Difference Between RabbitMQ vs MQTT

From telephone calls to virtual messages, communication system around the globe has evolved at a rapid pace. Now one can save, send and receive messages to the exact location through the Message Broker mechanism. The two most popular and reliable messaging software are RabbitMQ and MQTT. The former is a traditionally deployed open-source message broker and the latter is lightweight basically used for IOT devices. They differ in various categories. Let us look at what aspects these terms differ in and what should the user prefer.

RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ is the most widely and traditionally deployed open-source message broker. It is quite light in weight and easy to deploy on-premises and on the cloud. Also, it supports multiple messaging protocols and can run on many operating systems and cloud environments. It has tens of thousands of users. For implementing the Advanced Message Queue Protocol (AMQP), it was initially developed. It has 4 components- Producer, Exchange, Queue, and Consumer.

Advantages

• It is an open-source platform.
• It has easy integration and system configuration system.
• Data traffic is quite minimum.
• It is ready for enterprises and the cloud.
• The task of setting up and starting is easy.

Disadvantages

• The processing of large datasets is slow.
• It has poor documentation.
• It has premium integration services.

MQTT

MQTT stands for Message Queuing Telemetry Transport, a lightweight messaging protocol. It is easy to deploy on millions of devices and also uses QoS levels to ensure guaranteed delivery of messages, even if the connection is not that much reliable. It works on the publisher/subscriber principle and is operated through a central broker.  For example- Facebook uses MQTT for its messenger application in its mobile versions.

Advantages

• It has efficient data transmission and is quick to implement because it is lightweight.
• It has use a small amount of power.
• There is low network usage.
• The distribution of data is very efficient.

Disadvantages

• It has slower transmit cycles.
• It is unencrypted
• It has many issues of security.

Difference between RabbitMQ and MQTT

Parameters	RabbitMQ	MQTT
Designed For	It was designed for a wide variety of messaging applications that have been developed over the past two decades.	It was designed for smaller devices, especially for IOT devices.
Message Routing	It supports complex message routing and is highly flexible in sending messages to different servers.	It doesn’t support complex message-routing mechanisms.
Powered Device	If one is having a high-powered device, RabbitMQ is a great option.	If one is having a low-powered device, MQTT is a great option.
Efficiency	The efficiency is not wire-efficient. It does require complex steps to send messages.	The efficiency is wire-efficient. It does not require complex steps to send messages.
Implementation	It requires more effort for implementing on a client.	The efforts are less for implementing on a client.
Support	It supports two messaging techniques point to point pub-sub It is the perfect option for long-lived messages.	It supports only the pub-sub messaging technique. It is the perfect option for short-lived messages.
Security	It is secure because of the latest SASL mechanisms	It is not secure. MQTT needs additional security measures to secure it.
Multiple Messaging Namespace	It supports multiple message namespaces.	It does not support multiple message namespaces.
LVQs (Last Value Queues)	LVQs are not supported in RabbitMQ.	It does support LVQs.

Both software is widely used in the market. One could opt for RabbitMQ is they are preferring complex routing and could go for MQTT if building an IOT application. Overall, RabbitMQ is better in overall performance as it has additional security, offers complex routing, and supports multiple messaging techniques. Both platforms have their own pros and cons and is all up to the user to select which platform according to their requirements.