LoopString vs PLAATO
PLAATO is an industrial fermentation-analytics platform sold via contact-sales. LoopString is self-serve process control on your own Pi.
Pick PLAATO if…
- You want a vendor-supported industrial platform with deep fermentation-prediction analytics.
- Your priority is bridging existing tank PLCs into one analytics cloud via a turnkey gateway.
- You prefer a single-vendor sensor + gateway supply chain with a sales + support relationship.
- You want managed onboarding rather than standing it up yourself.
Pick LoopString if…
- You want to sign up and evaluate on one fermenter today — free tier, no sales call.
- You want active on-edge PID/glycol control that holds through internet outages, not just analytics.
- You want to own the Pi + commodity sensors (iSpindel for gravity) with no vendor lock-in.
- You need HACCP / FDA-style PDF compliance reports + audit log + team RBAC out of the box.
| Feature | LoopStringYou | PLAATO |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | ||
| Bring-your-own Raspberry Pi + commodity sensors | ||
| Vendor-supplied fermentation sensors + edge gateway | ||
| iSpindel / hydrometer gravity sensing | ||
| 90+ part library with wiring guides | ||
| Control | ||
| On-edge PID temperature control (glycol / heat-belt) | ||
| Adaptive cooling control | ||
| Visual flow editor with auto-generated edge code | ||
| Recipe / multi-phase batch automation | ||
| Monitoring | ||
| Gravity / temperature / pressure trends | ||
| Fermentation analytics + predictions | ||
| Browser dashboard (no app store required) | ||
| Integration | ||
| Connects to existing tank PLCs | ||
| Alerts | ||
| Threshold + escalation alerts | ||
| Compliance | ||
| HACCP / FDA-style PDF reports built-in | ||
| Audit-grade activity log | ||
| Collaboration | ||
| Role-based access control | ||
| Pricing | ||
| Self-serve sign-up (no sales call) | ||
| Flat per-device monthly pricing | ||
| Free tier for 1 device | ||
PLAATO here refers to the current industrial platform at plaato.ai (Insights, Smart Fermentation sensors, Edge Gateway, Pro Sensor). PLAATO's consumer homebrew products (Airlock, Keg) were discontinued in late 2023. Exact product capabilities and pricing vary by configuration and quote.
Why commercial fermenters choose LoopString
Self-serve instead of contact-sales
PLAATO (plaato.ai) is an industrial fermentation-analytics platform sold to breweries, distilleries and RTD producers through a sales process with custom quotes. LoopString is self-serve: sign up, add a device, build your control flow in the browser. There's a free tier for a single device and flat per-device monthly pricing after that — you can evaluate the whole platform on your own tank before talking to anyone.
You own the hardware and the sensors
PLAATO ships its own Smart Fermentation sensors and an Edge Gateway that bridges into your existing PLCs. LoopString runs on a Raspberry Pi you own and reads commodity sensors — an iSpindel for gravity, DS18B20 / SHT31 for temperature, standard pressure transmitters. Sensors are off-the-shelf and replaceable; you're not tied to one vendor's catalog or gateway.
Active control, not just analytics
PLAATO leads with monitoring and analytics (with adaptive cooling control on top). LoopString is process control first: on-edge PID and hysteresis loops drive glycol valves, heat belts and pumps locally, so fermentation temperature holds even if the internet drops. You author the loops in a visual Configurator that generates the Pi-side code automatically.
Compliance + audit come standard
Licensed beverage production needs temperature records and a tamper-resistant change log. LoopString generates HACCP / FDA-style PDF reports out of the box and audits every setpoint change (who, when, from where), with role-based access for the team. It's the same platform whether you're monitoring one fermenter or a multi-tank cellar.
Key Takeaways
- PLAATO is now an industrial fermentation-analytics platform (plaato.ai) — vendor sensors + Edge Gateway into PLCs, contact-sales. It exited the consumer homebrew market in late 2023.
- LoopString is self-serve process control you stand up yourself on a Pi with commodity sensors (iSpindel for gravity).
- Active on-edge PID/glycol control that survives internet outages — not monitoring-only.
- HACCP / FDA-style PDF compliance reports + audit-grade change log + team RBAC built in.
- Free tier for one device, flat per-device monthly pricing — evaluate on one fermenter before any sales call.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is PLAATO still a homebrew product?
- No. PLAATO discontinued its consumer homebrew products (the Airlock and Keg) in late 2023 and wound down the consumer app. Today PLAATO (plaato.ai) is an industrial fermentation-analytics platform for commercial breweries, distilleries and RTD producers. If you're comparing for a commercial operation, that's the right product to weigh against LoopString; if you were a homebrewer using the old Airlock, LoopString with an iSpindel is a self-serve path forward.
- Does LoopString replace PLAATO for a commercial brewery?
- For the fermentation monitoring and control most breweries actually run on — gravity, temperature, pressure, glycol/heat control, alerts, and compliance records — yes. PLAATO's deeper fermentation-prediction analytics are a genuine strength; LoopString gives you the live data, trends, active control, and compliance reporting, and you can layer your own analytics on the exported data.
- Can LoopString read gravity like PLAATO sensors?
- Yes — LoopString already integrates the iSpindel wireless hydrometer (gravity + temperature) over MQTT, and reads standard temperature, pressure and pH sensors. You get the same core fermentation signals using commodity hardware you source yourself.
- Does LoopString connect to my existing tank PLCs?
- Partially, and it's improving. PLAATO's Edge Gateway is purpose-built to bridge existing PLCs into its cloud. LoopString speaks Modbus (RTU/TCP), S7comm, SNMP and BACnet/IP through its protocol-bridge parts, so it can read many PLC-connected points directly — but PLAATO's gateway is more turnkey for a pure existing-PLC retrofit.
- How is pricing different?
- PLAATO is contact-sales with custom quotes scaled to the operation. LoopString is self-serve with a free tier for one device and flat per-device monthly pricing above that. You can stand up and evaluate the full platform on a single fermenter before committing.
- Can the two run side by side?
- Yes. A common pattern is to keep PLAATO where it's already integrated and add LoopString for new tanks, the active control loops, the team dashboard, and the compliance reporting. They coexist on the same network.
Other comparisons
Evaluating something else? Pick the closest match.
See LoopString for yourself
Start free on one fermenter — bring your own Pi + iSpindel, no sales call.