# ActiveMQ vs BullMQ

| Attribute | ActiveMQ | BullMQ |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 66.8 (22% (low)) | 60.9 (55% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 39 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 7,528 | 1,185 |
| adoption.github_stars | 2,451 | 9,333 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 8,237,365 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A message broker that facilitates asynchronous communication between services regardless of programming language, using standardized protocols. Supports high-availability configurations and can be deployed on-premises or through managed cloud services. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","paradigm":"pubsub","protocol":"AMQP, STOMP, MQTT, JMS","persistent_log":true,"managed_offering":true,"horizontal_scaling":true}` | `{"hosting":"self","paradigm":"job_queue","persistent_log":true,"managed_offering":false}` |
| language.primary | Java | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | - |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source and free to download and use. Professional support available from commercial vendors.","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://activemq.apache.org/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:34:39.952Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://bullmq.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:33:58.453Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.3.1","date":"2026-08-06T14:44:33Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.2.9","date":"2026-08-06T15:19:04Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.2.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-5.19.10","date":"2026-08-06T20:10:51Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-5.19.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.3.0","date":"2026-07-24T11:39:40Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.2.8","date":"2026-07-24T07:53:25Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.2.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-5.19.9","date":"2026-07-24T13:59:42Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-5.19.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.2.7","date":"2026-06-25T05:29:05Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-5.19.8","date":"2026-06-25T05:59:26Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-5.19.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.2.6","date":"2026-05-27T11:37:10Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.2.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-5.19.7","date":"2026-05-27T12:14:13Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-5.19.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.2.5","date":"2026-04-21T16:26:33Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.2.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-5.19.6","date":"2026-04-21T16:52:16Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-5.19.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.2.4","date":"2026-04-08T16:23:38Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.2.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-5.19.5","date":"2026-04-08T17:00:50Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-5.19.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-5.19.4","date":"2026-03-28T05:44:50Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-5.19.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.2.3","date":"2026-03-27T18:33:08Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-6.2.2","date":"2026-03-20T12:34:58Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-6.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/activemq/releases/tag/activemq-5.19.3","date":"2026-03-20T12:58:54Z","type":"stable","version":"activemq-5.19.3"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.3.0","date":"2026-08-26T16:40:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vex2.2.0","date":"2026-08-26T16:42:21Z","type":"stable","version":"vex2.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.2.2","date":"2026-08-25T20:30:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.2.1","date":"2026-08-25T07:11:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.2.7","date":"2026-08-25T20:34:22Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vpy3.0.6","date":"2026-08-25T20:31:43Z","type":"stable","version":"vpy3.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vpy3.0.5","date":"2026-08-25T02:38:59Z","type":"stable","version":"vpy3.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vnet1.1.1","date":"2026-08-25T20:35:42Z","type":"stable","version":"vnet1.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vex2.1.3","date":"2026-08-25T20:33:24Z","type":"stable","version":"vex2.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.2.6","date":"2026-08-23T04:34:15Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.2.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.2.0","date":"2026-08-21T05:16:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.1.2","date":"2026-08-16T08:08:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.2.5","date":"2026-08-15T04:26:34Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.2.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vex2.1.2","date":"2026-08-15T19:44:26Z","type":"stable","version":"vex2.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vex2.1.1","date":"2026-08-15T04:25:36Z","type":"stable","version":"vex2.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.1.1","date":"2026-08-14T03:26:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vrs1.2.4","date":"2026-08-13T04:42:57Z","type":"stable","version":"vrs1.2.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/v6.1.0","date":"2026-08-12T04:03:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vnet1.1.0","date":"2026-08-12T19:30:15Z","type":"stable","version":"vnet1.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/taskforcesh/bullmq/releases/tag/vex2.1.0","date":"2026-08-12T19:29:27Z","type":"stable","version":"vex2.1.0"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 6.9 | 7.5 |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":12,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=org.apache.activemq%3Aactivemq-broker&per_page=100","last_12m":9,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=bullmq&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Message Queues)

| Capability | ActiveMQ | BullMQ |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Messaging paradigm | Pub/sub | Job / task queue |
| **Correctness** |  |  |
| Delivery guarantee | - | - |
| Ordering guarantee | - | - |
| **Durability** |  |  |
| Durable replayable log | ✓ | ✓ |
| Message replay / rewind | - | - |
| **Interop** |  |  |
| Wire protocol | AMQP, STOMP, MQTT, JMS | - |
| 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 | Cloud + self-hosted | Self-hosted only |
| **Processing** |  |  |
| Built-in stream processing | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:20:06.234Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*