SQS vs EventBridge

Work queues versus event routing for decoupled AWS architectures.

Overview

What is being compared

SQS is a durable message queue for worker patterns. EventBridge is a serverless event bus that routes events to targets by content-based rules.

What it is — Durable message queue — Serverless event bus
Optimized for — Reliable work distribution — Event-driven integration and routing
Where events come from — Your own producers — AWS services, SaaS applications and custom sources
How messages reach code — Workers pull from one queue — Rules match event content and route to targets
Typical shape — Worker pool draining a queue — One event fanned out to the targets whose rules match

How SQS works

Producers put messages on one queue, and a pool of workers pulls them off at their own pace. The queue holds the work until a worker has processed it.

How EventBridge works

Events from AWS services, SaaS partners and your own code land on a bus. Each rule inspects the event's content and forwards matching events to its targets.

Both together

The two combine well: EventBridge decides where an event goes, and SQS buffers it for the worker that processes it.

> [!TIP] The bus and the queue side by side, one event through EventBridge into SQS and a Lambda, and the choice between them, step by step in Visual Explanation below.