head to head · open source
debezium vs API
debezium has 13,129 GitHub stars, 3,042 forks, 131 open issues and last shipped yesterday. API has 2,503 stars, 622 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. debezium leads on adoption by 425% (13,129 vs 2,503 stars). debezium is written in Java under Apache-2.0; API is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. debezium has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, API 25%. debezium was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cdc), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| debezium | API | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 13K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-02-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 622 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick debezium if
- You weight community size — 13K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick API if
- You want the API feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and API fits your workflow better
About debezium
Debezium is an open source, low latency change data capture (CDC) platform that monitors databases and turns every row level change into an ordered event stream that applications consume, and it is built for Java teams already running Apache Kafka and Kafka Connect.
read the full debezium overview →
About API
API is an open source JavaScript service for disease statistics under GPL 3.0. It lives in the JavaScript data API ecosystem and publishes information about COVID 19, Influenza, and related disease tracking topics. The project gives users one API for global case overviews, city or region mobility data, and official government data for some countries.
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Frequently asked questions
Is debezium or API more popular?
debezium has 13,129 GitHub stars and API has 2,503. debezium has the larger community by that measure.
Are debezium and API free?
Both are open source. debezium is licensed under Apache-2.0 and API under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between debezium and API?
debezium is written in Java and API in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, debezium or API?
Choose debezium if you want the larger community (13,129 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose API if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.