Apache ActiveMQ vs EMQX
Apache ActiveMQ
activemq.apache.org
EMQX
emqx.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache ActiveMQ | EMQX |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $234/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 5 |
| Spec score · Message Broker Software | 9.0 (#3) | 9.1 (#2) |
| Spec score · Message Queue (MQ) Software | 9.0 (#3) | 9.1 (#2) |
| Documentation | The project publishes getting-started, protocol, feature, security, administration, FAQ and API documentation. | The documentation site covers Cloud, Enterprise, clustering, installation and migration, data integration, security, APIs and troubleshooting guides. |
| Integrations | The site lists Spring support, JCA 1.5 resource adaptors, and testing in TomEE, Geronimo, JBoss, GlassFish, and WebLogic. | EMQX Enterprise provides more than 40 out-of-box integrations including Kafka, AWS RDS, MongoDB, Oracle, SAP and time-series databases. |
| License | The product is released under the Apache License 2.0. | From version 5.9.0, EMQX uses Business Source License 1.1; Apache 2.0 becomes available four years after each version's first publication, and clusters over one node require a license file. |
| Rating on Capterra | 5.0 out of 5 from 3 reviews | 4.5 out of 5 from 8 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | 4.3 out of 5 from 16 reviews | 4.6 out of 5 from 23 reviews |
| REST API | A REST interface lets HTTP clients publish with POST and consume with GET or DELETE. | EMQX exposes an HTTP management API following OpenAPI 3.0 with HTML, Markdown, JSON and Swagger specification endpoints. |
| Security | The security documentation describes pluggable providers, JAAS authentication, and XML-configured authorization. | Security features include TLS/mTLS, X.509 certificate authentication, access controls, and audit logs. |
| Security controls | Security supports JAAS authentication, XML authorization rules, LDAP-related modules, Shiro, SSL transports and message-level authorization plugins. | Security features include TLS/mTLS, X.509 certificates, JWT authentication, fine-grained ACL/RBAC authorization and audit logs. |
| What it does | Apache ActiveMQ is a Java-based, open-source message broker for asynchronous application communication. | EMQX is a unified MQTT platform for connecting, processing and streaming real-time IoT data to cloud, AI and analytics systems. |
Plans
EMQX
- ServerlessFree
- Dedicated Flex$234 a month
- BYOCPriced on request
- ServerlessFree
- EnterprisePrice not published
In their own words
Apache ActiveMQ
Apache ActiveMQ is an open-source messaging and Integration Patterns server for applications that exchange messages. It is self-hosted and supports OpenWire, STOMP, AMQP 1.0, MQTT 3.1, and REST. Listed client languages include Java, C, C++, C#, Ruby, Perl, Python, and PHP. Messaging features include message groups, virtual and composite destinations, wildcards, and enterprise integration patterns. ActiveMQ fully supports JMS 1.1 and J2EE 1.4+ messaging, including transient, persistent, transactional, and XA modes; support for Jakarta Messaging 3.1 and JMS 2.0 is partial. Transport options include in-VM, TCP, SSL, NIO, UDP, multicast, JGroups, and JXTA, with JDBC persistence and a high-performance journal. Browser access is available through a REST API and Ajax web streaming. Security options include pluggable providers, JAAS authentication, XML-configured authorization, and user, group, and destination permissions. ActiveMQ Classic costs nothing under the Apache License 2.0.
EMQX
EMQX is an MQTT messaging platform for connecting, moving, and processing IoT business data in real time. EMQX Enterprise combines publish/subscribe messaging with durable message queuing, while a SQL-based Rule Engine and visual Flow Designer support filtering, transforming, enriching, and routing data. The platform supports MQTT and protocols or gateways including QUIC, CoAP, STOMP, and LwM2M; its listed protocols also include MQTT-SN, OCPP, GB/T 32960, JT/T 808, and NATS. EMQX says a cluster can handle up to 100 million concurrent MQTT connections and lists more than 50 native integrations. Security features include TLS/mTLS, X.509 authentication, access controls, and audit logs. Deployment options include Docker, a Kubernetes Operator, and installation packages, with macOS and Linux packages listed. Plans include free Serverless and Dedicated Flex starting at $234 per month, with a 14-day trial listed for Dedicated Flex. Serverless has limits including 1,000 sessions, 1,000 TPS, and a 1 MB message size.