Softwr

Databases · head to head

Immuta vs VerneMQ

Immuta logo

Immuta

Databases

Attribute-based access control and masking applied inside Snowflake, Databricks and BigQuery

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VerneMQ logo

VerneMQ

Databases

Erlang MQTT broker whose source is Apache 2.0 but whose official binaries need a paid subscription

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only VerneMQ has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Immuta contracts commonly start around one hundred to two hundred thousand US dollars a year for mid-market deployments and exceed five hundred thousand at enterprise scale, which excludes most data teams without a regulatory mandate.; VerneMQ the official binaries and Docker images are not Apache 2.0 but sit under a EULA requiring a yearly commercial subscription, a distinction easy to miss and awkward to discover during a licence audit.
  • They diverge on capability: Immuta covers Attribute-based policy, VerneMQ covers Erlang/OTP clustering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Immuta and VerneMQ actually diverge.

Attributes where Immuta and VerneMQ differ
AttributeImmutaVerneMQ
Starting priceOn requestFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, API, CloudLinux, Docker, macOS, Kubernetes

Identical on both: pricing model (quote), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 Immuta

  • Attribute-based policy
  • Native enforcement
  • Dynamic masking
  • Row-level filtering
  • Purpose-based access
  • Sensitive data tagging
  • Audit logging
  • Multi-platform

Only in VerneMQ

  • Erlang/OTP clustering
  • MQTT 5.0 support
  • Plugin system
  • Backpressure handling
  • Bridge support
  • Metrics export
  • MQTT over WebSockets
  • Pluggable auth backends

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Immuta

  • A bank whose Snowflake estate has grown to tens of thousands of roles that no one can review before an auditnot VerneMQ
  • A healthcare analytics team that must let researchers query patient data with identifiers masked unless a specific purpose is recordednot VerneMQ
  • A multinational applying different residency and access rules per jurisdiction to the same tables without duplicating datasetsnot VerneMQ
  • An organisation running both Snowflake and Databricks that wants one policy set rather than two divergent implementationsnot VerneMQ

VerneMQ

  • An industrial operator that wants an MQTT broker with predictable memory behaviour and no data integration features it will not usenot Immuta
  • A team building from source to stay strictly under Apache 2.0 terms with no vendor licence entanglementnot Immuta
  • A deployment needing custom authentication logic implemented as a plugin in Lua or over a webhooknot Immuta
  • An organisation that wants a broker maintained by a small European company rather than by a vendor that keeps changing licencesnot Immuta

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Immuta

  • Contracts commonly start around one hundred to two hundred thousand US dollars a year for mid-market deployments and exceed five hundred thousand at enterprise scale, which excludes most data teams without a regulatory mandate.
  • Policy is only as good as the data classification underneath it, so an organisation with poorly tagged columns will spend months on classification before Immuta enforces anything useful.
  • Native enforcement means capability varies by platform, and a feature available on Snowflake may be absent or behave differently on BigQuery, which undermines the promise of one policy set everywhere.
  • Adding an access governance layer creates a new dependency in the path to data: a misconfigured policy silently returns fewer rows rather than erroring, and analysts can act on incomplete results without noticing.
  • It governs cloud data platforms, so personal data in operational databases, files and SaaS applications sits outside its scope and needs separate controls, meaning Immuta is rarely the whole answer.

VerneMQ

  • The official binaries and Docker images are not Apache 2.0 but sit under a EULA requiring a yearly commercial subscription, a distinction easy to miss and awkward to discover during a licence audit.
  • Octavo Labs is a very small company, so support depth, response times and the bus factor on the codebase are materially thinner than at HiveMQ or EMQ.
  • There is no data integration or rule engine layer, so routing messages into a database means writing and operating your own consumer service.
  • Operating an Erlang cluster requires runtime knowledge that most teams do not have and will use for nothing else in their stack.
  • There is no vendor-managed cloud offering, so every deployment is self-operated with the infrastructure and on-call cost that implies.

Pricing, plan by plan

Immuta

On request
  • Immuta Platform$undefined/year
    • Attribute-based policy authoring
    • Native enforcement in supported data platforms
    • Dynamic masking and row-level security

VerneMQ

Free
  • Source buildFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed source from GitHub
    • Full clustering and plugin capability
    • You compile and package it yourself
  • Binary packages and Docker images$undefined/year
    • Covered by the VerneMQ EULA, not Apache 2.0
    • Yearly usage subscription expected for commercial use
    • Official builds and Docker images
  • Commercial support$undefined/year
    • Evaluation, customisation and operations assistance
    • Custom development
    • Long-term maintenance agreements

Which should you pick?

Choose Immuta if

  • You need attribute-based policy.
  • You work on Web, API, Cloud.
  • You also want native enforcement.
Immuta review

Choose VerneMQ if

  • You need erlang/otp clustering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, macOS, Kubernetes.
  • You also want mqtt 5.0 support.
VerneMQ review

Questions people ask

Is Immuta or VerneMQ better?
Neither clearly leads. Immuta starts at On request and VerneMQ at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Immuta or VerneMQ?
VerneMQ has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Immuta and Free for VerneMQ.
Does Immuta or VerneMQ run on more platforms?
Immuta runs on Web, API, Cloud. VerneMQ runs on Linux, Docker, macOS, Kubernetes.
Can I use VerneMQ for free?
Yes. VerneMQ has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Immuta starts at On request.
What is Immuta best used for?
Immuta is most often used for a bank whose snowflake estate has grown to tens of thousands of roles that no one can review before an audit, a healthcare analytics team that must let researchers query patient data with identifiers masked unless a specific purpose is recorded, a multinational applying different residency and access rules per jurisdiction to the same tables without duplicating datasets, an organisation running both snowflake and databricks that wants one policy set rather than two divergent implementations. Of those, a bank whose snowflake estate has grown to tens of thousands of roles that no one can review before an audit and a healthcare analytics team that must let researchers query patient data with identifiers masked unless a specific purpose is recorded are not what VerneMQ is typically brought in for.
What can Immuta do that VerneMQ cannot?
Immuta covers Attribute-based policy, Native enforcement, Dynamic masking, Row-level filtering. VerneMQ covers Erlang/OTP clustering, MQTT 5.0 support, Plugin system, Backpressure handling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Immuta: Does Immuta sit in the query path?

No. It compiles policies into the data platform's own native controls, so queries run at normal speed through your existing tools.

VerneMQ: Is VerneMQ free?

The source is Apache 2.0 and free. The official binary packages and Docker images are covered by a separate EULA that expects a yearly fee for commercial use.

Immuta: What does it cost?

Not published. Market data suggests roughly 100,000 to 200,000 US dollars a year for mid-market deployments and considerably more at enterprise scale.

VerneMQ: Is the project still maintained?

Yes. Octavo Labs AG in Zurich continues to publish 2.x releases, most recently in 2026.

Immuta: Is Immuta still independent?

Yes. It remains independently owned, unlike several competitors in data access governance that have been acquired.

VerneMQ: Does it have a managed cloud?

No. Every deployment is self-hosted, with commercial support available from Octavo Labs.

Immuta: Does it work across more than one warehouse?

Yes, one policy set can target Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery and Starburst, though enforcement capability varies by platform.

VerneMQ: How does it compare to EMQX?

Narrower in features and without a rule engine, but with a simpler licence story for source builds after EMQX moved to BSL.

Share

Related pages

More on Immuta

More on VerneMQ

Keep looking

Other head to heads