Apache Kafkavsrudder
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Apache Kafka | rudder | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 55/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 12 in Message Broker | #4 of 8 in Configuration Management |
| GitHub stars | 34 152 | 719 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +327 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 11 |
| Latest release | — | 9.1.4 · 7 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Java | Scala |
Which one should you pick?
Apache Kafka scores 83/100 against 55/100 for rudder, so it is the safer default.
rudder ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Apache Kafka.
Apache Kafka is growing faster right now (+327 stars in 30 days).
Apache Kafka details →rudder details →