RStudio
RStudio's first October patch is a branch merge, extending a long run of release-train upkeep.
Comparison · Analytics
OpenPanel vs ThingsBoard
A side-by-side editorial comparison of OpenPanel and ThingsBoard — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
OpenPanel vs ThingsBoard: at a glance
What is OpenPanel?
OpenPanel tags three more note-free builds in one evening, reaching 3.16.4.
OpenPanel tagged 3.16.2, 3.16.3 and 3.16.4 within about 80 minutes on October 27, after 3.16.1 the day before. Every entry is a build of main for supporters, installed with openpanel upgrade --supporter, and none carries release notes; public releases come from a separate self-hosting tag.
What is ThingsBoard?
ThingsBoard closes a script-sandbox file write and dozens of CVEs on its 4.3 and 4.2 lines.
ThingsBoard keeps three lines patched in parallel: 4.4, 4.3.1 and the 4.2 LTS. On October 27, 4.3.1.8 and 4.2.2.8 shipped a large security batch: dozens of dependency CVEs, a fix for arbitrary file writes from the TBEL script sandbox, and tamper protection for the OAuth2 authorization cookie. They also fix partitions lost after a ZooKeeper session expiry and unbounded Kafka topic growth from RPC and REST replies, and add IoT Hub search and filter changes.
OpenPanel vs ThingsBoard: editorial side-by-side
OpenPanel
5.0ANALYTICS
OpenPanel tags three more note-free builds in one evening, reaching 3.16.4.
◆ Current state
OpenPanel tagged 3.16.2, 3.16.3 and 3.16.4 within about 80 minutes on October 27, after 3.16.1 the day before. Every entry is a build of main for supporters, installed with openpanel upgrade --supporter, and none carries release notes; public releases come from a separate self-hosting tag.
◆ Where it's heading
The 3.x line has climbed from 3.0.0 to 3.16.4 in under two weeks, with each bump published as a bare build. The cadence shows active development, but the feed gives no way to see what changed or which builds matter.
◆ Prediction
Expect more note-free supporter builds; a public self-hosting release with notes is the first point where the content of 3.x becomes visible.
ThingsBoard
5.0ANALYTICS
ThingsBoard closes a script-sandbox file write and dozens of CVEs on its 4.3 and 4.2 lines.
◆ Current state
ThingsBoard keeps three lines patched in parallel: 4.4, 4.3.1 and the 4.2 LTS. On October 27, 4.3.1.8 and 4.2.2.8 shipped a large security batch: dozens of dependency CVEs, a fix for arbitrary file writes from the TBEL script sandbox, and tamper protection for the OAuth2 authorization cookie. They also fix partitions lost after a ZooKeeper session expiry and unbounded Kafka topic growth from RPC and REST replies, and add IoT Hub search and filter changes.
◆ Where it's heading
After the 4.4 feature release the project is back to maintenance on all supported lines, mostly security and runtime fixes, with the IoT Hub catalogue getting steady UI work alongside. Feature work arrives in larger, infrequent releases.
◆ Prediction
A matching 4.4.0.x patch with the same security batch is the likely next entry; 4.4 got no patch in this batch.
Alternatives to OpenPanel and ThingsBoard
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either OpenPanel or ThingsBoard.
OpenReplay
OpenReplay moves its Go backend to pgx v5 and patches vulnerable deps across 1.25–1.27.
Basedash
Basedash automations can now attach scheduled CSV exports to Slack and email.
Fulcrum
Fulcrum turns on Insights, its AI assistant for field data, for every customer.
Holistics
Holistics lets admins put a key dashboard on everyone's Home page.
OpenHouse
OpenHouse locks down its column-defaults capability flag as default values near completion.
See all OpenPanel alternatives → · See all ThingsBoard alternatives →
Recent activity from OpenPanel and ThingsBoard
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoOpenPanel3.16.4: supporter build, no notes
- 1d agoOpenPanel3.16.3: supporter build, no notes
- 1d agoOpenPanel3.16.2: supporter build, no notes
- 2d agoThingsBoardThingsBoard 4.3.1.8 fixes TBEL sandbox file write and CVE batch
- 2d agoThingsBoardThingsBoard 4.2.2.8: LTS security backport
- 3d agoOpenPanel3.16.1: supporter build, no notes
- 5d agoOpenPanel3.16.0: supporter build, no notes
- 5d agoOpenPanel3.15.0: supporter build, no notes
- 7d agoThingsBoardThingsBoard 4.4.0.1: 2026 time zone data update
- 7d agoThingsBoardThingsBoard 4.3.1.7: 2026 time zone data update
- 7d agoThingsBoardThingsBoard 4.2.2.7: 2026 time zone data update
- 1mo agoThingsBoardThingsBoard 4.4 Release
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between OpenPanel and ThingsBoard?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. OpenPanel and ThingsBoard are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is OpenPanel better than ThingsBoard?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. OpenPanel and ThingsBoard are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to OpenPanel?
Top OpenPanel alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "OpenPanel alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/openpanel for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to ThingsBoard?
Top ThingsBoard alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ThingsBoard alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/thingsboard for the full list with editorial commentary on each.