User: SmartHome_Builder
Subject: MQTT vs HTTP for IoT communication?

Building smart home system with multiple sensors and actuators. Trying to decide between MQTT and HTTP for communication protocol. Which one is better for IoT applications and why? Any performance differences?

Reply by: IoTPlatform_Dev
MQTT is specifically designed for IoT and is definitely better choice than HTTP for sensor communication. Main advantages: 1) Much lower bandwidth usage 2) Publish-subscribe model is perfect for IoT 3) Quality of Service levels for reliable delivery 4) Better for unstable networks 5) Less battery drain for devices. HTTP is request-response which doesnt fit IoT scenarios well.

Reply by: Embedded_Programmer
Agreed MQTT is superior for IoT. We use Mosquitto broker for our projects and its rock solid. Only situation where HTTP makes sense is if you have very simple setup with just few devices and dont want to setup MQTT broker. But for proper smart home with multiple devices, MQTT is the way to go. Also checkout MQTT over websockets for web dashboard integration.