# ActiveMQ vs NATS

**Leader by Vioscale score:** NATS

| Attribute | ActiveMQ | NATS |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 66.8 (22% (low)) | 75.4 (48% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 39 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 7,528 | 24,884 |
| adoption.github_stars | 2,451 | 20,599 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 1,291,214 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":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. | NATS enables components of a distributed software system to send messages to each other. It is an open-source project maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and can be deployed across cloud environments, on-site servers, edge computing devices, and embedded systems. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","paradigm":"pubsub","protocol":"AMQP, STOMP, MQTT, JMS","persistent_log":true,"managed_offering":true,"horizontal_scaling":true}` | `{"hosting":"self","paradigm":"pubsub","message_replay":true,"persistent_log":true,"consumer_groups":true,"horizontal_scaling":true}` |
| language.primary | Java | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":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://nats.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T12:15:06.032Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 1 |
| 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/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.6-RC.2","date":"2026-08-26T17:01:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.6-RC.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.6-RC.1","date":"2026-08-25T16:47:43Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.6-RC.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.15.0-preview.1","date":"2026-08-24T13:33:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.0-preview.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.5","date":"2026-08-12T15:31:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.15","date":"2026-08-12T15:30:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.12.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.4","date":"2026-07-30T13:57:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.14","date":"2026-07-30T13:56:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.12.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.3","date":"2026-06-29T15:36:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.12","date":"2026-06-29T15:36:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.12.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.11","date":"2026-06-09T14:57:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.12.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.2","date":"2026-06-02T16:02:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.10","date":"2026-06-02T16:02:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.12.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.2-RC.1","date":"2026-05-29T15:17:59Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.2-RC.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.10-RC.1","date":"2026-05-29T15:16:47Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.10-RC.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.1","date":"2026-05-20T15:42:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.9","date":"2026-05-20T15:41:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.12.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.1-RC.2","date":"2026-05-19T16:39:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.1-RC.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.9-RC.2","date":"2026-05-19T16:38:34Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.9-RC.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.14.1-RC.1","date":"2026-05-14T15:12:59Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.1-RC.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/tag/v2.12.9-RC.1","date":"2026-05-14T15:12:19Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.9-RC.1"}]` |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 6.9 | 7.2 |
| 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":29,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fnats-io%2Fnats-server%2Fv2&per_page=100","last_12m":14,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (Message Queues)

| Capability | ActiveMQ | NATS |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Messaging paradigm | Pub/sub | Pub/sub |
| **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 2026-09-01T17:30:48.244Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*