The automation-gateway market splits into a few broad approaches. Rather than pitting brands against each other, here is how the WBox compares to each category of solution — to help you choose against your real constraints.
WBox vs. the alternatives
How a WBox gateway compares to a single-protocol gateway, a PC running middleware, or a fully cloud solution — by category, no spin.
Compare by category, not by brand
The comparison
| WBox | Single-protocol gateway | PC + middleware | Cloud-only solution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-protocol in one box | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | ~ |
| On-device native routing | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| No mandatory proprietary cloud | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Open REST API | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ~ |
| Snapshot & redeploy | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| One-time cost, no subscription | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✗ |
| All data points included (no tiers) | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | ~ |
| New protocol = a simple remote licence | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | ~ |
| Built-in remote access (no fixed IP) | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | ✓ |
| On-board logic & supervision | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | ~ |
| Designed & supported in Switzerland | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
✓ Yes · ~ Varies by product · ✗ No / rare
Versus a single-protocol gateway
A dedicated converter per protocol pair is cheap per unit, but multiplies hardware: one KNX↔BACnet box, another Modbus↔BACnet, and so on. More devices, more points of failure, more configurations to maintain. The WBox speaks every protocol on a single device, with one interface and one supervision point.
Versus a PC + middleware
A PC with a middleware layer is flexible, but it is a server to administer: operating system, licences, updates, security patches — and a reboot or disk failure that leaves the site blind. The WBox is embedded and runs without a PC, designed to run for years unattended, in an industrial DIN-rail enclosure.
Versus a cloud-only solution
A fully cloud solution is simple to start, but your data and the control of your installation live in a third party’s infrastructure: offline, you are blind, and the dependency on the vendor is total. With the WBox, the intelligence is on-site — routing and logic run locally, and the cloud becomes an option, not a requirement.
Cost over time
The purchase price is only half the story. A subscription solution is paid for again every year — and stops if you stop paying. Point-tier gateways charge again at every extension: exceeding the tier means a new licence, sometimes a new box. The WBox takes the opposite path: hardware and licences are paid once, every data point included, and protocols are added with a simple remote licence — cost follows your projects, not the calendar.
This is the model running in production today — see the customer cases →
No hardware? The WBox software also runs on Windows
The complete WBox stack — every driver, the routing engine, logic and supervision — is also available as an installable Windows application. Ideal for a proof of concept, a supervision workstation or a deployment without dedicated hardware. The software is free: you only pay for the licences.
Frequently asked questions
Isn’t a single-protocol gateway cheaper?
Per unit, often, yes. But every protocol pair needs its own box, and point tiers are billed on top. From two or three conversions — or the first extension — the WBox becomes the cheaper option, and it grows without new hardware.
Can you really run without the cloud?
Yes. Routing, logic and supervision run entirely on the gateway, locally. The cloud stays an option — for remote access or telemetry — never a requirement: offline, your installation keeps running.
What happens when a new need shows up?
You enable the matching driver or module by licence, remotely, on the gateway already in place. No new box, no rewiring — 50+ drivers are available.
Dedicated gateways are already installed — what then?
They coexist just fine: the WBox speaks the same standard protocols. Many customers replace the legacy boxes progressively, as extensions come up and equipment reaches end of life.
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