IoT Sensor Network Calculator

Sensor count and gateway placement from coverage area.

Coverage area (m²)

Sensor range (m)

Topology (0=star,1=mesh,2=tree)

Max sensors/gateway

Gateway range (m)

Redundancy factor

Sensor unit cost ($)

Gateway unit cost ($)

Tab to move between fields

Sensors needed

Gateways needed1

Avg network hops1

Sensors per gateway6

Total hardware cost ($)$350.00

Throughput factor1

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the total coverage area in square meters and effective sensor range in meters.
Select a network topology: 0=star, 1=mesh, 2=tree.
Set max sensors per gateway and gateway communication range in meters.
Enter redundancy factor (1.2 = 20% extra sensors) and unit costs for sensors and gateways.
Read Sensors needed, Gateways needed, and Total hardware cost to plan your deployment.

What each input means

Coverage area (m²): Total area to cover with sensors in square meters. 10,000 m² = 1 hectare.
Sensor range (m): Effective sensing radius per sensor in meters.
Topology (0=star,1=mesh,2=tree): Network topology: 0 = star (direct to gateway), 1 = mesh (multi-hop), 2 = tree (hierarchical).
Max sensors/gateway: Maximum devices a single gateway can support. LoRa: 500+, Zigbee: 65K, BLE: 7-20.
Gateway range (m): Gateway communication range in meters. WiFi: 50-100 m, LoRa: 2-15 km.
Redundancy factor: Sensor over-provisioning for reliability. 1.0 = no redundancy, 1.2 = 20% extra.
Sensor unit cost ($): Cost per sensor node including housing and installation.
Gateway unit cost ($): Cost per gateway/concentrator including installation.

Sensors needed: Total sensor nodes required to cover the area with redundancy.
Gateways needed: Minimum gateway count for capacity and coverage.
Avg network hops: Average hops from sensor to gateway (1 for star topology).
Sensors per gateway: Average sensor-to-gateway ratio in the deployment.
Total hardware cost ($): Combined cost of all sensors and gateways.
Throughput factor: Effective per-node throughput as fraction of link rate (mesh overhead).

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Coverage area (m²) = 10000, Sensor range (m) = 30, Topology (0=star,1=mesh,2=tree) = 0, Max sensors/gateway = 50 = 8 input(s) provided
Calculate Sensors needed
Sensors needed
6 = 6
Calculate Gateways needed
Gateways needed
1 = 1
Calculate Avg network hops
Avg network hops
1 = 1