RabbitMQ is Free (OSS) / $95/mo (CloudAMQP). Conduit is a self-hosted alternative at $0.99/mo. Here's when each makes sense.
| Conduit | RabbitMQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted, your infra | Self-hostable but requires Erlang runtime |
| Data location | Your server, your disk | Your server (if self-hosted) |
| Free tier | 3 queues | Free |
| Pro pricing | $0.99/mo | Free (OSS) / $95/mo (CloudAMQP) |
| Dependencies | None (single binary + SQLite) | Docker, Postgres, etc. |
| Setup time | ~30 seconds | 15-30 minutes (self-host) |
| Dashboard | Built-in at /ui | Web UI |
| License | BSL 1.1 | Open source |
Conduit is a single Go binary with embedded SQLite. Install it with one command, and you are running in under a minute. Your data stays on your server.
curl -fsSL https://stockyard.dev/conduit/install.sh | sh
Teams evaluating RabbitMQ alongside Conduit tend to split on two axes: feature depth and data residency. RabbitMQ wins on feature depth — it is a mature product with integrations, mobile apps, and a dedicated support team. Conduit wins on residency — your message queue data lives on your server in a SQLite file you can inspect, back up, and migrate without asking anyone for permission.
Conduit runs as a single static binary with an embedded SQLite database. There is no application server, no cache layer, no background worker. One process handles HTTP requests and reads from and writes to the database file directly. This simplicity is the entire point — fewer moving parts means fewer things that can break at 2 AM.
Both Conduit and RabbitMQ offer self-hosted options, but the operational requirements differ. Self-hostable but requires Erlang runtime Conduit is a single binary with embedded SQLite — no containers, no external databases, no orchestration. The practical difference: Conduit runs on a $5 VPS with no configuration. Self-hosting RabbitMQ typically requires a more substantial infrastructure investment.
Switching from RabbitMQ to Conduit is straightforward for most teams. Export your data from RabbitMQ (most services offer CSV or JSON export), then POST each record to Conduit's API. A migration script that reads the export and writes to /api/ endpoints typically takes less than 50 lines of code. The reverse migration is equally simple — Conduit's SQLite database is a standard file you can query with any SQLite client.
Single binary. Free to start. $0.99/mo for Pro.