MQTT Sparkplug B explained: what it adds to plain MQTT

By PlantWired · Last reviewed October 16, 2026

MQTT is a lightweight publish/subscribe protocol, but it deliberately says nothing about topic names or payload format. Sparkplug is an open specification, maintained under the Eclipse Foundation, that fills that gap for industrial use.

Sparkplug B defines a standard topic namespace (spBv1.0/group/message type/edge node/device), a binary payload encoded with Google Protocol Buffers, and birth and death certificates so that consumers know when an edge node or device is online and what metrics it exposes.

The trade-off: you gain interoperability and state awareness between Sparkplug-aware tools, but payloads are not human-readable JSON and the topic structure is fixed. Many Unified Namespace designs mix Sparkplug for device data with plain JSON topics for contextualized data. Check each vendor's documentation for its current Sparkplug support.

Edge publishers (edge nodes)

Gateways and edge platforms that read PLCs and publish Sparkplug messages.

Ignition Edge · Inductive Automation · Per-device license
Lightweight Ignition edition for field devices and panels that collects and forwards data to a central system.
Listed with: Ignition, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules, HiveMQ
Cirrus Link MQTT Modules · Cirrus Link · Per-module license
MQTT/Sparkplug B modules for Ignition that enable report-by-exception data movement between edge and enterprise.
Listed with: Ignition, Ignition Edge, HiveMQ, AWS IoT SiteWise, Azure IoT
Kepware KEPServerEX · PTC · Per-driver/suite license
Driver-based OPC UA/DA server with a large library of PLC and device protocols, used as a universal translator on the plant floor.
Listed with: Ignition, AVEVA PI System, ThingWorx, SIMATIC WinCC, FactoryTalk View, Canary Historian, Proficy iFIX
Siemens Industrial Edge · Siemens · Device + app subscriptions
Edge computing platform for running containerized apps next to SIMATIC automation.
Listed with: SIMATIC WinCC, Insights Hub, Azure IoT
HiveMQ · HiveMQ · Open-source + enterprise tiers
Enterprise MQTT broker frequently used as the backbone of a Unified Namespace architecture.
Listed with: Ignition, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules, Litmus Edge, AWS IoT SiteWise, Azure IoT
Litmus Edge · Litmus · Subscription
Industrial edge platform for collecting, normalizing and forwarding machine data.
Listed with: HiveMQ, Ignition, Azure IoT, AWS IoT SiteWise
AVEVA Edge · AVEVA · License
Compact HMI/SCADA for machine builders and embedded panels (InduSoft lineage).
Listed with: AVEVA PI System, AVEVA System Platform
Matrikon OPC UA Tunneller · Honeywell · Per-product license
OPC connectivity products, including classic-to-UA tunnelling, from Honeywell's Matrikon line.
Softing dataFEED · Softing · Per-product license
Family of OPC UA and MQTT gateways for reading data from Siemens and Rockwell PLCs.
Node-RED · OpenJS Foundation · Free (open source)
Open-source flow-based tool for wiring protocols, APIs and devices together; common at the edge.
Listed with: HiveMQ, EMQX
FlowFuse · FlowFuse · Free tier + subscription
Managed platform for running, securing and scaling many Node-RED instances in industrial settings.
Listed with: Node-RED
EMQX · EMQ Technologies · Open-source + enterprise tiers
High-throughput MQTT broker available as open source and enterprise editions.
Listed with: Node-RED
Eclipse Mosquitto · Eclipse Foundation · Free (open source)
Lightweight open-source MQTT broker, often the first broker in a pilot.
Listed with: Node-RED

MQTT brokers

Sparkplug runs over any compliant MQTT broker; some brokers add Sparkplug-aware features.

Host applications (consumers)

SCADA, historians and hubs that subscribe, decode payloads and track node state.

Ignition · Inductive Automation · Per-server license, unlimited tags
Web-deployed SCADA/HMI platform licensed per server with unlimited tags and clients; widely used as a hub for plant-floor data.
Listed with: Kepware KEPServerEX, Sepasoft MES Modules, Canary Historian, HiveMQ, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules, Tulip, AWS IoT SiteWise, Litmus Edge, Flow, Inductive Automation Ignition Perspective, Apache Kafka / Confluent, MongoDB, HighByte Intelligence Hub
Canary Historian · Canary Labs · Tag-based license
Time-series historian focused on lossless compression, fast trending and simple tag-based licensing.
Listed with: Ignition, Kepware KEPServerEX, Seeq, Power BI
Flow · Flow Software · Subscription
Industrial information hub that turns raw historian and SCADA data into contextualized KPIs and reports.
Listed with: Ignition, Canary Historian, AVEVA PI System, Power BI
AVEVA PI System · AVEVA · Enterprise license/subscription
Enterprise operational data infrastructure (formerly OSIsoft PI) for collecting, storing and contextualizing time-series data.
Listed with: Kepware KEPServerEX, Seeq, Power BI, AVEVA System Platform, Flow, Azure IoT
AVEVA System Platform · AVEVA · License/subscription
Object-based supervisory platform (Wonderware lineage) for standardized SCADA across lines and sites.
Listed with: AVEVA PI System, AVEVA MES, AVEVA InTouch HMI
Proficy iFIX · GE Vernova · License
HMI/SCADA product from the GE Proficy family, common in process and utilities applications.
Listed with: Proficy Historian, Kepware KEPServerEX, Proficy Plant Applications
Proficy Historian · GE Vernova · License
Time-series historian in the Proficy suite for archiving process data at site and enterprise level.
Listed with: Proficy iFIX, Proficy Plant Applications, Seeq
SIMATIC WinCC · Siemens · License
Siemens SCADA/HMI family tightly integrated with TIA Portal and SIMATIC controllers.
Listed with: Kepware KEPServerEX, Opcenter, Siemens Industrial Edge, Insights Hub
FactoryTalk View · Rockwell Automation · License
Rockwell HMI software (Machine and Site editions) designed around Logix controllers.
Listed with: FactoryTalk Historian, Kepware KEPServerEX, Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, FactoryTalk Optix
FactoryTalk Historian · Rockwell Automation · License
Rockwell-branded historian for collecting Logix and plant data at machine and site level.
Listed with: FactoryTalk View, AVEVA PI System, Seeq
WinCC Open Architecture · Siemens · License
Highly scalable, platform-independent SCADA from Siemens (ETM) used for large distributed systems like utilities and transport.
Listed with: Siemens Industrial Edge
WinCC Unified · Siemens · License
Web-based successor generation of WinCC, engineered in TIA Portal for panels and PC stations.
Listed with: SIMATIC WinCC, Siemens Industrial Edge
Proficy CIMPLICITY · GE Vernova · License
Client/server HMI/SCADA from GE used in discrete manufacturing and infrastructure.
Listed with: Proficy Historian
HighByte Intelligence Hub · HighByte · Subscription
Industrial DataOps software that models and contextualizes OT data before sending it to cloud or IT systems.
Listed with: Ignition, AWS IoT SiteWise, Azure IoT, HiveMQ
InfluxDB · InfluxData · Open source + cloud tiers
Open-core time-series database often used as a lightweight historian.
Listed with: Node-RED, Grafana
dataPARC · Capstone Technology · License
Process data analytics and historian suite popular in pulp & paper and chemicals.
Listed with: AVEVA PI System

Questions to answer before you choose

Do all your consumers decode Sparkplug B, or do some need JSON?
Which application acts as the primary host for state management?
Will you keep a separate JSON namespace for contextualized data?
How will you version and document metric names across sites?

Sources

Tool descriptions, pricing models and integration links come from the PlantWired directory, compiled from each vendor's public website (linked on every tool page). See our methodology. Not a recommendation; verify with vendors.

More guides

Get the weekly factory-software brief

New integrations, comparisons and integrator news, in one short global email. Free. Subscribers also get our compatibility matrix spreadsheet.