Softwr

Networking · head to head

Eclipse Mosquitto vs OpenHAB

Eclipse Mosquitto logo

Eclipse Mosquitto

Networking

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenHAB logo

OpenHAB

Smart Home

Open source automation software for your home

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.; OpenHAB requires a 64-bit Java 21 JVM to be installed and maintained separately
  • They diverge on capability: Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, OpenHAB covers Vendor Agnostic.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Eclipse Mosquitto and OpenHAB actually diverge.

Attributes where Eclipse Mosquitto and OpenHAB differ
AttributeEclipse MosquittoOpenHAB
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, DockerLinux, Windows, MacOS, Docker, Raspberry Pi
CategoryNetworkingSmart Home
FoundedUnknown2010

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 OpenHAB

  • Vendor Agnostic
  • Rule Engine
  • 200+ Bindings
  • Local Processing
  • Z-Wave
  • Zigbee
  • MQTT
  • REST API

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 OpenHAB
  • An industrial gateway that buffers local telemetry and bridges selected topics to a cloud brokernot OpenHAB
  • Local development and testing of MQTT clients without provisioning a cloud IoT servicenot OpenHAB
  • An air-gapped deployment where a broker with no licence server and no phone-home behaviour is a requirementnot OpenHAB

OpenHAB

  • Self-hosted vendor neutral home automation hubnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Bridging smart home devices from different manufacturers under one set of rulesnot 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.

OpenHAB

  • Requires a 64-bit Java 21 JVM to be installed and maintained separately
  • Oracle Java is explicitly not recommended by the project because of potential licensing restrictions
  • The recommended hardware is a dedicated Raspberry Pi 4 or newer rather than shared hardware
  • Some version upgrades require additional manual steps run through a separate upgrade tool

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

OpenHAB

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Unlimited devices
    • 200+ bindings
    • Local control

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 OpenHAB if

  • You need vendor agnostic.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, MacOS, Docker, Raspberry Pi.
  • You also want rule engine.
OpenHAB review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse Mosquitto or OpenHAB better?
Neither clearly leads. Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and OpenHAB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse Mosquitto or OpenHAB?
Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and OpenHAB at Free.
Does Eclipse Mosquitto or OpenHAB run on more platforms?
Eclipse Mosquitto runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker. OpenHAB runs on Linux, Windows, MacOS, Docker, Raspberry Pi.
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 OpenHAB is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse Mosquitto do that OpenHAB cannot?
Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Very small footprint, Bridging, WebSockets listener. OpenHAB covers Vendor Agnostic, Rule Engine, 200+ Bindings, Local Processing.

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.

OpenHAB: How much does openHAB cost?

openHAB is 100% open source and completely free to download, install, and use across all supported platforms.

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.

OpenHAB: Are there any subscription fees for openHAB?

No, openHAB has no subscription fees. The software is free and released under an open source license for unlimited use.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: How many clients can it handle?

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

OpenHAB: How can I support openHAB?

While openHAB is free to use, the project accepts voluntary donations through the openHAB Foundation to support development and maintenance.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, along with 3.1.1 and 3.1.

Share

Related pages

More on Eclipse Mosquitto

More on OpenHAB

Keep looking

Other head to heads