I am running ChirpStack on Kubernetes. Is the migration disruptive?

No. Datacake re-uses the same DevEUI, JoinEUI/AppEUI and AppKey, so devices do not need to be re-flashed. You can migrate gateway-by-gateway, validate uplinks on Datacake, and tear down your ChirpStack pods only when you are confident.

What about the operational savings? Are they real?

For most teams below ~50,000 devices, the all-in cost of running ChirpStack reliably (hosting, database, monitoring, on-call, expert hours) is higher than Datacake's per-device licenses. Above that scale the calculation depends on your team and infrastructure choices.

Can my custom JS payload codec move to Datacake?

Yes. Datacake's per-device decoder uses a similar JS-function-over-bytes signature. Most ChirpStack codecs port with minor adjustments (e.g. wrapping a function name change or input shape).

Will my MQTT / webhook subscribers keep working?

Datacake offers equivalent MQTTS and HTTPS webhook outputs. Endpoint URLs and field-name mappings will need to change, but the JSON payload format is similar enough that consumers usually need only minor adjustment.

Can I keep ChirpStack as a cold-standby fallback?

Yes. Because no firmware is changed and Datacake re-uses existing device keys, rolling back to ChirpStack is always possible. Many teams keep their old ChirpStack stack running for a few weeks or months as a safety net.

Does Datacake support all the same regional parameter sets?

Yes: EU868, US915, AU915, AS923, IN865 and KR920, under LoRaWAN 1.0.x and 1.1.

← Datacake LoRaWAN Network Server

Migration guide

Migrate from ChirpStack to Datacake's free LoRaWAN Network Server

A practical, no-firmware-re-flash migration path from ChirpStack to Datacake's managed LNS. Run both stacks in parallel during the cut-over so you never lose a device, then decommission the old server when you're ready.

Re-use the same DevEUI, JoinEUI/AppEUI and AppKey: no firmware re-flash
Cut over gateway-by-gateway with zero downtime
400+ device templates ready, with payload decoders included
Free LNS in every Datacake plan, no per-gateway fees

Create a free Datacake account Jump to the steps

ChirpStack vs Datacake at a glance

A side-by-side view of the parts of the LoRaWAN stack that change when you migrate. We've kept it factual. Both products have their strengths.

Capability	ChirpStack	Datacake
Hosting model	Self-hosted (your VMs / Kubernetes)	Managed SaaS
Operating burden	You operate Postgres, Redis, the LNS, monitoring, on-call	Datacake operates the stack for you
Total cost of ownership	PartialSoftware is free; cost = hosting + ops + on-call + expertise	Free LNS in every plan; you only pay per-device licenses
Built-in dashboards	Bring your own (Grafana, ThingsBoard, Datacake itself)	Template-driven dashboards
Built-in rules / alerting		Email, SMS, push, webhook
Re-use existing devices (no re-flash)		Same DevEUI, JoinEUI/AppEUI and AppKey
Custom LNS modifications	Open-source: fork and modify any component	Datacake exposes integrations but not the LNS source

Capabilities reflect the public ChirpStack documentation and Datacake at the time of writing. Your TCO depends heavily on the team operating ChirpStack. These comparisons assume reliable production-grade hosting.

Migration in 5 steps

A path from self-hosted ChirpStack to Datacake's managed LNS. Re-use existing device keys, keep existing gateways, decommission your ChirpStack infrastructure when ready.

1
Create a free Datacake account
Sign up at app.datacake.de. The Datacake LoRaWAN Network Server is included on every plan, with no commercial commitment required to validate the migration.
2
Re-route your gateway packet-forwarder
Configure each gateway's Semtech UDP or LoRa Basics Station forwarder to point at Datacake's LNS endpoint. Migrate gateway-by-gateway, or run both endpoints in parallel where the gateway supports it.
Compatibility:Any gateway that already speaks UDP-PF or Basics Station to ChirpStack can speak the same protocols to Datacake, with no firmware change on the gateway.
3
Re-register your devices
Add devices to Datacake using the same DevEUI, JoinEUI/AppEUI and AppKey from ChirpStack. If your hardware is in Datacake's template catalog, the matching template configures decoder, dashboard and downlinks for you in one step.
Bulk import:Export device data from ChirpStack (CSV via the API) and bulk-import into Datacake. Re-registration scales cleanly even for tens of thousands of devices.
4
Re-implement custom codecs (where needed)
Most popular hardware does not require a custom decoder on Datacake: the template catalog covers it. For unusual hardware, copy the JS payload codec from ChirpStack into Datacake's per-device decoder field. The function signature is intentionally similar.
Decoder portability:ChirpStack and Datacake both use a JS function over a `bytes`/`fPort` input. Most decoders port over with minor wrapper changes.
5
Verify uplinks, then decommission ChirpStack
Watch the Datacake device list for joins and uplinks. Once everything looks good, gradually remove gateways from ChirpStack, re-point downstream MQTT / webhook subscribers, and finally tear down the ChirpStack infrastructure (Postgres, Redis, the network-server service, monitoring), or keep it cold-standby as fallback.
Rollback:Because no firmware was changed, you can always re-point gateways at ChirpStack and re-activate the existing device entries to roll back.

Still evaluating?

Compare ChirpStack vs Datacake side by side

Pricing, hosting model, integrations and where each platform wins, laid out in a single comparison table.

Read the ChirpStack comparison

ChirpStack migration FAQ

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