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Aiven Platform vs Apache Kafka comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Apache Kafka
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 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 Apache Kafka is 3.7%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Streaming Analytics Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Kafka3.7%
Aiven Platform1.7%
Other94.6%
Streaming Analytics
 

Featured Reviews

NM
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.
Snehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Data streaming transforms real-time data movement with impressive scalability
I worked with Apache Kafka for customers in the financial industry and OTT platforms. They use Kafka particularly for data streaming. Companies offering movie and entertainment as a service, similar to Netflix, use Kafka Apache Kafka offers unique data streaming. It allows the use of data in…

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."
"Deployment is speedy."
"The processing power of Apache Kafka is good when you have requirements for high throughput and a large number of consumers."
"It is the performance that is really meaningful."
"Kafka is an open-source tool that's easy to use in our country, and the command line interface is powerful."
"Kafka's most valuable feature is its user-friendliness."
"The stream processing is a very valuable aspect of the solution for us."
"The most valuable feature is the documentation, which is good and clear."
"Scalability is very good."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"For the original Kafka, there is room for improvement in terms of latency spikes and resource consumption. It consumes a lot of memory."
"More Windows support, I believe, is one area where it can improve."
"Confluent has improved aspects like documentation and cloud support, yet Kafka's reliance on older architectures like ZooKeeper in previous versions is a limitation."
"Maintaining and configuring Apache Kafka can be challenging, especially when you want to fine-tune its behavior."
"It's not possible to substitute IBM MQ with Apache Kafka because the JMS part is not very stable."
"An area for improvement would be growth."
"Apache Kafka could improve data loss and compatibility with Spark."
"They need to have a proper portal to do everything because, at this moment, Kafka is lagging in this regard."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It is open source software."
"The solution is free, it is open-source."
"Apache Kafka is free."
"The price of Apache Kafka is good."
"The cost can vary depending on the provider and the specific flavor or version you use. I'm not very knowledgeable about the pricing details."
"The solution is open source; it's free to use."
"It's a bit cheaper compared to other Q applications."
"We use the free version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Hospitality Company
6%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise47
 

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. ...
What are the differences between Apache Kafka and IBM MQ?
Apache Kafka is open source and can be used for free. It has very good log management and has a way to store the data used for analytics. Apache Kafka is very good if you have a high number of user...
What do you like most about Apache Kafka?
Apache Kafka is an open-source solution that can be used for messaging or event processing.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Kafka?
Its pricing is reasonable. It's not always about cost, but about meeting specific needs.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Uber, Netflix, Activision, Spotify, Slack, Pinterest
Find out what your peers are saying about Aiven Platform vs. Apache Kafka and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.