Best Message Broker Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Lightstreamer is ranked #1 of 38 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Faye and TIBCO FTL. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Faye. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Amazon SNS at $0.06/mo.
Message brokers help applications exchange messages, and their delivery behavior and deployment options can shape what fits your system. Compare supported protocols and deployment model with delivery and ordering guarantees, as well as dead-letter queue support. Maximum message size can be important for the messages you expect to handle. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing provide further cost context. Apache Artemis, Eclipse Mosquitto, and HiveMQ MQTT Broker are among the entries, alongside RabbitMQ and Amazon SNS. Use the listed criteria to weigh how each broker handles communication requirements and where you can deploy it.
38 message broker software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
18 of the 25 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LightstreamerWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 6 of 6 | Free | 6.8 | |
| 2 | FayeWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 3 | TIBCO FTLWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 4 of 6 | Free | 6.6 | |
| 4 | Apache ArtemisWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 5 | Eclipse MosquittoWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 6 | HiveMQ MQTT BrokerWindows · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | $299/mo | 6.5 | |
| 7 | RabbitMQWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 8 | ZeroMQWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 9 | Amazon SNSWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $0.06/mo | 6.4 | |
| 10 | Amazon SQSWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 11 | Apache ActiveMQWindows · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 12 | CloudAMQPWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $19/mo | 6.4 | |
| 13 | Google Cloud Pub/SubWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $40/mo | 6.4 | |
| 14 | Upstash QStashWeb · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $1/mo | 6.4 | |
| 15 | AedesSelf-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 0 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 16 | EMQXWeb | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $234/mo | 6.3 | |
| 17 | Mochi MQTTLinux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 18 | NATSLinux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 19 | Red Hat Trusted Artifact SignerWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.6 |
| 20 | NSQWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 21 | Apache Qpid Broker-JWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 22 | SocketClusterWeb · Android · iPhone | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 23 | beanstalkdMac · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 24 | Eclipse AmlenWeb · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 25 | JORAMWindows · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | Delivery guarantees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lightstreamer | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | — |
| 2 | Faye | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | configurable |
| 3 | TIBCO FTL | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | — | — | hybrid | configurable |
| 4 | Apache Artemis | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | configurable |
| 5 | Eclipse Mosquitto | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | configurable |
| 6 | HiveMQ MQTT Broker | 6.5 | Free plan | $299/mo | Yes | — | hybrid | configurable |
| 7 | RabbitMQ | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | configurable |
| 8 | ZeroMQ | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | configurable |
| 9 | Amazon SNS | 6.4 | Free plan | $0.06/mo | Yes | — | cloud | configurable |
| 10 | Amazon SQS | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | cloud | configurable |
| 11 | Apache ActiveMQ | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | configurable |
| 12 | CloudAMQP | 6.4 | Free plan | $19/mo | Yes | 19 /mo | cloud | configurable |
| 13 | Google Cloud Pub/Sub | 6.4 | Free plan | $40/mo | Yes | — | cloud | configurable |
| 14 | Upstash QStash | 6.4 | Free plan | $1/mo | Yes | — | cloud | at_least_once |
| 15 | Aedes | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | configurable |
| 16 | EMQX | 6.3 | Free plan | $234/mo | Yes | 234 /mo | hybrid | configurable |
| 17 | Mochi MQTT | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | configurable |
| 18 | NATS | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | — | — | hybrid | configurable |
| 19 | Red Hat Trusted Artifact Signer | 5.6 | No | — | No | — | self_hosted | — |
| 20 | NSQ | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | at_least_once |
| 21 | Apache Qpid Broker-J | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | — |
| 22 | SocketCluster | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | — |
| 23 | beanstalkd | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | — |
| 24 | Eclipse Amlen | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | configurable |
| 25 | JORAM | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | configurable |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which message broker software is ranked first on Freedom251?
Lightstreamer is ranked #1 of 38 with a score of 6.8. Faye is second and TIBCO FTL third.
How many of these have a free plan?
18 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Amazon SNS has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.06/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.