Updated March 23, 2023
Difference Between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ
ActiveMQ vs RabbitMQ is the popular open-source message brokers. The message broker supports the telecommunication system by helping the computer to interact with each other by sharing the defined messages to various applications. the message broker helps to convert the format of the sender’s message to the format of the receiver’s standard. RabbitMQ is the best implementation of the AMQP protocol. It executes a broker architecture where the messages are queued on the central nodes before sending them to the destination. ActiveMQ works on middle ground and deployed with a broker and P2P architecture. It is known as the swiss army knife of messaging.
Head to Head Comparison of ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ
Below are the Top 15 differences between ActiveMQ vs RabbitMQ:
Key Difference between ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ
Let’s discuss some of the major key differences:
1. ActiveMQ is an open-source message broker is scripted in Java which is based on Java Message Service client whereas RabbitMQ is implemented on Advanced Message Queueing protocol.
2. ActiveMQ is developed by Apache Software Foundation while RabbitMQ is developed by Pivotal software. ActiveMQ holds Apache License 2.0 while RabbitMQ holds Mozilla Public License.
3. RabbitMQ works based on the center which makes this a unique approach. RabbitMQ is very portable and user-friendly. Because the huge actions such as load balancing or persistent message queuing runs only on a limited line of code. But this approach is less scalable and slow because of its latency addition from the central node and size of the message envelope. ActiveMQ is easier to implement and provides advanced features such as clustering, caching, logging, and message storage.
4. RabbitMQ is embedded in applications and acts as midway services. It differentiates support encryption, storing data in the disk as pre-planned in case of an outage, making of clusters, duplication of services to have high reliability. It is deployed on the OTP platform that assures maximum scalability and stability of the queue that acts as a key node of the entire system.
5. ActiveMQ comprises of Java Message Service client which has the ability to supports multiple clients or servers. The attributes like computer clustering support the ActiveMQ to manage the communication system. The versions of ActiveMQ are ActiveMQ Artemis and ActiveMQ 5 Classic. RabbitMQ is implemented to design the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol. It is stretched out to support different protocols such as MQTT and STOMP. Some of the features of RabbitMQ are rapid synchronous messaging, advanced tools and plugin, distributed deployment, developer-friendly, and centralized management.
6. ActiveMQ 5 Classic is implemented with Java Message Service 1.1 with a pluggable architecture. Here there is a separate network of brokers allotted for distribution load. ActiveMQ Artemis gives an amazing performance and deployed in non-blocking architecture for event flow of messaging applications with 1.1 and 2.0 of JMS. It has an adaptable clustering for distributing the load. It is a powerful addressing method that provides easy migration.
7. RabbitMQ has many advantages that support multiple messaging protocols, delivering acknowledgment and message queue. It is enabled with various languages such as Python, .NET, and Java. It can also make the developer use applications such as Chef, Docker, and Puppet. It gives high throughput and availability by developing possible clusters. It can easily handle the public and private cloud by the support of pluggable authentication and authorization. The HTTP-API is a command-line tool and its user interface helps in managing and monitoring the RabbitMQ.
8. ActiveMQ has multiple advantages that can be applied to have high efficiency according to the requirement. It supports C, C++, .NET and Python which is possible to embed multi-platform application by Advanced Message Queuing Protocol. It has the flexibility to exchange messages between web applications by STOMP that is Streaming Text Oriented Messaging Protocol. It also programmed to manage IoT devices.
Comparison of Table
Let’s discuss the top most comparison between ActiveMQ vs RabbitMQ:
| Basis of Comparison |
ActiveMQ |
RabbitMQ |
| Programming Language | It is programmed in Java. | It is written by Erlang or OTP language. |
| Working Principle | It is used in enterprise projects to store multiple instances and supports clustering environments. | RabbitMQ is a message broker which is executed in low-level AMQP protocol and acts as an intermediator between two application in the communication process. |
| Accessible to Opensource | Yes, it is accessible to open source. | Yes, RabbitMQ is accessible to open source. |
| Multiple Languages | It supports C, C#, Haxe, Node.js, Perl, Racket, Python, and Ruby on Rails. | It supports multiple languages such as Java, Ruby, Python, PHP, Perl Rust, Go, JavaScript, C and C++. |
| Preferred companies | Dopplr, gnip, CSC, STG and the University of Washington. | It is mainly used by Redsit, Vine, CircleCl, 9GAG and Code School |
| Applied Protocols | OpenWire, Stomp, WSIF, WS, AUTO, AMQP and MQTT are the applied protocols. | HTTP, MQTT, STOMP, and AMQP are the implemented protocols. |
| Number of Brokers | It can be implemented with two brokers along with P2P architecture. | One broker is required. |
| Need for Administration | It is based on Web Console which is a web-based administration tool. | It requires administration tool support. |
| Tools used | It is a multi-protocol supported message broker. | RabbitMQ HTTP-works on management plugin.
RabbitMQ admin-browser works on the user interface. |
| Training Programs | Attune, Savoir, NobleProg, and TytoEASE. | Pivotal Software, Erlang solutions, LearnQuest and Open source Architect |
| Cost | It is freely available. | It is freely available. |
| Methods of synchronization | It is configured with the synchronous method but it can be modified into asynchronous by modifying the setting panel. | It works on both synchronous and asynchronous methods. |
| Message patterns | PUB-SUB and message queue are available message patterns. | It has general message patterns such as Message Queue, PUB-SUB and RPC and Routing. |
| Future directions | The development team of ActiveMQ and Active Artemis which the progress made in each step can be reflected in the Apache website. | The update details can be checked in RabbitMQ’s changelog and developers make constant updates fixing the bugs and enhanced performance. |
| Cross-Platform | Yes, it is applicable. | Yes, it is possible. |
The ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ are two broadly deployed message brokers. The main differentiation is ActiveMQ works as an open-source multi-protocol message broker in Java whereas RabbitMQ has written in Erlang. Both ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ are used in wide industrial applications.
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