goTenna vs Meshtastic

What we can and cannot confirm about goTenna for UK buyers, set against Meshtastic's open, documented 868 MHz hardware.

At a glance

	goTenna	Meshtastic
Company	Acquired by Forterra; announced 9 October 2025	Grassroots open-source project founded by Kevin Hester in 2020; trademark held by Meshtastic LLC
Who it is aimed at	Not confirmed from goTenna's own pages; the acquisition coverage we read is framed around defence and autonomous-systems customers	Individuals and communities
Current products	Not confirmed	Many third-party boards from several vendors
Frequencies and UK legality	Not confirmed	Region `EU_868` (and `EU_433`) for the UK; cites Ofcom IR 2030
Encryption	Not confirmed	AES-CTR channels (default key public); X25519 direct messages; header unencrypted
Source code	Not confirmed	GPL-3.0 firmware
Price	Not confirmed	Boards from roughly £25 to £40 (LocalMesh's self-reported, indicative figures)
Interoperability	No Meshtastic interoperability found	Meshtastic devices only
Support	Not confirmed	Community and GitHub

Key differences

Product status

The one goTenna fact we confirmed is the acquisition: Forterra announced it was acquiring goTenna on 9 October 2025. We did not confirm which goTenna products are on sale, who they are sold to, or whether consumer models remain available. If you see a goTenna device for sale second-hand, do not assume it is legal to use in the UK; we could not confirm its frequencies.

Openness

Meshtastic firmware is GPL-3.0 and its radio settings, roles and encryption are documented publicly, including their limits. See Meshtastic and privacy and encryption. For goTenna we could not read comparable documentation.

Hardware choice

Meshtastic runs on boards from several vendors, so you can choose by price, battery, screen or antenna; see the hardware buyer's guide. Whether goTenna offers comparable choice is not something we could confirm. We make no performance comparison because we could not verify goTenna's specifications.

In the UK

Any radio used in the UK must meet Ofcom's rules for its band, or be used under an Ofcom licence.

Whether any goTenna device is UKCA or CE marked, or sold to UK consumers, is not confirmed. Do not imply that a device bought abroad is legal here.

Which should you choose?

You are an individual or community in the UK who wants a documented, buyable off-grid mesh: Meshtastic. See flash Meshtastic.
You want a different open mesh stack: see Meshtastic vs MeshCore.
You are a professional being supplied goTenna equipment: use the vendor's own documentation, which we could not read.
Not sure what a mesh can do for you: what you can actually do.

FAQ

Is goTenna better than Meshtastic?

We cannot say. We could not verify goTenna's current specifications, frequencies or pricing, so there is nothing sourced to compare.

Who owns goTenna now?

Forterra announced on 9 October 2025 that it was acquiring goTenna.

Does goTenna work with Meshtastic?

We found no interoperability between them. Treat them as separate systems.

Is goTenna legal in the UK?

Not confirmed. We could not read goTenna's frequency or compliance information. Meshtastic's UK settings are documented; see find a local mesh for who is running it near you.