Apache KafkavsOpenMES
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Apache Kafka | OpenMES | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 47/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 12 in Message Broker | #4 of 4 in Industrial IoT |
| GitHub stars | 34 152 | 178 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +346 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 10 |
| Latest release | — | v0.27.0 · 14 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Java | PHP |
Which one should you pick?
Apache Kafka scores 83/100 against 47/100 for OpenMES, so it is the safer default.
OpenMES ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Apache Kafka.
If you want the quickest setup, OpenMES is easier to run; Apache Kafka needs more configuration.
Apache Kafka is growing faster right now (+346 stars in 30 days).
Apache Kafka details →OpenMES details →