# Redpanda

17 Hacker News commenters recommended Redpanda and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Kafka-compatible streaming platform that people find easier to run, quick to start, and lighter on resources than Kafka.

## Why people recommend it

- Kafka-compatible and easier to run (4 comments): "I hope that things like RedPanda will turn out to be easier to run for this use case than actual Kafka." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45958089)) "It is super easy to setup in docker, starts really fast and consumes less resources than Java version." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46751896)) "superior wire-compatible alternative to Kafka for years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46193113))
- Good performance, cost and features (2 comments): "I've been pretty happy with RP performance/cost/functionality wise." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46193478)) "RedPanda works and the pricing allows actually using the service" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46200814))
- Works well for CDC pipelines (2 comments): "CDC capture Kafka (Redpanda) these days - just works and simplifies a bunch of stuff." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47669339)) "IMO for those requirements Redpanda has been the go-to for the last 5 years or so" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46152084))
- Seen as technically superior to Kafka (3 comments): "Redpanda has surpassed them from a technical quality perspective" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46193698)) "Using RP was like a breath of fresh air" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46195834)) "RedPanda was a huge win for us." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46194417))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Apache Kafka](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apache-kafka.md): 53 recommend
- [NATS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nats.md): 34 recommend
- [RabbitMQ](https://hackerapproved.com/p/rabbitmq.md): 13 recommend
- [PostgreSQL LISTEN/NOTIFY](https://hackerapproved.com/p/postgresql-listen-notify.md): 13 recommend
- [S2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/s2-lite.md): 9 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.redpanda.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Redpanda", https://hackerapproved.com/p/redpanda/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).