MQTT
Definition
MQTT, or Message Queuing Telemetry Transport, is a lightweight messaging protocol designed for IoT devices, optimizing communication over limited
Use Cases
- Facebook (Meta): Mobile push notifications and real-time messaging on unreliable networks — Used MQTT as a lightweight publish/subscribe protocol to maintain efficient, long-lived connections and reduce overhead compared to heavier protocols. (Improved reliability and efficiency for real-time updates, helping reduce network and battery usage on mobile devices.)
- Amazon: IoT device telemetry ingestion for connected devices — Devices publish telemetry over MQTT to AWS IoT Core, which routes messages to downstream services (for example, rules to storage/analytics) for processing. (Scalable ingestion of device data with low device-side overhead, enabling near real-time monitoring and automation.)
Provider Equivalents
- AWS: AWS IoT Core
- Azure: Azure IoT Hub
- GCP: Google Cloud Pub/Sub
- OCI: OCI Streaming
Frequently Asked Questions
- What's the difference between MQTT and HTTP?
- HTTP is a request/response protocol (a device asks, a server answers) and usually opens short-lived connections. MQTT is publish/subscribe over a persistent connection, designed to send small messages efficiently, which is often better for IoT devices on low bandwidth or unstable networks.
- When should I use MQTT?
- Use MQTT when you have many devices sending small, frequent updates (telemetry), when bandwidth or battery is limited, or when you need publish/subscribe fan-out (one message delivered to many subscribers). If you mainly need simple REST APIs, large payload uploads, or browser-native communication, HTTP or WebSockets may be a better fit.
- How much does MQTT cost?
- MQTT itself is an open protocol, so running your own broker can be free aside from infrastructure, operations, and networking costs. Managed cloud offerings typically charge based on connected devices/sessions, message volume, and data transfer (and sometimes additional features like rules, authentication, and device management).
Category: communication
Difficulty: intermediate
Related Terms
See Also