head to head · open source
kafka vs dino
kafka has 33,750 GitHub stars, 15,521 forks, 574 open issues and last shipped yesterday. dino has 2,489 stars, 281 forks, 684 open issues and last shipped 29 days ago. kafka leads on adoption by 1,256% (33,750 vs 2,489 stars). kafka is written in Java under Apache-2.0; dino is written in Vala under GPL-3.0. kafka has attracted 46% as many forks as stars, dino 11%. kafka was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| kafka | dino | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 34K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Vala |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 281 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick kafka if
- You weight community size — 34K 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 dino if
- You want the dino feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Vala
- You evaluated both and dino fits your workflow better
About kafka
Apache Kafka is an open source distributed event streaming platform, written in Java and Scala, for organizations that need high performance data pipelines, streaming analytics, data integration, and mission critical applications.
read the full kafka overview →
About dino
Dino is a modern XMPP ("Jabber") chat client for the Linux desktop, built with GTK and Vala, and it is aimed at Linux users who want a native desktop messenger for calls, encryption, file transfers, and group chats on the open XMPP network.
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Frequently asked questions
Is kafka or dino more popular?
kafka has 33,750 GitHub stars and dino has 2,489. kafka has the larger community by that measure.
Are kafka and dino free?
Both are open source. kafka is licensed under Apache-2.0 and dino under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between kafka and dino?
kafka is written in Java and dino in Vala. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, kafka or dino?
Choose kafka if you want the larger community (33,750 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose dino if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.