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Networking · head to head

Eclipse Mosquitto vs Passbolt

Eclipse Mosquitto logo

Eclipse Mosquitto

Networking

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Passbolt logo

Passbolt

Cybersecurity

Open-source password manager for teams with self-hosted or cloud deployment

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.; Passbolt pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.
  • They diverge on capability: Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Eclipse Mosquitto and Passbolt differ
AttributeEclipse MosquittoPassbolt
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, Dockerweb, windows, mac, linux, api
CategoryNetworkingCybersecurity

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 Passbolt

  • Password sharing and folders
  • Groups and role-based access
  • Browser extensions and CLI
  • Open API
  • LDAP provisioning and SSO
  • Activity audit log

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

Passbolt

  • Self-hosting a team password manager for data sovereigntynot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Provisioning vault access from an existing LDAP/AD directorynot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Sharing credentials across engineering or IT teams via folders and groupsnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Automating credential retrieval through the CLI or open APInot 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.

Passbolt

  • Pro Edition requires a minimum of 10 users, making it costlier for very small teams.
  • Community Edition lacks SSO and LDAP provisioning, which many organizations need for onboarding at scale.
  • Self-hosting the Community Edition requires infrastructure and maintenance effort compared to fully managed competitors.
  • Enterprise-tier support and HA consulting require custom, quote-based pricing rather than transparent rates.

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

Passbolt

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Unlimited users
    • Password sharing and folders
    • Role-based access control
  • Pro Edition$4.9/month
    • Minimum 10 users, billed annually
    • LDAP/AD provisioning
    • Single sign-on
  • Enterprise Edition$undefined/month
    • High availability and disaster recovery consulting
    • White-glove migration
    • Custom feature development

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 Passbolt if

  • You need password sharing and folders.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
  • You also want groups and role-based access.
Passbolt review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse Mosquitto or Passbolt better?
Neither clearly leads. Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Passbolt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse Mosquitto or Passbolt?
Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Passbolt at Free.
Does Eclipse Mosquitto or Passbolt run on more platforms?
Eclipse Mosquitto runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker. Passbolt runs on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
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 Passbolt is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse Mosquitto do that Passbolt cannot?
Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Very small footprint, Bridging, WebSockets listener. Passbolt covers Password sharing and folders, Groups and role-based access, Browser extensions and CLI, Open API.

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.

Passbolt: Is Passbolt free to use?

Yes. The Community Edition is free forever with unlimited users, including password sharing, folders, groups, role-based access, browser extensions, a CLI, and an open API.

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.

Passbolt: What does the Pro Edition cost and add?

Pro Edition costs $4.90 per user per month billed annually, with a 10-user minimum, and adds LDAP/AD provisioning, single sign-on, account recovery escrow, activity audit logs, and next-business-day support.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: How many clients can it handle?

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

Passbolt: What license is Passbolt distributed under?

All Passbolt editions, including Pro and Enterprise, are distributed under the AGPL v3 open-source license.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, along with 3.1.1 and 3.1.

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