Comparison

Apache Kafka vs Memphis

On the evidence we track, Apache Kafka leads this comparison with a composite score of 60/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Apache Kafka full profile →Memphis full profile →

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★Apache Kafka60

Memphis41

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Apache KafkaLeader	Memphis
Vioscale score	60 / 100medium · 51%	41 / 100low · 24%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	low
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	4	-
Security
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	6.1	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fapache%2Fkafka&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=memphis%2Fmemphis&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	1	0
Github starsadoption.github_stars	33,629	3,439
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	5,508,093	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	100	0
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	21
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	Apache-2.0	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Java	Go
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide	-

Score

Vioscale score

Apache Kafka60 / 100medium · 51%

Memphis41 / 100low · 24%

Pricing

Free tier

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis✓

Model

Apache Kafkaopen_source

Memphisfreemium

Price level

Apache Kafkafree

Memphislow

Integrations

Count

Apache Kafka4

Memphis–

Security

Scorecard

Apache Kafka6.1

Memphis–

Vulnerabilities

Apache KafkaCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fapache%2Fkafka&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

MemphisCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=memphis%2Fmemphis&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Adoption

Dependent repos

Apache Kafka1

Memphis0

Github stars

Apache Kafka33,629

Memphis3,439

Package downloads weekly

Apache Kafka5,508,093

Memphis–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Apache Kafka100

Memphis0

Release

Cadence days

Apache Kafka–

Memphis21

History

Apache Kafka–

Memphis20 items

License

Spdx

Apache KafkaApache-2.0

Memphis–

Language

Primary

Apache KafkaJava

MemphisGo

Market

Availability

Apache KafkaAvailable worldwide

Memphis–

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for message queues. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Message Queues
Capability	Apache Kafka	Memphis
Core
Messaging paradigm	Pub/sub	Queue
Correctness
Delivery guarantee	Exactly-once	At-least-once
Ordering guarantee	Per-partition	Per-partition
Durability
Durable replayable log	✓	✓
Message replay / rewind	✓	✓
Interop
Wire protocol	Binary over TCP (SSL/SASL for authentication/encryption)	-
Kafka-protocol compatible	✓	-
Scale
Partitioned horizontal scaling	✓	✓
Geo / cross-region replication	✓	-
Consumption
Consumer groups / competing consumers	✓	✓
Dead-letter queue	-	✓
Deployment
Managed cloud offering exists	✗	✓
Hosting	Self-hosted only	Cloud + self-hosted
Processing
Built-in stream processing	✓	-

Core

Messaging paradigm

Apache KafkaPub/sub

MemphisQueue

Correctness

Delivery guarantee

Apache KafkaExactly-once

MemphisAt-least-once

Ordering guarantee

Apache KafkaPer-partition

MemphisPer-partition

Durability

Durable replayable log

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis✓

Message replay / rewind

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis✓

Interop

Wire protocol

Apache KafkaBinary over TCP (SSL/SASL for authentication/encryption)

Memphis-

Kafka-protocol compatible

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis-

Scale

Partitioned horizontal scaling

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis✓

Geo / cross-region replication

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis-

Consumption

Consumer groups / competing consumers

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis✓

Dead-letter queue

Apache Kafka-

Memphis✓

Deployment

Managed cloud offering exists

Apache Kafka✗

Memphis✓

Hosting

Apache KafkaSelf-hosted only

MemphisCloud + self-hosted

Processing

Built-in stream processing

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Apache Kafka

Leader

Apache Kafka is a free system for capturing, storing, and processing data streams in real time. It enables organizations to reliably move large volumes of data between applications and systems, with support for transformations, aggregations, and stateful processing.

Independently observed

Memphis

Not documented yet.

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Apache Kafka

Leader

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-08-14verify ↗

Memphis

HybridFree tier

as of 2026-08-21verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Apache Kafka	Memphis
LinuxPlatforms	✓	-
CLIPlatforms	✓	-
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✗	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓

Platforms

Linux

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis–

CLI

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis–

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Apache Kafka✗

Memphis✓

Self-hosted

Apache Kafka✓

Memphis✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Apache Kafka

Leader

4 total

Postgres
JMS
Elasticsearch
AWS S3

Independently observed

Memphis

Not documented yet.

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.