Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs HiveMQ MQTT Broker

Google Cloud Pub/Sub9.1Visit HiveMQ MQTT Broker8.0Visit

Higher score Google Cloud Pub/Sub #3 in Message Broker Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 1 features Visit Google Cloud

vs

HiveMQ MQTT Broker #13 in Message Broker Software 8.0/10 Free plan · 15-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 1 of 1 features Visit HiveMQ

• Google Cloud Pub/Sub fits best

  Managed cloud pub/sub

• HiveMQ MQTT Broker fits best

  Managed MQTT at scale

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Side by side

Feature	Google Cloud Pub/Sub 9.1/10 Visit ↗	HiveMQ MQTT Broker 8.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.0
Ranking	#3 in Message Broker Software	#13 in Message Broker Software
Best for	Managed cloud pub/sub	Managed MQTT at scale
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	—	$299/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	15 days
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Windows, Linux
Support	Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7	Community, Docs
Compliance	HIPAA	SOC 2, ISO 27001
Integrations	9 integrations	13 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Google Cloud Pub/Sub 1/1 · HiveMQ MQTT Broker 1/1
Dead-letter queues	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Cloud	Hybrid
Delivery guarantees	Configurable	Configurable
Ordering guarantees	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Maximum message size	10 MB	256 MB (best)
Supported protocols	REST, gRPC	MQTT 3.1, MQTT 3.1.1, MQTT 5, TCP, TLS, WebSocket
Our review
Pros	Exactly-once delivery, ordering keys, replay, and dead-letter topics Pull and push subscriptions with message filtering Integrations with BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Dataflow, and more	Supports MQTT 3.1, 3.1.1, and 5 with QoS 0, 1, and 2 Offers clustering, persistent sessions, queuing, and WebSocket connectivity Connects with Kafka, databases, data lakes, and observability platforms
Cons	Paid standard throughput starts at $40 per TiB monthly Storage, transfer, import, export, and transformation charges can also apply Cloud deployment may not suit teams seeking a self-managed broker	Lab and Launch limit deployments to one broker Serverless uses a shared MQTT broker Run and Launch paid plans start at $499 and $299 monthly
Our verdict	Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a fully managed real-time messaging service for exchanging messages between independent applications. It fits teams building event-driven applications, streaming pipelines, and distributed systems that need publish… Read the review →	HiveMQ MQTT Broker is an enterprise messaging broker for connecting devices, applications, and enterprise systems through MQTT. It is aimed at industrial IoT, connected products, automotive, logistics, and other workloads that require… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Google Cloud Pub/Sub — where it wins

  • Exactly-once delivery, ordering keys, replay, and dead-letter topics
  • Pull and push subscriptions with message filtering
  • Integrations with BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Dataflow, and more

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid standard throughput starts at $40 per TiB monthly
  • Storage, transfer, import, export, and transformation charges can also apply
  • Cloud deployment may not suit teams seeking a self-managed broker

• HiveMQ MQTT Broker — where it wins

  • Supports MQTT 3.1, 3.1.1, and 5 with QoS 0, 1, and 2
  • Offers clustering, persistent sessions, queuing, and WebSocket connectivity
  • Connects with Kafka, databases, data lakes, and observability platforms

  Where it doesn't

  • Lab and Launch limit deployments to one broker
  • Serverless uses a shared MQTT broker
  • Run and Launch paid plans start at $499 and $299 monthly

• Google Cloud Pub/Sub9.1/10 · Free plan

  A managed cloud pub/sub service with strong delivery controls and usage-based pricing.

  Visit Google CloudFull verdict →
• HiveMQ MQTT Broker8.0/10 · Free plan · 15-day trial

  A flexible MQTT broker for teams managing connected devices and high-volume messaging.

  Visit HiveMQFull verdict →