IEC 61850 VS RS-485
As of 30 October 2026, RS-485 is named by 339 companies and IEC 61850 by 247; IEC 61850 skews to companies under 200 people (33% vs 41%), RS-485 to companies over 1,000 (34% vs 39%).
As of 30 October 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: IEC 61850's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, RS-485 rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- IEC 61850: 2–200 employees
- 33%
- RS-485: 2–200 employees
- 41%
- IEC 61850: 1,000+ employees
- 39%
- RS-485: 1,000+ employees
- 34%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 4.4 · 2.3
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | IEC 61850 | share | RS-485 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 1 | 0% | 2 | 1% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 16 | 6% | 21 | 6% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 27 | 11% | 42 | 12% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 39 | 16% | 77 | 23% | RS-485 |
| 201-500 employees | 44 | 18% | 51 | 15% | IEC 61850 |
| 501-1000 employees | 23 | 9% | 32 | 9% | even |
| 1001-5000 employees | 47 | 19% | 40 | 12% | IEC 61850 |
| 5001-10000 employees | 6 | 2% | 24 | 7% | RS-485 |
| 10,001+ employees | 44 | 18% | 50 | 15% | IEC 61850 |
| Segment | IEC 61850 | share | RS-485 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities & infrastructure | 53 | 21% | 16 | 5% | IEC 61850 |
| Manufacturing & industry | 51 | 21% | 193 | 57% | RS-485 |
| Property & construction | 49 | 20% | 13 | 4% | IEC 61850 |
| Business & finance services | 41 | 17% | 30 | 9% | IEC 61850 |
| Technology & software | 37 | 15% | 39 | 12% | IEC 61850 |
| Consumer services & leisure | 5 | 2% | 4 | 1% | even |
| Media & content | 5 | 2% | 6 | 2% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 4 | 2% | 6 | 2% | even |
| Automotive | 1 | 0% | 14 | 4% | RS-485 |
| Commerce & trade | 1 | 0% | 11 | 3% | RS-485 |
| Transport, logistics & rental | – | – | 4 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Agriculture & forestry | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | IEC 61850 | share | RS-485 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 120 | 49% | 196 | 58% | RS-485 |
| Germany | 26 | 11% | 23 | 7% | IEC 61850 |
| United Kingdom | 24 | 10% | 12 | 4% | IEC 61850 |
| Canada | 9 | 4% | 8 | 2% | even |
| Netherlands | 6 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Poland | 6 | 2% | 9 | 3% | even |
| Australia | 5 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| France | 5 | 2% | 13 | 4% | even |
| United Arab Emirates | 4 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Switzerland | 4 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Romania | 4 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Brazil | 3 | 1% | 3 | 1% | even |
| India | – | – | 12 | 4% | outside top 12 |
| Spain | – | – | 6 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Austria | – | – | 4 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Singapore | – | – | 4 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| China | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | IEC 61850 | share | RS-485 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering (non-software) | 778 | 60% | 513 | 46% | IEC 61850 |
| Software engineering | 80 | 6% | 414 | 38% | RS-485 |
| IT operations & business systems | 75 | 6% | 12 | 1% | IEC 61850 |
| Skilled trades and field service | 62 | 5% | 44 | 4% | even |
| Sales | 61 | 5% | 9 | 1% | IEC 61850 |
| Customer service & success | 15 | 1% | 6 | 1% | even |
| Product, program & project management | 15 | 1% | 6 | 1% | even |
| Construction and civil | 11 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Data & AI | 7 | 1% | 5 | 0% | even |
| General management & consulting | 6 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Education & training | 5 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Research and science | 5 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Quality, safety & environment | – | – | 5 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Arts media and entertainment | – | – | 2 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Design & UX | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Manufacturing and production | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using IEC 61850 →
Companies using RS-485 →
iot platforms protocols ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
RS-485 is named by 339 companies in job postings and IEC 61850 by 247; 9 name both. (Breaknorm, 30 October 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/iec-61850-vs-rs-485)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
IEC 61850 vs RS-485: questions
Which is more used, IEC 61850 or RS-485?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, RS-485 (339) over IEC 61850 (247). By website-and-DNS footprint, RS-485 (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses IEC 61850?
33% of IEC 61850 companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 41% for RS-485. 39% of IEC 61850 companies have over 1,000 employees, against 34% for RS-485.
Do companies run both?
9 companies name both in their postings, usually IEC 61850 in marketing and RS-485 in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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