EMQXvsNATS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| EMQX | NATS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 14 in Messaging | #2 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 16 867 | 20 953 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +113 | +191 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 15 | 18 |
| Latest release | 6.3.2 · 16 Oct 2026 | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Erlang | Go |
Which one should you pick?
NATS scores 80/100 against 78/100 for EMQX, so it is the safer default.
NATS ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 15 for EMQX.
If you want the quickest setup, NATS is easier to run; EMQX needs more configuration.