--- title: "3 Best Debezium Alternatives in 2026 (Compared)" description: "Looking for a Debezium alternative? Compare the best Change Data Capture (CDC) alternatives to Debezium by pricing, free tiers, and features, and find the right fit for your startup." source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/debezium retrieved: 2026-11-10 --- Change Data Capture (CDC) # The 3 Best Debezium Alternatives in 2026 [Debezium](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/debezium) is for backend and platform engineers who want log-based CDC under an Apache licence and are happy to operate it. If that isn’t you, these 3 Change Data Capture (CDC) tools are the closest alternatives. A common reason to look elsewhere: you don’t want to run CDC infrastructure. Estuary Flow manages it for a per-GB fee. Category Change Data Capture (CDC) Debezium pricing Free tier available Free tier Yes Alternatives 3 compared ## Choose Debezium if… * ✓You want CDC with no licence fee at any volume. * ✓You already run Kafka, or want to send changes to another broker through Debezium Server. * ✓You need control over snapshots, filtering and event format. ## Look at an alternative if… * You don’t want to run CDC infrastructure. Estuary Flow manages it for a per-GB fee. * You need a vendor support contract. Striim sells one. * Your job is a one-off migration into AWS. AWS DMS is aimed at that. ## Debezium vs Alternatives: Quick Comparison | Tool | Pricing | Free tier | Rating | Best for | | -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | --------- | ------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Debezium](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/debezium)You searched | Free | ✓ | 4.6 | Change Data Capture (CDC): open-source CDC, Kafka, Postgres WAL | | 1.[Estuary Flow](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/estuary) | Free · then usage-based | ✓ | 4.3 | Change Data Capture (CDC): managed CDC, per-GB pricing, real-time | | 2.[Striim](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/striim) | Free · paid plans by quote | ✓ | 4.3 | Change Data Capture (CDC): streaming SQL, enterprise CDC, compliance | | 3.[AWS Database Migration Service](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/aws-dms) | Usage-based | — | 4.1 | Change Data Capture (CDC): database migration, AWS, cut-over sync | Ratings are App Stack Builder’s editorial score out of 5, not an average of user reviews. ## Top Debezium Alternatives, Explained ![Estuary Flow](https://appstackbuilder.com/logos/estuary.ico) ### 1. Estuary Flow Free tier4.3· Free · then usage-based Estuary Flow is a real-time alternative to batch ELT: change-data-capture from Postgres, MySQL and MongoDB into warehouses and streams with millisecond latency, backfills and incremental syncs from the same pipeline. Pricing is transparent and usage-shaped, $0.50 per GB plus $100 per connector per month, which tends to beat MAR billing on high-churn tables. Best for: managed CDC, per-GB pricing, real-time * ✓Real-time CDC rather than batch * ✓Pricing you can predict from data volume * ✓Backfill and streaming in one pipeline [Estuary Flow pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/estuary)[Debezium vs Estuary Flow ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/debezium-vs-estuary) ![Striim](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=striim.com&sz=128) ### 2. Striim Free tier4.3· Free · paid plans by quote Striim captures changes from operational databases and streams them to warehouses, lakes and messaging systems, transforming data in flight with SQL. The free Striim Developer tier covers up to 25 million events a month with trial access to premium and preview connectors. Striim Cloud (dedicated, usage-based, with SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and PCI DSS) and the self-managed Striim Platform (unlimited volume, connectors licensed individually) are priced by sales. A newer product, Validata, checks that source and target data match. Best for: streaming SQL, enterprise CDC, compliance * ✓Free tier with a real event allowance * ✓SQL transforms while data is in flight * ✓Managed cloud or self-managed [Striim pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/striim)[Debezium vs Striim ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/debezium-vs-striim) ![AWS Database Migration Service](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=aws.amazon.com&sz=128) ### 3. AWS Database Migration Service 4.1· Usage-based AWS DMS migrates databases between engines (Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, MariaDB and others) or between copies of the same engine, with near-zero downtime as its stated goal. You pay hourly for a replication instance, or choose DMS Serverless, which scales capacity in DCUs (one DCU is 2 GB of RAM). Schema Conversion is free apart from the S3 storage it uses. Burstable instances include 50 GB of storage and compute or memory-optimized ones 100 GB. New AWS accounts since July 15 2025 get up to $200 in Free Tier credits rather than free DMS hours. Best for: database migration, AWS, cut-over sync * ✓Pay-as-you-go with no licence * ✓Heterogeneous migrations plus free schema conversion * ✓Serverless option scales itself [AWS Database Migration Service pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/aws-dms)[Debezium vs AWS Database Migration Service ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/aws-dms-vs-debezium) ## Frequently Asked Questions What are the best alternatives to Debezium in 2026?⌄ The best Debezium alternatives in 2026 are Estuary Flow, Striim, AWS Database Migration Service. Each is a change data capture (cdc) option you can compare on pricing, free tiers, and features in the table above. Is there a free alternative to Debezium?⌄ Yes. Estuary Flow, Striim offer free tiers, making them strong free Debezium alternatives for bootstrapped startups. When should I choose Debezium, and when an alternative?⌄ Choose Debezium when: You want CDC with no licence fee at any volume. You already run Kafka, or want to send changes to another broker through Debezium Server. You need control over snapshots, filtering and event format. Look at an alternative when: You don’t want to run CDC infrastructure. Estuary Flow manages it for a per-GB fee. You need a vendor support contract. Striim sells one. Your job is a one-off migration into AWS. AWS DMS is aimed at that. What is the cheapest Debezium alternative?⌄ Estuary Flow is among the most affordable Debezium alternatives: free · then usage-based. Check the comparison table above for the full pricing breakdown. Which Debezium alternative is rated highest?⌄ Estuary Flow has the highest editorial score among the Debezium alternatives here, at 4.3 out of 5\. That is our own score, not an average of user reviews, so check it against your budget and stack before you pick. ## Find your perfect change data capture (cdc) tool Skip the research. 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