The Flume Alternative Built for Rentals, Not Just Homes
Flume 2 is great for the house you live in. The MaxLinc Cellular Water Meter is for the properties you don't — it works with zero WiFi, survives basements and meter rooms, and turns usage data into tenant bills.
Shop Cellular Water MeterCellular Water Meter vs Flume 2
Both strap onto your water line without a plumber and alert you to leaks. The difference is who they're built for.
| Feature | MaxLinc Cellular Water Meter | Flume 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price (one-time) | $349 CAD | ~$249 USD |
| Connectivity | Built-in cellular — no WiFi needed | WiFi only (bridge plugs in indoors) |
| Works in basements / meter pits / remote sites | Yes — independent of any home network | Only with solid WiFi reach to the meter |
| Tenant sub-billing | Yes — per-unit usage & printable bills | No — single-household app |
| Leak & burst alerts | Yes | Yes — excellent |
| Designed for | Rentals, duplexes, multi-unit, STR | Owner-occupied single homes |
| Battery | ~10 years, no charging | ~2 years on replaceable AAs |
| Ongoing cost | First year premium included, then $3/mo | None |
Flume pricing and specs based on publicly listed information as of mid-2026; verify current details with the manufacturer.
What the Price Difference Actually Buys
Over five years, a Flume 2 runs about $249 USD all-in, while the Cellular Water Meter is $349 CAD plus $144 in cellular service from year two — roughly $493 CAD total. If you live at the property and the WiFi reaches the meter, Flume is genuinely the cheaper, simpler buy.
The premium buys two things WiFi can't: connectivity that doesn't depend on anyone's router, password, or ISP — and sub-billing. Recover even $25/month of a tenant's water usage and the entire 5-year cost difference is repaid in the first year. One avoided burst-pipe claim repays it many times over.
- ✓No dependence on tenant WiFi or router changes
- ✓Per-tenant usage data and printable bills
- ✓10-year battery — no charging, no bridge to keep plugged in
Cellular built in · Leak alerts · Tenant sub-billing
Where Flume 2 Is the Better Pick
For an owner-occupied home with good WiFi at the meter, Flume 2 is hard to beat: lower price, no monthly fee, a slick consumer app with per-fixture usage estimates, and proven leak detection. We'd rather tell you that than sell you the wrong device.
Choose the Cellular Water Meter when the property is a rental, a duplex or triplex, a short-term rental, or anywhere WiFi at the meter is someone else's problem — and when you want the usage data to become a tenant bill, not just a chart. Managing several units? See our landlord submetering solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Flume 2 a bad product?+
Not at all — Flume 2 is an excellent device for what it was built for: an owner-occupied home with good WiFi coverage at the water meter. Its app, usage breakdowns, and leak alerts are polished, and it has no subscription. If that describes your situation, Flume is a fine choice.
So when is the MaxLinc Cellular Water Meter the better choice?+
When the property isn't the home you live in. Rentals, duplexes, Airbnbs, cabins, and multi-unit buildings usually mean the meter sits in a basement or mechanical room far from any WiFi you control — and you may want to bill tenants for their actual usage. The MaxLinc meter has cellular built in, so it never touches anyone's WiFi, and its cloud platform generates per-tenant bills, which Flume doesn't do.
Why does MaxLinc have a monthly fee when Flume doesn't?+
The $3/month (free for the first year) pays for the device's own cellular data connection — that's what frees you from WiFi entirely. Flume avoids a fee by riding on your home WiFi instead, which is exactly the dependency this product removes.
Do I need a plumber to install it?+
No. Like Flume, it's non-invasive: the ultrasonic sensor straps onto the pipe with no cutting and no shutting off the water. Unlike Flume, there's no indoor bridge to plug in and keep online.
Can I use it across multiple properties?+
Yes. Each meter connects independently over cellular, and they all roll up into one cloud dashboard — there's no per-site network setup. That's why it scales naturally from one rental to a small portfolio.
Water Monitoring That Doesn't Need Anyone's WiFi
Cellular Water Meter — $349 CAD, leak alerts plus tenant sub-billing, first year of premium cloud included.
Shop Cellular Water Meter