Apache Flink CDC vs Sequin
Apache Flink CDC
github.comSequin
sequinstream.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache Flink CDC | Sequin |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Change Data Capture Software | 8.2 (#5) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Deployment | The documentation describes downloading and extracting Flink CDC and connector JARs, then running it with an Apache Flink deployment. | Sequin runs as a Docker image alongside Postgres and uses Postgres to store sink state. |
| License | The repository states that Flink CDC is distributed under the Apache 2.0 License. | The maker says Sequin is open source under the MIT license. |
| Security | The repository links to a security policy, but its contents were not available in the opened page. | The security page describes encryption standards supporting NIST-approved protocols such as TLS and says customers will be notified of incidents without undue delay, and where feasible within 72 hours. |
| Support | The project directs users to its user mailing list for support and questions, and to Flink JIRA for problems. | The documentation offers help through Discord, Slack, GitHub issues, and scheduled calls. |
Plans
In their own words
Apache Flink CDC
Apache Flink CDC is a distributed data integration tool for real-time and batch workloads, built on Apache Flink. It supports full database and sharded-table synchronization, schema evolution and data transformation. With its YAML Pipeline API, users can declare sources, sinks, routing, transformations and schema evolution rules. SQL and DataStream APIs are also available for defining CDC sources and custom Flink streaming applications. Listed pipeline connectors include Doris, Elasticsearch, Fluss, Hudi, Iceberg, Kafka, MaxCompute, MySQL, OceanBase, Oracle, Paimon, PostgreSQL and StarRocks. SQL and DataStream source connectors also include SQL Server, MongoDB, TiDB, Db2 and Vitess. Flink CDC 3.6 is listed as compatible with Flink 1.20 and 2.2; version 3.6.0 requires JDK 11 or later. Deployment is self-hosted: download and extract Flink CDC and connector JARs, then run them with an Apache Flink deployment. It is free under the Apache 2.0 License and lists Linux, macOS, Windows and self-hosted environments as platforms.
Sequin
Sequin streams changes from PostgreSQL to destinations such as Kafka, Redis, queues, search indexes, and webhooks. It runs as a Docker image alongside the database and can be started with Docker Compose, so deployment is self-hosted. Users can filter and transform changes, add data from Postgres, and route results to destinations including AWS SQS, GCP Pub/Sub, NATS, Elasticsearch, Typesense, and Meilisearch. Backfills can start at the beginning of a table or a chosen point, and can replay selected rows. Sequin describes delivery as using automatic retries, exponential backoff, strict ordering, and exactly-once processing. Sinks can be managed through a console, CLI, YAML configuration, or API. Monitoring includes a Prometheus metrics endpoint and Grafana dashboard. PostgreSQL 14 or later is supported; versions 12 and 13 have limitations. Sequin is open source under the MIT license, with a listed self-hosted plan at free. Sequin Cloud shut down on October 23, 2025; the project continues in maintenance mode with security patches and critical bug fixes.