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Networking · head to head

Headscale vs HiveMQ

Headscale logo

Headscale

Networking

Open source reimplementation of the Tailscale coordination server for a single organisation

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: Headscale the clients are proprietary software maintained by a company with no obligation to Headscale, so a client update can change protocol behaviour and break your control server until volunteers catch up.; 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: Headscale covers Self hosted control server, 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 Headscale and HiveMQ actually diverge.

Attributes where Headscale and HiveMQ differ
AttributeHeadscaleHiveMQ
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month by connections and throughput
PlatformsLinux, DockerLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web

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

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 Headscale

  • Self hosted control server
  • Access control policies
  • User separation
  • Pre-authentication keys
  • Subnet routers and exit nodes
  • Own or shared DERP

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.

Headscale

  • Running a mesh network where no third party may hold the device registrynot HiveMQ
  • A homelab or personal fleet where paying per user for a hosted control plane is not worth itnot HiveMQ
  • Air gapped or restricted environments that cannot reach an external coordination servicenot HiveMQ
  • Keeping the Tailscale client experience while removing the vendor from the trust pathnot HiveMQ

HiveMQ

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

Where each one falls short

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

Headscale

  • The clients are proprietary software maintained by a company with no obligation to Headscale, so a client update can change protocol behaviour and break your control server until volunteers catch up.
  • Features that live on the vendor side, including the admin console, Funnel and app connectors, do not exist here and cannot be added, so feature comparisons against Tailscale are misleading.
  • There is no official web interface, so day to day administration is a command line tool or one of several unofficial front ends of varying quality and maintenance.
  • It is deliberately single tenant, so a managed service provider cannot use one deployment to serve several customer networks.
  • Upgrades have required database migrations and policy format changes between releases, and with no support contract a failed migration on the control server is your problem alone.

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

Headscale

Free
  • HeadscaleFree
    • Full functionality, no node limit
    • Official Tailscale clients on every platform
    • No vendor account required

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 Headscale if

  • You need self hosted control server.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker.
  • You also want access control policies.
Headscale 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 Headscale or HiveMQ better?
Neither clearly leads. Headscale 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, Headscale or HiveMQ?
Headscale starts at Free and HiveMQ at Free.
Does Headscale or HiveMQ run on more platforms?
Headscale runs on Linux, Docker. HiveMQ runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use Headscale for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Headscale best used for?
Headscale is most often used for running a mesh network where no third party may hold the device registry, a homelab or personal fleet where paying per user for a hosted control plane is not worth it, air gapped or restricted environments that cannot reach an external coordination service, keeping the tailscale client experience while removing the vendor from the trust path. Of those, running a mesh network where no third party may hold the device registry and a homelab or personal fleet where paying per user for a hosted control plane is not worth it are not what HiveMQ is typically brought in for.
What can Headscale do that HiveMQ cannot?
Headscale covers Self hosted control server, Access control policies, User separation, Pre-authentication keys. HiveMQ covers MQTT 5 and 3.1.1, Native clustering, Data Hub, Extension framework.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Headscale: Is Headscale made by Tailscale?

No. It is an independent community project. Tailscale acknowledges it but does not support it, and the clients it relies on are the vendor ones.

HiveMQ: Is HiveMQ free?

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

Headscale: What do I lose compared with the hosted service?

The admin console, the vendor relay network unless you use the public DERP servers, and hosted only features such as Funnel and app connectors.

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.

Headscale: Can I still use the public relay servers?

Yes, the default configuration can use them, though many self hosters run their own DERP to remove that dependency.

HiveMQ: Does it support MQTT 5?

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

Headscale: Is it suitable for a company network?

For a technical team, yes. There is no vendor to escalate to, so it needs someone on staff who is willing to own the control server.

HiveMQ: Can it bridge into Kafka?

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

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