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Networking · head to head

HiveMQ vs Twingate

HiveMQ logo

HiveMQ

Networking

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Twingate logo

Twingate

Networking

Zero trust remote access that publishes individual resources instead of a network

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.; Twingate the control plane is proprietary and hosted, so it cannot be run inside your own boundary and a vendor outage prevents new connections from being established even though the connectors are yours.
  • They diverge on capability: HiveMQ covers MQTT 5 and 3.1.1, Twingate covers Outbound only connectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HiveMQ and Twingate actually diverge.

Attributes where HiveMQ and Twingate differ
AttributeHiveMQTwingate
Pricing modelPer month by connections and throughputPer user per month
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, WebWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker

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 HiveMQ

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

Only in Twingate

  • Outbound only connectors
  • Per resource access
  • Identity provider integration
  • Device posture checks
  • Split routing
  • Access logging

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 Twingate
  • An industrial plant bridging MQTT telemetry into Kafka without writing and operating the bridgenot Twingate
  • A utility that needs message-level schema validation so one faulty firmware release cannot corrupt the data lakenot Twingate
  • An IoT project that needs a self-managed broker price for a budget submission without entering a sales processnot Twingate

Twingate

  • Retiring a VPN concentrator that grants whole network access to anyone who authenticatesnot HiveMQ
  • Giving contractors access to two internal applications without putting them on the corporate networknot HiveMQ
  • Reaching private cloud resources across several accounts without building peering and bastion hostsnot HiveMQ
  • Producing per user access logs for an audit that a network level VPN cannot supplynot 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.

Twingate

  • The control plane is proprietary and hosted, so it cannot be run inside your own boundary and a vendor outage prevents new connections from being established even though the connectors are yours.
  • Every device needs the client installed and running, so unmanaged machines, appliances and third parties who will not install software are awkward to accommodate.
  • Pricing is per user per month, so an organisation with many occasional contractors pays full seats for accounts that connect twice a month.
  • Connections are client initiated, so server initiated flows back to a user device, and protocols that need arbitrary inbound reachability, do not fit the model.
  • It replaces remote access but not site to site networking, so an organisation that also needs offices and datacentres meshed together still runs a second network product alongside it.

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

Twingate

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Small number of users
    • Limited remote networks
    • Community support
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Per user per month billing
    • Device posture checks
    • Identity provider group sync
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom terms and volume pricing
    • Advanced controls and support commitments
    • Dedicated onboarding

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 Twingate if

  • You need outbound only connectors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker.
  • You also want per resource access.
Twingate review

Questions people ask

Is HiveMQ or Twingate better?
Neither clearly leads. HiveMQ starts at Free and Twingate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HiveMQ or Twingate?
HiveMQ starts at Free and Twingate at Free.
Does HiveMQ or Twingate run on more platforms?
HiveMQ runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web. Twingate runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker.
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 Twingate is typically brought in for.
What can HiveMQ do that Twingate cannot?
HiveMQ covers MQTT 5 and 3.1.1, Native clustering, Data Hub, Extension framework. Twingate covers Outbound only connectors, Per resource access, Identity provider integration, Device posture checks.

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.

Twingate: Can I self host it?

No. Connectors run in your network but the control plane is a hosted service, which is the main structural difference from the open source mesh tools.

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.

Twingate: Does it replace a site to site VPN?

No. It is remote access from users to resources. Connecting networks to each other is a different product category.

HiveMQ: Does it support MQTT 5?

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

Twingate: What happens if Twingate is unavailable?

Established sessions may continue, but new connections depend on the hosted service to broker them, so plan a break glass path for administrators.

HiveMQ: Can it bridge into Kafka?

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

Twingate: Is the free tier usable for a small team?

For a handful of users and a small number of remote networks, yes. Group based policies and posture checks are the practical reason to move up.

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