AxonOps Schema Registry vs Lenses
AxonOps Schema Registry
github.comLenses
lenses.ioSide by side
| Figure | AxonOps Schema Registry | Lenses |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.33/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 6 |
| Spec score · Schema Registry Software | 8.6 (#2) | 8.1 (#9) |
| Deployment | The registry is a single statically linked binary of about 50 MB and can run as a Docker container or be built from source. | Lenses can be deployed in a cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environment. |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | London, United Kingdom |
| Support | The project README says commercial support plans are offered by AxonOps; it also welcomes community issues and contributions. | The pricing page includes Team Support in the Team plan and Enterprise Support in the Multi-Kafka Enterprise plan. |
Plans
Lenses
- K2K CommunityFree
- Lenses DevX Community EditionFree
- K2K add-on$1 a month
- Lenses DevX Team Edition$4 a year
- K2K EnterprisePriced on request
- Lenses DevX Multi-Kafka EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
AxonOps Schema Registry
AxonOps Schema Registry is a free, Apache 2.0-licensed service for managing Apache Kafka schemas as an API-compatible replacement for Confluent Schema Registry. It handles Avro, Protobuf, and JSON Schema, including references and seven compatibility modes. Schemas can be stored in PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Cassandra, without requiring Kafka as the storage backend. The project says existing Confluent serializers and Java, Go, and Python Kafka clients can connect by changing the registry URL. Security options include Basic Auth, API keys, JWT, LDAP/AD, OIDC, mTLS, four RBAC roles, rate limiting, and TLS certificate auto-reload. Audit events can go to stdout, files, syslog, or webhooks. Client-side field encryption supports DEK/KEK registries and HashiCorp Vault or OpenBao Transit. Data contracts add metadata and rules. A beta MCP server supports several AI clients. It runs self-hosted on Linux, as a Docker container, or from source.
Lenses
Lenses describes its Operating Fabric as a platform for building, governing, and operating Kafka applications with engineers and AI agents. Users can discover streaming data across domains with SQL, prepare it for consumption, and deploy data streams independently. It connects to Confluent Platform, Confluent Cloud, Amazon MSK, Redpanda, and self-managed Apache Kafka, and can run in cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments. Work interfaces include a Web App, VS Code Extension, Lenses MCP, and Lenses CLI. Lenses says OAuth 2.1 gives agents scoped, short-lived, revocable, and audited access. It also lists open-source Kafka connectors for systems including Amazon S3, Azure Event Hubs, GCP Storage, Cassandra, MongoDB, Redis, and Elasticsearch; the connectors are Apache 2.0 licensed and have enterprise support. The DevX Community Edition supports up to five free users, while SQL Studio supports up to two Kafka clusters. A trial key is available through the guided demo. Team Edition is listed from $4,000 per year and supports up to 15 users with SSO/SAML, RBAC, and Team Support.