We frequently get asked what the differences are between RabbitMQ and Apache Kafka. CloudAMQP is operating and providing support to the largest fleet of RabbitMQ clusters in the world, and our sister service CloudKarafka is first in the world with a free hosted Apache Kafka as Service plan, so we have some insights to share.
In the table below we've outlined the biggest differences and similarities between Apache Kafka and RabbitMQ.
| RabbitMQ | Apache Kafka | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is? | RabbitMQ is a solid, mature, general purpose message broker that supports several standardized protocols such as AMQP | Apache Kafka is a message bus optimized for high-ingress data streams and replay |
| Primary use | High-throughput and reliable background jobs, communication and integration within, and between applications. | Build applications that process and re-process streamed data on disk |
| License | Open Source: Mozilla Public License | Open Source: Apache License 2.0 |
| Written in | Erlang | Scala (JVM) |
| Client libraries | Many mature libraries, including: Ruby, Python, Node.js, Clojure, Go, Java and C | Many, including: Ruby, Python, Node.js and Java |
| Support for HA | Yes | Yes |
| Federated queues | Yes | No |
| Complex routing scenarios | Yes | No |
| Scaling strategies | Mostly vertical | Built from the ground up with horizontal scaling in mind |
| Hosted solution & Enterprise Support | Available from CloudAMQP | Available from CloudKarafka |
Compare for yourself, get started with a free Kafka and a free RabbitMQ plan today
Still unsure?
Contact us and we can guide you along the road, independent of if that road leads towards Apache Kafka, or RabbitMQ.
