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Networking · head to head

Eclipse Mosquitto vs OpenWrt

Eclipse Mosquitto logo

Eclipse Mosquitto

Networking

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenWrt logo

OpenWrt

Operating Systems

Linux firmware replacement for routers and embedded network devices, with a package manager and writable filesystem

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.; OpenWrt support is per device and per hardware revision, so a model number that worked last year may point at a different chipset this year and be unsupported.
  • They diverge on capability: Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, OpenWrt covers Package manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Eclipse Mosquitto and OpenWrt differ
AttributeEclipse MosquittoOpenWrt
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, DockerRouters, Access points, x86-64, ARM, MIPS, Embedded gateways
CategoryNetworkingOperating Systems

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 OpenWrt

  • Package manager
  • LuCI web interface
  • Traffic shaping
  • VPN and DNS
  • VLAN and multi-network
  • OpenWrt One

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

OpenWrt

  • Extending the useful life of an ISP-supplied router that has stopped receiving security updatesnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Separating guest, IoT and work devices onto VLANs on hardware that does not offer it nativelynot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Running WireGuard, ad blocking or DNS over TLS at the edge rather than configuring every clientnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Building small industrial or retail gateways where a full Linux distribution is too heavynot 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.

OpenWrt

  • Support is per device and per hardware revision, so a model number that worked last year may point at a different chipset this year and be unsupported.
  • Flashing can brick a device permanently, and on hardware without a serial console or a recovery bootloader there is no way back.
  • Devices with 4MB or 8MB of flash have been dropped from recent releases, so a lot of older hardware is stuck on unsupported versions with known vulnerabilities.
  • Hardware acceleration for NAT and routing depends on vendor drivers, and enabling traffic shaping frequently cuts a gigabit connection to a fraction of its rated throughput.
  • A sysupgrade keeps your configuration but not your installed packages, so every release upgrade is followed by reinstalling and reconfiguring add-ons by hand.

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

OpenWrt

Free
  • OpenWrtFree
    • No licence fee for any device count
    • All packages from the official feeds
    • Community support via forum and wiki

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 OpenWrt if

  • You need package manager.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Routers, Access points, x86-64, ARM, MIPS, Embedded gateways.
  • You also want luci web interface.
OpenWrt review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse Mosquitto or OpenWrt better?
Neither clearly leads. Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and OpenWrt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse Mosquitto or OpenWrt?
Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and OpenWrt at Free.
Does Eclipse Mosquitto or OpenWrt run on more platforms?
Eclipse Mosquitto runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker. OpenWrt runs on Routers, Access points, x86-64, ARM, MIPS, Embedded gateways.
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 OpenWrt is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse Mosquitto do that OpenWrt cannot?
Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Very small footprint, Bridging, WebSockets listener. OpenWrt covers Package manager, LuCI web interface, Traffic shaping, VPN and DNS.

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.

OpenWrt: How do I know my router is supported?

Check the Table of Hardware for your exact model and revision before buying or flashing. Do not assume that a supported model number means a supported unit; manufacturers change chipsets within a model.

Eclipse Mosquitto: What licence is it?

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

OpenWrt: Is the OpenWrt One worth buying over a used router?

If you are evaluating OpenWrt rather than rescuing hardware you own, yes. It is supported by definition, has an unbrickable boot arrangement, and part of the price funds the project.

Eclipse Mosquitto: How many clients can it handle?

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

OpenWrt: Will flashing void my warranty?

Almost always, and it may also break the ISP remote management your provider relies on for support. Keep the stock firmware image before you start.

Eclipse Mosquitto: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, along with 3.1.1 and 3.1.

OpenWrt: Is opkg still the package manager?

It is in the current stable releases, but development has moved towards apk, so expect package tooling and command syntax to change at the next major release.

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