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AKHQ vs kaf: catalog facts
AKHQ	kaf
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.
Web, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Browse topic data with live tail Consumer group lag monitoring	Familiar kubectl-style commands Single Go binary
You have to deploy and run the server yourself Only useful if you operate Kafka	Command-line only, no graphical interface Requires access to a running Kafka cluster
Self-hosted	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: Apache-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.