On this page
The Meshtastic price index summarises the lowest listed price of every device in the Meshfield database, in US dollars, before shipping and tax. The headline figures are below and are recalculated from the data on each build.
From the Meshfield data (35 devices with a price, checked Nov 5, 2026): median price $48; the middle half costs $27.95 to $80.74; cheapest Seeed XIAO nRF52840 + Wio-SX1262 kit ($13.49), most expensive B&Q Station G3 ($139). 19 of 35 have GPS, 18 run on the low-power nRF52 chip, 15 ship with battery and case. Prices in US dollars at maker stores.
If you only want one number for "how much does a Meshtastic device cost", use the median above. The range is wide because the list mixes bare boards with complete weatherproof stations.
Key findings
Price by device type
| Type | Devices | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| dev board | 15 | $25 | $13.49 - $86 |
| tracker | 1 | $30.9 | $30.9 - $30.9 |
| card | 2 | $39.9 | $39.9 - $39.9 |
| handheld | 10 | $71.03 | $21.9 - $109 |
| keyboard device | 3 | $77.16 | $48 - $92.35 |
| solar node | 2 | $85.95 | $72.9 - $99 |
| base station | 2 | $124 | $109 - $139 |
Prices in US dollars at maker stores. checked Nov 5, 2026.
Bare development boards sit at the bottom of the table and base stations at the top, with handhelds, keyboard devices and solar nodes in between. A handheld costs several times more than the board inside it because the price includes battery, case and antenna. Tracker and card rows rest on very few devices, so read them as indications, not averages. For the full list per model see the devices table.
GPS is the biggest price lever
Devices with GPS: median $69.9; without GPS: median $24.2.Devices with GPS cost far more than devices without. If you do not need position sharing, a board without GPS is the cheapest way to join a mesh. If you do, budget for the higher group.
The chip matters less than you might expect
nRF52 devices: median $51.45; ESP32 devices: median $47.32.The two medians are close. Choosing nRF52 for battery life does not make a device dramatically more expensive than an ESP32 board. The real trade-offs are power draw and Wi-Fi, covered in ESP32 vs nRF52.
Method
- Sample. Every device in the Meshfield list that has a verified price, from the Meshtastic hardware page and the maker stores of Heltec, LilyGO, RAKwireless, Seeed and others.
- Which price. The lowest listed price for the 868 or 915 MHz version at a maker store or a named shop, before shipping and tax. Where a store lists several variants, the cheapest base variant is taken and the variant is noted on the device card.
- Currency. Almost all prices are listed in US dollars. A price in another currency is converted with the ECB reference rate stored in the site data.
- Date. The check date is printed in each summary above and in the
updatedfield of the data file. Prices are re-checked about every three weeks. - Excluded. Devices without a verified price are left out of every median and count. Stock status is not part of the index, so a listed price can belong to an item that is temporarily sold out.
- Limits. Medians describe this list, not the whole market. They are not retail averages and do not include import duty, shipping or marketplace sellers. For marketplace buying see the AliExpress buying guide.
What changed since the last check
This is the first edition of the index, dated 5 Nov 2026, so there is no earlier edition to compare with. From the next check on, this section lists the devices whose price moved and the change in the median, with the dates.
Use the data
Download the data: meshtastic-devices.csv · devices.json
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit Meshfield with a link to this page. Each row keeps its source and check date.
If you cite a figure, link back to this page. To turn the numbers into a shortlist for your budget, use the device finder, or read the best Meshtastic devices by use case.
Questions people ask
How much does a Meshtastic device cost in 2026?
The median across the verified list is shown in the first summary on this page. Bare boards cost less and complete handhelds and base stations cost more, so the type table above is a better guide for your build.
What is the cheapest way to start with Meshtastic?
A bare development board. The cheapest and most expensive devices are named in the first summary. You add a battery, an antenna if needed and a case, so compare against a ready handheld before you decide.
Do devices with GPS cost more?
Yes. The GPS comparison above shows the gap between the two medians. Devices without GPS are cheaper, and many people add position sharing only to one or two nodes.
Sources
Specs and prices were checked on the dates shown. Prices change often: check the shop before you buy.
- Meshtastic supported hardware - 2026-11-05
- Heltec Automation products - 2026-11-05
- LilyGO products - 2026-11-05
- RAKwireless WisMesh - 2026-11-05
- ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates - 2026-11-04
- Open data: devices.json