Apache Kafkavsrsyslog
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Apache Kafka | rsyslog | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 67/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 12 in Message Broker | #2 of 8 in Logging |
| GitHub stars | 34 154 | 2 344 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +329 | +8 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 4 |
| Latest release | — | v8.2610.0 · 20 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Java | C |
Which one should you pick?
Apache Kafka scores 83/100 against 67/100 for rsyslog, so it is the safer default.
rsyslog ships more often: 4 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Apache Kafka.
Apache Kafka is growing faster right now (+329 stars in 30 days).
Apache Kafka details →rsyslog details →