Is EMQX or Readyset better?

Neither clearly leads. EMQX starts at Free and Readyset at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, EMQX or Readyset?

EMQX starts at Free and Readyset at Free.

Does EMQX or Readyset run on more platforms?

EMQX runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, macOS. Readyset runs on Cloud, Self-Hosted.

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 Readyset is typically brought in for.

What can EMQX do that Readyset cannot?

EMQX covers Erlang clustering, MQTT 5.0 and QUIC, Rule engine, Data integration sinks. Readyset covers Automatic Query Optimization, SQL-Level Caching, Live Incremental Updates, Zero-Touch Integration.

Databases · head to head

EMQX vs Readyset

EMQX

Databases

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

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Readyset

Databases

Database caching and optimization that reduces infrastructure costs 30-70%

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

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.; Readyset pricing requires contacting sales team, making cost planning difficult
They diverge on capability: EMQX covers Erlang clustering, Readyset covers Automatic Query Optimization.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which EMQX and Readyset actually diverge.

Attributes where EMQX and Readyset differ
Attribute	EMQX	Readyset
Pricing model	Per month by connection and session volume	Monthly or annual subscription based on cache size
Platforms	Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, macOS	Cloud, Self-Hosted

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 Readyset

Automatic Query Optimization
SQL-Level Caching
Live Incremental Updates
Zero-Touch Integration
Query Interception
AI Query Protection

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

Readyset

Reducing database costs for AI workloads with unpredictable query patternsnot EMQX
Improving read performance for frequently accessed data without hardware upgradesnot EMQX
Protecting databases from performance degradation caused by agentic queriesnot EMQX
Scaling read-heavy applications without database scaling costsnot 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.

Readyset

Pricing requires contacting sales team, making cost planning difficult
Specific pricing tiers not disclosed publicly
Requires cache size estimation for cost calculation
Limited to read query caching, does not address write performance

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

Readyset

Free

CommunityFree
- Free tier for evaluation
- 7-day trial available
Readyset CloudFree
- Fully-managed AWS deployment
- High availability
- VPC peering support
Readyset PrivateFree
- Self-hosted on your servers
- Complete control
- Custom deployment

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 Readyset if

You need automatic query optimization.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Cloud, Self-Hosted.
You also want sql-level caching.

Readyset review

Questions people ask

Is EMQX or Readyset better?: Neither clearly leads. EMQX starts at Free and Readyset at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, EMQX or Readyset?: EMQX starts at Free and Readyset at Free.
Does EMQX or Readyset run on more platforms?: EMQX runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, macOS. Readyset runs on Cloud, Self-Hosted.
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 Readyset is typically brought in for.
What can EMQX do that Readyset cannot?: EMQX covers Erlang clustering, MQTT 5.0 and QUIC, Rule engine, Data integration sinks. Readyset covers Automatic Query Optimization, SQL-Level Caching, Live Incremental Updates, Zero-Touch Integration.

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.

Readyset: Do I need to change my application code?

No, Readyset integrates transparently through query interception with zero code changes or schema modifications required.

Source

EMQX: Can I run a free cluster?

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

Readyset: Is there a free trial?

Yes, Readyset offers a free 7-day trial that lets you test different cache sizes before committing to a paid plan.

Source

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.

Readyset: How does Readyset pricing work?

Readyset is available as a monthly or annual subscription charged based on the size of cache you need. Contact [email protected] for specific pricing.

Source

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.

EMQX vs Readyset

EMQX

Readyset

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in EMQX

Only in Readyset

What people use each for

EMQX

Readyset

Where each one falls short

EMQX

Readyset

Pricing, plan by plan

EMQX

Readyset

Which should you pick?

Choose EMQX if

Choose Readyset if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on EMQX

More on Readyset

Keep looking

Other head to heads