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Networking · head to head

Eclipse Mosquitto vs Node-RED

Eclipse Mosquitto logo

Eclipse Mosquitto

Networking

Small, EPL-licensed MQTT broker that runs on hardware other brokers cannot

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Node-RED logo

Node-RED

Smart Home

Flow-based programming tool for IoT and home automation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Eclipse Mosquitto there is no clustering: Mosquitto is a single process, so high availability means building your own failover and accepting session loss on switchover.; Node-RED the Node-RED editor ships unsecured: anyone who can reach its IP address can open the editor and deploy changes until adminAuth is configured
  • They diverge on capability: Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Node-RED covers Visual Editor.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Eclipse Mosquitto and Node-RED actually diverge.

Attributes where Eclipse Mosquitto and Node-RED differ
AttributeEclipse MosquittoNode-RED
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, DockerNode.js, Docker, Cloud, Edge devices
CategoryNetworkingSmart Home
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Eclipse Mosquitto

  • MQTT 5.0 support
  • Very small footprint
  • Bridging
  • WebSockets listener
  • Command line clients
  • Dynamic security plugin

Only in Node-RED

  • Visual Editor
  • Flow-Based Programming
  • Extensible
  • HTTP Integration
  • MQTT
  • REST API
  • WebSocket
  • Database

What people use each for

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

Eclipse Mosquitto

  • A home or building automation stack where the broker must run on the same small computer as everything elsenot Node-RED
  • An industrial gateway that buffers local telemetry and bridges selected topics to a cloud brokernot Node-RED
  • Local development and testing of MQTT clients without provisioning a cloud IoT servicenot Node-RED
  • An air-gapped deployment where a broker with no licence server and no phone-home behaviour is a requirementnot Node-RED

Node-RED

  • Low-code event-driven application developmentnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • IoT and device integration workflowsnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Visual programming for server-side integrationsnot Eclipse Mosquitto

Where each one falls short

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

Eclipse Mosquitto

  • There is no clustering: Mosquitto is a single process, so high availability means building your own failover and accepting session loss on switchover.
  • Persistence is a local file rather than a replicated store, so a disk failure or an unclean shutdown can lose retained messages and queued QoS traffic.
  • Practical capacity is a few thousand concurrent clients on typical hardware, so a growing device fleet eventually forces a migration to a clustered broker.
  • The Eclipse Public Licence is weak copyleft rather than permissive, which some legal teams treat as a blocker when embedding the broker in a shipped commercial product.
  • There is no commercial support to buy from the project, so production incidents rely on community mailing lists or on paying a third party who happens to know the codebase.

Node-RED

  • The Node-RED editor ships unsecured: anyone who can reach its IP address can open the editor and deploy changes until adminAuth is configured
  • HTTPS is off by default and must be enabled through the https setting
  • HTTP endpoints and dashboards exposed by flows are unauthenticated unless httpNodeAuth is configured separately
  • All three security layers are optional additions the administrator must implement by editing the settings file

Pricing, plan by plan

Eclipse Mosquitto

Free
  • Eclipse MosquittoFree
    • Eclipse Public License 2.0 with Eclipse Distribution Licence
    • MQTT 5.0, 3.1.1 and 3.1
    • No client or message limits beyond your hardware

Node-RED

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Visual editor
    • Extensible
    • REST API

Which should you pick?

Choose Eclipse Mosquitto if

  • You need mqtt 5.0 support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker.
  • You also want very small footprint.
Eclipse Mosquitto review

Choose Node-RED if

  • You need visual editor.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Node.js, Docker, Cloud, Edge devices.
  • You also want flow-based programming.
Node-RED review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse Mosquitto or Node-RED better?
Neither clearly leads. Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Node-RED at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse Mosquitto or Node-RED?
Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Node-RED at Free.
Does Eclipse Mosquitto or Node-RED run on more platforms?
Eclipse Mosquitto runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker. Node-RED runs on Node.js, Docker, Cloud, Edge devices.
Can I use Eclipse Mosquitto for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Eclipse Mosquitto best used for?
Eclipse Mosquitto is most often used for a home or building automation stack where the broker must run on the same small computer as everything else, an industrial gateway that buffers local telemetry and bridges selected topics to a cloud broker, local development and testing of mqtt clients without provisioning a cloud iot service, an air-gapped deployment where a broker with no licence server and no phone-home behaviour is a requirement. Of those, a home or building automation stack where the broker must run on the same small computer as everything else and an industrial gateway that buffers local telemetry and bridges selected topics to a cloud broker are not what Node-RED is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse Mosquitto do that Node-RED cannot?
Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Very small footprint, Bridging, WebSockets listener. Node-RED covers Visual Editor, Flow-Based Programming, Extensible, HTTP Integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Eclipse Mosquitto: Can Mosquitto be clustered?

No. It is a single process. High availability requires an external failover arrangement you build yourself.

Node-RED: Is Node-RED free?

Yes, Node-RED is completely free and open source. It is available under the MIT License through GitHub and npm package manager. The project is maintained by the OpenJS Foundation.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: What licence is it?

Eclipse Public License 2.0 alongside the Eclipse Distribution License, a weak copyleft rather than a permissive licence.

Node-RED: Does Node-RED offer commercial support?

Node-RED itself is free and community-supported. FlowFuse, Inc. was founded in 2021 as a separate commercial entity offering enterprise support and a professional platform for Node-RED deployment, but FlowFuse is not Node-RED.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: How many clients can it handle?

A few thousand concurrent connections on ordinary hardware; beyond that, use a clustered broker.

Node-RED: What is Node-RED pricing model?

Node-RED has no pricing model. It is completely free open source software. Commercial support and hosting options may be available separately through third-party providers like FlowFuse, but the core software is not sold.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, along with 3.1.1 and 3.1.

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