Aiven Platform vs Databricks comparison

Read 91 Databricks reviews

22,527 Views
4,055 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Aiven Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Aiven Platform and Databricks based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Streaming Analytics solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Aiven Platform vs. Databricks Report (Updated: July 2025).

Aiven Platform vs. Databricks

July 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 866,685 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Aiven Platform

Ranking in Streaming Analytics

15th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Databricks

Ranking in Streaming Analytics

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Data Warehouse (9th), Data Science Platforms (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Streaming Analytics category, the mindshare of Aiven Platform is 1.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Databricks is 13.1%, up from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Streaming Analytics Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Databricks	13.1%
Aiven Platform	1.7%
Other	85.2%

Streaming Analytics

Featured Reviews

njadm

CTO and Co-Founder at PeerSpot

Seamlessly handle database upgrades and minimize downtime disruptions

One of the most valuable features of Aiven Platform is that it handles the upgrades for us seamlessly, saving us time that would be spent on routine upgrades. It also provides reliable backups. The ability to minimize disruption during upgrades is very important since any database downtime would mean system-wide disruptions.

Read full review

ShubhamSharma7

Data Engineer at a engineering company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Capability to integrate diverse coding languages in a single notebook greatly enhances workflow

Databricks offers various courses that I can use, whether it's PySpark, Scala, or R. I can leverage all these courses in a single notebook, which is beneficial for clients as they can access various tools in one place whenever needed. This is quite significant. I usually work with PySpark based on client requirements. After coding, I feed the Databricks notebooks into the ADF pipeline for updates. Databricks' capability to process data in parallel enhances data processing speed. Furthermore, I can connect our Databricks notebook directly with Power BI and other visualization tools like Qlik. Once we develop code, it allows us to transform raw data into visualizations for clients using analysis diagrams, which is very helpful.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"One of the most valuable features of Aiven Platform is that it handles the upgrades for us seamlessly, saving us time that would be spent on routine upgrades."

"What I like best about the tool is that the process for the services is faster compared to other methods. It's easier to use because Aiven for Apache Kafka handles the maintenance, so we have less to manage. We only use Kafka to manage its connectivity."

"The ability to stream data and the windowing feature are valuable."

"The fast data loading process and data storage capabilities are great."

"The main features of the solution are efficiency."

"I like how easy it is to share your notebook with others. You can give people permission to read or edit. I think that's a great feature. You can also pull in code from GitHub pretty easily. I didn't use it that often, but I think that's a cool feature."

"The most valuable feature of Databricks is the integration of the data warehouse and data lake, and the development of the lake house. Additionally, it integrates well with Spark for processing data in production."

"Databricks is a robust solution for big data processing, offering flexibility and powerful features."

"It's easy to increase performance as required."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to use SQL directly with Databricks."

More Databricks pros

Cons

"I would really like to see Aiven Platform add a user interface for database backups, as this would eliminate the need for a third-party solution."

"One challenge we face is when we want to update the version, for example, from 3.6 to 3.7. It will spawn new nodes, and then there's rebalancing and syncing from other brokers. There's high CPU usage during this process, so the solution can't be used for a while, causing some downtime in our services. To tackle this challenge, we schedule maintenance updates during low-traffic periods when there's less risk and fewer users use the services."

"The integration and query capabilities can be improved."

"There has been a significant evolution in databases. One area of improvement is the Databricks File System (DBFS), where command-line challenges arise when accessing files."

"The Databricks cluster can be improved."

"I would like it if Databricks adopted an interface more like R Studio. When I create a data frame or a table, R Studio provides a preview of the data. In R Studio, I can see that it created a table with so many columns or rows. Then I can click on it and open a preview of that data."

"A lot of people are required to manage this solution."

"One area of improvement is the Databricks File System (DBFS), where command-line challenges arise when accessing files. Standardization of file paths on the system could help, as engineers sometimes struggle."

"It would be very helpful if Databricks could integrate with platforms in addition to Azure."

"The API deployment and model deployment are not easy on the Databricks side."

More Databricks cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Price-wise, I would rate Databricks a three out of five."

"Whenever we want to find the actual costing, we have to send an email to Databricks, so having the information available on the internet would be helpful."

"The licensing costs of Databricks is a tiered licensing regime, so it is flexible."

"The billing of Databricks can be difficult and should improve."

"Databricks is a very expensive solution. Pricing is an area that could definitely be improved. They could provide a lower end compute and probably reduce the price."

"The solution requires a subscription."

"Databricks uses a price-per-use model, where you can use as much compute as you need."

"The solution is affordable."

More Databricks pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Streaming Analytics solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

866,685 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

17%

Hospitality Company

Media Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	25
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	56

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Aiven for Apache Kafka?

I would really like to see Aiven Platform add a user interface for database backups, as this would eliminate the need for a third-party solution. Additionally, the customer service could be more re...

What is your primary use case for Aiven for Apache Kafka?

Our primary use case is having our PostgreSQL and MySQL databases hosted by Aiven Platform. They serve as our production databases.

What advice do you have for others considering Aiven for Apache Kafka?

In our experience, we encountered issues with Aiven Platform's connection to Redis. It was not smooth, and though we like the solution overall, we are hesitant about using Redis integration again. ...

Which do you prefer - Databricks or Azure Machine Learning Studio?

Databricks gives you the option of working with several different languages, such as SQL, R, Scala, Apache Spark, or Python. It offers many different cluster choices and excellent integration with ...

How would you compare Databricks vs Amazon SageMaker?

We researched AWS SageMaker, but in the end, we chose Databricks. Databricks is a Unified Analytics Platform designed to accelerate innovation projects. It is based on Spark so it is very fast. It...

Which would you choose - Databricks or Azure Stream Analytics?

Databricks is an easy-to-set-up and versatile tool for data management, analysis, and business analytics. For analytics teams that have to interpret data to further the business goals of their orga...

Confluent vs Aiven Platform

Comparisons

Compared 37% of the time

Azure Stream Analytics vs Aiven Platform

Compared 25% of the time

Apache Spark Streaming vs Aiven Platform

Compared 15% of the time

Amazon MSK vs Aiven Platform

Compared 15% of the time

Talend Data Streams vs Aiven Platform

Compared 9% of the time

More Aiven Platform Competitors

Dataiku vs Databricks

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Power BI vs Databricks

Compared 9% of the time

Informatica PowerCenter vs Databricks

Compared 7% of the time

Dremio vs Databricks

Compared 6% of the time

Tableau Enterprise vs Databricks

Compared 5% of the time

More Databricks Competitors

Product Reports

Download Aiven Platform product report

Streaming Analytics

August 2025

Download Databricks product report

August 2025

Also Known As

No data available

Databricks Unified Analytics, Databricks Unified Analytics Platform, Redash

Overview

Aiven for Apache Kafka is a robust data streaming platform utilized for real-time analytics, event-driven architectures, and message brokering, enhancing data processing across systems. It features scalable operations, excellent data replication, and comprehensive monitoring, significantly improving organizational efficiency and decision-making processes through high-level data management capabilities.

Aiven

Databricks is utilized for advanced analytics, big data processing, machine learning models, ETL operations, data engineering, streaming analytics, and integrating multiple data sources.

Organizations leverage Databricks for predictive analysis, data pipelines, data science, and unifying data architectures. It is also used for consulting projects, financial reporting, and creating APIs. Industries like insurance, retail, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals use Databricks for data management and analytics due to its user-friendly interface, built-in machine learning libraries, support for multiple programming languages, scalability, and fast processing.

What are the key features of Databricks?

User-friendly interface: Simplifies operations and usability.
Built-in machine learning libraries: Facilitates machine learning tasks.
Support for multiple programming languages: Enhances flexibility.
Scalability: Efficiently handles growing data needs.
Fast processing: Improves performance and speed.
Automated optimization: Reduces manual efforts.
Data visualization: Provides insightful visuals.
Collaborative features: Enhances teamwork.
Delta Lake performance: Boosts data management.
Seamless cluster management: Simplifies system operations.

What are the benefits or ROI to look for in Databricks reviews?

Efficiency in handling large datasets: Ensures smooth processing.
Interactive workspace environment: Improves user collaboration.
Integration with platforms: Provides connectivity benefits.
Performance optimization: Enhances overall system performance.
Support for data governance and security: Ensures data integrity and protection.

Databricks is implemented in insurance for risk analysis and claims processing; in retail for customer analytics and inventory management; in manufacturing for predictive maintenance and supply chain optimization; and in pharmaceuticals for drug discovery and patient data analysis. Users value its scalability, machine learning support, collaboration tools, and Delta Lake performance but seek improvements in visualization, pricing, and integration with BI tools.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Elsevier, MyFitnessPal, Sharethrough, Automatic Labs, Celtra, Radius Intelligence, Yesware