Softwr

Databases · head to head

EMQX vs Immuta

EMQX logo

EMQX

Databases

Erlang MQTT broker for large IoT fleets, relicensed to BSL with production free use limited to one node

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Immuta logo

Immuta

Databases

Attribute-based access control and masking applied inside Snowflake, Databricks and BigQuery

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only EMQX has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: EMQX the move to Business Source Licence 1.1 at version 5.9 in May 2025 limits free production use to a single node, so the clustering that justifies choosing EMQX now requires a paid subscription from the second node onward.; Immuta contracts commonly start around one hundred to two hundred thousand US dollars a year for mid-market deployments and exceed five hundred thousand at enterprise scale, which excludes most data teams without a regulatory mandate.
  • They diverge on capability: EMQX covers Erlang clustering, Immuta covers Attribute-based policy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which EMQX and Immuta actually diverge.

Attributes where EMQX and Immuta differ
AttributeEMQXImmuta
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by connection and session volumequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, macOSWeb, API, Cloud

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

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 EMQX

  • Erlang clustering
  • MQTT 5.0 and QUIC
  • Rule engine
  • Data integration sinks
  • Session persistence
  • Multi protocol gateways
  • Authentication and authorisation
  • Dashboard and REST API

Only in Immuta

  • Attribute-based policy
  • Native enforcement
  • Dynamic masking
  • Row-level filtering
  • Purpose-based access
  • Sensitive data tagging
  • Audit logging
  • Multi-platform

What people use each for

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

EMQX

  • A connected vehicle platform needing millions of persistent MQTT sessions with QUIC for handover across mobile networksnot Immuta
  • An industrial operator routing sensor telemetry straight into TimescaleDB or Kafka without writing a consumer servicenot Immuta
  • An IoT product team that has outgrown a single Mosquitto instance and needs clustering and shared subscriptionsnot Immuta
  • A smart building deployment mixing MQTT, CoAP and LwM2M devices on one brokernot Immuta

Immuta

  • A bank whose Snowflake estate has grown to tens of thousands of roles that no one can review before an auditnot EMQX
  • A healthcare analytics team that must let researchers query patient data with identifiers masked unless a specific purpose is recordednot EMQX
  • A multinational applying different residency and access rules per jurisdiction to the same tables without duplicating datasetsnot EMQX
  • An organisation running both Snowflake and Databricks that wants one policy set rather than two divergent implementationsnot EMQX

Where each one falls short

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

EMQX

  • The move to Business Source Licence 1.1 at version 5.9 in May 2025 limits free production use to a single node, so the clustering that justifies choosing EMQX now requires a paid subscription from the second node onward.
  • The relicensing arrived in a minor release, which caught users who had pinned to 5.x expecting Apache 2.0 terms and forced legal review of existing deployments.
  • Running an Erlang/OTP cluster well requires operational knowledge most teams do not have, and diagnosing distribution, mnesia or memory issues means learning a runtime you use for nothing else.
  • Enterprise pricing is quoted rather than published for the self-managed edition, so the cost of the clustered configuration you actually need is invisible until you talk to sales.
  • The Serverless tier caps at around a thousand connections and shares infrastructure, which makes it a prototyping tier rather than a genuine small production option.

Immuta

  • Contracts commonly start around one hundred to two hundred thousand US dollars a year for mid-market deployments and exceed five hundred thousand at enterprise scale, which excludes most data teams without a regulatory mandate.
  • Policy is only as good as the data classification underneath it, so an organisation with poorly tagged columns will spend months on classification before Immuta enforces anything useful.
  • Native enforcement means capability varies by platform, and a feature available on Snowflake may be absent or behave differently on BigQuery, which undermines the promise of one policy set everywhere.
  • Adding an access governance layer creates a new dependency in the path to data: a misconfigured policy silently returns fewer rows rather than erroring, and analysts can act on incomplete results without noticing.
  • It governs cloud data platforms, so personal data in operational databases, files and SaaS applications sits outside its scope and needs separate controls, meaning Immuta is rarely the whole answer.

Pricing, plan by plan

EMQX

Free
  • Open Source single nodeFree
    • BSL 1.1 licence since version 5.9
    • Free production use of one node only
    • All former enterprise features visible
  • ServerlessFree
    • Free monthly quota then pay as you go
    • Up to 1,000 connections
    • 8 by 5 support
  • Dedicated Flex$234/month
    • Single tenant cluster
    • Traffic allowance included
    • 24/7 support
  • Enterprise self-managed$undefined/year
    • Deploy on premises, at the edge or in any cloud
    • Clustering licensed
    • 256 MB maximum message size

Immuta

On request
  • Immuta Platform$undefined/year
    • Attribute-based policy authoring
    • Native enforcement in supported data platforms
    • Dynamic masking and row-level security

Which should you pick?

Choose EMQX if

  • You need erlang clustering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, macOS.
  • You also want mqtt 5.0 and quic.
EMQX review

Choose Immuta if

  • You need attribute-based policy.
  • You work on Web, API, Cloud.
  • You also want native enforcement.
Immuta review

Questions people ask

Is EMQX or Immuta better?
Neither clearly leads. EMQX starts at Free and Immuta at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, EMQX or Immuta?
EMQX has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for EMQX and On request for Immuta.
Does EMQX or Immuta run on more platforms?
EMQX runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, macOS. Immuta runs on Web, API, Cloud.
Can I use EMQX for free?
Yes. EMQX has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Immuta starts at On request.
What is EMQX best used for?
EMQX is most often used for a connected vehicle platform needing millions of persistent mqtt sessions with quic for handover across mobile networks, an industrial operator routing sensor telemetry straight into timescaledb or kafka without writing a consumer service, an iot product team that has outgrown a single mosquitto instance and needs clustering and shared subscriptions, a smart building deployment mixing mqtt, coap and lwm2m devices on one broker. Of those, a connected vehicle platform needing millions of persistent mqtt sessions with quic for handover across mobile networks and an industrial operator routing sensor telemetry straight into timescaledb or kafka without writing a consumer service are not what Immuta is typically brought in for.
What can EMQX do that Immuta cannot?
EMQX covers Erlang clustering, MQTT 5.0 and QUIC, Rule engine, Data integration sinks. Immuta covers Attribute-based policy, Native enforcement, Dynamic masking, Row-level filtering.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

EMQX: Is EMQX still open source?

Not in the OSI sense since version 5.9. It is source-available under Business Source Licence 1.1, reverting to Apache 2.0 four years after each release.

Immuta: Does Immuta sit in the query path?

No. It compiles policies into the data platform's own native controls, so queries run at normal speed through your existing tools.

EMQX: Can I run a free cluster?

No. The additional use grant permits free production use of one node; clustering requires a commercial licence.

Immuta: What does it cost?

Not published. Market data suggests roughly 100,000 to 200,000 US dollars a year for mid-market deployments and considerably more at enterprise scale.

EMQX: What changed for existing users?

Community and enterprise editions merged, so all features are now visible, but the licence terms tightened in the same minor release.

Immuta: Is Immuta still independent?

Yes. It remains independently owned, unlike several competitors in data access governance that have been acquired.

EMQX: Which version is still Apache 2.0?

Releases before 5.9 remain under Apache 2.0, and each BSL release converts to Apache 2.0 four years after publication.

Immuta: Does it work across more than one warehouse?

Yes, one policy set can target Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery and Starburst, though enforcement capability varies by platform.

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