# BullMQ vs ZeroMQ

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** BullMQ

| Attribute | BullMQ | ZeroMQ |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 57.3 (62% (medium)) | 48.9 (58% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 0 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1,185 | 2,003 |
| adoption.github_stars | 9,503 | 11,016 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 9,701,809 | 23,226,788 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"An open source system for queueing and processing background tasks using Redis as the data store, with support for Node.js, Python, Rust, Elixir, and PHP applications. It is indexed under Message Queues.","source":"https://bullmq.io/","question":"What is BullMQ?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"BullMQ is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://bullmq.io/","question":"Is BullMQ free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. BullMQ can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://bullmq.io/","question":"Can BullMQ be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 for BullMQ. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as BullMQ not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://bullmq.io/","question":"What security certifications does BullMQ have?","confidence":0.48},{"answer":"Yes. BullMQ is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq","question":"Is BullMQ open source?","confidence":0.99}]` | `[{"answer":"ZeroMQ is a messaging library that enables asynchronous communication through socket abstractions, supporting multiple communication patterns, message subscriptions, and access to various transport protocols. It is indexed under Message Queues.","source":"https://zeromq.org","question":"What is ZeroMQ?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"ZeroMQ is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MPL-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://zeromq.org","question":"Is ZeroMQ free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"ZeroMQ supports Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://zeromq.org","question":"What platforms does ZeroMQ support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. ZeroMQ can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://zeromq.org","question":"Can ZeroMQ be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 11 integrations for ZeroMQ, including Microsoft, Samsung, AT&T, Spotify, Facebook, Digital Ocean, Auth0 and Bitcoin, plus 3 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://zeromq.org","question":"What does ZeroMQ integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. ZeroMQ is published under the MPL-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq","question":"Is ZeroMQ open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | BullMQ is a background job and message queue system supporting Node.js, Python, .NET, Rust, Elixir, and other languages. It scales horizontally across unlimited workers, includes automatic job retry with backoff, dead-letter queues, and real-time monitoring. | Enables programs to exchange information through sockets across multiple protocols and network types, with built-in support for various communication patterns such as broadcast, queue-based delivery, and request-response architectures |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","paradigm":"job_queue","persistent_log":true,"managed_offering":false,"dead_letter_queue":true,"horizontal_scaling":true}` | `{"hosting":"self","paradigm":"pubsub","protocol":"ZMTP/3.1","managed_offering":false,"horizontal_scaling":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 11 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Microsoft"},{"name":"Samsung"},{"name":"AT&T"},{"name":"Spotify"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"Digital Ocean"},{"name":"Auth0"},{"name":"Bitcoin"},{"name":"Jupyter"},{"name":"Mongrel2"},{"name":"Jina"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | C++ |
| license.spdx | MIT | MPL-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | - | `{"linux":true,"android":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Professional","summary":"$139/month","commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":139,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free tier available; Professional tier from $139/month","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://bullmq.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T11:15:28.907Z","startingPrice":{"amount":139,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://zeromq.org","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T15:19:28.344Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | high | free |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":139,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | no | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 114 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.3.14","date":"2026-10-13T08:07:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.3.13","date":"2026-10-12T08:51:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vphp2.0.3","date":"2026-10-12T06:19:55Z","type":"stable","version":"vphp2.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vpy3.3.3","date":"2026-10-10T05:40:10Z","type":"stable","version":"vpy3.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.3.12","date":"2026-10-09T08:04:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.3.5","date":"2026-10-08T04:06:11Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.3.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vpy3.3.2","date":"2026-10-08T21:07:47Z","type":"stable","version":"vpy3.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vex2.3.0","date":"2026-10-08T21:39:22Z","type":"stable","version":"vex2.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vpy3.3.1","date":"2026-10-07T22:07:37Z","type":"stable","version":"vpy3.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.3.4","date":"2026-10-04T20:57:14Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.3.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.3.11","date":"2026-10-01T01:54:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vpy3.3.0","date":"2026-09-30T05:45:35Z","type":"stable","version":"vpy3.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.3.10","date":"2026-09-29T10:30:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vpy3.2.8","date":"2026-09-29T02:53:36Z","type":"stable","version":"vpy3.2.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.3.3","date":"2026-09-26T05:25:38Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.3.9","date":"2026-09-25T18:57:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.3.2","date":"2026-09-25T03:25:22Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vpy3.2.7","date":"2026-09-25T04:06:50Z","type":"stable","version":"vpy3.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.3.1","date":"2026-09-24T04:20:30Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.3.0","date":"2026-09-22T07:54:20Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.3.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.3.5","date":"2023-10-09T11:17:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.3.4","date":"2021-01-17T13:23:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.3.3","date":"2020-09-07T16:26:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.3.2","date":"2019-07-08T16:22:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.3.1","date":"2019-01-12T16:21:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.3.0","date":"2018-11-28T20:16:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.2.5","date":"2018-03-23T19:37:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.2.4","date":"2018-03-21T16:03:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.2.3","date":"2017-12-13T13:41:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.2.2","date":"2017-02-18T18:09:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.2.1","date":"2016-12-31T15:30:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.2.0","date":"2016-11-04T10:33:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zeromq/libzmq/releases/tag/v4.2.0-rc1","date":"2016-11-01T15:31:54Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.2.0-rc1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active"}]` | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 6.8 | 5.3 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=bullmq&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=conda&package_name=zeromq&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Message Queues)

| Capability | BullMQ | ZeroMQ |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Messaging paradigm | Job / task queue | Pub/sub |
| **Correctness** |  |  |
| Delivery guarantee | - | - |
| Ordering guarantee | - | - |
| **Durability** |  |  |
| Durable replayable log | ✓ | - |
| Message replay / rewind | - | - |
| **Interop** |  |  |
| Wire protocol | - | ZMTP/3.1 |
| Kafka-protocol compatible | - | - |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Partitioned horizontal scaling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Geo / cross-region replication | - | - |
| **Consumption** |  |  |
| Consumer groups / competing consumers | - | - |
| Dead-letter queue | ✓ | - |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Managed cloud offering exists | ✗ | ✗ |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | Self-hosted only |
| **Processing** |  |  |
| Built-in stream processing | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T21:00:15.935Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*