Mosquitto vs OpenHAB Cloud
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Mosquitto
Lightweight MQTT message broker
VS
OpenHAB Cloud
Companion cloud service for remote openHAB access
| Feature | Mosquitto | OpenHAB Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 75 · Good |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | EPL-2.0 | EPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,221 | ★ 306 |
| First released | 2009 | 2014 |
| Replaces | SmartThings | SmartThings |
What are Mosquitto and OpenHAB Cloud?
Mosquitto
Eclipse Mosquitto is a lightweight, open-source MQTT broker widely used as the messaging backbone for smart home setups. It targets users connecting IoT devices and automation tools. It is deployed via Docker or packages.
- Standards-compliant MQTT broker
- Tiny resource footprint
- TLS and authentication
- Bridges between brokers
OpenHAB Cloud
openHAB Cloud is the self-hostable companion service that provides remote access, notifications, and integrations for openHAB installations. It bridges local openHAB instances to external services securely.
- Remote openHAB access
- Push notifications
- IFTTT and voice integrations
- Self-hostable backend
Mosquitto vs OpenHAB Cloud: key differences
Mosquitto is written in C, while OpenHAB Cloud is built with TypeScript. Mosquitto is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for OpenHAB Cloud. Mosquitto is the more established project (first released 2009), while OpenHAB Cloud arrived in 2014. Mosquitto has the considerably larger community, at 11,221 GitHub stars versus 306.
Why pick each one
Choose Mosquitto if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Rock-solid reliability
- Ubiquitous in smart homes
Watch out for
- Just a broker, not automation
- Minimal management UI
Choose OpenHAB Cloud if…
- Keeps data under your control
- Enables remote control
Watch out for
- Requires MongoDB
- Setup is involved
Frequently asked questions
Is Mosquitto or OpenHAB Cloud better?
Mosquitto is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider OpenHAB Cloud if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Mosquitto and OpenHAB Cloud free and open-source?
Yes. Mosquitto is licensed under EPL-2.0 and OpenHAB Cloud under EPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mosquitto and OpenHAB Cloud with Docker?
Mosquitto: yes. OpenHAB Cloud: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Mosquitto or OpenHAB Cloud?
Mosquitto has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for OpenHAB Cloud. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.