When is CloudAMQP the better choice?

You need RabbitMQ or LavinMQ specifically, not MQTT. You want a free tier with explicit monthly message, queue, and connection quotas. You expect to move to a low-cost flat monthly plan soon after testing. You want shared-broker development use with diagnostics, alarms, and logs included. You prefer a provider whose paid ladder stays simple before dedicated infrastructure.

When is HiveMQ Cloud the better choice?

You are building an MQTT app or evaluating MQTT protocols. You want to try the service without a credit card. You need WebSocket support on the free plan. You care more about traffic-based limits than queue counts. You expect to stay on a free or low-commitment starter setup for learning or experimentation.

CloudAMQP vs HiveMQ Cloud: Free Tier Comparison

Q: How much does CloudAMQP cost after the free tier?

Elegant Ermine - $ 19 Per month. CloudAMQP uses flat monthly pricing for its shared and dedicated plans, so costs rise in steps when you need more quota or dedicated capacity. HiveMQ Cloud starts with usage-based Starter pricing, at $0.34/hour plus $0.80 per million messages, so costs can climb with steady uptime and traffic. For light, predictable usage, CloudAMQP is easier to budget. For MQTT builders who need dedicated capacity and can tolerate variable billing, HiveMQ Cloud’s costs depend more on runtime and message volume than on a simple plan ladder.

Q: How much does HiveMQ Cloud cost after the free tier?

Starter - Starting from $0.34/hour + $0.80/million messages. CloudAMQP uses flat monthly pricing for its shared and dedicated plans, so costs rise in steps when you need more quota or dedicated capacity. HiveMQ Cloud starts with usage-based Starter pricing, at $0.34/hour plus $0.80 per million messages, so costs can climb with steady uptime and traffic. For light, predictable usage, CloudAMQP is easier to budget. For MQTT builders who need dedicated capacity and can tolerate variable billing, HiveMQ Cloud’s costs depend more on runtime and message volume than on a simple plan ladder.

Quick answer

HiveMQ Cloud - HiveMQ Cloud wins for most builders who want a free MQTT sandbox with no card required, while CloudAMQP is the better fit if you need RabbitMQ-specific queues, message quotas, and a more development-friendly shared broker.

How the free tiers compare

These products serve different messaging stacks, so the real choice is less about price and more about protocol and operating model. CloudAMQP is a managed RabbitMQ and LavinMQ service with a free shared broker plan that is already shaped like a small production or serious development environment: message quotas, queue limits, connection caps, and a clear step up to cheap flat-rate paid plans. HiveMQ Cloud is MQTT-first and its free serverless plan is simpler and easier to start with, especially because no credit card is required. Its free tier focuses on learning and experimentation, with 100 connections and 10 GB of traffic, but the jump to paid is usage-based and much less predictable. If you want RabbitMQ semantics, CloudAMQP is the clearer path. If you want MQTT and the least friction to try it, HiveMQ Cloud wins.

CloudAMQP vs HiveMQ Cloud free tier, side by side

	CloudAMQPFTV 53	HiveMQ CloudFTV 44
Free plan connectionsCloudAMQP counts broker connections; HiveMQ Cloud lists 100 connections included.	20 connections	100 connections
Free plan message/traffic limitDifferent units, so not directly comparable.	1M messages/month	10 GB data traffic/month
Free plan queue limitHiveMQ Cloud free plan does not show a queue quota in the provided data.	Up to 100 queues	Not listed
Free plan queued messagesOnly CloudAMQP provides this in the input.	Up to 10,000 queued messages	Not listed
Free plan idle queue timeOnly CloudAMQP provides this in the input.	Up to 28 days	Not listed

After you outgrow the free tier

CloudAMQP uses flat monthly pricing for its shared and dedicated plans, so costs rise in steps when you need more quota or dedicated capacity. HiveMQ Cloud starts with usage-based Starter pricing, at $0.34/hour plus $0.80 per million messages, so costs can climb with steady uptime and traffic. For light, predictable usage, CloudAMQP is easier to budget. For MQTT builders who need dedicated capacity and can tolerate variable billing, HiveMQ Cloud’s costs depend more on runtime and message volume than on a simple plan ladder.

CloudAMQP next stepElegant Ermine - $ 19 Per monthFlat monthly

HiveMQ Cloud next stepStarter - Starting from $0.34/hour + $0.80/million messagesUsage-based

Cost at real usage

Usage	CloudAMQP	HiveMQ Cloud
100k messages/monthHiveMQ Cloud pricing also depends on how long the broker runs each month.	$19/mo	~$0.34/hour + ~$0.08/messages; monthly total varies with uptime, and no full monthly minimum is provided
1M messages/monthThe hourly base dominates at low uptime, but the exact monthly bill is not fully specified in the input.	$19/mo	~$0.34/hour + ~$0.80 in message charges; monthly total varies with uptime
5k connectionsCloudAMQP’s 1-node dedicated plan lists 5k connections.	$49/mo minimum for dedicated 1 node, or $19/mo shared plan if the shared connection cap is enough	Starter includes unlimited connections; exact monthly bill still varies by runtime and message volume

Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.

When to pick each one

Pick CloudAMQP when…

You need RabbitMQ or LavinMQ specifically, not MQTT.
You want a free tier with explicit monthly message, queue, and connection quotas.
You expect to move to a low-cost flat monthly plan soon after testing.
You want shared-broker development use with diagnostics, alarms, and logs included.
You prefer a provider whose paid ladder stays simple before dedicated infrastructure.

Pick HiveMQ Cloud when…

You are building an MQTT app or evaluating MQTT protocols.
You want to try the service without a credit card.
You need WebSocket support on the free plan.
You care more about traffic-based limits than queue counts.
You expect to stay on a free or low-commitment starter setup for learning or experimentation.

Bottom line

For the most common builder use case, HiveMQ Cloud is the easier free-tier pick if you want MQTT and no card up front. CloudAMQP is the stronger choice if your app speaks RabbitMQ or LavinMQ and you want a free plan that maps cleanly to real queueing workloads. The paid path is also more predictable on CloudAMQP because it starts with flat monthly tiers. HiveMQ Cloud is better when protocol fit matters more than billing simplicity.

Read the full listings: CloudAMQP and HiveMQ Cloud. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.