Mosquitto

Infrastructure64MB+ RAM

Lightweight MQTT message broker for IoT and messaging

Download Server Compass View Documentation

mqttiotmessagingbroker

Deploy Mosquitto in 3 Steps

Connect Your VPS

Add your server credentials to Server Compass

Select Mosquitto

Choose from our template library

Deploy & Configure

Fill in settings and click Deploy

No Docker knowledge required

Why Self-Host Mosquitto?

Mosquitto is a lightweight MQTT message broker, the standard protocol for IoT devices. Self-hosting means your smart home and IoT data stays on your network — not flowing through corporate cloud servers that mine your data for usage patterns and advertising.

Lightweight MQTT broker running on just 64MB RAM

Keep IoT and smart home data completely local

Support for MQTT 5.0, 3.1.1, and 3.1

TLS encryption for secure device communication

Bridge multiple Mosquitto instances for distributed setups

Mosquitto vs Alternatives

Mosquitto vs EMQX

EMQX is enterprise-grade with more features. Mosquitto is simpler, lighter, and sufficient for most homelab and small-scale IoT.

Mosquitto vs AWS IoT Core

AWS IoT charges per message and sends data to Amazon. Mosquitto keeps all IoT data on your local network.

Mosquitto vs HiveMQ

HiveMQ has commercial licensing. Mosquitto is fully open-source and the most widely deployed MQTT broker.

Why Deploy Mosquitto with Server Compass?

Server Compass deploys Mosquitto with just 64MB RAM — it runs on any server, even alongside dozens of other containers. Persistent configuration ensures your MQTT setup survives updates.

Download Server Compass

After Deployment

After deploying Mosquitto with Server Compass, complete these steps to finish setup

Configure authentication

Set up topics

Connect MQTT clients

Need help? Check out our documentation for detailed guides.

Mosquitto FAQ

Common questions about self-hosting Mosquitto

How do I deploy Mosquitto with Server Compass?

Simply download Server Compass, connect to your VPS, and select Mosquitto from the templates list. Fill in the required configuration and click Deploy. The entire process takes under 3 minutes.

What are the system requirements for Mosquitto?

Mosquitto requires a minimum of 64MB RAM. We recommend a VPS with at least 1024MB RAM for optimal performance. Any modern Linux server with Docker support will work.

Can I migrate my existing Mosquitto data?

Yes! Server Compass provides volume mapping that allows you to import existing data. You can also use standard Mosquitto backup and restore procedures.

How do I update Mosquitto to the latest version?

Server Compass makes updates easy. Simply click the Update button in your deployment dashboard, and the latest Mosquitto image will be pulled and deployed with zero downtime.

Is Mosquitto free to self-host?

Mosquitto is open-source software. You only pay for your VPS hosting (typically $5-20/month) and optionally Server Compass ($29 one-time). No subscription fees or per-seat pricing.