Why LoRaWAN Beats GPS+SIM for Most Asset Tracking

February 24, 2026 | Kyle Guin, VastVision

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If you're tracking assets across a facility, campus, or city, the default answer is usually "throw a GPS tracker with a SIM card on it."

That works. But it's expensive, power-hungry, and overkill for most use cases.

LoRaWAN is better for the majority of industrial asset tracking deployments. Here's why.

The Problem with GPS+SIM

Battery life is terrible.
GPS is a power hog. Cellular modems are worse. A typical GPS+SIM tracker running on a battery lasts weeks, maybe a couple months if you're lucky and only ping once per day.

That means constant battery swaps. At scale, that's a logistics nightmare.

Recurring costs add up.
Every device needs a SIM card. Every SIM card needs a data plan. Even if you're paying $2-5/month per device, that's $24-60/year per asset. Forever.

For 1,000 assets, you're burning $24,000-60,000/year just on connectivity. That's before hardware, installation, or battery replacements.

Indoor tracking doesn't work.
GPS requires line-of-sight to satellites. Inside a warehouse, manufacturing floor, or underground facility? Good luck. You'll get no signal or wildly inaccurate positions.

Cellular helps with rough location (tower triangulation), but it's not precise enough for "which aisle is this pallet in?"

Why LoRaWAN Wins

Battery life measured in years.
LoRaWAN is designed for ultra-low-power IoT. Devices transmit tiny packets of data over long distances using minimal energy.

A well-designed LoRaWAN tracker on a battery can run 2-5 years without a swap. Some passive sensor configurations last even longer.

No recurring costs.
LoRaWAN is unlicensed spectrum (ISM bands). You deploy your own gateways. No SIM cards. No monthly fees. No carrier lock-in.

Upfront cost for gateways (typically $300-1,000 each), but once deployed, connectivity is free.

Works indoors.
LoRaWAN penetrates buildings. A single gateway can cover an entire warehouse, factory floor, or campus — even through concrete and steel.

You're not tracking GPS coordinates. You're tracking which gateway the device is near. For most industrial use cases, that's enough.

Scales cheaply.
One LoRaWAN gateway can handle thousands of devices. Add more gateways for coverage, not capacity.

Compare that to cellular, where every device is a separate recurring cost.

When GPS+SIM Actually Makes Sense

Wide-area, outdoor tracking.
If you're tracking trucks across the country, GPS+SIM is the right choice. LoRaWAN coverage is limited to where you've deployed gateways.

Precision location matters.
GPS gives you latitude/longitude coordinates. LoRaWAN gives you "near this gateway." If you need exact coordinates for outdoor assets, GPS wins.

You need real-time updates.
LoRaWAN is optimized for infrequent updates (every few minutes to hours). If you need second-by-second tracking, cellular is better.

When LoRaWAN Wins

Indoor asset tracking — Warehouses, factories, hospitals, data centers
Long battery life required — Sensors on remote equipment, environmental monitoring
High device count — Thousands of assets, recurring SIM costs become prohibitive
No cellular coverage — Rural areas, underground facilities, international deployments where roaming is expensive

The Hybrid Approach

Best solution? Use both where it makes sense.

LoRaWAN for fixed facilities — Track inventory, equipment, and tools inside your buildings.

GPS+SIM for mobile assets — Track vehicles, shipments, and field equipment that leave your campus.

You get the cost efficiency and battery life of LoRaWAN where you can deploy gateways, and the flexibility of cellular where you can't.

The Real Cost Comparison

Example: 1,000 assets tracked for 5 years

GPS+SIM approach:
- Devices: $50-100 each = $50,000-100,000
- SIM plans: $3/mo × 1,000 devices × 60 months = $180,000
- Battery replacements: 2-3 swaps/device × $5 labor × 1,000 = $10,000-15,000
- Total: ~$240,000-295,000

LoRaWAN approach:
- Devices: $30-60 each = $30,000-60,000
- Gateways: 10 gateways × $500 = $5,000
- No recurring costs
- Battery replacements: 0-1 swap/device × $5 labor × 1,000 = $0-5,000
- Total: ~$35,000-70,000

Savings: $170,000-225,000 over 5 years.

Bottom Line

GPS+SIM is the right tool for tracking things that move across cities or countries.

LoRaWAN is the right tool for tracking things that stay within a facility, campus, or metro area.

Most industrial asset tracking falls into the second category. That's why LoRaWAN wins.

Get in touch: kyle@vastvision.io

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About VastVision: We build RFID middleware and custom sensing hardware for warehouses, manufacturers, and enterprises that need real-time asset visibility. Hardware-agnostic. API-first. Built by people who've actually deployed this stuff in production.