EMQXvszookeeper
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| EMQX | zookeeper | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 73/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 14 in Messaging | #1 of 8 in Configuration Management |
| GitHub stars | 16 868 | 12 827 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +114 | +17 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 15 | 0 |
| Latest release | 6.3.2 · 16 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Erlang | Java |
Which one should you pick?
EMQX scores 78/100 against 73/100 for zookeeper, so it is the safer default.
EMQX ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for zookeeper.
If you want the quickest setup, zookeeper is easier to run; EMQX needs more configuration.
EMQX is growing faster right now (+114 stars in 30 days).
EMQX details →zookeeper details →