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Arduino Cloud vs HiveMQ

Arduino Cloud logo

Arduino Cloud

Smart Home

Cloud platform for Arduino IoT devices and applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
HiveMQ logo

HiveMQ

Networking

Enterprise MQTT broker for industrial IoT with a published self-managed price list

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Arduino Cloud the free plan allows 2 connected devices, 5 variables each and one day of data retention; HiveMQ the Community Edition lacks clustering, persistence extensions, the control centre and all enterprise bridges, so a prototype built on it does not become production by buying support.
  • They diverge on capability: Arduino Cloud covers Device Connectivity, HiveMQ covers MQTT 5 and 3.1.1.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arduino Cloud and HiveMQ actually diverge.

Attributes where Arduino Cloud and HiveMQ differ
AttributeArduino CloudHiveMQ
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by connections and throughput
PlatformsArduino devices, Cloud, Mobile app, Web dashboardLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategorySmart HomeNetworking
Founded2005Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Arduino Cloud

  • Device Connectivity
  • Cloud Storage
  • Real-Time Sync
  • Security
  • Arduino IDE
  • Mobile app
  • REST API
  • Integration services

Only in HiveMQ

  • MQTT 5 and 3.1.1
  • Native clustering
  • Data Hub
  • Extension framework
  • Enterprise bridges
  • Control centre

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Arduino Cloud

  • Connecting Arduino boards to a cloud dashboardnot HiveMQ
  • Over-the-air firmware updates to deployed devicesnot HiveMQ
  • Logging sensor data and charting it over timenot HiveMQ
  • Triggering notifications from device thresholdsnot HiveMQ
  • Classroom IoT projects on the School plannot HiveMQ

HiveMQ

  • A connected vehicle fleet where devices drop off the network for hours and sessions must survivenot Arduino Cloud
  • An industrial plant bridging MQTT telemetry into Kafka without writing and operating the bridgenot Arduino Cloud
  • A utility that needs message-level schema validation so one faulty firmware release cannot corrupt the data lakenot Arduino Cloud
  • An IoT project that needs a self-managed broker price for a budget submission without entering a sales processnot Arduino Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Arduino Cloud

  • The free plan allows 2 connected devices, 5 variables each and one day of data retention
  • Free accounts are limited to 25 compilations a day and 10 trigger notifications a day
  • The Maker plan at $72 a year lifts devices to 25 and retention to 3 months, still for a single user
  • Team pricing jumps to $1,000 a year
  • Two years of data retention and unlimited ingestion require Enterprise

HiveMQ

  • The Community Edition lacks clustering, persistence extensions, the control centre and all enterprise bridges, so a prototype built on it does not become production by buying support.
  • The entry commercial tiers cap at ten thousand connections, and device fleets grow, so the step to Enterprise capacity pricing arrives sooner than most projects plan for.
  • It is a JVM application, so memory tuning and garbage collection behaviour become the operator’s problem at high connection counts, unlike the C-based brokers in this space.
  • Extensions are written in Java against HiveMQ’s SPI, which means custom authentication logic is locked to the platform and cannot move to another broker.
  • For simple use cases it is substantially heavier and more expensive than Mosquitto or EMQX, and small deployments frequently pay enterprise prices for clustering they never use.

Pricing, plan by plan

Arduino Cloud

Free
  • MakerFree
    • 2 devices
    • Basic features
    • Cloud access
  • Maker Plus$7/month
    • Up to 10 devices
    • Advanced features
    • Better storage

HiveMQ

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • MQTT 3.1.1 and 5 support
    • Single broker, no clustering
  • Launch$299/month
    • Ten thousand connections
    • Five hundred messages per second
    • Single broker deployment
  • Run$499/month
    • Ten thousand connections
    • One thousand messages per second
    • Single broker deployment
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Priced by connections and throughput
    • Multi-broker and multi-site deployments
    • Distributed data intelligence

Which should you pick?

Choose Arduino Cloud if

  • You need device connectivity.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Arduino devices, Cloud, Mobile app, Web dashboard.
  • You also want cloud storage.
Arduino Cloud review

Choose HiveMQ if

  • You need mqtt 5 and 3.1.1.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want native clustering.
HiveMQ review

Questions people ask

Is Arduino Cloud or HiveMQ better?
Neither clearly leads. Arduino Cloud starts at Free and HiveMQ at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arduino Cloud or HiveMQ?
Arduino Cloud starts at Free and HiveMQ at Free.
Does Arduino Cloud or HiveMQ run on more platforms?
Arduino Cloud runs on Arduino devices, Cloud, Mobile app, Web dashboard. HiveMQ runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use Arduino Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Arduino Cloud best used for?
Arduino Cloud is most often used for connecting arduino boards to a cloud dashboard, over-the-air firmware updates to deployed devices, logging sensor data and charting it over time, triggering notifications from device thresholds. Of those, connecting arduino boards to a cloud dashboard and over-the-air firmware updates to deployed devices are not what HiveMQ is typically brought in for.
What can Arduino Cloud do that HiveMQ cannot?
Arduino Cloud covers Device Connectivity, Cloud Storage, Real-Time Sync, Security. HiveMQ covers MQTT 5 and 3.1.1, Native clustering, Data Hub, Extension framework.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HiveMQ: Is HiveMQ free?

The Community Edition is Apache 2.0 and free, but it has no clustering and none of the enterprise extensions.

HiveMQ: What does the commercial version cost?

Self-managed Launch is 299 US dollars a month for ten thousand connections; Run is 499 with higher throughput.

HiveMQ: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, both MQTT 5 and 3.1.1, including shared subscriptions and session expiry intervals.

HiveMQ: Can it bridge into Kafka?

Yes, via a commercial enterprise extension, not in the Community Edition.

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