’t.
Where it fits
- Range across a property with no Wi-Fi and no wish to run a gateway.
- Spots that move or change, drop a node and the mesh absorbs it.
- Full sovereignty: no carrier, no cloud, encrypted, yours.
- A few periodic readings from far corners: tank, gate, back row.
Where it doesn’t
Resources.
These open in a new tab:
Meshtastic (the project) Meshtastic MQTT module Telemetry module
Frequently asked questions.
What is Meshtastic?
Meshtastic is free, open-source firmware that turns a cheap ESP32-plus-LoRa board into a node on a private, encrypted mesh network. Every node relays for the others, so messages hop across distance with no gateway, no cloud, and no fees. It's commonly used for off-grid text and location, and it carries sensor telemetry just as well.
Can I send sensor data across a farm with no internet or Wi-Fi?
Yes. Meshtastic nodes relay each other's encrypted LoRa messages across the property without any gateway or internet connection. To collect the readings, bridge one node to a small computer running an MQTT broker on your own network. The readings then land in your own database or dashboard without ever leaving the farm.
Meshtastic or LoRaWAN, which should I use?
Both use LoRa radios. Choose Meshtastic when you want range with zero infrastructure and full sovereignty, just drop nodes and they mesh. Choose LoRaWAN when you're running a planned network of many nodes and can stand up a gateway and a network server. Meshtastic is the easy, infrastructure-free option; LoRaWAN is the structured, scale-up one.
Does Meshtastic need a gateway or a cloud account?
No. There's no gateway and no required cloud, the nodes form the network themselves, and they keep working with the internet down. To pull the data into a system, you bridge one node to MQTT; point that at a broker on your own network and nothing leaves the property.
How do I get Meshtastic data into Home Assistant or my own system?
Use Meshtastic's MQTT module. Enable it on one node and point it at an MQTT broker on your own network; the mesh's telemetry then arrives as ordinary MQTT messages that Home Assistant or any other system can read. Keep the broker local rather than using the public Meshtastic broker so farm data stays on your own network.