Amazon FreeRTOS
IoT operating systems
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
Take the quiz to check if Amazon FreeRTOS and its alternatives fit your requirements.
$40,000 per year
Free Trial unavailable
Free version
Small
Medium
Large
- Agriculture, fishing, and forestry
- Information technology and software
- Real estate and property management
What is Amazon FreeRTOS
Amazon FreeRTOS is an open-source real-time operating system (RTOS) distribution for microcontrollers used in embedded and IoT devices. It provides a kernel plus libraries for connectivity, security, and device management integrations commonly used in constrained environments. It targets device makers building connected products that need deterministic task scheduling and a small footprint. The distribution includes components intended to simplify connecting devices to AWS services, alongside support for common MCU toolchains.
Deterministic RTOS kernel
Amazon FreeRTOS is based on the FreeRTOS kernel, which is designed for predictable scheduling and low-latency task execution on microcontrollers. This fits use cases where timing behavior matters more than general-purpose OS features. The kernel and core primitives are widely used in embedded systems, which helps teams find existing patterns and examples. It is typically suitable for devices with limited RAM/flash compared with full Linux-class IoT OS options.
Security and connectivity libraries
The distribution includes libraries for TLS, MQTT, and HTTP, which are common requirements for connected devices. It also includes mechanisms for secure credential storage and over-the-air update workflows on supported platforms. These components reduce the amount of custom glue code teams must write for basic secure connectivity. The focus on constrained-device security aligns with typical IoT deployment requirements.
AWS IoT integration path
Amazon FreeRTOS includes components and reference integrations intended to connect devices to AWS IoT services. This can shorten time-to-prototype for teams standardizing on AWS for device connectivity and fleet operations. The project provides vendor-qualified board support packages and demos for selected MCU platforms. For organizations already using AWS, this can simplify aligning device software with cloud-side provisioning and management patterns.
Limited to MCU-class devices
Amazon FreeRTOS targets microcontrollers and does not provide the breadth of features found in Linux-based IoT operating systems (for example, full POSIX userland, containers, or rich package management). Applications that require complex networking stacks, multi-process isolation, or heavy edge compute often outgrow an RTOS approach. Teams may need a different OS class for gateways or higher-end hardware. This can lead to a mixed-OS fleet if both MCU endpoints and gateway devices are in scope.
Platform support varies by vendor
Hardware enablement depends on MCU vendor ports and qualified board support, which can vary in maturity and maintenance cadence. Teams using less common chips may need to perform additional porting and validation work. Peripheral drivers and OTA support are not uniform across all boards. This increases engineering effort compared with platforms that ship with a tightly controlled hardware/software stack.
AWS-centric design assumptions
While the kernel is broadly usable, parts of the distribution are oriented around AWS IoT connectivity and workflows. Organizations using other cloud providers or custom brokers may need to replace or rework integration components. This can reduce the value of the bundled libraries and examples if AWS services are not part of the architecture. Long-term maintainability may depend on how closely the device stack stays aligned with AWS-supported components.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free / Open-source | $0 (no charge) | FreeRTOS is distributed under the MIT open-source license; free to download and use. |
| FreeRTOS EMP (Single product) | $40,000 per year (annual subscription, per LTS version) | Extended Maintenance Plan (EMP) provides critical bug fixes and security patches for an LTS version after free LTS coverage ends; includes up to 4 escalations to FreeRTOS engineering per year; requires AWS Support subscription for escalations. |
| FreeRTOS EMP (Multiple products) | $90,000 per year (annual subscription, per LTS version) | For multiple end-products using EMP libraries; includes up to 6 escalations to FreeRTOS engineering per year; restrictions on using received patches across products unless multiple-product subscription purchased. |
Notes: One-time fees may apply if subscribing after the corresponding LTS coverage period ends or renewing after expiration (50%–100% of annual subscription depending on timing). Additional AWS charges may apply if FreeRTOS-based devices use other AWS services (e.g., AWS IoT Core, IoT Device Management, Greengrass, S3, DynamoDB, data transfer).
Seller details
Amazon Web Services, Inc.
Seattle, Washington, USA
2006
Subsidiary
https://aws.amazon.com/
https://x.com/awscloud
https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon-web-services/
