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kaf vs kcat: catalog facts
kaf	kcat
Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.	Free Free and open source under the BSD-2-Clause license.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Command line
Familiar kubectl-style commands Single Go binary	Produces to and consumes from Kafka topics Displays cluster and topic metadata
Command-line only, no graphical interface Requires access to a running Kafka cluster	Requires access to an Apache Kafka cluster
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: BSD-2-Clause
No account needed	Not stated if an account is 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 8, 2026

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