head to head · open source
flink-cdc vs OpenContracts
flink-cdc has 6,491 GitHub stars, 2,205 forks, 119 open issues and last shipped today. OpenContracts has 1,534 stars, 199 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. flink-cdc leads on adoption by 323% (6,491 vs 1,534 stars). flink-cdc is written in Java under Apache-2.0; OpenContracts is written in Python under MIT. flink-cdc has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, OpenContracts 13%. flink-cdc was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (etl), 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
| flink-cdc | OpenContracts | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.5K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 199 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick flink-cdc if
- You weight community size — 6.5K 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 OpenContracts if
- You want the OpenContracts feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and OpenContracts fits your workflow better
About flink-cdc
Flink CDC is a distributed data integration tool for real time data and batch data, built on top of Apache Flink. It prioritizes efficient end to end data integration and offers enhanced functionalities such as full database synchronization, sharding table synchronization, schema evolution and data transformation. API Layers Flink CDC provides three API layers for different usage scenarios: 1. YAML API (Pipeline API) The YAML API provides a declarative, zero code approach to define data pipelines. Users describe the source, sink, routing, transformation, and schema evolution rules in a YAML file and submit it…
read the full flink-cdc overview →
About OpenContracts
OpenContracts (Demo) Open source document intelligence you can build on. Point OpenContracts at a repository of documents and get a programmable citation graph — human annotation, structured extraction, AI agents, and a built in MCP server, all behind one API. Self hosted, MIT licensed, and built for teams working at scale. Same graph, three surfaces: a GraphQL + REST API for your apps, a Model Context Protocol server for your agents, and a React UI for your team. From documents to a citation graph — in about a minute Create a corpus, drop in your documents, and click Set up . That one click installs the…
read the full OpenContracts overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is flink-cdc or OpenContracts more popular?
flink-cdc has 6,491 GitHub stars and OpenContracts has 1,534. flink-cdc has the larger community by that measure.
Are flink-cdc and OpenContracts free?
Both are open source. flink-cdc is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenContracts under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between flink-cdc and OpenContracts?
flink-cdc is written in Java and OpenContracts in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, flink-cdc or OpenContracts?
Choose flink-cdc if you want the larger community (6,491 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenContracts if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.