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Amazon MSK vs Apache Kafka comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Apache are both solutions in the Streaming Analytics category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.2, while Apache is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 5.9% mindshare in SA, compared to Apache’s 3.7% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Apache users who would recommend it.
Amazon MSK
Read 14 Amazon MSK reviews
  • 2,530 Views
  • 2,479 Comparison Views
93% willing to recommend
Apache Kafka
Read 89 Apache Kafka reviews
  • 4,523 Views
  • 859 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Apache Kafka and Amazon MSK compete in the real-time data streaming category. Amazon MSK has the upper hand with its managed infrastructure and integration with AWS services, simplifying management tasks for businesses.

Features: Apache Kafka provides high throughput data processing, supports diverse programming languages, and benefits from a strong community. Amazon MSK offers seamless AWS integration, automated management, and comprehensive monitoring capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Apache Kafka could improve by offering more management simplicity and reducing configuration complexity. Enhanced documentation and native managed cloud capabilities could be beneficial. Amazon MSK might improve by expanding its integration capabilities beyond the AWS ecosystem, providing more transparent cost structures, and offering more granular scaling options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Amazon MSK eases deployment with automation and provides robust AWS customer support. Apache Kafka requires more configuration expertise, leveraging support from third-party vendors or internal teams for deployment, which allows for custom implementations.

Pricing and ROI: Apache Kafka, being open-source, has lower initial costs but can incur higher maintenance expenses, with ROI dependent on available technical resources. Amazon MSK offers usage-based pricing within AWS, potentially enhancing ROI through decreased resource requirements and operational risks.

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To learn more, read our detailed Amazon MSK vs. Apache Kafka Report (Updated: September 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Amazon MSK vs. Apache Kafka
September 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.1
Amazon MSK saves time and money, promotes innovation with flexible pricing, yet some users find costs hard to justify.
Sentiment score
6.6
Apache Kafka offers substantial returns, especially in high-value applications, with enhanced data buffering, cost savings, and ease of use.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Amazon MSK support varies; some praise its effectiveness, while others note average service and seek external assistance.
Sentiment score
5.9
Apache Kafka's support is community-driven, with varying user experiences and enhanced options available through paid subscriptions and consultants.
They can manage most of our queries, and for what they cannot manage, they guide us through the process of finding out.
Amazon's support is excellent.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon MSK report
The Apache community provides support for the open-source version.
There is plenty of community support available online.
With Microsoft, expectations are higher because we pay for a license and have a contract.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Kafka report
SYED SHAAZ - PeerSpot reviewer
PP
Snehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
NB
Bruno da Silva - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.0
Amazon MSK is viewed as scalable, manageable, appealing to various environments, but may require manual scaling adjustments.
Sentiment score
7.7
Apache Kafka is praised for its robust scalability, efficiently handling high data throughput, with some challenges in cluster management.
The functionality for scaling comes out of the box and is very effective.
As a B2B enterprise client, our clientele consists of large ticket clients but low amounts of users.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon MSK report
Customers have not faced issues with user growth or data streaming needs.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Kafka report
PP
SYED SHAAZ - PeerSpot reviewerSnehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Amazon MSK is stable with high ratings; minor issues are unrelated to MSK, maintaining success rates of 91% under load.
Sentiment score
7.6
Apache Kafka is stable and performs well with high data volumes, though some configurations may affect its reliability.
It doesn't require any maintenance on my end yet, as I haven't had any issues.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon MSK report
Apache Kafka is stable.
This feature of Apache Kafka has helped enhance our system stability when handling high volume data.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Kafka report
Mauro Velasco Sarmiento - PeerSpot reviewerSnehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer2711799 - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon MSK struggles with integration, configuration complexities, high costs, and operational challenges compared to services like Kinesis.
Enhancing Kafka involves user-friendly UI, improved monitoring, reduced ZooKeeper dependency, better documentation, flexibility, and integration with other platforms.
The increase in cloud costs by 50% to 60% does not justify the savings.
The only issue with Amazon MSK that we are facing is the configurations.
I had to remove and drop all the clusters and recreate them again, which is complicated in a production environment.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon MSK report
The performance angle is critical, and while it works in milliseconds, the goal is to move towards microseconds.
We are always trying to find the best configs, which is a challenge.
A more user-friendly interface and better management consoles with improved documentation could be beneficial.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Kafka report
PP
SYED SHAAZ - PeerSpot reviewerMauro Velasco Sarmiento - PeerSpot reviewerSnehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewerKemal Duman - PeerSpot reviewer
NB
 

Setup Cost

Amazon MSK is competitively priced with variable costs, appealing to enterprise users but potentially expensive for some.
Apache Kafka is free to use, but costs vary for managed services and enterprise solutions, potentially exceeding 100,000 euros annually.
Once we started using Kafka, our cloud costs rose by 50% to 60%.
We use Kafka M5 Large instance, and depending on the instances, that is the cost we have, along with storage cost and data transfer costs.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon MSK report
The open-source version of Apache Kafka results in minimal costs, mainly linked to accessing documentation and limited support.
Its pricing is reasonable.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Kafka report
PP
SYED SHAAZ - PeerSpot reviewerSnehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
NB
 

Valuable Features

Amazon MSK integrates AWS services, offering cost-effective, automated scaling, ease of use, real-time analytics, encryption, and event sourcing.
Apache Kafka excels in scalability, real-time streaming, and flexibility, ideal for large data volumes and event-driven architectures.
The scalability and usability are quite remarkable.
The best features of Amazon MSK are the real-time analytics that are excellent.
Amazon MSK is basically Kafka in the cloud, and when you need to create a cluster of Kafka brokers, Amazon MSK helps with that by automatically creating all the brokers according to the configuration you provide.
For more quotes and insights, download the Amazon MSK report
Apache Kafka is effective when dealing with large volumes of data flowing at high speeds, requiring real-time processing.
Apache Kafka is particularly valuable for managing high levels of transactions.
It allows the use of data in motion, allowing data to propagate from one source to another while it is in motion.
For more quotes and insights, download the Apache Kafka report
PP
SYED SHAAZ - PeerSpot reviewerMauro Velasco Sarmiento - PeerSpot reviewer
NB
Bruno da Silva - PeerSpot reviewerSnehasish Das - PeerSpot reviewer
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon MSK
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
6th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
14
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 Amazon MSK is 5.9%, down from 9.1% 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 (%)
Amazon MSK5.9%
Apache Kafka3.7%
Other90.4%
Streaming Analytics
 

Featured Reviews

SYED SHAAZ - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved data streaming and integration challenges prompt search for alternatives
The integration capabilities of Amazon MSK are not very flexible. If you have your own self-managed Kafka, that helps significantly because you can set up configurations. We are considering self-managed Kafka since our product is only one year old. The Kafka integrations are fine, but the configurations are an issue. The only issue with Amazon MSK that we are facing is the configurations. There are preset configurations and limited configurations that we can set for our unique use case. The product could improve by allowing us to set different configurations. I would also like to see Amazon MSK improve in the area of connectors. We are considering Confluent Cloud because they have many more connectors. They have KSQL DB and governance features. It is slightly costlier, but Confluent offers more flexibility with their connectors.
Read full review
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…
Read full review
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise47
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon MSK?
Amazon MSK has significantly improved our organization by building seamless integration between systems.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Amazon MSK?
The integration capabilities of Amazon MSK are not very flexible. If you have your own self-managed Kafka, that helps significantly because you can set up configurations. We are considering self-ma...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Amazon MSK?
We are recently working with Amazon MSK at Fortis, where we have multiple dashboards in our revenue intelligence platform. We are streaming data from different apps into those dashboards. The data ...
See all answers
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...
See all answers
What do you like most about Apache Kafka?
Apache Kafka is an open-source solution that can be used for messaging or event processing.
See all answers
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.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Azure Stream Analytics vs Amazon MSK Logo
Azure Stream Analytics vs Amazon MSK
Compared 34% of the time
Apache Flink vs Amazon MSK Logo
Apache Flink vs Amazon MSK
Compared 16% of the time
Confluent vs Amazon MSK Logo
Confluent vs Amazon MSK
Compared 16% of the time
Amazon Kinesis vs Amazon MSK Logo
Amazon Kinesis vs Amazon MSK
Compared 7% of the time
Apache Pulsar vs Amazon MSK Logo
Apache Pulsar vs Amazon MSK
Compared 7% of the time
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Red Hat AMQ vs Apache Kafka Logo
Red Hat AMQ vs Apache Kafka
Compared 17% of the time
IBM MQ vs Apache Kafka Logo
IBM MQ vs Apache Kafka
Compared 11% of the time
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform vs Apache Kafka Logo
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform vs Apache Kafka
Compared 11% of the time
PubSub+ Platform vs Apache Kafka Logo
PubSub+ Platform vs Apache Kafka
Compared 10% of the time
Amazon SQS vs Apache Kafka Logo
Amazon SQS vs Apache Kafka
Compared 9% of the time
More Apache Kafka Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Amazon MSK
September 2025
Amazon MSK reportDownload Amazon MSK product report
Buyer's Guide
Apache Kafka
September 2025
Apache Kafka reportDownload Apache Kafka product report
 

Also Known As

Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka
No data available
 

Overview

Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (Amazon MSK) is a fully managed service that enables you to build and run applications that use Apache Kafka to process streaming data. Amazon MSK provides the control-plane operations, such as those for creating, updating, and deleting clusters.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Apache Kafka is an open-source distributed streaming platform that serves as a central hub for handling real-time data streams. It allows efficient publishing, subscribing, and processing of data from various sources like applications, servers, and sensors.

Kafka's core benefits include high scalability for big data pipelines, fault tolerance ensuring continuous operation despite node failures, low latency for real-time applications, and decoupling of data producers from consumers.

Key features include topics for organizing data streams, producers for publishing data, consumers for subscribing to data, brokers for managing clusters, and connectors for easy integration with various data sources.

Large organizations use Kafka for real-time analytics, log aggregation, fraud detection, IoT data processing, and facilitating communication between microservices.

Apache
 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Uber, Netflix, Activision, Spotify, Slack, Pinterest
Buyer's Guide
Amazon MSK vs. Apache Kafka
September 2025
Free Report: Amazon MSK vs. Apache Kafka
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