Comparison

Apache Kafka vs ZeroMQ

No clear leader: Apache Kafka (60.1) and ZeroMQ (59.6) 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
ZeroMQ60
Score
Vioscale score
Apache Kafka60 / 100medium · 51%updating
ZeroMQ60 / 100low · 48%updating
Pricing
Free tier
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ
Model
Apache Kafkaopen_source
Price level
Apache Kafkafree
ZeroMQfree
Transparent
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ
Integrations
Count
Apache Kafka4
ZeroMQ11
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache Kafka1
ZeroMQ2,003
Github stars
Apache Kafka33,629
ZeroMQ10,972
Package downloads weekly
Apache Kafka5,508,093
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache Kafka100
ZeroMQ19
Release
Cadence days
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ114
History
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ13 items
License
Spdx
Apache KafkaApache-2.0
ZeroMQMPL-2.0
Language
Primary
Apache KafkaJava
ZeroMQC++
Market
Availability
ZeroMQ

Capabilities

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

Core
Messaging paradigm
Apache KafkaPub/sub
ZeroMQPub/sub
Correctness
Delivery guarantee
Apache KafkaExactly-once
ZeroMQ-
Ordering guarantee
Apache KafkaPer-partition
ZeroMQ-
Durability
Durable replayable log
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ-
Message replay / rewind
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ-
Interop
Wire protocol
Apache KafkaBinary over TCP (SSL/SASL for authentication/encryption)
ZeroMQZMTP/3.1
Kafka-protocol compatible
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ-
Scale
Partitioned horizontal scaling
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ-
Geo / cross-region replication
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ-
Consumption
Consumer groups / competing consumers
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ-
Dead-letter queue
Apache Kafka-
ZeroMQ-
Deployment
Managed cloud offering exists
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ
Hosting
Apache KafkaSelf-hosted only
ZeroMQSelf-hosted only
Processing
Built-in stream processing
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ-

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

ZeroMQ

ZeroMQ is a messaging library that enables asynchronous communication through socket abstractions, supporting multiple communication patterns, message subscriptions, and access to various transport protocols.

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 ↗

ZeroMQ

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Android
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ
macOS
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ
Windows
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ
Linux
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ
CLI
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ
Deployment
Self-hosted
Apache Kafka
ZeroMQ

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

ZeroMQ

11 total
  • Microsoft
  • Samsung
  • AT&T
  • Spotify
  • Facebook
  • Digital Ocean
  • Auth0
  • Bitcoin
  • Jupyter
  • Mongrel2
  • Jina
Independently observed

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