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Technology · head to head

CloudAMQP vs Thought Machine

CloudAMQP logo

CloudAMQP

Technology

Managed RabbitMQ and LavinMQ clusters, hosted and fully managed

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thought Machine logo

Thought Machine

Technology

Cloud native core banking where products are written as smart contracts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CloudAMQP has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CloudAMQP free tier messaging limits are low: 1-2M messages/month; Thought Machine a core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudAMQP and Thought Machine actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudAMQP and Thought Machine differ
AttributeCloudAMQPThought Machine
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, API, Cloud

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Technology).

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 CloudAMQP

Nothing recorded that Thought Machine does not also cover.

Only in Thought Machine

  • Smart contract product engine
  • Cloud native architecture
  • Real time ledger
  • Vault Payments
  • API first design
  • Multi entity and multi currency
  • Product versioning and testing
  • Configurable posting rules

What people use each for

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

CloudAMQP

  • Message queue servicesnot Thought Machine
  • Message brokers for distributed systemsnot Thought Machine
  • RabbitMQ and LavinMQ hostingnot Thought Machine
  • Asynchronous task processingnot Thought Machine

Thought Machine

  • A large bank launching a separate digital brand on a clean core rather than migrating the back booknot CloudAMQP
  • A bank whose product launches are blocked by vendor change requests on a legacy corenot CloudAMQP
  • An institution needing real time balances and postings for instant payment obligationsnot CloudAMQP
  • A group consolidating multiple country cores onto one multi entity platformnot CloudAMQP

Where each one falls short

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

CloudAMQP

  • Free tier messaging limits are low: 1-2M messages/month
  • Free tier connection limits are restrictive: 20-40
  • Multi-tenant plans have queue limits (200-2,000 max)
  • Dedicated plans expensive at scale: up to $14,995-$17,495/month
  • Extra disk space add-on at $0.35/month per GB may add significant cost

Thought Machine

  • A core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • The smart contract model presumes a bank can write and maintain Python financial products, and institutions without that engineering capability end up outsourcing the very flexibility they bought.
  • Cloud infrastructure cost sits with the bank and is not trivial at scale, so total cost of ownership comparisons against a hosted legacy core often miss a large recurring line.
  • Thought Machine has made two rounds of job cuts pursuing profitability, which is a legitimate supplier stability concern for a system a bank expects to run for fifteen years.
  • The functional footprint is core ledger and product engine, so origination, collections, regulatory reporting and channels all come from other vendors, and the integration estate around Vault is the bank's problem to design and own.

Pricing, plan by plan

CloudAMQP

Free
  • LavinMQ - Loyal Lemming (Free)Free
    • 2 million messages per month
    • 40 connection limit
    • 200 queue maximum
  • RabbitMQ - Little Lemur (Free)Free
    • 1 million messages per month
    • 20 connection limit
    • 100 queue maximum
  • LavinMQ - Elegant Ermine$19/month
    • 20 million messages per month
    • 200 connections
    • 2,000 queue maximum
  • RabbitMQ - Tough Tiger$19/month
    • 10 million messages per month
    • 100 connections
    • 1,000 queue maximum

Thought Machine

On request
  • Vault Core$undefined/year
    • Quoted per institution, typically on account volumes or annual contract value
    • Implementation and system integrator costs commonly exceed the licence fee
    • Cloud infrastructure costs are the bank's and are not included

Which should you pick?

Choose CloudAMQP if

  • You want to start without paying.
CloudAMQP review

Choose Thought Machine if

  • You need smart contract product engine.
  • You work on Web, API, Cloud.
  • You also want cloud native architecture.
Thought Machine review

Questions people ask

Is CloudAMQP or Thought Machine better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudAMQP starts at Free and Thought Machine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CloudAMQP or Thought Machine?
CloudAMQP has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CloudAMQP and On request for Thought Machine.
Does CloudAMQP or Thought Machine run on more platforms?
CloudAMQP runs on Web. Thought Machine runs on Web, API, Cloud.
Can I use CloudAMQP for free?
Yes. CloudAMQP has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Thought Machine starts at On request.
What is CloudAMQP best used for?
CloudAMQP is most often used for message queue services, message brokers for distributed systems, rabbitmq and lavinmq hosting, asynchronous task processing. Of those, message queue services and message brokers for distributed systems are not what Thought Machine is typically brought in for.
What can CloudAMQP do that Thought Machine cannot?
Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine, Cloud native architecture, Real time ledger, Vault Payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CloudAMQP: Does CloudAMQP offer free plans?

Yes, CloudAMQP offers free tiers: LavinMQ Loyal Lemming with 2M messages/month, and RabbitMQ Little Lemur with 1M messages/month. Both include connection and queue limits.

Source
Thought Machine: Is Vault Core genuinely cloud native?

Yes. It is containerised, runs on Kubernetes on public cloud, and posts in real time rather than in overnight batch.

CloudAMQP: What is the cheapest paid plan?

Both LavinMQ Elegant Ermine and RabbitMQ Tough Tiger cost $19/month. LavinMQ includes 20M messages/month with 200 connections; RabbitMQ includes 10M messages/month with 100 connections.

Source
Thought Machine: How long does a migration take?

Eighteen months at the absolute fastest for a narrow greenfield launch; two to four years for a phased migration at an established bank.

CloudAMQP: How are messages charged on CloudAMQP?

CloudAMQP plans include monthly message quotas. All plans are charged on a per-second basis with monthly billing cycles.

Source
Thought Machine: Does the licence fee represent the total cost?

No. Implementation, system integration, parallel running and cloud infrastructure typically cost more than the licence over the programme.

CloudAMQP: What add-ons are available?

CloudAMQP offers Virtual Private Cloud add-on at $99/month, and extra disk space at $0.35/month per GB (25-2,000 GB available).

Source
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