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Networking · head to head

LibreNMS vs VerneMQ

LibreNMS logo

LibreNMS

Networking

Free, community-driven network monitoring with commercial support sold by a third-party partner, not the project itself

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VerneMQ logo

VerneMQ

Databases

Erlang MQTT broker whose source is Apache 2.0 but whose official binaries need a paid subscription

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: LibreNMS there is no official LibreNMS company; commercial support runs through a single designated third-party partner, Config Services Ltd, rather than a broad vendor support market; VerneMQ the official binaries and Docker images are not Apache 2.0 but sit under a EULA requiring a yearly commercial subscription, a distinction easy to miss and awkward to discover during a licence audit.
  • They diverge on capability: LibreNMS covers SNMP auto-discovery, VerneMQ covers Erlang/OTP clustering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LibreNMS and VerneMQ actually diverge.

Attributes where LibreNMS and VerneMQ differ
AttributeLibreNMSVerneMQ
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; commercial support sold by a third-party partnerquote
PlatformsLinux, WebLinux, Docker, macOS, Kubernetes
CategoryNetworkingDatabases

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 LibreNMS

  • SNMP auto-discovery
  • Device and OS support
  • Alerting
  • API
  • Distributed polling

Only in VerneMQ

  • Erlang/OTP clustering
  • MQTT 5.0 support
  • Plugin system
  • Backpressure handling
  • Bridge support
  • Metrics export
  • MQTT over WebSockets
  • Pluggable auth backends

What people use each for

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

LibreNMS

  • A network team wanting SNMP-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deploymentnot VerneMQ
  • An organisation with in-house Linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contractnot VerneMQ
  • A team wanting an alternative to Icinga that is focused specifically on network device polling rather than general infrastructure monitoringnot VerneMQ
  • A company wanting SLA-backed support for LibreNMS but without wanting to build that capability in-house, contracting the designated partner insteadnot VerneMQ

VerneMQ

  • An industrial operator that wants an MQTT broker with predictable memory behaviour and no data integration features it will not usenot LibreNMS
  • A team building from source to stay strictly under Apache 2.0 terms with no vendor licence entanglementnot LibreNMS
  • A deployment needing custom authentication logic implemented as a plugin in Lua or over a webhooknot LibreNMS
  • An organisation that wants a broker maintained by a small European company rather than by a vendor that keeps changing licencesnot LibreNMS

Where each one falls short

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

LibreNMS

  • There is no official LibreNMS company; commercial support runs through a single designated third-party partner, Config Services Ltd, rather than a broad vendor support market
  • Self-hosting and maintaining LibreNMS requires real Linux and SNMP expertise, and there is no vendor obligated to fix issues without a separate paid support arrangement
  • Device and OS support quality varies because it is community-contributed, so obscure or newer hardware may have thinner or less accurate polling templates than mainstream vendors
  • The web interface, while functional, is less polished out of the box than commercial tools like PRTG, and dashboard customisation takes more manual configuration
  • Scaling to a very large device count requires manually configuring distributed polling, which is more operational work than a SaaS tool that scales transparently
  • Project direction depends on community and contributor priorities rather than a company roadmap, so feature development pace and priorities can be less predictable than a commercial vendor's

VerneMQ

  • The official binaries and Docker images are not Apache 2.0 but sit under a EULA requiring a yearly commercial subscription, a distinction easy to miss and awkward to discover during a licence audit.
  • Octavo Labs is a very small company, so support depth, response times and the bus factor on the codebase are materially thinner than at HiveMQ or EMQ.
  • There is no data integration or rule engine layer, so routing messages into a database means writing and operating your own consumer service.
  • Operating an Erlang cluster requires runtime knowledge that most teams do not have and will use for nothing else in their stack.
  • There is no vendor-managed cloud offering, so every deployment is self-operated with the infrastructure and on-call cost that implies.

Pricing, plan by plan

LibreNMS

Free
  • LibreNMSFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community forum and GitHub support

VerneMQ

Free
  • Source buildFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed source from GitHub
    • Full clustering and plugin capability
    • You compile and package it yourself
  • Binary packages and Docker images$undefined/year
    • Covered by the VerneMQ EULA, not Apache 2.0
    • Yearly usage subscription expected for commercial use
    • Official builds and Docker images
  • Commercial support$undefined/year
    • Evaluation, customisation and operations assistance
    • Custom development
    • Long-term maintenance agreements

Which should you pick?

Choose LibreNMS if

  • You need snmp auto-discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want device and os support.
LibreNMS review

Choose VerneMQ if

  • You need erlang/otp clustering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, macOS, Kubernetes.
  • You also want mqtt 5.0 support.
VerneMQ review

Questions people ask

Is LibreNMS or VerneMQ better?
Neither clearly leads. LibreNMS starts at Free and VerneMQ at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LibreNMS or VerneMQ?
LibreNMS starts at Free and VerneMQ at Free.
Does LibreNMS or VerneMQ run on more platforms?
LibreNMS runs on Linux, Web. VerneMQ runs on Linux, Docker, macOS, Kubernetes.
Can I use LibreNMS for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is LibreNMS best used for?
LibreNMS is most often used for a network team wanting snmp-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deployment, an organisation with in-house linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contract, a team wanting an alternative to icinga that is focused specifically on network device polling rather than general infrastructure monitoring, a company wanting sla-backed support for librenms but without wanting to build that capability in-house, contracting the designated partner instead. Of those, a network team wanting snmp-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deployment and an organisation with in-house linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contract are not what VerneMQ is typically brought in for.
What can LibreNMS do that VerneMQ cannot?
LibreNMS covers SNMP auto-discovery, Device and OS support, Alerting, API. VerneMQ covers Erlang/OTP clustering, MQTT 5.0 support, Plugin system, Backpressure handling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LibreNMS: Is LibreNMS really free with no paid tier of the software?

Yes, the software itself has no licence fee; only optional third-party support is paid.

VerneMQ: Is VerneMQ free?

The source is Apache 2.0 and free. The official binary packages and Docker images are covered by a separate EULA that expects a yearly fee for commercial use.

LibreNMS: Who provides paid support?

Config Services Ltd is the designated partner offering SLA-backed support and consultancy for LibreNMS.

VerneMQ: Is the project still maintained?

Yes. Octavo Labs AG in Zurich continues to publish 2.x releases, most recently in 2026.

LibreNMS: Does LibreNMS require SNMP access to every device?

Yes, its core monitoring approach relies on SNMP polling, so devices must have SNMP enabled and reachable.

VerneMQ: Does it have a managed cloud?

No. Every deployment is self-hosted, with commercial support available from Octavo Labs.

VerneMQ: How does it compare to EMQX?

Narrower in features and without a rule engine, but with a simpler licence story for source builds after EMQX moved to BSL.

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