MeshCore

MeshCore is a LoRa-based mesh networking protocol and software project created by Scott Powell in 2024. It is designed for low power off-the-grid text communication, therefore not depending on cellular networks. The software is published under the MIT License. MeshCore is often compared to Meshtastic, another LoRa-based mesh networking protocol. Meshtastic utilizes member roles, to define the intended purpose of each node, but it largely relies on broadcast-style message flooding to increase range and chances of successful delivery, at the cost of bandwidth utilization. MeshCore also employs flood broadcasts for all public channels, but enforces node roles more, emphasizing structured routing roles and store-and-forward mechanisms to reduce bandwidth utilization, at the cost of multi-hop range and coverage. This differentiation results in different scalability and energy-consumption characteristics between the two.