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Databases · head to head

EMQX vs Presto

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
Presto logo

Presto

Databases

The Meta-lineage distributed SQL query engine, distinct from the Trino fork

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Presto the original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches.
  • They diverge on capability: EMQX covers Erlang clustering, Presto covers Federated querying.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which EMQX and Presto actually diverge.

Attributes where EMQX and Presto differ
AttributeEMQXPresto
Pricing modelPer month by connection and session volumeOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, macOSLinux, Docker, Kubernetes

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Presto

  • Federated querying
  • In-memory execution
  • Open table format support
  • Presto C++ workers
  • ANSI SQL
  • Pluggable connectors

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 Presto
  • An industrial operator routing sensor telemetry straight into TimescaleDB or Kafka without writing a consumer servicenot Presto
  • An IoT product team that has outgrown a single Mosquitto instance and needs clustering and shared subscriptionsnot Presto
  • A smart building deployment mixing MQTT, CoAP and LwM2M devices on one brokernot Presto

Presto

  • An existing PrestoDB estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to Trinonot EMQX
  • A team buying IBM watsonx.data, where Presto is the underlying query enginenot EMQX
  • Joining a Hive or Iceberg lake to an operational PostgreSQL database in one query without an ETL stepnot EMQX
  • Very large scale interactive SQL where the Meta-tested branch is a specific requirementnot 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.

Presto

  • The original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches.
  • Documentation, tutorials and Stack Overflow answers for the two projects are frequently mixed up, and a solution written for Trino often does not apply, which costs real debugging time.
  • It is a query engine with no storage of its own, so query performance is dictated by your file layout, partitioning and statistics, and a badly organised lake makes Presto look slow.
  • Memory-bound execution means a single large join can fail the whole query rather than spilling gracefully, and tuning cluster memory settings is a persistent operational chore.
  • Commercial support has consolidated into IBM since the Ahana acquisition, so the independent vendor market that once existed around Presto is largely gone.

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

Presto

Free
  • PrestoFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Presto Foundation governance under the Linux Foundation
    • No node or query limits

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 Presto if

  • You need federated querying.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want in-memory execution.
Presto review

Questions people ask

Is EMQX or Presto better?
Neither clearly leads. EMQX starts at Free and Presto at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, EMQX or Presto?
EMQX starts at Free and Presto at Free.
Does EMQX or Presto run on more platforms?
EMQX runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, macOS. Presto runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use EMQX for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Presto is typically brought in for.
What can EMQX do that Presto cannot?
EMQX covers Erlang clustering, MQTT 5.0 and QUIC, Rule engine, Data integration sinks. Presto covers Federated querying, In-memory execution, Open table format support, Presto C++ workers.

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.

Presto: Is this Presto or Trino?

This is PrestoDB, the branch that stayed at Facebook and moved to the Linux Foundation. Trino is the 2020 fork by the original creators.

EMQX: Can I run a free cluster?

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

Presto: Which should I choose for a new project?

Trino, in most cases. It has the larger community, more connectors and more commercial options.

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.

Presto: Who maintains Presto now?

Principally Meta, Uber and IBM, which acquired the Presto vendor Ahana in 2023.

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.

Presto: Is it still actively released?

Yes, releases continue on a regular cadence under the Presto Foundation.

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