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EMQX vs Apache ActiveMQ: catalog facts
EMQX	Apache ActiveMQ
Best for: Engineers running large MQTT deployments for IoT or connected vehicles	Best for: Teams that need a self-hosted message broker for their applications
Free + paid options A free start is offered; enterprise licences and managed plans are paid.	Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.
Linux, Self-hosted	Windows, Self-hosted
Full MQTT 5.0 support plus MQTT over QUIC Masterless clustering for high availability All 4 strengths for EMQX Full MQTT 5.0 support plus MQTT over QUIC Masterless clustering for high availability Gateways for CoAP, LwM2M and MQTT-SN Built-in data integrations	Supports JMS, AMQP, STOMP and MQTT Clients available for many languages All 4 strengths for Apache ActiveMQ Supports JMS, AMQP, STOMP and MQTT Clients available for many languages High availability and networks of brokers Regular maintenance releases on several series
Business Source License, not open source since 5.9.0 Aimed at large deployments rather than small home setups	Requires Java and server administration Aimed at developers and operators, not end users
Self-hosted, Hosted service	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Not open source	Open source
License: BSL-1.1	License: Apache-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for EMQX emqx.com github.com/emqx/emqx Catalog checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Apache ActiveMQ activemq.apache.org Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.