The price of the WebSphere Application Server at the Royal Bank is influenced by our unique agreements with IBM, as it's a large establishment with numerous IBM products, including mainframes. I am not aware of the specific agreements, but it is similar to purchasing in bulk, where the pricing structure is not the same as buying a single item at a grocery store.
Enterprise Technical Leader at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5
Sep 30, 2025
From what I understand, the pricing or licensing of IBM MQ is a one-time charge and then a yearly license fee. We pay about 6-7K per CPU and probably about 2 to 3K per year for each CPU licensed. It's not cheap.
The price of IBM MQ is definitely on the higher side. There are many market-competitive products, but this is a top product in the market and messaging middleware software, so the cost is high.
It's possible to get some training, but the cost of this learning is expensive. It costs some money, but we have required experience and knowledge because we have been using it for about 10 years.
Senior Software Test Analyst at CoCre8 Technology Solutions
Real User
Top 20
Mar 26, 2025
I am not exactly sure about the licensing cost compared to similar products, but I assume it is affordable since we continue to use it, and it is also used by our customers. I am not aware of any extra expenses or financial arrangements.
The pricing is very high, but if it's going to be used by an enterprise or a large company with thousands of users, it will be very convenient. However, for personal use, it's not a good idea.
The license for IBM MQ is commercial and not cheap. You get a multi-platform solution, which is important because it lets you connect systems on mainframes, personal solutions, Unix, Linux, etc.
IBM's licensing model seems more reasonable than some competitors. They charge based on usage, which is good. However, the pricing could still be a bit lower. Their installation-based licensing model is acceptable, but other products might have an edge in terms of cost.
Integration Lead at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Oct 21, 2022
I don't have any information related to licensing costs. We likely have an enterprise license, based on the size of infra that we have. My understanding is it is not very expensive. However, for a new company, it may be pricier. We get everything in a bundle. There are no extra costs involved.
The licenses for our company are according to port authority contract sales and we buy a license for six months or one year. I don't know the exact costs of the licenses.
Small-scale companies may not want to buy IBM MQ because of its high cost. There are freeware in the markets, and many users are motivated to use those.
Service Delivery Consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Feb 17, 2022
The problem with this product is that it's a little bit expensive. This is one of the main challenges that we face with our clients. The charges are high and there should be a less costly solution available. This is especially true when you consider it in comparison to open-source tools that are available.
Lead Talent Acquisition Specialist at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jan 4, 2022
The licensing fees are paid quarterly and they are expensive. This is something that I have heard from all of the organizations that I have worked with.
The licensing for this software is on a yearly basis, but the bank is holding just one license for the entire bank: a corporate license. As for additional costs, it's a standard fee that includes the maintenance and updates that are released periodically.
Enterprise Architect at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Oct 11, 2021
I think it's pretty reasonable, but I'm not so too sure of the current pricing strategy from IBM. We use many bundled services, and most often, we go through a service provided by some other third-party implementation. So, I can't really give an honest opinion about that.
Head Of Operations at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jun 29, 2021
You have to license per application installation and if you expand vertically or horizontally, you will be paying for more licenses. The licenses are approximately $10,000 to $15,000 a license, it can get expensive quite quickly. We maintain and support a lot of applications across a wide enterprise. Therefore the cost of licenses increases with each individual implementation of a client because we have to pay for licenses. We are looking for an alternative solution to reduce costs by going to an open-source messaging system because we do not need the robustness of IBM MQ.
Enterprise Architect & Solutions Architect at AIA Australia
Real User
Apr 30, 2021
I think IBM needs to look at its pricing. The prices of IBM products should be simple. The old way of pricing should now be moving on to the cloud to be pay as you go, a plan-based kind of pricing. To become competitive, they actually need to move to AWS and Azure. If they really want to be highly available, they can have a highly available location, and charge another price.
Websphere MQ Specialist at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Mar 9, 2021
This is a licensed product. We do pay for it. While, of course, it would be better if it was cheaper, the service they provide with it, including the maintenance facilities they provide, is very good. We're quite happy. Most people have to use what IBM provides, however, it could be a cheaper license.
Senior Middleware Administrator at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Dec 1, 2020
It is a licensed product. As compared to an open-source solution, such as RabbitMQ, it is obviously costly. If you're using IBM Message Broker, which is a licensed product, IBM MQ is included in the same license. You don't have to pay separately for IBM MQ. The license cost of IBM MQ is lesser than IBM Message Broker.
Database Administration Team Leader at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Nov 11, 2020
The pricing could be lower. It's not the cheapest option out there. However, I don't have comparison prices with other solutions at this time. We're working on comparison pricing currently.
Sap Financial Accounting Senior Consultant at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Mar 29, 2020
For individual projects, IBM MQ may cost more. Here, we are using it globally. It is distributed around the world for our operations, so cost-wise it is less for us. But if you go with individual licenses, the cost of IBM is much more.
Integration Consultant at Dubai Technology Partners
Consultant
Mar 25, 2020
Although I'm not involved with costs in our company, IBM products, in general, have high licensing costs and support costs are too high. A lot of people have started using open-source, like Kubernetes and microservices. There is also Apache ActiveMQ. There are many other products out there.
Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Mar 25, 2020
We have a multi-year OIO (open infrastructure offering) with IBM and if there is any additional licensing required it gets deducted from the OIO. We have been using IBM's other services as well.
99.999 percent availability for less than a penny per message over the past 25 years. IBM MQ is the cheapest software in the IBM software portfolio, and it is one of the best.
IBM MQ is a middleware product used to send or exchange messages across multiple platforms, including applications, systems, files, and services via MQs (messaging queues). This solution helps simplify the creation of business applications, and also makes them easier to maintain. IBM MQ is security-rich, has high performance, and provides a universal messaging backbone with robust connectivity. In addition, it also integrates easily with existing IT assets by using an SOA (service oriented...
The price of the WebSphere Application Server at the Royal Bank is influenced by our unique agreements with IBM, as it's a large establishment with numerous IBM products, including mainframes. I am not aware of the specific agreements, but it is similar to purchasing in bulk, where the pricing structure is not the same as buying a single item at a grocery store.
From what I understand, the pricing or licensing of IBM MQ is a one-time charge and then a yearly license fee. We pay about 6-7K per CPU and probably about 2 to 3K per year for each CPU licensed. It's not cheap.
The price of IBM MQ is definitely on the higher side. There are many market-competitive products, but this is a top product in the market and messaging middleware software, so the cost is high.
It's possible to get some training, but the cost of this learning is expensive. It costs some money, but we have required experience and knowledge because we have been using it for about 10 years.
IBM MQ is pretty reasonable when compared to IBM ESB. We do not take advanced security licensing for our transactions.
I am not exactly sure about the licensing cost compared to similar products, but I assume it is affordable since we continue to use it, and it is also used by our customers. I am not aware of any extra expenses or financial arrangements.
The pricing is very high, but if it's going to be used by an enterprise or a large company with thousands of users, it will be very convenient. However, for personal use, it's not a good idea.
For an enterprise solution, the pricing of IBM MQ is very reasonable.
I would rate it an eight out of ten. It's expensive, not cheap.
If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the tool's price a seven. The product is expensive.
The license for IBM MQ is commercial and not cheap. You get a multi-platform solution, which is important because it lets you connect systems on mainframes, personal solutions, Unix, Linux, etc.
IBM's licensing model seems more reasonable than some competitors. They charge based on usage, which is good. However, the pricing could still be a bit lower. Their installation-based licensing model is acceptable, but other products might have an edge in terms of cost.
I rate the product price a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price.
The pricing seems good according to the functionality that the solution provides.
IBM could lower the price because many companies are abandoning MQ from Mickey Mouse products like RabbitMQ and Kafka. Kafka is horrible but free.
The solution is expensive.
We have a special contract with IBM MQ that give us a certain price.
The MQ license is a bit high. I rate IBM MQ six out of 10 for affordability.
I don't have any information related to licensing costs. We likely have an enterprise license, based on the size of infra that we have. My understanding is it is not very expensive. However, for a new company, it may be pricier. We get everything in a bundle. There are no extra costs involved.
I'm not involved on the licensing side.
The price of IBM MQ could improve by being less expensive. I rate the price of IBM MQ a three out of five.
IBM MQ is an expensive solution compared to other solutions. However, if you pay less you will not receive the same experience or features.
The fee for this solution is on the higher end of the scale. The licensing fee is high.
The licenses for our company are according to port authority contract sales and we buy a license for six months or one year. I don't know the exact costs of the licenses.
IBM MQ's pricing is higher than its competitors'.
Small-scale companies may not want to buy IBM MQ because of its high cost. There are freeware in the markets, and many users are motivated to use those.
The problem with this product is that it's a little bit expensive. This is one of the main challenges that we face with our clients. The charges are high and there should be a less costly solution available. This is especially true when you consider it in comparison to open-source tools that are available.
The licensing fees are paid quarterly and they are expensive. This is something that I have heard from all of the organizations that I have worked with.
The licensing for this software is on a yearly basis, but the bank is holding just one license for the entire bank: a corporate license. As for additional costs, it's a standard fee that includes the maintenance and updates that are released periodically.
You do need to pay a licensing fee in order to use this product. We pay it on a yearly basis.
I cannot speak to the pricing of the product. I can't say if it's overly expensive or reasonably priced as I don't deal directly with licensing.
I think it's pretty reasonable, but I'm not so too sure of the current pricing strategy from IBM. We use many bundled services, and most often, we go through a service provided by some other third-party implementation. So, I can't really give an honest opinion about that.
The price of the solution could be reduced, and we are on an annual subscription.
We pay an annual license fee.
You have to license per application installation and if you expand vertically or horizontally, you will be paying for more licenses. The licenses are approximately $10,000 to $15,000 a license, it can get expensive quite quickly. We maintain and support a lot of applications across a wide enterprise. Therefore the cost of licenses increases with each individual implementation of a client because we have to pay for licenses. We are looking for an alternative solution to reduce costs by going to an open-source messaging system because we do not need the robustness of IBM MQ.
I think IBM needs to look at its pricing. The prices of IBM products should be simple. The old way of pricing should now be moving on to the cloud to be pay as you go, a plan-based kind of pricing. To become competitive, they actually need to move to AWS and Azure. If they really want to be highly available, they can have a highly available location, and charge another price.
This is a licensed product. We do pay for it. While, of course, it would be better if it was cheaper, the service they provide with it, including the maintenance facilities they provide, is very good. We're quite happy. Most people have to use what IBM provides, however, it could be a cheaper license.
This solution requires a license and we have purchased an enterprise license.
The solution costs are high, it is going to cost a fair bit for annual operating costs and support.
IBM is expensive.
It is a licensed product. As compared to an open-source solution, such as RabbitMQ, it is obviously costly. If you're using IBM Message Broker, which is a licensed product, IBM MQ is included in the same license. You don't have to pay separately for IBM MQ. The license cost of IBM MQ is lesser than IBM Message Broker.
The pricing could be lower. It's not the cheapest option out there. However, I don't have comparison prices with other solutions at this time. We're working on comparison pricing currently.
There is real money involved here. As compared to RabbitMQ, IBM MQ is on the higher side in terms of cost.
Whatever the price is, it's worth it.
It is a very expensive product compared to the open source products in the market.
For individual projects, IBM MQ may cost more. Here, we are using it globally. It is distributed around the world for our operations, so cost-wise it is less for us. But if you go with individual licenses, the cost of IBM is much more.
It would be a 10 out of 10 if it wasn't so expensive.
It's a very expensive product.
The price is high.
I was not involved in the pricing structure.
Although I'm not involved with costs in our company, IBM products, in general, have high licensing costs and support costs are too high. A lot of people have started using open-source, like Kubernetes and microservices. There is also Apache ActiveMQ. There are many other products out there.
Most of our customers are quite happy with the solution but they have an issue with the cost. They want to move to cheaper solutions.
There is a different platform price between Windows, z/OS, and iSeries.
We have a multi-year OIO (open infrastructure offering) with IBM and if there is any additional licensing required it gets deducted from the OIO. We have been using IBM's other services as well.
IBM MQ is expensive and they charge based on the CPU.
To implement such an IBM solution, a company has to pay a lot in term of licensing and consultancy. A pricing model might be a better option.
In terms of cost, IBM MQ is slightly on the higher side.
99.999 percent availability for less than a penny per message over the past 25 years. IBM MQ is the cheapest software in the IBM software portfolio, and it is one of the best.
IBM MQ appliance has pricing options, but they are costly.