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Apache Kafka vs Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud 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
6.6
Apache Kafka offers substantial returns, especially in high-value applications, with enhanced data buffering, cost savings, and ease of use.
Sentiment score
3.1
Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud boosts ROI and reliability, but adoption may be challenging due to associated costs.
Returns depend on the application you deploy and the amount of benefits you are getting, which depends on how many applications you are deploying, what are the sorts of applications, and what are the requirements.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Apache Kafka's support is community-driven, with varying user experiences and enhanced options available through paid subscriptions and consultants.
Sentiment score
4.3
Apache Kafka's Confluent Cloud support is well-rated, effective with tools, timely, despite minor communication issues and preference for forums.
I want to receive good technical support, which I only need once a month or every six months, and the experience has been unsatisfactory.
There is plenty of community support available online.
The Apache community provides support for the open-source version.
I would rate them eight if 10 was the best and one was the worst.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Apache Kafka is praised for its robust scalability, efficiently handling high data throughput, with some challenges in cluster management.
Sentiment score
3.8
Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is praised for scalability, despite some reliability issues, with managed services reducing operational burdens.
Customers have not faced issues with user growth or data streaming needs.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Apache Kafka is stable and performs well with high data volumes, though some configurations may affect its reliability.
Sentiment score
3.5
Users consider Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud stable but report performance drops with traffic spikes and dashboard management challenges.
This feature of Apache Kafka has helped enhance our system stability when handling high volume data.
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.
Confluent Cloud improves Kafka integration with PyTRAN and Microsoft, but faces challenges in real-time processing, monitoring, and cost.
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.
I would appreciate having some kind of UI integrated into Apache Kafka for connecting to it because using code to connect it is basic, but we can use a UI.
If it were easier to configure clusters and had more straightforward configuration, high-level API abstraction in the APIs could improve it.
Observability and monitoring are areas that could be enhanced.
 

Setup Cost

Apache Kafka is free to use, but costs vary for managed services and enterprise solutions, potentially exceeding 100,000 euros annually.
Enterprise users see Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud's pricing as flexible but requiring careful management for cost optimization.
The open-source version of Apache Kafka results in minimal costs, mainly linked to accessing documentation and limited support.
Its pricing is reasonable.
 

Valuable Features

Apache Kafka excels in scalability, real-time streaming, and flexibility, ideal for large data volumes and event-driven architectures.
Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud offers scalable streaming, seamless integration, and efficient data processing, simplifying microservices and multi-cloud support.
Apache Kafka is particularly valuable for managing high levels of transactions.
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.
These features are important due to scalability and resiliency.
The Kafka Streams API helps with real-time data transformations and aggregations.
 

Categories and Ranking

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
Apache Kafka on Confluent C...
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
3.7
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Streaming Analytics category, the mindshare of Apache Kafka is 3.7%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Streaming Analytics Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Kafka3.7%
Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud0.1%
Other96.2%
Streaming Analytics
 

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…
FABIO LUIS VELLOSO DA SILVA - PeerSpot reviewer
Has enabled asynchronous communication and real-time data processing with strong performance
The valuable features with Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud are the messaging and the asynchronous messages; it's the basic, not advanced usage. It's only to create clusters to receive and send messages. The point is the asynchronous messages and the scalability; it is important for us. To guarantee the compliance of the architecture and the patterns for the company, to provide scalability, and to guarantee the security to send the messages. The Kafka Streams API helps with real-time data transformations and aggregations. It's very fast and helps us to create the project, guarantee the message delivery, and the performance. It's a good experience with very impressive processing and a very impressive project and product.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise47
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise6
 

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 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?
If it were easier to configure clusters and had more straightforward configuration, high-level API abstraction in the APIs could improve it. The clustering is a little hard for juniors and clients....
What is your primary use case for Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?
We need to send a lot of asynchronous messages in this project, and we use the middleware and Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud to guarantee asynchronous messaging between the services. We use Apache...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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