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Networking · head to head

Eclipse Mosquitto vs PRTG Network Monitor

Eclipse Mosquitto logo

Eclipse Mosquitto

Networking

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PRTG Network Monitor logo

PRTG Network Monitor

Networking

Infrastructure monitoring licensed by sensor count, not by device, which changes what a licence actually covers

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Eclipse Mosquitto has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; PRTG Network Monitor licensing by sensor rather than device means the real cost per device is unpredictable until sensor density is measured; a small network of complex devices can need a much larger tier than device count alone suggests
  • They diverge on capability: Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, PRTG Network Monitor covers Sensor-based monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Eclipse Mosquitto and PRTG Network Monitor actually diverge.

Attributes where Eclipse Mosquitto and PRTG Network Monitor differ
AttributeEclipse MosquittoPRTG Network Monitor
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer sensor tier, billed monthly on an annual contract
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, DockerWindows, Web, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Networking).

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 PRTG Network Monitor

  • Sensor-based monitoring
  • Auto-discovery
  • Multiple monitoring technologies
  • Maps and dashboards
  • Cloud and hybrid deployment

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

PRTG Network Monitor

  • An IT team wanting network, server and application monitoring in one product rather than assembling separate open source toolsnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • An organisation that wants a Windows-installable on-premises monitoring server with a polished UI out of the boxnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • A team sizing a monitoring purchase that needs to calculate sensor density per device carefully before committing to a tiernot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • A company wanting hybrid on-premises and cloud monitoring from the same licence and dashboardnot 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.

PRTG Network Monitor

  • Licensing by sensor rather than device means the real cost per device is unpredictable until sensor density is measured; a small network of complex devices can need a much larger tier than device count alone suggests
  • Different PRTG licence sizes cannot be combined on one server, so outgrowing a tier means a step change to the next tier rather than a smooth incremental add
  • It requires a Windows server for on-premises deployment, which is an added infrastructure and patching burden compared with a Linux-native open source alternative
  • Pricing is materially higher than open source options like Icinga or LibreNMS for comparable core monitoring capability, and the premium is for polish and support rather than unique functionality
  • The free tier (100 sensors) is limited enough that most real deployments quickly need a paid tier, so it functions more as a trial than a genuinely usable free offering
  • Custom sensor scripting and advanced configuration still require real monitoring expertise; the polished UI does not remove the underlying complexity of correctly instrumenting a large network

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

PRTG Network Monitor

On request
  • PRTG 500$200/month
    • Up to 500 sensors
  • PRTG 1000$358/month
    • Up to 1,000 sensors
  • PRTG 2500$742/month
    • Up to 2,500 sensors
  • PRTG 5000$1300/month
    • Up to 5,000 sensors

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 PRTG Network Monitor if

  • You need sensor-based monitoring.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want auto-discovery.
PRTG Network Monitor review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse Mosquitto or PRTG Network Monitor better?
Neither clearly leads. Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and PRTG Network Monitor at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse Mosquitto or PRTG Network Monitor?
Eclipse Mosquitto has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Eclipse Mosquitto and On request for PRTG Network Monitor.
Does Eclipse Mosquitto or PRTG Network Monitor run on more platforms?
Eclipse Mosquitto runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker. PRTG Network Monitor runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Eclipse Mosquitto for free?
Yes. Eclipse Mosquitto has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PRTG Network Monitor starts at On request.
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 PRTG Network Monitor is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse Mosquitto do that PRTG Network Monitor cannot?
Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Very small footprint, Bridging, WebSockets listener. PRTG Network Monitor covers Sensor-based monitoring, Auto-discovery, Multiple monitoring technologies, Maps and dashboards.

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.

PRTG Network Monitor: Is PRTG licensed per device or per sensor?

Per sensor. Each individually monitored metric counts as one sensor, so a single device is typically several sensors.

Eclipse Mosquitto: What licence is it?

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

PRTG Network Monitor: Can I combine two PRTG licence tiers on one server?

No, Paessler states different license sizes cannot be combined on one PRTG installation.

Eclipse Mosquitto: How many clients can it handle?

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

PRTG Network Monitor: Is there a free tier?

Yes, PRTG offers a free tier limited to 100 sensors, which most production networks will exceed quickly.

Eclipse Mosquitto: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, along with 3.1.1 and 3.1.

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