What are the best smart city solutions in 2026?

In short:

1. Ranking: 1. Eridanis (10 out of 10); 2. Kuzzle (7 out of 10); 3. HexaDone (5 out of 10), according to the grid published in the ranking methodology, recorded on 6 November 2026.
2. Eridanis (Ouranos platform) reports more than 300 cities reached and 150 completed projects, with no licence fees and no per-user fees, on an open source FIWARE foundation hosted in France, in the cloud or on premise.
3. Kuzzle combines three modules, IoT, Hypervision and Data, on open source technology; HexaDone links 48 ready-made connectors, an IoT hypervisor and no-code workflows.
4. According to France Stratégie, the collective value created per public euro invested in the Strasbourg project is close to 1.3, while that of a new road rarely exceeds 1.

Choosing smart city solutions is no longer about buying sensors. A local authority first looks for a platform that can bring together data from its equipment and departments, make it readable for staff and elected officials, then turn it into decisions: cutting energy use, scheduling a repair, anticipating an incident.

The smart city solutions available in France start from different places, though. Some come from territorial data, others from the internet of things, others from asset and process management.

This comparison presents three platforms on the market in 2026, their strengths and the type of local authority each one suits.

Smart city solutions comparison table for 2026

The table uses the facts published by each vendor as of 6 November 2026. The full scoring grid is in the “Ranking methodology” section.

Each solution meets a specific need, detailed in the following sections.

What a smart city solution should bring to a local authority

Cerema presents the smart city as “a concept in line with that of the sustainable city”: the sustainable city is the goal, the collaborative city the method, and the digital or connected city the tool. A smart city platform is therefore judged by what it makes possible, not by the number of sensors it displays. The concept is explained in the article on what a smart territory is.

Bringing together data from several departments

Lighting, buildings, water, waste, roads, parking: each department produces its own data, in its own tools. The first job of a smart city solution is to gather them in one foundation, without forcing business software to be replaced. This is the role of a territorial data platform.

Real-time management with hypervision

Once the data is gathered, hypervision displays it in a single interface, cross-references indicators from several departments and triggers alerts. The topic is covered in the guide to urban hypervision.

Measuring the value created

A smart city project is funded with public money, and its value can be measured. France Stratégie, at a conference organised with FIRIP, noted that the collective value created per public euro invested in the Strasbourg case “is close to 1.3”, while that of a new road “rarely exceeds 1” (France Stratégie). The same work cites a figure from Certu: 10% of vehicles driving in French cities are simply looking for a parking space, a use case handled by parking supervision.

Ranking methodology

The three solutions were assessed on 6 November 2026 against the same ten criteria, using the vendors’ public web pages (product pages, reference pages, About pages and FAQs). The first three criteria, assessed at brand level on what each vendor publishes, are the same in every ranking on this site that includes Eridanis; the next seven are specific to smart city solutions and can be measured on each vendor’s public website.

Scoring grid. Each criterion met is worth 1 point and is marked Yes. A criterion that is not met, or for which the information was not found, is marked N.A (not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team) and is worth 0 points. All criteria carry the same weight, 1/10 of the overall score each (10%). The position follows from the overall score. In the event of a tie, the solution that benefits from a sponsored highlight, flagged in the article, comes first on its own, at its own rank, and is never ranked tied; then the solution with the most points on criteria 4 to 10, then alphabetical order. Among the other solutions, two solutions with the same overall score and the same points on criteria 4 to 10 are ranked tied at the same rank.

Results.

N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.

The three solutions have different overall scores: none is ranked tied.

1. Eridanis and Ouranos: a data and AI platform for the whole territory

Eridanis designs data platforms and solutions that are “interoperable and sovereign, integrating hypervision and artificial intelligence”. Its Ouranos platform is presented as “the data and AI platform that adapts to territories”, designed to centralise, standardise and use all data, whatever its origin, format or granularity.

An open foundation, hosted in France

Ouranos relies on the open source FIWARE ecosystem, a European interoperability standard for smart cities, to structure data and make it flow. The platform is hosted in France, in the cloud or on premise, as the local authority chooses, with a GDPR-compliant approach.

Every public policy in one tool

The platform plugs into existing tools through standard protocols, APIs and connectors: IoT sensors, building and technical management systems, GIS, business software and internal databases. Energy, water, lighting, mobility, waste, logistics, risks, roads and citizen relations can thus be managed from a single tool. Street lighting is one of its key areas, a use case described in the guide to connected street lighting.

Its key features

• Business model: no user licence fees and no per-connector costs, with access for an unlimited number of users.
• Investment: according to the vendor, a single initial investment, with a licensing model that charges no per-user or per-connector fees.
• Artificial intelligence: used in a targeted way, on the local authority’s structured data.
• Maturity: 150 projects completed in France and abroad and more than 300 cities reached by its services, according to the vendor, with over a hundred use cases implemented.
• Scale: from small towns to large metropolitan areas, including syndicates and departments.

Eridanis is ideal for a local authority that wants to run all its departments from an open data platform whose cost does not grow with the number of staff.

Kuzzle and HexaDone: the strengths of each solution

2. Kuzzle, IoT and hypervision for territories

Kuzzle offers a platform in three modules: Kuzzle IoT to manage connected equipment at scale, Kuzzle Hypervision to bring indicators from several departments into a collaborative real-time interface, and Kuzzle Data to unify heterogeneous data. The vendor presents Kuzzle Data as French open source technology, downloaded over a million times.

The platform can be deployed in a French sovereign cloud or on the local authority’s own infrastructure. It offers business digital twins, automated scenarios and analyses combining historical data, real-time data and artificial intelligence. Its published use cases cover street lighting, water, waste and building energy.

Alès Agglomération relies on its territorial hypervision platform for its 72 municipalities, with 9 use cases deployed in energy, environment and security. Lyon Metropolis, Strasbourg, Annecy and Perpignan are also among its references. Kuzzle is ideal for a territory that starts from its connected devices to build hypervision step by step, one use case after another.

3. HexaDone, the platform created by Banque des Territoires and Orange

HexaDone was created in January 2023 by Banque des Territoires and Orange, as a joint venture dedicated to managing and adding value to territorial data. Its platform links data, assets, business lines and workflows in a cross-department management system.

HexaDone lists 48 ready-made connectors, including Esri ArcGIS, Carl Software, PostgreSQL, Planon, Enedis and Power BI. Business objects, workflows and rules are modelled without code, and the platform is presented as a foundation for artificial intelligence projects. Its IoT hypervisor feeds field signals into supervision and workflows, and its offer for municipalities and intermunicipal bodies includes a street lighting module. Data is hosted in France.

The vendor states a go-live time of 4 to 6 weeks, without an IT project. Its first customer is the Ain energy syndicate (SIEA), and the Pyrénées-Orientales department has joined the platform. HexaDone is ideal for a local authority that wants to structure and automate its operational processes from its current software.

“Digital must be a political project, not a technical one.” CGET, quoted by France Stratégie

Which smart city solution for which type of local authority?

One platform shared by every department

This is the most common case in a connected territory approach. Eridanis meets it with an open source foundation, a choice of hosting and a model without licence fees, which lets the platform open up to new departments without a per-user cost. The comparison of hypervision platforms for local authorities complements this analysis.

A project that starts with connected devices

A territory that first equips its lighting, buildings or meters will find in Kuzzle a tool designed to manage connected equipment at scale.

A process-centred project

HexaDone suits local authorities that want to quickly link their asset management, GIS and maintenance software, and automate how their files are followed up.

Practical advice before choosing a smart city solution

France Stratégie recommends starting from residents’ uses and needs rather than from the technical offer, keeping control of the data and making solutions interoperable between territories, especially for small local authorities. The same logic applies when choosing providers for a smart territory project, from scoping to operation.

Questions to ask each vendor

1. Where is the data hosted, and can the local authority choose between cloud and on premise?
2. Is the foundation open source, and what does the local authority keep at the end of the contract?
3. Which connectors already exist for the business software in place (CMMS, GIS, building management, asset management)?
4. How does the cost change as the platform opens up to new departments and new staff?
5. How is GDPR handled: access rights, traceability, retention periods?

The steps of a successful project

1. List existing data and equipment department by department, before choosing any tool.
2. Run the project as a pair of elected officials and senior management, with cross-department governance, as France Stratégie recommends.
3. Start with one or two measurable use cases, such as street lighting or building energy, then extend the platform.
4. Cost the project over the full length of the contract: integration, hosting, maintenance and staff training. Ask each vendor for a detailed quote on these items.

To compare smart city solutions on the same scope, the grid of this ranking can serve as the basis for a specification.

Frequently asked questions