Sequin

Sequin is a self-hosted change-data capture tool for teams building services around PostgreSQL. It suits operators who want to route database changes into event, cache, and search systems; the trade-off is that Sequin Cloud has shut down, leaving self-hosting as the only deployment path.

Overview

Sequin captures PostgreSQL changes from the database log, takes an initial snapshot, and runs as a Docker image alongside PostgreSQL. Docker Compose can start it, but operating it remains your responsibility. That makes it a better fit for teams comfortable managing infrastructure than for those seeking a hosted pipeline.

The project is open source under the MIT license and is in maintenance mode, with security patches and critical bug fixes planned. Sequin Cloud shut down on October 23, 2025, and its subscriptions were canceled. Sequin remains an option for self-hosting, but not as a managed cloud service.

Key features

Sequin can send changes to Kafka, AWS SQS, GCP Pub/Sub, Redis Streams and Strings, NATS, Elasticsearch, Typesense, Meilisearch, and webhooks. Users can filter and transform messages, enrich changes with PostgreSQL data, and route them to destinations. This gives teams a single tool for event streaming, audit logging, cache synchronization, and search indexing, though its focus is firmly on PostgreSQL change flows.

Backfills can begin at a table's start or a chosen point, and can replay selected rows. That flexibility helps when populating a new sink or recovering a subset of data without treating every replay as a full-table restart.

The maker describes delivery with automatic retries, exponential backoff, strict ordering, and exactly-once processing. Those guarantees are useful for systems where duplicate or out-of-order changes complicate downstream work. Sequin also exposes Prometheus metrics and includes a Grafana dashboard, giving teams tools to monitor a deployment they operate themselves.

Sinks can be managed through a console, CLI, YAML configuration, or API. PostgreSQL 14 and later are supported; versions 12 and 13 are soft-supported with limitations. The maker's database connection guide recommends a dedicated production user with connect, select, and replication permissions.

Pricing

Self-hosted Sequin: free. The plan is open source under the MIT license and runs on your own infrastructure. There is no current Cloud subscription to choose instead: Sequin Cloud has shut down, and its subscriptions were canceled. The free plan avoids a software charge, but the self-hosting model means teams need to provide and operate the infrastructure.

Platforms

Sequin is available for API, Linux, self-hosted, and web environments. Its deployment model is self-hosted, with Docker and Docker Compose as the documented ways to run it alongside PostgreSQL.

Who it's for

Sequin fits teams that already operate PostgreSQL and want to distribute its changes across messaging, cache, search, or webhook destinations. Its filtering, enrichment, routing, and replay options suit workflows that need more than a basic one-way feed. It is a poor fit for teams that require managed hosting or long-term feature development beyond maintenance fixes.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Broad destination support and configurable routing let teams direct PostgreSQL changes to several kinds of downstream systems.
• Pros: Backfills include start-point selection and selected-row replay, useful for initialization and targeted recovery.
• Pros: MIT-licensed and free to run, with Prometheus metrics and a Grafana dashboard for operational visibility.
• Cons: Self-hosting is required since Sequin Cloud has shut down, so teams must operate the deployment themselves.
• Cons: Maintenance mode limits the project to security patches and critical bug fixes, which is a concern for teams depending on active feature development.
• Cons: PostgreSQL 12 and 13 are only soft-supported with limitations; PostgreSQL 14 or later is the supported target.

Alternatives

For other change-data-capture options, browse Change Data Capture Software.

• Canal is a free, Apache-2.0 open-source option for API, Linux, macOS, and self-hosted platforms; choose it if those platform options suit your deployment better.
• Apache Flink CDC is free under Apache License 2.0, with released JARs and connectors for Linux, macOS, self-hosted, and Windows environments; pick it if that packaging and platform range better matches your setup.
• Debezium is a free, Apache-2.0 distributed change-data-capture platform for API, Linux, self-hosted, and Windows; consider it if you want a distributed CDC platform.
• pgstream is a free, Apache-2.0 open-source CDC CLI and Go library for Linux, macOS, and self-hosting; choose it if a CLI or Go library is a better fit.
• dbmazz offers a free open-source engine with a CLI, terminal dashboard, local web UI, and community support; consider it if those interfaces and support model suit your workflow.
• Estuary has free and paid options, including a $100 a month pay-as-you-go plan; choose it if you prefer a freemium offering with a priced monthly tier.
• Striim offers free and paid options, including a developer plan with 25 million events per month; consider it if that stated monthly event allowance fits your needs.
• TiCDC is free, open source, and has no paid plans or usage caps stated; choose it if you want another no-cost CDC option.

Verdict

Choose Sequin if you need to route PostgreSQL changes across varied destinations, want flexible backfills, and can run the software yourself. Its strongest case is the combination of routing controls and replay options at no software cost. Look elsewhere if you need hosted service or active feature development: Cloud is gone, and the project is maintained for security patches and critical fixes.