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Apache Kafka vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Apache Kafka offers substantial returns, especially in high-value applications, with enhanced data buffering, cost savings, and ease of use.
Sentiment score
7.2
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform reduces TCO, simplifies integration, and offers high ROI, though pricing may challenge smaller companies.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.8
Apache Kafka's support is community-driven, with varying user experiences and enhanced options available through paid subscriptions and consultants.
Sentiment score
6.8
Users praise MuleSoft's responsive support but suggest documentation and response time improvements; satisfaction varies with support levels.
There is plenty of community support available online.
The Apache community provides support for the open-source version.
The Salesforce team offers different levels of support.
The support team is responsive and helpful.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Apache Kafka is praised for its robust scalability, efficiently handling high data throughput, with some challenges in cluster management.
Sentiment score
7.6
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is highly flexible and scalable but faces challenges with file sizes and scaling costs.
Customers have not faced issues with user growth or data streaming needs.
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is quite scalable, and it meets our use cases with no issues preventing implementation.
MuleSoft provides the ability to scale, yet it is costly to do so.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Apache Kafka is stable and performs well with high data volumes, though some configurations may affect its reliability.
Sentiment score
7.9
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform shows improved stability, minimal issues, and high reliability with optimized resource management in cloud environments.
Partitioning helps us distribute all the messages that we receive between all partitions, which helps us to be stable.
Apache Kafka is stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Enhancing Kafka involves user-friendly UI, improved monitoring, reduced ZooKeeper dependency, better documentation, flexibility, and integration with other platforms.
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform needs enhancements in processing, support, integration, and user interface for improved efficiency and usability.
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.
Currently, it uses other standards, but adopting OpenAPI, the standard in the market, would be beneficial.
When dealing with multiple transactions or trading, the system can lose control, and tracking becomes hectic.
MuleSoft is considered expensive, so pricing is a major concern.
 

Setup Cost

Apache Kafka is free to use, but costs vary for managed services and enterprise solutions, potentially exceeding 100,000 euros annually.
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform's pricing is complex and high, potentially deterring smaller organizations despite offering enterprise support.
The open-source version of Apache Kafka results in minimal costs, mainly linked to accessing documentation and limited support.
Its pricing is reasonable.
MuleSoft is considered one of the more expensive products in the market.
I do not know the specific costs, but given that it is part of MuleSoft, I suspect it is not cheap.
The platform reduces manual workload in maintaining infrastructure, but it does come with some cost considerations.
 

Valuable Features

Apache Kafka excels in scalability, real-time streaming, and flexibility, ideal for large data volumes and event-driven architectures.
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform excels with API management, integration features, a user-friendly interface, and robust data management capabilities.
Apache Kafka is effective when dealing with large volumes of data flowing at high speeds, requiring real-time processing.
The impact of Apache Kafka's scalability features on my organization and data processing capabilities depends on how many messages each company wants to receive.
It allows the use of data in motion, allowing data to propagate from one source to another while it is in motion.
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform helps to standardize data integration approaches, making it easier to implement integration projects.
The platform is integrated with Salesforce, making it preferable when using Salesforce products.
The most valuable feature is the full lifecycle management, including Anypoint Designer and Exchange, as well as Discofolio API.
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Kafka
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
Streaming Analytics (8th)
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Message Queue (MQ) Software (3rd), Business-to-Business Middleware (1st), Workload Automation (4th), Cloud Data Integration (4th), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Apache Kafka and MuleSoft Anypoint Platform aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Apache Kafka is designed for Streaming Analytics and holds a mindshare of 3.2%, up 2.0% compared to last year.
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, on the other hand, focuses on Business-to-Business Middleware, holds 11.1% mindshare, down 14.8% since last year.
Streaming Analytics
Business-to-Business Middleware
 

Featured Reviews

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…
Tolulope A. Adeniji - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides application integration and reduces time and effort during upgrades
One of the most valuable aspects was its impact on reducing time and effort during upgrades. Previously, SAP upgrades required significant coordination with multiple teams. Now, thanks to our streamlined integration approach, the SAP team interacts primarily with the integration team. When changes are needed, we simply create a new version. This allows application teams to migrate gradually from the old version to the new one, without extensive involvement from the SAP team. Moreover, our approach has improved reliability by eliminating duplicated efforts. Previously, different teams would often duplicate data sets due to inefficiencies in data naming conventions. We centralized data integration, ensuring that all applications use the same data set.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
5%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What advice do you have for others considering Mule Anypoint Platform?
I architected solutions using Oracle SOA/OSB, Spring Boot, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform on cloud / on-premises and hybrid modes; What I see is though if you are an enterprise and have enough money th...
How does TIBCO BusinessWorks compare with Mule Anypoint Platform?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether TIBCO BusinessWorks or Mule Anypoint platform integration and connectivity software was the better fit for us. We decided to go with Mule...
What can Mule Anypoint Platform be used for and what do you use it for most often?
This is a very flexible solution that comes with multiple uses. My organization mostly uses Mule Anypoint Platform for API management, as it lets us build new APIs easily and design new interfaces...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Data Integrator, Anypoint MQ
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Uber, Netflix, Activision, Spotify, Slack, Pinterest
VMware, Gucci, MasterCard, Target, Time Inc, Hershey's, Tesla, Spotify, Office Depot, Intuit, CBS, Amtrak, Salesforce, Gap, Ralph Lauren
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