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Networking · head to head

Eclipse Mosquitto vs Tasmota

Eclipse Mosquitto logo

Eclipse Mosquitto

Networking

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tasmota logo

Tasmota

Smart Home

Open-source firmware for ESP8266/ESP32 based devices

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.; Tasmota tasmota only runs on Espressif ESP8266, ESP8285, ESP32, ESP32-S and ESP32-C3 chipsets, so devices built on other silicon cannot use it
  • They diverge on capability: Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Tasmota covers Local Control.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Eclipse Mosquitto and Tasmota differ
AttributeEclipse MosquittoTasmota
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, DockerESP8266, ESP32, Compatible devices
CategoryNetworkingSmart Home
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 Tasmota

  • Local Control
  • MQTT Support
  • Web Interface
  • OTA Updates
  • Home Assistant
  • Domoticz
  • OpenHAB
  • Node-RED

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

Tasmota

  • Replacing vendor cloud firmware on ESP based smart plugs and switchesnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Controlling smart home devices locally over MQTT or HTTPnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Integrating off the shelf Wi-Fi devices with Home Assistant without a cloud accountnot 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.

Tasmota

  • Tasmota only runs on Espressif ESP8266, ESP8285, ESP32, ESP32-S and ESP32-C3 chipsets, so devices built on other silicon cannot use it
  • Initial installation requires opening the device, bridging GPIO0 to ground during boot and using a 3.3V serial programmer; a 5V programmer damages the chip
  • The ESP chip needs at least 150mA at 3.3V, so an underpowered supply causes flashing and stability failures
  • The Wi-Fi setup access point stays active for only 3 minutes, after which the device must be power cycled to try again
  • The Power Cycle Recovery feature can reset a device to firmware defaults where mains power fluctuates, and the docs advise disabling it in that case

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

Tasmota

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Full firmware
    • MQTT
    • Web UI

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 Tasmota if

  • You need local control.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on ESP8266, ESP32, Compatible devices.
  • You also want mqtt support.
Tasmota review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse Mosquitto or Tasmota better?
Neither clearly leads. Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Tasmota at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse Mosquitto or Tasmota?
Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Tasmota at Free.
Does Eclipse Mosquitto or Tasmota run on more platforms?
Eclipse Mosquitto runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker. Tasmota runs on ESP8266, ESP32, Compatible devices.
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 Tasmota is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse Mosquitto do that Tasmota cannot?
Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Very small footprint, Bridging, WebSockets listener. Tasmota covers Local Control, MQTT Support, Web Interface, OTA Updates.

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.

Tasmota: What is the cost of Tasmota?

Tasmota is completely free as open-source firmware for ESP devices. Source code is available on GitHub, and the project accepts donations for continued development.

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.

Tasmota: Can Tasmota be modified and redistributed?

Yes, Tasmota is open-source software allowing users to access, compile, modify, and redistribute builds according to the project LICENSE.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: How many clients can it handle?

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

Eclipse Mosquitto: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, along with 3.1.1 and 3.1.

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