Comparison

Apache Kafka vs RabbitMQ

No clear leader: RabbitMQ (64.6) and Apache Kafka (60.1) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Apache Kafka60
RabbitMQ65
Score
Vioscale score
Apache Kafka60 / 100medium · 51%
RabbitMQ65 / 100low · 38%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Model
Apache Kafkaopen_source
RabbitMQcommercial
Price level
Apache Kafkafree
RabbitMQlow
Transparent
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Integrations
Count
Apache Kafka4
RabbitMQ
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache Kafka1
RabbitMQ3
Github stars
Apache Kafka33,629
RabbitMQ13,807
Package downloads weekly
Apache Kafka5,508,093
RabbitMQ3,179,580
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache Kafka100
RabbitMQ100
Release
Cadence days
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ9
History
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ20 items
License
Spdx
Apache KafkaApache-2.0
RabbitMQBSD-3-Clause
Language
Primary
Apache KafkaJava
RabbitMQJavaScript
Market
Availability
RabbitMQ

Capabilities

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

Core
Messaging paradigm
Apache KafkaPub/sub
RabbitMQQueue
Correctness
Delivery guarantee
Apache KafkaExactly-once
RabbitMQAt-least-once
Ordering guarantee
Apache KafkaPer-partition
RabbitMQ-
Durability
Durable replayable log
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Message replay / rewind
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ-
Interop
Wire protocol
Apache KafkaBinary over TCP (SSL/SASL for authentication/encryption)
RabbitMQAMQP 1.0, MQTT 5.0, STOMP
Kafka-protocol compatible
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ-
Scale
Partitioned horizontal scaling
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Geo / cross-region replication
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Consumption
Consumer groups / competing consumers
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Dead-letter queue
Apache Kafka-
RabbitMQ-
Deployment
Managed cloud offering exists
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Hosting
Apache KafkaSelf-hosted only
RabbitMQCloud + self-hosted
Processing
Built-in stream processing
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ

What each one is

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

Apache Kafka

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

RabbitMQ

A powerful, enterprise-grade open-source messaging and streaming broker that enables efficient, reliable and versatile communication for distributed microservices, real-time data, and IoT applications.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

Apache Kafka

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

RabbitMQ

HybridFree tier

Free open source, with commercial Tanzu RabbitMQ offering available

  • Open SourceFree
  • Tanzu RabbitMQContact sales
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Linux
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
CLI
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
Self-hosted
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ
On-premise
Apache Kafka
RabbitMQ

Integrations

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

Apache Kafka

4 total
  • Postgres
  • JMS
  • Elasticsearch
  • AWS S3
Independently observed

RabbitMQ

Not documented yet.

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