Softwr

Networking · head to head

HiveMQ vs MQTT

HiveMQ logo

HiveMQ

Networking

Enterprise MQTT broker for industrial IoT with a published self-managed price list

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MQTT logo

MQTT

Smart Home

Lightweight messaging protocol for IoT devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; MQTT mQTT is an open-source protocol standard with no commercial pricing; not a commercial product
  • They diverge on capability: HiveMQ covers MQTT 5 and 3.1.1, MQTT covers Publish-Subscribe.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HiveMQ and MQTT actually diverge.

Attributes where HiveMQ and MQTT differ
AttributeHiveMQMQTT
Pricing modelPer month by connections and throughputopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, WebAny platform, Embedded devices, Cloud, Edge computing
CategoryNetworkingSmart Home
FoundedUnknown1999

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

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 HiveMQ

  • MQTT 5 and 3.1.1
  • Native clustering
  • Data Hub
  • Extension framework
  • Enterprise bridges
  • Control centre

Only in MQTT

  • Publish-Subscribe
  • Lightweight
  • QoS Levels
  • Retained Messages
  • IoT platforms
  • Home automation
  • Cloud services
  • Edge devices

What people use each for

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

HiveMQ

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

MQTT

  • IoT messagingnot HiveMQ
  • Sensor datanot HiveMQ
  • Real-time updatesnot HiveMQ
  • Device telemetrynot HiveMQ

Where each one falls short

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

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.

MQTT

  • MQTT is an open-source protocol standard with no commercial pricing; not a commercial product

Pricing, plan by plan

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

MQTT

Free
  • Open ProtocolFree
    • Publish-subscribe
    • Lightweight
    • QoS levels

Which should you pick?

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

Choose MQTT if

  • You need publish-subscribe.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Any platform, Embedded devices, Cloud, Edge computing.
  • You also want lightweight.
MQTT review

Questions people ask

Is HiveMQ or MQTT better?
Neither clearly leads. HiveMQ starts at Free and MQTT at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HiveMQ or MQTT?
HiveMQ starts at Free and MQTT at Free.
Does HiveMQ or MQTT run on more platforms?
HiveMQ runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web. MQTT runs on Any platform, Embedded devices, Cloud, Edge computing.
Can I use HiveMQ for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is HiveMQ best used for?
HiveMQ is most often used for a connected vehicle fleet where devices drop off the network for hours and sessions must survive, an industrial plant bridging mqtt telemetry into kafka without writing and operating the bridge, a utility that needs message-level schema validation so one faulty firmware release cannot corrupt the data lake, an iot project that needs a self-managed broker price for a budget submission without entering a sales process. Of those, a connected vehicle fleet where devices drop off the network for hours and sessions must survive and an industrial plant bridging mqtt telemetry into kafka without writing and operating the bridge are not what MQTT is typically brought in for.
What can HiveMQ do that MQTT cannot?
HiveMQ covers MQTT 5 and 3.1.1, Native clustering, Data Hub, Extension framework. MQTT covers Publish-Subscribe, Lightweight, QoS Levels, Retained Messages.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HiveMQ: Is HiveMQ free?

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

MQTT: Does MQTT have a commercial license cost?

MQTT is an open-source communication protocol and standard. No pricing is published because MQTT itself is not a commercial product for sale.

Source
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.

HiveMQ: Does it support MQTT 5?

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

HiveMQ: Can it bridge into Kafka?

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

Share

Related pages

More on HiveMQ

More on MQTT

Keep looking

Other head to heads