Protocol Buffers vs Apache Thrift

Struggling to choose between Protocol Buffers and Apache Thrift? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Protocol Buffers is a Development solution with tags like serialization, data-exchange, protocol-buffers.

It boasts features such as Language-neutral interface description language, Efficient serialization of structured data, Support for multiple programming languages, Backwards and forwards compatibility, Code generation for multiple languages, Smaller and faster than XML and JSON and pros including Compact, efficient serialization, Faster than XML and JSON, Language-neutral interface descriptions, Backwards and forwards compatible, Wide language support.

On the other hand, Apache Thrift is a Development product tagged with rpc, serialization, crosslanguage, microservices.

Its standout features include Interface definition language, Code generation for RPC clients and servers, Support for many programming languages, Binary protocol, Transport abstraction layer, and it shines with pros like Language interoperability, High performance, Reduced boilerplate code, Built-in serialization.

Feature	Protocol Buffers	Apache Thrift
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Development	Development

Product Overview

Protocol Buffers

Description: Protocol Buffers (Protobuf) is an open source serialization format developed by Google for serializing structured data. It is useful for communication protocols, data storage, and more. Protobuf is language-neutral, platform-neutral, extensible and a popular alternative to JSON and XML.

Apache Thrift

Description: Apache Thrift is an interface definition language and binary communication protocol used to define and create services for numerous languages. It allows easy cross-language service development, enabling users to build and use robust services that work across programming languages like JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Erlang, Perl, Haskell, C++, C#, Java, Smalltalk, and OCaml.

Key Features Comparison

Protocol Buffers Features

• Language-neutral interface description language
• Efficient serialization of structured data
• Support for multiple programming languages
• Backwards and forwards compatibility
• Code generation for multiple languages
• Smaller and faster than XML and JSON

Apache Thrift Features

• Interface definition language
• Code generation for RPC clients and servers
• Support for many programming languages
• Binary protocol
• Transport abstraction layer

Pros & Cons Analysis

Protocol Buffers

Pros

• Compact, efficient serialization
• Faster than XML and JSON
• Language-neutral interface descriptions
• Backwards and forwards compatible
• Wide language support

Cons

• Limited adoption outside of Google
• Steeper learning curve than JSON or XML
• Lack of human-readability
• Versioning can be complex
• Limited tooling compared to XML/JSON

Apache Thrift

Pros

• Language interoperability
• High performance
• Reduced boilerplate code
• Built-in serialization

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Limited adoption outside of Facebook/Apache projects
• Extra dependency and build configuration

Pricing Comparison

Protocol Buffers

• Open Source

Apache Thrift

• Open Source