Offline Protocol vs Amazon Sidewalk
Amazon Sidewalk is a shared, low-bandwidth network that uses BLE and 900 MHz radio, including LoRa, with Amazon Echo and Ring devices acting as gateways that bridge to the internet, and it is US-centric. Offline Protocol is a phone-native software mesh SDK: it uses the phone radios over BLE, WiFi Direct, and internet with automatic failover, adds MLS encryption, Ed25519 identity, and serverless service discovery, and needs no gateway hardware or internet backhaul. Sidewalk is built to connect low-bandwidth IoT devices through Amazon gateways. Offline Protocol turns the phones people already carry into a self-contained mesh. If your product lives on phones and cannot depend on Amazon gateways, the software mesh is the practical one.
Covers itPartly, or with conditionsNot part of the product Taken from each product's own documentation. The detailed table below carries the specifics.
The specifics
| Capability | Offline Protocol | Amazon Sidewalk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Phone-native software mesh SDK | Shared low-bandwidth gateway network |
| Extra hardware | None, uses the phone radios | Amazon Echo or Ring gateways |
| Transports | BLE, WiFi Direct, internet with failover | BLE and 900 MHz including LoRa |
| Internet dependency | Serverless by default, internet optional | Bridges to internet via gateway backhaul |
| Coverage | Global, 140+ countries reached | US-centric |
| Encryption and identity | MLS (RFC 9420), Ed25519 OfflineID | Encrypted low-bandwidth device traffic |
| Service discovery | Serverless request and response across the mesh | IoT device connectivity |
| Primary artifact | Rust core SDK with React Native binding | Network plus gateway hardware |
| Licensing and cost | Mesh SDK free under AGPL-3.0, including in production. Closed-source and App Store apps need the commercial license; contact us for pricing. Hosted services from $0 (Free), $99 a month (Pro), $499 a month (Scale). Local mesh traffic is never metered. Pricing | Device makers pay AWS IoT Core for Amazon Sidewalk per message. AWS IoT Core pricing |
How they differ
Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network that pools a small slice of bandwidth from participating devices. It uses BLE and 900 MHz radio, including LoRa, and Amazon Echo and Ring devices act as gateways that bridge low-bandwidth device traffic to the internet, with coverage that is US-centric (amazon.com). The design goal is long-range, low-bandwidth connectivity for IoT devices, and it leans on Amazon gateway hardware and internet backhaul to carry the traffic.
Offline Protocol is phone-native software. It turns the phone's own radios into a mesh over BLE, WiFi Direct, and internet with automatic failover and 8-hop relay, with no gateway, no LoRa device, and no dependency on Amazon hardware. On top of transport it adds MLS (RFC 9420) encryption, an Ed25519 OfflineID for verifying devices with no server, and serverless service discovery, so the mesh can discover and invoke capabilities, not just carry small IoT payloads. It ships as an SDK and runs in 140+ countries.
So the split is gateway network versus phone-native mesh. Sidewalk assumes nearby Amazon gateways and internet backhaul, and targets low-bandwidth IoT. Offline Protocol assumes phones and no infrastructure, and targets products that need identity, discovery, and higher-bandwidth mesh transport, including chunked transfer up to 100 MiB.
When to choose each
Choose Amazon Sidewalk if you are connecting low-bandwidth IoT devices in the US through Amazon gateways. Choose Offline Protocol if your product runs on phones, has to work with no gateway or internet backhaul, or ships outside the US.
Choose Amazon Sidewalk when
You are connecting low-bandwidth IoT devices over long range within the US, existing Amazon Echo and Ring gateways are present, and bridging that device traffic to the internet through those gateways is the requirement.
Choose Offline Protocol when
Your product lives on phones, cannot depend on gateway hardware or internet backhaul, and needs an encrypted mesh with device identity, service discovery, and higher bandwidth, delivered as a cross-platform SDK.
See a phone-native mesh in the field across logistics, industrial and energy sites, and the public sector.
Offline Protocol vs Amazon Sidewalk FAQ
What is the difference between Offline Protocol and Amazon Sidewalk?
Amazon Sidewalk is a shared, low-bandwidth network that uses BLE and 900 MHz radio, including LoRa, with Amazon Echo and Ring devices acting as gateways that bridge to the internet, and it is US-centric (amazon.com). Offline Protocol is a phone-native software mesh SDK: it uses the phone radios over BLE, WiFi Direct, and internet with automatic failover, adds MLS (RFC 9420) encryption, Ed25519 OfflineID identity, and serverless service discovery, and needs no gateway hardware or internet backhaul. Sidewalk connects low-bandwidth IoT devices through Amazon gateways, while Offline Protocol turns phones into a self-contained mesh.
Does Amazon Sidewalk work without the internet the way Offline Protocol does?
Sidewalk is designed around gateway devices, such as Amazon Echo and Ring hardware, that bridge low-bandwidth device traffic to the internet, so it depends on that gateway and backhaul (amazon.com). Offline Protocol is serverless by default and phone-native: identity, discovery, and routing happen device to device over BLE and WiFi Direct, and internet is treated as one more transport rather than a requirement.
Do I need Amazon hardware to use Offline Protocol?
No. Offline Protocol uses the phone radios already in the field, with no gateway, no LoRa device, and no dependency on Amazon Echo or Ring hardware. It ships as an SDK, a Rust core with a React Native binding, with 350,000+ devices reached across 140+ countries, and available outside the US.
Which fits low-bandwidth IoT versus a phone-native product?
For connecting many low-bandwidth IoT devices over long range through existing Amazon gateways, Sidewalk is purpose-built, within its coverage footprint. If you are building a phone-native product that needs an encrypted mesh with device identity and service discovery and no gateway hardware, Offline Protocol is the SDK shaped for that.
How do licensing and cost compare with Amazon Sidewalk?
The Offline Protocol mesh SDK is free under AGPL-3.0-only, including in production, and local mesh traffic is never metered on any plan. Closed-source apps and apps distributed through the Apple App Store need the commercial license, which has no published price, so contact us for pricing. Hosted services are optional and run on Free ($0), Pro ($99 a month), Scale ($499 a month), and Enterprise plans. On Amazon Sidewalk, device makers pay AWS IoT Core for Amazon Sidewalk per message, at the rates on the AWS pricing page. See AWS IoT Core pricing.
