diff --git a/include/cppkafka/topic_partition.h b/include/cppkafka/topic_partition.h
index a3874db..a77b07a 100644
--- a/include/cppkafka/topic_partition.h
+++ b/include/cppkafka/topic_partition.h
@@ -112,6 +112,11 @@ public:
      */
     void set_offset(int64_t offset);
 
+    /**
+     * Compare the (topic, partition) for less-than equality
+     */
+    bool operator<(const TopicPartition& rhs) const;
+
     /**
      * Print to a stream
      */
diff --git a/src/topic_partition.cpp b/src/topic_partition.cpp
index f6ba410..64231ee 100644
--- a/src/topic_partition.cpp
+++ b/src/topic_partition.cpp
@@ -28,11 +28,13 @@
  */
 
 #include <iostream>
+#include <tuple>
 #include <librdkafka/rdkafka.h>
 #include "topic_partition.h"
 
 using std::string;
 using std::ostream;
+using std::tie;
 
 namespace cppkafka {
 
@@ -77,6 +79,10 @@ void TopicPartition::set_offset(int64_t offset) {
     offset_ = offset;
 }
 
+bool TopicPartition::operator<(const TopicPartition& rhs) const {
+    return tie(topic_, partition_) < tie(rhs.topic_, rhs.partition_);
+}
+
 ostream& operator<<(ostream& output, const TopicPartition& rhs) {
     return output << rhs.get_topic() << "[" << rhs.get_partition() << "]";
 }