HiveMQ vs PubNub
On the evidence we track, PubNub leads this comparison with a composite score of 75/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for realtime messaging infra. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
HiveMQ
HiveMQ is a real-time data streaming platform built on MQTT that provides reliable, high-performance connectivity for industrial systems and AI applications. It supports both fully-managed cloud deployments and self-hosted installations, enabling enterprises to move operational data reliably at enterprise scale.
PubNub
LeaderPubNub provides APIs and SDKs for building real-time interactive application features. It manages cloud infrastructure for messaging, presence tracking, and push notifications while handling compliance, security, and global scaling requirements.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
HiveMQ
Free tier available. Starter from $0.34/hour + $0.80/million messages. Enterprise custom.
- Serverless FreeFree
- 100 connections
- 10 GB/month throughput
- Shared MQTT broker
- TLS encryption
- RBAC
- +2 more
- Starter$0.34/hour + $0.80/million messages; 15-day free trial
- Production-ready MQTT with clustering and high availability
- 1 MB/sec max throughput
- 10,000 connections
- TLS encryption, authentication, advanced authorization
- Data Streaming Extensions
- +2 more
- EnterpriseContact sales
- Complete HiveMQ Platform
- Custom connection and throughput limits
- Distributed Data Intelligence
- Agentic AI for Operations (coming soon)
- Up to 99.99% uptime SLA
- +2 more
PubNub
LeaderFree tier for development (200 MAU). Starter at $98/month (1,000 MAU). Pro uses tiered monthly active user pricing from $370/month with annual discounts available.
- FreeFree
- Up to 200 Monthly Active Users
- 1 million function calls per month
- 1GB data storage (7 days retention)
- 1 million push notifications per month
- No credit card required
- Starter$98/month including 1,000 MAU
- 1,000 Monthly Active Users included
- 99.999% uptime SLA
- SAML SSO
- HIPAA compliance with BAA
- Bizops Workspace for user and channel management
- +3 more
- ProContact sales
- Usage-based pricing: Tier 1 (up to 10K MAU), Tier 2 (10K-50K MAU), Tier 3 (50K+ MAU)
- Enterprise features included
- 99.999% uptime SLA
- SAML SSO
- HIPAA compliance
- +8 more
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
HiveMQ
- Kafka
- Amazon Kinesis
- AWS CloudWatch
- Prometheus
- Graphite
PubNub
LeaderNot documented yet.
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.