Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud vs F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition comparison

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud vs. F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition

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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:

Categories and Ranking

Apache Kafka on Confluent C...

Ranking in AWS Marketplace

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition

Ranking in AWS Marketplace

12th

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the AWS Marketplace category, the mindshare of Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is 0.8%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is 0.5%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

AWS Marketplace

Featured Reviews

Ritik Varshney

Scholar Trainee/Project Engineer at Wipro Limited

Enhanced data streaming with reliable features and good analytics

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud provides an enhanced level of reliability and resources compared to Apache Kafka alone. It offers more features which are beneficial for our clients, including cluster linking, schema registry, error handling, and dead-letter queues. It significantly improves customer and publisher satisfaction, especially with topic integration and data streaming.

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Kodanda Ramji C.S

Manager | Engineering | Cloud Managed Services at Sify Technologies

Offers easy-to-use integration capabilities

It is a scalable solution. In F5 BIG-IP i5800, if you have assigned a single CPU and memory for a virtual instance and if it increases, you can just add a CPU and memory to the existing vCMP. What you have to do is spin one more virtual instance with the two CPUs and double the memory, like eight GB memory, for example. You can't just increase the existing VirtualBox. You have to create another VirtualBox parallel, download the configurations, and import it. My company provides one banking application to around ten customers. My company has around seven virtual instances and seven applications, each application having around 70 customers running on one F5 BIG-IP i5800. My company has created seven VirtualBox.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Overall, I think it's a good experience. Apache Kafka can be quite complex and difficult to maintain on your own, so using Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud makes it much easier to use it without worrying about setup and maintenance."

"The state-saving feature is very much appreciated. It allows me to rewind a certain process if I see an error and then reprocess it."

"Confluent Cloud handles data volume pretty well."

"Kafka and Confluent Cloud have proven to be cost-effective, especially when compared to other tools. In a recent BI integration program over the past year, we assessed multiple use cases spanning ship-to-shore and various Azure integrations. Our findings revealed that Confluent Kafka performed exceptionally well, standing out alongside Genesys and Azure Event Hubs. While these three are top contenders, the choice among other tools depends on the specific use case and project requirements. The customer initially used tools like SMQs, FITRA, and Stream for real-time data processing. However, after our recommendation, Confluent Cloud proved to be a superior choice, capable of replacing these three tools and simplifying their data infrastructure. This shift to a single tool, Confluent Cloud, streamlined their operations, making maintenance and management more efficient for their internal projects."

"Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is more reliable and frequent to use compared to Apache Kafka."

"Kafka provides handy properties that allow us to directly configure the data, whether to keep it or discard it after use."

"The product's installation phase is pretty straightforward for us since we know how to use it."

"In case of huge transactions on the web or mobile apps, it helps you capture real-time data and analyze it."

"The tool's investment is less than a physical device."

"It has DoS layer 7 protection, which not many vendors have."

"It's easy to use, and they have good support."

"The integration capabilities of the product are easy to use, and there is no complexity involved in it."

"I have a specific issue with the network interface connector, the NIC. We're limited to a maximum of two NICs in a virtualized environment. It's a limitation of the tool."

"The features that I like include LTM and Global Traffic Manager (GTM)."

Cons

"The administration port could be more extensive."

"There are some premium connectors, for example, available in Confluent, which you cannot access in the marketplace, so there are some limitations."

"Some areas for improvement in Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud include issues faced during migration with Kubernetes pods."

"Regarding real-time data usage, there were challenges with CDC (Change Data Capture) integrations. Specifically, with PyTRAN, we encountered difficulties. We recommended using our on-premises Kaspersky as an alternative to PyTRAN for that specific use case due to issues with CDC store configuration and log reading challenges with the iton components."

"There could be an in-built feature for data analysis."

"The solution is expensive."

"Maybe in terms of Apache Kafka's integration with other Microsoft tools, our company faced some challenges."

"There's one thing that's a common use case, but I don't know why it's not covered in Kafka. When a message comes in, and another message with the same key arrives, the first version should be deleted automatically."

"On-the-go upgrades are an option that the tool currently lacks, making it an area where improvements are required."

"It's expensive and could be cheaper."

"BIG-IP could improve in supporting microservices, for example, in Docker and Kubernetes environments."

"F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is a heavy system that needs a lot of CPU, memory, and hard disk."

"The tool has limitations with respect to code and RAM."

"I have a specific issue with the network interface connector, the NIC. We're limited to a maximum of two NICs in a virtualized environment. It's a limitation of the tool."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think the pricing is fair, but Confluent requires a little bit more thinking because the price can go up really quickly when it comes to premium connectors."

"Regarding pricing, Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is not a cheap tool. The right use case would justify the cost. It might make sense if you have a high volume of data that you can leverage to generate value for the business. But if you don't have those requirements, there are likely cheaper solutions you could use instead."

"I consider that the product's price falls under the middle range category."

"My company's customers need to make payments for the licensing charges attached to the product. It is an expensive product."

"The pricing is standard."

"F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is an expensive solution, but it's worth the price."

"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Transportation Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

22%

Computer Software Company

Retailer

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?

Kafka and Confluent Cloud have proven to be cost-effective, especially when compared to other tools. In a recent BI integration program over the past year, we assessed multiple use cases spanning s...

What needs improvement with Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?

The ability to implement request-response communication on Apache Kafka ( /products/apache-kafka-reviews ) needs improvement. The schema registry is a bit misleading in terms of its location and ho...

What is your primary use case for Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?

We send events to Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud ( /products/apache-kafka-on-confluent-cloud-reviews ) for microservices and in an event-driven system. We are building an event-driven system, and ...

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?

The integration capabilities of the product are easy to use, and there is no complexity involved in it.

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?

It's expensive and could be cheaper. At the moment, I can't think of anything to improve.

What advice do you have for others considering F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?

The solution is very good. I would rate the solution maybe ten out of ten.

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Product Reports

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud

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F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition

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Overview

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud enables organizations to perform real-time data streaming and processing, integrating user data, and managing large transaction volumes efficiently.

Organizations leverage Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud for several applications such as capturing change data, handling IoT workloads, and fostering data migration and microservices. It is instrumental in publishing and managing data across multiple platforms, ensuring both high throughput and seamless log management. Confluent Cloud's features like scalability, efficient transaction management, and cost-effectiveness, combined with seamless integration with multiple data tools, make it a preferred choice for real-time data processing tasks.

What are the key features?

Scalability: Easily scale up or down based on demand.
Efficient transaction management: Manage transactions smoothly.
Cost-effectiveness: Optimize costs without compromising performance.
Real-time data capture: Capture data in real-time with ease.
State-saving: Save states efficiently to support various processes.
Message processing speed: Fast processing of messages ensures quick data handling.
Topic flexibility: Flexibility in managing topics caters to different data needs.

What benefits and ROI should you look for?

Seamless integration: Integrate effortlessly with major data tools.
Streamlined operations: Reduce the number of tools required for data processing and streamline maintenance.
High throughput: Maintain high throughput across platforms.
Seamless log management: Effective management of logs ensures operational efficiency.

In specific industries, such as finance, real-time data processing is crucial for handling high volumes of transactions and location tracking. In retail, it integrates user data and manages inventory systems efficiently. IoT applications benefit from Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud by capturing and processing massive data streams from connected devices in real-time.

Confluent

When you need to move faster than hardware allows, BIG-IP Virtual Editions (VEs) deliver the application services you need in a more agile and flexible form factor. Get the scalability, security, and automatability BIG-IP products are known for—all in software designed for use in single-, hybrid-, or multi-cloud architectures.

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud vs. F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition