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Databases · head to head

VerneMQ vs Zabbix

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
Zabbix logo

Zabbix

Networking

Open source infrastructure and network monitoring with distributed proxies and templating

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Zabbix the database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • They diverge on capability: VerneMQ covers Erlang/OTP clustering, Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which VerneMQ and Zabbix actually diverge.

Attributes where VerneMQ and Zabbix differ
AttributeVerneMQZabbix
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Docker, macOS, KubernetesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryDatabasesNetworking

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 VerneMQ

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

Only in Zabbix

  • Agent and agentless collection
  • Templates
  • Low-level discovery
  • Distributed proxies
  • Trigger expressions
  • Escalation actions

What people use each for

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

VerneMQ

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

Zabbix

  • A service provider monitoring thousands of customer devices where per-device commercial licensing is the largest line itemnot VerneMQ
  • Branch or industrial sites with unreliable links that need local collection and bufferingnot VerneMQ
  • Mixed estates where the same tool must poll SNMP switches, Linux hosts, Windows servers and Java applicationsnot VerneMQ
  • Replacing an aging Nagios installation while keeping script-based checks that already existnot VerneMQ

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Zabbix

  • The database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • Initial configuration is heavy; getting useful alerting rather than noise requires understanding trigger expressions, macros and template inheritance, which is a multi-week learning curve for a team new to it.
  • The AGPLv3 change at version 7.0 affects anyone offering Zabbix over a network as part of a commercial service, and that obligation is easy to inherit accidentally during an upgrade.
  • The web interface is functional rather than pleasant, and many sites end up running Grafana alongside it purely for presentation, which is a second system to maintain.
  • Upgrades between major versions touch the database schema and can take hours on large history tables, so the maintenance window is proportional to how much data you kept.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Zabbix

Free
  • ZabbixFree
    • No device, node or metric limits
    • Full feature set with no paid edition of the software
    • AGPLv3 from version 7.0 onward
  • Zabbix Technical Support$undefined/year
    • Tiered subscriptions with defined response times
    • Access to Zabbix engineers for configuration and performance issues
    • Bug fix priority and backports

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Zabbix if

  • You need agent and agentless collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want templates.
Zabbix review

Questions people ask

Is VerneMQ or Zabbix better?
Neither clearly leads. VerneMQ starts at Free and Zabbix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, VerneMQ or Zabbix?
VerneMQ starts at Free and Zabbix at Free.
Does VerneMQ or Zabbix run on more platforms?
VerneMQ runs on Linux, Docker, macOS, Kubernetes. Zabbix runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use VerneMQ for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is VerneMQ best used for?
VerneMQ is most often used for an industrial operator that wants an mqtt broker with predictable memory behaviour and no data integration features it will not use, a team building from source to stay strictly under apache 2.0 terms with no vendor licence entanglement, a deployment needing custom authentication logic implemented as a plugin in lua or over a webhook, an organisation that wants a broker maintained by a small european company rather than by a vendor that keeps changing licences. Of those, an industrial operator that wants an mqtt broker with predictable memory behaviour and no data integration features it will not use and a team building from source to stay strictly under apache 2.0 terms with no vendor licence entanglement are not what Zabbix is typically brought in for.
What can VerneMQ do that Zabbix cannot?
VerneMQ covers Erlang/OTP clustering, MQTT 5.0 support, Plugin system, Backpressure handling. Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection, Templates, Low-level discovery, Distributed proxies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Zabbix: Is Zabbix genuinely free for commercial use?

The software has no licence fee at any scale. From version 7.0 it is AGPLv3, so offering it as a network service to third parties carries source distribution obligations.

VerneMQ: Is the project still maintained?

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

Zabbix: What is the real cost of running it?

Database administration and the person who tunes it. Budget for PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB and someone who owns the retention policy.

VerneMQ: Does it have a managed cloud?

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

Zabbix: How does it compare to a commercial per-device tool?

It removes the licence line entirely and adds an operations line. Below a few hundred devices the commercial tool is often cheaper in total; above that Zabbix wins clearly.

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.

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