Apache Flink CDC vs TiCDC
Apache Flink CDC
github.comTiCDC
docs.pingcap.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache Flink CDC | TiCDC |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Change Data Capture Software | 8.2 (#5) | 8.1 (#8) |
| Deployment | The documentation describes downloading and extracting Flink CDC and connector JARs, then running it with an Apache Flink deployment. | TiCDC can be deployed with a new TiDB cluster or added to an existing cluster using TiUP. |
| Purpose | Flink CDC is a distributed data integration tool for real-time and batch data, built on Apache Flink. | TiCDC replicates incremental data from TiDB by capturing TiKV change logs, sorting the changes, and exporting row-based data to downstream systems. |
| Security | The repository links to a security policy, but its contents were not available in the opened page. | The deployment guide documents enabling TLS between TiDB components, including TiCDC. |
| Support | The project directs users to its user mailing list for support and questions, and to Flink JIRA for problems. | PingCAP directs paid-plan users to support tickets and all users to community Slack support. |
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.
TiCDC
TiCDC is a free, open-source, self-hosted tool for replicating incremental data changes from TiDB. It captures TiKV change logs, sorts the changes, and exports row-based data to systems including TiDB, MySQL-compatible databases, Kafka, Amazon S3, GCS, Azure Blob Storage, and NFS. Recommended Kafka formats include Canal-JSON, Avro, and Debezium. Filters can select databases, tables, DMLs, and DDLs, while the Open API can check task status, change task configuration, and create or delete tasks. TiCDC supports replication between TiDB clusters for disaster recovery, with second-level RPO and minute-level RTO, as well as bidirectional replication for multi-active deployments. It can be deployed with a new cluster or added to an existing one; production guidance recommends at least two instances. The system has no single point of failure and allows nodes to be added or removed dynamically. Delivery is at least once, so failures can lead to repeated statements or Kafka messages.