EMQ vs VerneMQ: What are the differences?

1. Message Routing: The key difference between EMQ and VerneMQ lies in their message routing capabilities. EMQ offers flexible and powerful message routing options, allowing users to configure message routing rules based on topic patterns, message content, and other criteria. On the other hand, VerneMQ provides a more traditional publish-subscribe architecture with hierarchical topics, where messages are published to specific topic namespaces and subscribers can subscribe to these topics to receive the messages.

2. Scalability and Clustering: EMQ excels in scalability and clustering. It provides built-in support for horizontal scaling and can be easily extended to handle millions of concurrent MQTT connections. EMQ uses a distributed cluster architecture, enabling high availability and fault-tolerant deployments. VerneMQ, although also capable of clustering, does not have the same level of scalability as EMQ, making it more suitable for smaller-scale deployments or use cases with lower message throughput requirements.

3. Security Features: EMQ and VerneMQ offer different security features. EMQ supports advanced features such as SSL/TLS encryption, client certificate-based authentication, and access control lists (ACLs) for fine-grained authorization. VerneMQ, on the other hand, provides basic security features like SSL/TLS encryption and simple user-based authentication, making it more suitable for scenarios where stringent security requirements are not a priority.

4. Management and Monitoring: EMQ provides a comprehensive set of management and monitoring tools. It offers a web-based dashboard for visualizing and managing MQTT connections, as well as RESTful APIs for programmatically interacting with the broker. EMQ also provides extensive metrics and logging capabilities for monitoring the broker's performance and activity. VerneMQ, while providing some management and monitoring features, does not have the same level of tooling and visibility as EMQ.

5. Plugin Ecosystem: EMQ boasts a vibrant plugin ecosystem, allowing users to extend the functionality of the broker with various plugins. These plugins cover a wide range of use cases, including message persistence, authentication and authorization, integration with external systems, and more. VerneMQ, while also supporting plugins, has a more limited selection and may not offer the same level of extensibility as EMQ.

6. Community and Support: EMQ has a larger and more active community compared to VerneMQ. This means that there is a wealth of resources, documentation, and community-driven support available for EMQ users. VerneMQ, while also having a community and support channels, may not have the same level of activity and resources as EMQ.

In Summary, EMQ and VerneMQ differ in message routing capabilities, scalability and clustering, security features, management and monitoring tools, plugin ecosystem, and community and support. EMQ offers more flexible and powerful message routing, better scalability and clustering, advanced security features, comprehensive management and monitoring, a vibrant plugin ecosystem, and a larger community and support network compared to VerneMQ.