[opensourcedex]

best-of ranking · updated nightly

Best Open Source Messaging & Event Streaming Tools

Ranked by GitHub stars — actual adoption, not editorial taste. All 10 are free, open source and self-hostable; license and last activity on every entry.

  1. 1
    kafka ★ 34K

    Apache Kafka - A distributed event streaming platform

    Apache-2.0 Java pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  2. 2
    nats-server ★ 21K

    High-Performance server for NATS.io, the cloud and edge native messaging system.

    Apache-2.0 Go pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  3. 3
    webrtc ★ 17K

    Pure Go implementation of the WebRTC API

    MIT Go pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  4. 4
    AutoMQ ★ 11K

    S3-based serverless Kafka reinvented for cost efficiency

    Apache-2.0 Java pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  5. 5
    Soketi ★ 5.6K

    Next-gen WebSockets server for real-time apps

    AGPL-3.0 TypeScript pushed 2025-03-03 details →
  6. 6
    MadelineProto ★ 3.6K

    Async PHP client API for the telegram MTProto protocol

    AGPL-3.0 PHP pushed 2026-11-02 details →
  7. 7
    dino ★ 2.5K

    Modern XMPP ("Jabber") Chat Client using GTK/Vala

    GPL-3.0 Vala pushed 2026-10-31 details →
  8. 8
    Timeplus ★ 2.3K

    Real-time stream processing made simple and affordable

    Apache-2.0 C++ pushed 2026-10-30 details →
  9. 9
    Sequin ★ 2.2K

    Open-source message stream built on Postgres

    MIT Elixir pushed 2026-02-23 details →
  10. 10
    SIP.js ★ 2.1K

    A simple, intuitive, and powerful JavaScript signaling library

    MIT TypeScript pushed 2026-06-15 details →
method stars desc · snapshot from github api refresh nightly related Backup & Recovery, Search Engines, Server & VM Management, Cloud Infrastructure Management, Monitoring & Observability, Storage Solutions

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last updated nightly · ranking method: github stars, live-tracked

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best open source Messaging & Event Streaming tool in 2026?

kafka leads the ranking with 34,117 GitHub stars, ahead of nats-server. Rankings use live GitHub star counts, refreshed nightly.

How is this list of Messaging & Event Streaming tools ranked?

By GitHub stars — a proxy for adoption and community size. Each entry also shows its licence, primary language and last commit date, so you can judge maintenance activity rather than trusting the ranking alone.

Are the best Messaging & Event Streaming tools free?

Every project on this list is open source and free to self-host. Some also offer paid managed hosting, but the software itself carries no licence fee.