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Networking · head to head

Eclipse Mosquitto vs Upstash

Eclipse Mosquitto logo

Eclipse Mosquitto

Networking

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Upstash logo

Upstash

Cloud

Serverless data for modern developers

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.; Upstash hTTP-based REST API only, no TCP connections means higher latency than self-hosted or connection-pooled Redis
  • They diverge on capability: Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Upstash covers Serverless Redis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Eclipse Mosquitto and Upstash differ
AttributeEclipse MosquittoUpstash
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, DockerREST API, Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, Vercel Edge, Cloudflare Workers, AWS Lambda
CategoryNetworkingCloud
FoundedUnknown2020

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 Upstash

  • Serverless Redis
  • Serverless Kafka
  • QStash
  • Global Replication
  • REST API
  • Edge Functions Support
  • Rate Limiting
  • Caching

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

Upstash

  • Cachingnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Session storagenot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Real-time messagingnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Rate limitingnot Eclipse Mosquitto
  • Serverless backendsnot 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.

Upstash

  • HTTP-based REST API only, no TCP connections means higher latency than self-hosted or connection-pooled Redis
  • Rate limiting occurs when traffic exceeds configured budget cap or request limits
  • Kafka service discontinued in March 2025, requiring migration to Upstash Workflow or alternatives
  • Limited Redis feature support compared to self-hosted Redis or Redis Cloud
  • High-request-volume workloads can accumulate significant costs due to per-request pricing model

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

Upstash

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 256 MB data
    • 500K commands per month
    • 10 GB bandwidth
  • Pay-as-you-go$0.2/per 100K commands
    • Per-request billing
    • Storage at $0.25/GB
    • Unlimited commands
  • Fixed Plan$10/month
    • 250 MB Redis
    • Predictable pricing
    • Global replication available at higher tiers

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 Upstash if

  • You need serverless redis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on REST API, Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, Vercel Edge, Cloudflare Workers, AWS Lambda.
  • You also want serverless kafka.
Upstash review

Questions people ask

Is Eclipse Mosquitto or Upstash better?
Neither clearly leads. Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Upstash at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Eclipse Mosquitto or Upstash?
Eclipse Mosquitto starts at Free and Upstash at Free.
Does Eclipse Mosquitto or Upstash run on more platforms?
Eclipse Mosquitto runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Docker. Upstash runs on REST API, Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, Vercel Edge, Cloudflare Workers, AWS Lambda.
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 Upstash is typically brought in for.
What can Eclipse Mosquitto do that Upstash cannot?
Eclipse Mosquitto covers MQTT 5.0 support, Very small footprint, Bridging, WebSockets listener. Upstash covers Serverless Redis, Serverless Kafka, QStash, Global Replication.

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.

Upstash: Does Upstash have a free tier?

Yes. The free tier provides 256 MB of data and 500,000 commands per month with 10 GB of bandwidth in a single region, no credit card required.

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.

Upstash: How does Upstash work with edge platforms like Vercel and Cloudflare Workers?

Upstash uses a REST API instead of TCP connections, enabling it to work from Vercel Edge, Cloudflare Workers, and AWS Lambda without persistent connections or connection pooling.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: How many clients can it handle?

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

Upstash: What programming languages are supported?

Upstash provides native SDKs for Python, Node.js, Go, and Rust. Java, C#, and PHP developers can use the REST API or community libraries.

Source
Eclipse Mosquitto: Does it support MQTT 5?

Yes, along with 3.1.1 and 3.1.

Upstash: Is Upstash Kafka still available?

No. Upstash Kafka was deprecated on September 11, 2024 and fully discontinued on March 11, 2025. Upstash Workflow is now recommended for durable serverless messaging and task queuing.

Source
Upstash: How is Upstash pricing structured?

Upstash uses per-request pricing at $0.20 per 100K commands for Redis, $0.25/GB for storage, and $0.40 per 100K requests for Vector database. Idle applications cost nothing.

Source
Upstash: Can Upstash be used with AWS Lambda?

Yes. Upstash works with AWS Lambda via its REST API, eliminating the need for connection pooling and making it ideal for stateless serverless functions.

Source
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