No. 3 of 20 ·Change Data Capture Software

pgstream

Mac · Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

pgstream is ranked #3 of 20 in change data capture software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

pgstream plans and pricing

All plans

pgstream Free Open-source CDC CLI and Go library · Apache 2.0 license xata.io · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on change data capture software

Deployment model: self-hosted
Capture method: log-based
Schema evolution: Yes
Initial snapshot: Yes

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The record

Purpose: pgstream is an open-source CDC command-line tool and Go library for replicating PostgreSQL data and DDL changes to targets.
Schema changes: It tracks and replicates schema changes alongside data changes.
Targets: Built-in targets include PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, Kafka, and webhooks.
Snapshots: It supports initial and on-demand PostgreSQL snapshots for bulk loads or point-in-time copies.
Anonymization: Column values can be transformed during replication using greenmask, neosync, go-masker, or custom transformers.
Deployment: pgstream can run as a standalone CLI or be embedded as a Go library, and requires PostgreSQL as a dependency.
Installation: The docs describe installing from a Go binary, building from source, or using Homebrew on macOS or Linux.
License: The project is licensed under Apache License 2.0.
Support: The project README directs users with questions or issues to open a GitHub issue for community assistance.
Limitations: The README lists single Kafka topic support, wal2json-only Postgres plugin support, no row-level filtering, and a primary-key or unique non-null column requirement as limitations of the initial release.
Security: The product page describes built-in anonymization for masking production data as it is replicated to development or staging.
Intended use: The product page describes using pgstream to keep staging databases in sync with production and to bootstrap targets with snapshots.
DDL tracking: It tracks and replicates schema changes alongside data changes so downstream targets can follow table changes.
Interfaces: pgstream can run as a standalone CLI tool or be embedded as a Go library.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Change Data Capture Software in 2026#3 of 20

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Sources

xata.io/docs/opensource/pgstream/overview· checked 4 Oct 2026
xata.io/open-source/pgstream· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/xataio/pgstream· checked 4 Oct 2026
xata.io/security· checked 4 Oct 2026
xata.io/careers· checked 4 Oct 2026