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Networking · head to head

Eclipse Mosquitto vs Pulumi

Eclipse Mosquitto logo

Eclipse Mosquitto

Networking

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pulumi logo

Pulumi

Cloud

Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages

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.; Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • They diverge on capability: Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Pulumi covers Multi-language support.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Eclipse Mosquitto and Pulumi differ
AttributeEclipse MosquittoPulumi
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, DockerLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
CategoryNetworkingCloud
FoundedUnknown2017

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 Pulumi

  • Multi-language support
  • Multi-cloud
  • State management
  • Secrets management
  • RBAC
  • Stacks
  • Automation API
  • Policy as Code

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

Pulumi

  • Infrastructure as codenot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Cloud resource provisioningnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • DevOps automationnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Multi-cloud managementnot 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.

Pulumi

  • The free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • The Team plan is $40 per month base including 40 credits, and caps the organisation at 10 users
  • SAML/SSO, RBAC, audit logs and drift detection require the Enterprise plan at $400 per month base
  • The per-resource rate rises from $0.1825 per resource per month on Team to $0.365 on Enterprise, so upgrading raises the unit price as well as the base fee
  • Managed secrets are billed separately at $0.50 per secret per month on Team and $0.75 on Enterprise
  • Self-hosting, SCIM user sync, audit log export and 24x7 support are only in Business Critical, which is custom priced with no published rate
  • Team includes up to 500 resources and Enterprise up to 2,000, with everything beyond billed on demand as credits

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

Pulumi

Free
  • IndividualFree
    • 1 user
    • Unlimited projects/stacks
    • 500 workflow minutes monthly
  • Team$40/month
    • Up to 10 users
    • Secure collaboration
    • CI/CD integration
  • Enterprise$400/month
    • Unlimited users
    • SAML/SSO
    • RBAC
  • Business Critical$null/custom
    • Self-hosting
    • Advanced compliance
    • SCIM integration

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 Pulumi if

  • You need multi-language support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want multi-cloud.
Pulumi review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse Mosquitto or Pulumi better?
Neither clearly leads. Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Pulumi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse Mosquitto or Pulumi?
Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Pulumi at Free.
Does Eclipse Mosquitto or Pulumi run on more platforms?
Eclipse Mosquitto runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker. Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, 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 Pulumi is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse Mosquitto do that Pulumi cannot?
Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Very small footprint, Bridging, WebSockets listener. Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management.

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.

Pulumi: How much does Pulumi cost?

Pulumi offers a free Individual tier forever, Team plan at $40/month with 40 credits, and Enterprise at $400/month with 400 credits. Credit usage varies by resource type and workflow needs.

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.

Pulumi: What is included in the Pulumi free tier?

The free Individual tier includes 1 user, unlimited projects/stacks, 500 workflow minutes monthly, and 5 million Neo tokens free.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: How many clients can it handle?

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

Pulumi: How are Pulumi credits charged?

1 Pulumi Credit equals $1 USD. Credits are drawn from a shared pool. IaC resources cost $0.1825/month per resource on Team and $0.365 on Enterprise; ESC secrets cost $0.50-$0.75/month; workflow minutes cost $0.01 each.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, along with 3.1.1 and 3.1.

Pulumi: Does Pulumi offer volume discounts?

Yes, the Enterprise tier ($400/month) includes volume discounts and is designed for approximately 2,000 IaC resources.

Source
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