Eclipse Amlen vs HiveMQ MQTT Broker

Eclipse Amlen is a self-hosted MQTT server for IoT and web messaging. It supports MQTT versions 3 through 5 over TCP/IP and WebSockets, plus JMS, and can convert messages between MQTT and JMS. A protocol plug-in SDK lets users add other protocols, including options for legacy sensors that cannot use MQTT. The Amlen Bridge forwards MQTT messages to another MQTT server or IBM Event Streams for IBM Cloud, with filtering, topic mapping, multiple forwarders, and REST API configuration and monitoring. Security controls include TLS profiles, user ID and password authentication against a configured LDAP server, and policy-based authorization for connections, topics, subscriptions, and queues. Administrators can manage message hubs and endpoints through a WebUI or REST Administration APIs. Supported client platforms include C, Java, Android, iOS, and JavaScript. Server and WebUI downloads are listed for RHEL and AlmaLinux 8, 9, and 10. The free software has configurable delivery guarantees. One limitation is that Amlen supports a single LDAP server connection, so users and groups must be provided through that server.

HiveMQ MQTT Broker provides event-driven messaging between connected devices and enterprise systems. It supports MQTT 3.1.1 and MQTT 5.0, with persistent messages stored to disk, offline queuing, and quality-of-service support. Dynamic clustering lets operators add or remove broker nodes while the cluster runs. Extensions connect to streaming services, databases, data warehouses, and security services, with Kafka, Amazon Kinesis, and Google Pub/Sub listed as examples. Security options include TLS 1.2/1.3, mutual TLS, fine-grained access controls, pluggable authentication such as OAuth 2.0 and LDAP, and audit logging. The self-managed broker can run on private, hybrid, and public clouds, with images for Kubernetes, OpenShift, and DC/OS. In evaluation mode without a valid license, it supports up to 25 client connections. HiveMQ describes the broker as intended for large-scale IoT deployments and mission-critical enterprise operations. Plans include a free option; Launch is $299 a month and Run is $499 a month. Other listed plans have no price listed.