EMQX by emqx

The most scalable and reliable MQTT broker for AI, IoT, IIoT and connected vehicles

mqttiotmqtt-brokererlangiot-middlewarebrokerm2mpubsubmessagingcoaplorawanmqtt-server
Verdict 80/100 health $4.13/mo cheapest, hetzner 2/5 setup difficulty 45064k docker pulls 2 open CVEs Last release 22 days ago

Self-host EMQX on hetzner CAX11 for $4.13/mo.

Health score
80 /100
6-dim composite
Self-hosts from
$4.13 /mo
hetzner · CAX11
Difficulty
2 /5
Docker + read README
GitHub stars
16k
2.5k forks

About EMQX

From the project's README at github.com/emqx/emqx. Lightly cleaned for readability; for the full source see the upstream repo.

[](https://github.com/emqx/emqx/releases) [](https://github.com/emqx/emqx/actions/workflows/push-entrypoint.yaml) [](https://slack-invite.emqx.io/) [](https://discord.gg/xYGf3fQnES) [](https://x.com/EMQTech) [](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FjR77ErAxvZENEWzQaO5Q)

EMQX is the world's most scalable and reliable MQTT platform, designed for high-performance, reliable, and secure IoT data infrastructure. It supports MQTT 5.0, 3.1.1, and 3.1, as well as other protocols like MQTT-SN, CoAP, LwM2M, and MQTT over QUIC. EMQX enables you to connect millions of IoT devices, process and route messages in real time, and integrate with a wide range of backend data systems. It's ideal for applications in AI, IoT, Industrial IoT (IIoT), connected vehicles, smart cities, and beyond.

Starting from v5.9.0, EMQX has unified all features from the previous Open Source and Enterprise editions into a single, powerful offering with the Business Source License (BSL) 1.1.**

Health score breakdown

6-dimension composite. See methodology for formula and weights.

activity
100
maturity
100
community
95
security
85
sustainability
53
adoption
39

Adoption signals

Real-world usage data, pulled from each registry. The bigger the numbers, the more battle-tested the project.

SignalValueSource
GitHub stars 16k github.com/emqx/emqx
GitHub forks 2.5k github.com/emqx/emqx
Docker Hub pulls 45064k hub.docker.com / emqx

Release & maintenance

Is this project actively maintained, or about to die? Check the recency of last commit and last release.

Project age13.4 yearssince Dec 2012
Last commit3 days agoMay 4, 2026
Releases shipped387last: 22 days ago
Security policySECURITY.mddeclared by maintainers

Self-hosting cost across providers

Detected requirements: 4GB RAM, 40GB disk minimum. Cheapest plan per provider that meets the requirement.

ProviderPlanSpecsMonthly
hetzner CAX11 2c · 4GB · 40GB $4.13 USD Deploy →
vultr VC2 1c · 1GB · 25GB $5 USD Deploy →
linode Nanode 1GB 1c · 1GB · 25GB $5.12 USD Deploy →
digitalocean Basic Regular 1GB 1c · 1GB · 25GB $6 USD Deploy →

Security advisories

2 known advisories tracked via OSV.dev. 2 currently open without a documented fix. Most recent: CVE-2023-37781.

What people say on Hacker News

Ready to self-host EMQX?

Spin up a hetzner CAX11 (4GB RAM, 40GB disk) for $4.13/mo and follow the project's official install docs.

Data last refreshed May 7, 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

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