AWS IoT SiteWise

Overview

AWS IoT SiteWise is a managed service for collecting, organizing, storing, and monitoring industrial equipment data. It suits organizations that need equipment models spanning sites and machines, with data collection at the edge and services across AWS. Its strongest case is an AWS-centered industrial data workflow; usage-based charges and a separate gateway fee for processing make cost evaluation important.

Key features

Asset models organize equipment data from enterprise and site levels down to areas and machines. That structure gives teams a way to analyze equipment in context rather than treat readings as an undifferentiated stream.

SiteWise Edge runs on local Linux or Microsoft Windows Server devices, collecting, organizing, and processing data before sending it to AWS Cloud. It supports OPC-UA and MQTT, along with protocols provided through partners. This is useful where equipment data needs local collection before cloud transfer, though edge processing has a per-active-gateway monthly charge.

Storage includes hot and warm tiers, plus a customer-managed cold tier using Amazon S3. Edge can transfer data to Amazon S3, AWS IoT SiteWise, AWS IoT Core, Amazon Timestream, and Amazon Kinesis, giving AWS users several destinations for collected data. AWS also describes visualization and application partners, as well as software and hardware partners for industrial collection.

The service supports real-time stream processing, custom dashboards, SQL querying, anomaly detection, and machine learning tools. Internet communication is encrypted with TLS; cloud data is sent over MQTT or HTTPS. Customers can use AWS KMS customer-managed keys to encrypt asset property and aggregate values in the cloud. AWS states that SiteWise is not in scope of any AWS compliance programs, an important constraint for organizations with compliance requirements.

Pricing

There is no free plan for AWS IoT SiteWise itself. Its main service uses pay-per-usage charges that vary by component and consumption, with no minimum fees or mandatory service usage. The chargeable components include messaging, data processing, storage, export, SiteWise Monitor, SiteWise Edge, and alarms. This model avoids a fixed minimum commitment, but budgeting requires attention to the components and consumption involved.

• SiteWise Edge Data Collection Pack: free. The pack collects industrial data and transfers it to the cloud, making it the no-charge edge option.
• SiteWise Edge Data Processing Pack: $200 a month, billed at $200 per active gateway per month. A gateway counts as active in a month if it connects to AWS Cloud to receive software configuration updates. AWS IoT Greengrass is charged separately, so the pack's price is not the full edge-processing cost.
• AWS IoT SiteWise: Custom pricing. Charges depend on usage across service components, with no minimum fee or mandatory service use.

Getting started requires an AWS account and a Region where SiteWise is available. There is no free-plan allowance for the main service.

Platforms

SiteWise is available through API, Linux, self-hosted, web, and Windows platforms. Its edge gateway software can be installed on local devices running Linux or Microsoft Windows Server. This combination suits teams managing industrial collection locally alongside AWS cloud services.

Who it's for

SiteWise is best suited to organizations collecting industrial equipment data across multiple levels of an operation and already prepared to work with AWS services. Its asset modeling, edge collection, storage tiers, and AWS transfer destinations address that kind of workflow. It is a weaker fit for buyers who need a free main service, a predictable all-in price, or an AWS compliance-program scope.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Asset models cover enterprise, site, area, and machine levels, helping organize equipment data at operational scale.
• Pros: Edge collection supports OPC-UA, MQTT, and partner protocols, with multiple AWS transfer destinations.
• Pros: Hot, warm, and customer-managed S3 cold storage provide distinct storage tiers.
• Cons: Main-service charges vary with component and consumption, so costs are not a single fixed subscription.
• Cons: Edge processing costs $200 a month per active gateway, and Greengrass is an additional charge.
• Cons: AWS states SiteWise is not in scope of any AWS compliance programs.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see the IoT Analytics Software directory. Consider ThingsBoard instead if a freemium platform with a free tier capped at five devices, five assets, and one million data points per month better fits a small deployment. InfluxDB is another option, with a free usage-based Cloud Serverless Data In plan and a single-node InfluxDB 3 Core plan. Choose OpenRemote if a free, self-hosted IoT platform with community support is the priority. TDengine may suit teams seeking a free tier and an open-source time-series database with clustering under the AGPL license. Thinger.io offers freemium cloud plans with device and storage allowances. Datacake has a free plan for five devices, while its Hobby plan is €25 a month for up to 25 devices. TagoIO provides a free tier with five devices and five dashboards, with a Starter plan at $49 a month. Ubidots offers a free, non-commercial STEM plan for three devices.

Verdict

Choose AWS IoT SiteWise if you need industrial equipment models, edge collection, and storage and transfer options within an AWS-centered workflow. Its depth across asset organization and AWS integrations is the main reason to choose it. Look elsewhere if you need a free core service, a fixed predictable price, or service coverage within an AWS compliance program.