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mosquitto VS Apache ActiveMQ

Compare mosquitto VS Apache ActiveMQ and see what are their differences

mosquitto logo mosquitto

Eclipse Mosquitto is an open source (EPL/EDL licensed) message broker that implements the MQTT protocol versions 5.0, 3.1.1 and 3.1. Mosquitto is lightweight and is suitable for use on all devices

Apache ActiveMQ logo Apache ActiveMQ

Apache ActiveMQ is an open source messaging and integration patterns server.
  • mosquitto Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-30
  • Apache ActiveMQ Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-01

mosquitto features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Mosquitto has a small resource footprint making it ideal for devices with limited computational power and memory.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project under the Eclipse Foundation, Mosquitto benefits from community support and transparent development.
  • Standards Compliant
    Mosquitto implements the MQTT protocol as specified, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of MQTT clients and applications.
  • Cross-platform
    Offers compatibility with various operating systems including Windows, macOS, Linux, and even some smaller OS for embedded systems.
  • Simple Configuration
    Ease of setup and straightforward configuration files make it accessible for users with less technical expertise.
  • Scalability
    Can scale from small projects to large-scale production environments with thousands of clients.
  • Security Features
    Supports SSL/TLS for secure communication and offers authentication and authorization mechanisms.

Possible disadvantages of mosquitto

  • Limited Persistence Options
    Mosquitto has limited out-of-the-box options for message persistence compared to more complex MQTT brokers.
  • Basic Monitoring Tools
    It provides basic monitoring and logging, which may not be sufficient for large-scale enterprise needs without additional tools.
  • Less Extensive Plugins
    Compared to some other brokers, Mosquitto offers fewer plugins and extensions for enhanced functionality.
  • Management Interface
    Lacks a built-in, user-friendly management interface for real-time management and monitoring of the broker.
  • Clustering Support
    Doesn't natively support clustering, which can be a limitation when high availability and load balancing are critical.
  • Documentation Depth
    While there is decent documentation available, it may lack the comprehensive detail found in commercial solutions, making advanced configurations more challenging.

Apache ActiveMQ features and specs

  • Open Source
    ActiveMQ is open-source under the Apache License, making it free to use and modify. This can lead to cost savings compared to commercial solutions.
  • Wide Protocol Support
    ActiveMQ supports multiple messaging protocols, including AMQP, MQTT, OpenWire, Stomp, and others, allowing for flexible integration with various systems and applications.
  • Java Integration
    Written in Java, ActiveMQ integrates well with JVM-based applications and other Apache projects like Camel and Karaf, making it a good fit for Java-centric environments.
  • High Availability
    Features like broker clustering, network of brokers, and failover support provide robust high availability options, ensuring message delivery even in case of failures.
  • Performance and Scalability
    ActiveMQ can handle a large number of messages and users by scaling horizontally, making it suitable for both small and enterprise-level applications.
  • Admin Console
    ActiveMQ provides a web-based admin console for easy management and monitoring of the message broker, simplifying administrative tasks.

Possible disadvantages of Apache ActiveMQ

  • Complex Configuration
    The initial setup and configuration can be complex, especially for newcomers. It often requires a steep learning curve to understand all the available options and optimizations.
  • Resource Intensive
    ActiveMQ can be resource-intensive, particularly in high-throughput scenarios, which may necessitate more robust hardware for optimal performance.
  • Latency
    In certain configurations, ActiveMQ may exhibit higher latency compared to other brokers, which might not make it suitable for use cases requiring real-time guarantees.
  • Java Dependency
    As a Java-based solution, ActiveMQ requires the JVM, which can be a downside for organizations that have standardized on other technology stacks.
  • Community Support
    While there is a community around ActiveMQ, it may not be as large or as active as those for other, similar open-source projects. This can lead to slower responses to issues and fewer community-based resources.
  • Documentation
    Though comprehensive, the documentation can sometimes be difficult to navigate, making it challenging for users to find specific information quickly.

Analysis of Apache ActiveMQ

Overall verdict

  • Apache ActiveMQ is generally considered a good choice for message brokering due to its comprehensive feature set, stability, and scalability. It is especially beneficial in environments where integration between different systems and technologies is necessary, thanks to its support of numerous messaging protocols.

Why this product is good

  • Apache ActiveMQ is a popular open-source message broker that is known for its flexibility and reliability. It supports multiple messaging protocols and offers features such as high availability, load balancing, and a robust set of messaging patterns. It is a mature project with a large user base and a supportive community. Its ability to integrate with various platforms and languages, along with its rich feature set, makes it a suitable choice for many applications requiring reliable message queuing.

Recommended for

    Apache ActiveMQ is recommended for enterprises looking for a reliable and scalable message broker, developers needing rich messaging functionality, and organizations that require robust support for various messaging protocols, including JMS, AMQP, STOMP, and MQTT. It is particularly well-suited for applications that need to distribute messages between different applications, languages, and platforms.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to mosquitto and Apache ActiveMQ)
Data Integration
43 43%
57% 57
Web Service Automation
41 41%
59% 59
Stream Processing
19 19%
81% 81
IoT Connectivity
100 100%
0% 0

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare mosquitto and Apache ActiveMQ

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Apache ActiveMQ Reviews

6 Best Kafka Alternatives: 2022’s Must-know List
ActiveMQ is a flexible, open-source, multi-protocol messaging broker that supports many protocols. This makes it easy for developers to use a variety of languages and platforms. The AMQP protocol facilitates integration with many applications based on different platforms. However, ActiveMQ’s high-end data accessibility capabilities are complemented by its load balancing,...
Source: hevodata.com
Top 15 Alternatives to RabbitMQ In 2021
It is a managed information broker for Apache ActiveMQ which has simple installation and it runs message broker in cloud. It doesn’t need any special look after regular management and maintenance of the message system. It is utilized to send bulk message services.
Source: gokicker.com
Top 15 Kafka Alternatives Popular In 2021
Apache ActiveMQ is a popular, open-source, flexible multi-protocol messaging broker. Since it has great support for industry-based protocols, developers get access to languages and platforms. It helps in connecting clients written in languages like Python, C, C++, JavaScript, etc. With the help of the AMQP protocol, integration with many applications with different platforms...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, mosquitto should be more popular than Apache ActiveMQ. It has been mentiond 39 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

mosquitto mentions (39)

  • Self-updating Containers on Linux with Quadlet aka podman-system-generator
    Mosquitto is a simple message broker I've chosen to run as root. After placing the .container file in the right place and running systemctl daemon-reload (or rebooting), we can run systemctl start mosquitto. All the podman commands to pull, run docker.io/library/eclipse-mosquitto:latest are taken care of for us. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Using nginx as a SSL offloading proxy to MQTT
    Nginx's stream_proxy and stream_ssl modules can be used to add tls/ssl support to mosquitto or any tcp server. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • SObjectizer Tales - Epilogue
    Mosquitto_transport, an experiment of writing SObjectizer-based wrapper around mosquitto library;. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Beginner IoT project: LED Web trigger
    References: Felipe Flop’s website https://www.filipeflop.com/blog/controle-monitoramento-iot-nodemcu-e-mqtt/ accessed on 01/27/2018. Eclipse server for MQTT Broker https://iot.eclipse.org/ accessed on 01/27/2018. Mosquitto https://mosquitto.org/ accessed on 01/27/2018. Cloud MQTT https://www.cloudmqtt.com/ accessed on 01/27/2018. DuckDNS https://www.duckdns.org/ accessed on 01/27/2018. Proftpd... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Synchronize 25 ESP8266 to start playback of an audio file at the same time
    This is a perfect use case for MQTT, e.g. This library for ESP boards. Create a broker on the network (e.g. a Raspberry Pi running Mosquitto, and have all the ESP boards subscribe to a topic. When you want to play a sound, publish a message to the topic, and all of the ESPs should see it very quickly. You don't need to synchronize clocks any more because it's simply based on the timing of publishing a message. Source: over 1 year ago
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Apache ActiveMQ mentions (7)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing mosquitto and Apache ActiveMQ, you can also consider the following products

HiveMQ - HiveMQ is the MQTT based messaging platform for fast, efficient and reliable data movement to and from connected IoT devices and enterprise systems

RabbitMQ - RabbitMQ is an open source message broker software.

IBM MQ - IBM MQ is messaging middleware that simplifies and accelerates the integration of diverse applications and data across multiple platforms.

MQTTBox - MQTTBox enables to create MQTT clients to publish or subscript topics, create MQTT virtual device...

Apache Kafka - Apache Kafka is an open-source message broker project developed by the Apache Software Foundation written in Scala.

MQTT.fx - MQTT.fx is a MQTT Client written in Java based on Eclipse Paho.