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Apache Kafka vs Google Cloud Dataflow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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's ROI benefits include cost savings, quick data insights, increased productivity, and efficient high-traffic data management.
Sentiment score
7.2
Google Cloud Dataflow offers substantial cost savings and efficiencies, with organizations experiencing 70% time savings and clear financial benefits.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.8
Apache Kafka's support stems largely from an open-source community, with varied satisfaction in third-party and enterprise assistance.
Sentiment score
7.9
Google Cloud Dataflow customer support experiences vary from slow to effective, with proactive updates and dedicated managers enhancing service.
There is plenty of community support available online.
The Apache community provides support for the open-source version.
The fact that no interaction is needed shows their great support since I don't face issues.
Google's support team is good at resolving issues, especially with large data.
Whenever we have issues, we can consult with Google.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Apache Kafka's scalability is a major strength, allowing easy horizontal and vertical scaling to meet diverse use case demands.
Sentiment score
7.3
Google Cloud Dataflow is highly rated for scalability, handling large data loads seamlessly and offering dynamic resource optimization.
Customers have not faced issues with user growth or data streaming needs.
Google Cloud Dataflow has auto-scaling capabilities, allowing me to add different machine types based on pace and requirements.
Google Cloud Dataflow can handle large data processing for real-time streaming workloads as they grow, making it a good fit for our business.
As a team lead, I'm responsible for handling five to six applications, but Google Cloud Dataflow seems to handle our use case effectively.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Apache Kafka is praised for its resilience and reliability, despite minor configuration challenges and performance under high data volumes.
Sentiment score
8.2
Google Cloud Dataflow is reliable and stable, with automatic scaling and minor errors in complex, long-running tasks.
Apache Kafka is stable.
I have not encountered any issues with the performance of Dataflow, as it is stable and backed by Google services.
The job we built has not failed once over six to seven months.
The automatic scaling feature helps maintain stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Kafka needs UI improvements, simplified deployment, reduce ZooKeeper dependency, enhance documentation, client libraries, performance, and advanced features.
Google Cloud Dataflow improves integrations, but faces challenges in SDK features, support, authentication, cost, and scalability.
The performance angle is critical, and while it works in milliseconds, the goal is to move towards microseconds.
A more user-friendly interface and better management consoles with improved documentation could be beneficial.
We are always trying to find the best configs, which is a challenge.
Outside of Google Cloud Platform, it is problematic for others to use it and may require promotion as an actual technology.
I would like to see improvements in consistency and flexibility for schema design for NoSQL data stored in wide columns.
Dealing with a huge volume of data causes failure due to array size.
 

Setup Cost

Apache Kafka is open-source, but additional provider services can be costly, varying by needs and exceeding 100,000 euros annually.
Google Cloud Dataflow is cost-effective and competitive, with expenses aligned to usage, often cheaper than AWS.
The open-source version of Apache Kafka results in minimal costs, mainly linked to accessing documentation and limited support.
Its pricing is reasonable.
It is part of a package received from Google, and they are not charging us too high.
 

Valuable Features

Apache Kafka excels in real-time data streaming, scalability, integration, resilience, and handling large volumes with robust message retention.
Google Cloud Dataflow offers seamless integration, flexibility, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and powerful event stream processing for real-time insights.
Apache Kafka is effective when dealing with large volumes of data flowing at high speeds, requiring real-time processing.
It allows the use of data in motion, allowing data to propagate from one source to another while it is in motion.
It supports multiple programming languages such as Java and Python, enabling flexibility without the need to learn something new.
The integration within Google Cloud Platform is very good.
We then perform data cleansing, including deduplications, schema standardizations, and filtering of invalid records.
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Kafka
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
87
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Google Cloud Dataflow
Ranking in Streaming Analytics
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Streaming Analytics category, the mindshare of Apache Kafka is 2.8%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Dataflow is 7.1%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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…
Jana Polianskaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Build Scalable Data Pipelines with Apache Beam and Google Cloud Dataflow
As a data engineer, I find several features of Google Cloud Dataflow particularly valuable. The ability to test solutions locally using Direct Runner is crucial for development, allowing me to validate pipelines without incurring the costs of full Dataflow jobs. The unified programming model for both batch and streaming processing is exceptional - requiring only minor code adjustments to optimize for either mode. This flexibility extends to language support, with robust implementations in both Java and Python, allowing teams to leverage their existing expertise. The platform's comprehensive monitoring capabilities are another standout feature. The intuitive interface, Grafana integration, and extensive service connectivity make troubleshooting and performance tracking highly efficient. Furthermore, seamless integration with Google Cloud Composer (managed Airflow) enables sophisticated orchestration of data pipelines.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
31%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
6%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Retailer
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

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 do you like most about Google Cloud Dataflow?
The product's installation process is easy...The tool's maintenance part is somewhat easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Dataflow?
Pricing is normal. It is part of a package received from Google, and they are not charging us too high.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Dataflow?
I am not sure, as we built only one job, and it is running on a daily basis. Everything else is managed using BigQuery schedulers and Talend. However, occasionally, dealing with a huge volume of da...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Google Dataflow
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Uber, Netflix, Activision, Spotify, Slack, Pinterest
Absolutdata, Backflip Studios, Bluecore, Claritics, Crystalloids, Energyworx, GenieConnect, Leanplum, Nomanini, Redbus, Streak, TabTale
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Kafka vs. Google Cloud Dataflow and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.