| Characteristics | Apache Kafka | RabbitMQ |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Kafka uses a partitioned log model, which combines messaging queue and publish subscribe approaches. | RabbitMQ uses a messaging queue. |
| Scalability | Kafka provides scalability by allowing partitions to be distributed across different servers. | Increase the number of consumers to the queue to scale out processing across those competing consumers. |
| Message retention | Policy based, for example messages may be stored for one day. The user can configure this retention window. | Acknowledgement based, meaning messages are deleted as they are consumed. |
| Multiple consumers | Multiple consumers can subscribe to the same topic, because Kafka allows the same message to be replayed for a given window of time. | Multiple consumers cannot all receive the same message, because messages are removed as they are consumed. |
| Replication | Topics are automatically replicated, but the user can manually configure topics to not be replicated. | Messages are not automatically replicated, but the user can manually configure them to be replicated. |
| Message ordering | Each consumer receives information in order because of the partitioned log architecture. | Messages are delivered to consumers in the order of their arrival to the queue. If there are competing consumers, each consumer will process a subset of that message. |
| Protocols | Kafka uses a binary protocol over TCP. | Advanced messaging queue protocol (AMQP) with support via plugins: MQTT, STOMP. |
