Dataphos Schema Registry vs Karapace
Dataphos Schema Registry
docs.dataphos.comKarapace
aiven.ioSide by side
| Figure | Dataphos Schema Registry | Karapace |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $35/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 2 |
| Spec score · Schema Registry Software | 7.0 (#18) | 8.1 (#8) |
| Compatibility | The documented compatibility modes include backward, forward and full compatibility, with transitive variants; the default is BACKWARD. | The project states that Karapace is compatible with Schema Registry 6.1.1 at the API level and supports all operations in that API. |
| Deployment | The Registry and Validator run as deployments in a Kubernetes environment. | The project documents Docker-based setup and installation from source with pip. |
| Schema management | The Registry supports schema registration, versioning, retrieval, deletion, validity checks, and compatibility checks. | The Schema Registry stores and versions schemas and can check compatibility before changes are published. |
Plans
In their own words
Dataphos Schema Registry
Dataphos Schema Registry is an open-source API and self-hosted service for managing schemas in streaming data systems and validating events in flight. It keeps versioned schema history and exposes a REST API for registering, updating, retrieving, and deleting schemas, plus validity and compatibility checks. Validators support JSON, Avro, Protocol Buffers, XML, and CSV. They work with GCP Pub/Sub, Azure Service Bus, Azure Event Hubs, Apache Kafka, Apache Pulsar, and NATS JetStream, and can support producers and consumers using different protocols. Validation sends passing messages to a valid topic and failures to a dead-letter topic. Compatibility modes include backward, forward, and full variants, with transitive options and NONE; BACKWARD is the default. Validity defaults to FULL, with FULL, NONE, and SYNTAX_ONLY documented. The registry and validators run as Kubernetes deployments, using Shell, Helm, or Pulumi options. The Shell quickstart calls for at least 8 GB of available RAM on cluster nodes. Prometheus is optional for metrics and log monitoring.
Karapace
Karapace is Aiven’s open-source Schema Registry and REST Proxy for Aiven for Apache Kafka. The registry stores and versions schemas, then checks compatibility before a changed schema is published. It accepts Avro, Protobuf, and JSON Schema, with references supported for Avro and Protobuf. Compatibility modes include NONE, BACKWARD, BACKWARD_TRANSITIVE, FORWARD, FORWARD_TRANSITIVE, FULL, and FULL_TRANSITIVE. The REST Proxy exposes HTTP endpoints for producing and consuming Kafka events, so scripts, curl, and HTTP services can work with events. OAuth 2.0/OIDC authentication is available for both components. Registry ACLs and OIDC role-based rules can limit operations, including by HTTP method. Example identity providers include Auth0, Okta, Google Identity Platform, and Azure. Deployment documentation covers Docker and installation from source with pip; the API is stated to support Schema Registry 6.1.1 operations. Karapace is available in Aiven’s Kafka free tier for learning, prototyping, and evaluation. The Free plan costs nothing, while Developer costs $35 a month.